Page 71 of Courageous Hearts

“What d’you wanna know?” Bo asks.

“Anything, truthfully. What’s she like? What’s her place like? You said you lived there briefly?”

But why did you have to? That’s what I truly want to know.

Bo nods, gazing off for a moment, and I wonder what they’re seeing. A picture? The past?

“She’s…very lovin’. And has a spine of steel,” they say with a laugh. “Her and my father don’t get along, but when she found out he was bein’ a dick to me before my junior year of high school, she took me in. And she told my dad, in no uncertain terms, that if he had a problem with it, she’d be callin’ CPS. She sent him a copy of the medical record documentin’ my bruised arm to prove it.”

My body stiffens. “What’d he do to you?” I ask hoarsely.

When Bo told me they didn’t have a good relationship with their father, I didn’t think they meant because he was abusive.

Bo sighs, running a hand through their hair, ruffling it slightly. “It wasn’t anythin’ bad, really. Just manhandled me a bit at the town’s Pride Parade.”

My exhale is rough. Shaky. “He do that a lot?”

Bo’s expression hardens, as if they’re putting on some stony-faced veneer they’re used to erecting when confronted with that particular question. I can already tell their answer is going to be dismissive.

“It wasn’t a big deal,” they say. “He was a man’s man. Rough. Tough. And he liked to try to toughen us up, too. It never went too far.”

“Documented bruises sounds pretty far to me,” I reply, trying my best to keep my tone level. It’s not Bo’s fault I’m mad enough for my abdominals to be shaking.

“Look, I’m not excusin’ his behavior. He was a dick, like I said. But he never hit us. He just liked to intimidate.” Bo shakes their head, blinking several times. “I don’t even know why I’m gettin’ into it. The man isn’t a part of my life. I know he wasn’t good. That he wasn’t a good father or a good person. I do. I don’t wanna waste any more breath on him.”

My neck feels stiff as I nod against my pillow. “Okay,” I say, voice a little rough.

Bo blows out a breath, looking relieved that I’m not going to push it.

“You can, though. Okay?” I go on, unable to leave it entirely. “If you need to talk about it, you can tell me. And I’ll just… Fuck, Blue. I’ll just hold you tight and remind you that he doesn’t have any power over you anymore. That you’re amazing and strong and gorgeous, and everyone who knows you is better for it. He’s the one missing out.”

Bo nods, blinking rapidly, their eyes bright. “You’re too good to me,” they say softly.

“Impossible.”

They bite their lip, not answering.

“You’re not going to see him, right?” I ask.

I know they’re planning on meeting with Diesel, but I hate the thought of Bo having to see that man again. Their own dad. Who should have had their back no matter what. Who was so small that he bullied his own children to feel bigger.

But Bo shakes their head, quickly swiping a finger under their eye. “No. No reason to. He’s already behind me.”

“Good,” I mutter, puffing out a breath and scrubbing a hand through my hair.

It’s a small consolation, but it makes me feel better that Bo only has the one confrontation ahead during their week in Plum Valley.

“So, uh. Your aunt?” I ask.

Bo huffs a breath, a small smile settling over their face. They look a little lighter as they start talking again. “She’s a freelance editor, so she works from home. She likes to garden, too. She has a plot out back for it. And, uh, she lives on a pond. A big one, with one neighbor. It’s nice here. Private and…warm. It’s always felt warm here.”

“Well, it is Texas,” I mumble. But I understand what Bo means. That their aunt has given them a safe place to return to. I love her all the more for it, even though I don’t know her. Yet.

Bo chuckles, shaking their head at my sad attempt at a joke.

“So what is there to do there?” I ask, stretching some and rubbing my chest.

They blink. “Uh.”

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