Page 40 of Truck Stop Titan

“Hey, Rock,” James called out from atop the ladder, hammer mid-strike.

Mim came to my side, her shoulder pressing into my thigh. “Hey, Little Lady. You and Rocky having fun?”

Rocky piped in. “Yeah! We helped Grandma make chocolate chip cookies, and Mim spilled eggs all over the floor.” Rocky laughed and hell, I couldn’t help but laugh, too.

“That true, Mim? Did you make a mess?”

Her arm curled around my leg.

James tucked his hammer into his tool belt and started down the ladder. “Let me guess, Grandma shooed you out of the kitchen so she could clean up.”

“No!” Rocky laughed, holding his gut. “That’s the best part. Mim and Moriah started cleaning the mess, but Moriah looked at the eggs and threw up all over the floor.” He laughed harder. “It was so gross!”

My guts shifted something fierce. My hand went to Mim’s back. “She okay? Moriah?”

Mim buried her face in my hip.

James shot me a worried glance. “I’ll go check on them. Rocky, you and Mim stay out here in case Dane needs help.”

“Sure thing, Gramps.” Rocky planted his butt in the grass next to a pile of cedar shakes.

Mim wouldn’t budge. “Hey, Mim. You think you can hand me that box of screws?” I pointed to the makeshift sawhorse table behind Rocky. “It’s the red box.”

Mim did as asked, carefully delivering the box. Her gaze never strayed from the ground, her shoulders hunched, face pale. Christ. I squatted, immediately regretting the painful move, then fell forward onto my knees. I gripped her shoulders. “What is it? You worried about getting in trouble for dropping the eggs?”

Nothing.

“It was an accident. Nobody’s mad at you.”

“She’s not scared about getting in trouble. She’s mad.”

“Mad?” I glanced over Mim’s shoulder to find Rocky inspecting a framing square.

“She said her mom used to throw up all the time when she didn’t have her medicine.”

“Medicine?” Drugs.

“She said she doesn’t want to live with Moriah if she needs medicine, too, because she’ll do bad things like her mom.”

“Fuck!” My face heated.

Mim ran to Rocky’s side and huddled next to him.

“Sorry.” Fuck. I’d scared her. “I’m sorry, Little One. I didn’t mean to yell.”

She lifted her eyes, meeting mine.

“C’mere.”

I should’ve gone to her, but my damn hip screamed in protest. Mim made her way back to me, her steps calculated.

I pushed my anger down, swallowed, choked a bit, but I couldn’t let her be afraid of me.

When she stood inches away, I cupped her cheeks and held her steady. “Listen to me. Your mother was addicted to drugs. Very bad drugs. Do you know what that means?”

She blinked, moisture pooling in those big, sad eyes.

“Rocky. Do you know what that means?”

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