Page 23 of To Believe In You
Matt’s forehead furrowed as his expression asked if Bailey was okay.
Lina brushed the girl’s hair from the tear tracks on her face. “Did they hurt you?”
She sniffled. “They were mean.”
Without waiting for more information, Matt stalked off in the direction the boys had gone.
What kind of scene would he make?
And would his involvement make things better or worse for Bailey? Summer camp ended with tonight’s play, but she would likely attend the same elementary school with them soon.
She bent to see into the girl’s face again. “Have they been bullying you all summer?”
Bailey shook her head to the negative, but tears continued to seep. The tail lay a few feet away, limp and tattered.
Lina drew a breath in hopes of dousing her anger. This sense of helplessness. She was an adult. One who hoped to one day have children of her own. How could she manage her own kids when those boys had acted like she hadn’t even existed?
She hated being rescued by a man. Especially under those circumstances. Especially by that man.
And yet, she found herself hoping that, if Matt caught up to the boys, his immaturity would surface and he’d let them have it.
Then, maybe, she could turn him on Shane and her father.
Or not. She needed to learn to fight her own battles. Protect her own heart.
She refocused on Bailey. “Let’s go find your family.”
* * *
Lina was not watchingthe time. Not at all conscious that Matt’s first lesson would start in eighteen minutes … Or at least, she wished she weren’t.
As planned, she’d started her workday at eleven and would wrap up around the time his last lesson ended. The unplanned part was her anticipation. Or could she label it curiosity? Curiosity sounded more reasonable.
Since she’d never known him to be punctual, he probably wouldn’t arrive before his student. Except, she’d also never known him to take care of himself or stand up for the defenseless, and yet these days, those actions seemed to be part of his MO.
She’d seen neither Matt nor Bailey’s mom, Samantha, since the play on Friday night and had no idea if parents or teachers had taken disciplinary action against the bullies. But more than an update about that situation drew her interest toward Matt.
After all, Lina could call Samantha for the scoop on Bailey. Samantha could not, however, satisfy her curiosity about Matt’s transformation.
He’d gone from being a reckless addict to a defender of terrorized little girls, a strung-out deadbeat with glassy eyes to a fit musician with clear focus. How the new Matt had handled the situation at the play could reveal a lot about how thoroughly he’d changed.
Her phone dinged, distracting her from the vigil she shouldn’t be keeping anyway.
By the time she slipped the device from the drawer where she’d stowed it, the light in the corner of the screen flashed, but the information about the texter had already faded. She unlocked the phone and tapped on the text icon.
Shane had messaged.
She hadn’t returned his Friday night call. What could he want but The Captain’s Vista? If he’d wanted to apologize, he could’ve done so in the message. She’d listened to the brief recording five times, but the wordsI’m sorryhad never materialized.
And now he was texting?
Steeling herself, she opened the message, and words filled her screen. Flustered, she couldn’t seem to read. The man she’d known had never been so verbose. Even his recent voicemail had been quick. Why reach out now, after a year? And why had she tensed up, as if he could force her to talk to him? She could block his number. He had no hold on her.
Her eyes stung as she blinked—they’d gotten dry in her frozen moments of panic. She redoubled her concentration.
I’d hoped to talk, but I don’t blame you for not returning my call. I wanted to finally say what I should’ve said a year ago. I’m sorry.
Her lids slid shut over her suddenly moist eyes. He was sorry. Or he was claiming to be. It was too good to be true. Or too little too late. Something. Her jaw tightened as though that could suppress her emotions as she continued reading.
