Page 104 of Gifts

“Asa.” I trace the edge of my desk with my finger. “Please don’t go looking for Raymond the drug dealer. We need to give his name over to the police.”

There’s nothing but silence over the phone and I’m about to argue my point further when hell freezes over. “Okay.”

There’s no hiding the frown in my voice because I’m shocked he’s being agreeable about anything. “Okay?”

“Yeah. I’ll make a call when we get off the phone and tell them what I know.”

“Oh. Well, thank you.”

“I’m doing it because it’s not my child lying in the ICU, it’s not you, or one of your kids. If it was, it’d be a different story,” he explains.

“Are you serious?” I exclaim.

“Keelie.” He’s the one who sounds frustrated now. “If you want me to lie to you, I will, but I doubt you want that. I’m just telling you the way it is.”

“You’ve been hurt once this week. You have about two million stitches in your abdomen to prove it. I’m trying to tell you I don’t want you to do things like this.”

He sighs and softens his voice. “I know. You’ve got to trust me and trust that I’m not going to do anything stupid. But trust I will do everything I can to protect the ones I love.”

My breath catches and I bite my lip. He basically just professed his love for me and my children off the cuff.

“You still there?” he asks.

I close my eyes, slumping back in my chair. Before I say something I regret—or tell him to meet me in my pantry—I whisper, “I’ve got to go.”

He’s quiet for a moment before he states, “I take it that means you still need space.”

Whatever. Like he’s given me any space over the last five days.

He doesn’t seem unnerved at all. “It was good to talk to you. I’m here if you need me and I’ll see you tonight. Don’t worry about dinner, Knox told me he wants General Tso’s. I know what everyone likes, I’ll swing by and pick it up on my way home.”

I lean forward and bang my head lightly on my desk. “This is so fucked up.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” he responds, and damn him, he sounds chipper doing it.

I don’t know if I’m asking him, myself, or the room in general when I keep on, “Who breaks up like this?”

“You and me, apparently.” It’s not hard to hear the sarcasm laced in his voice and I’m sure he’s humoring me.

I sit up and argue, “But this isn’t giving me the time or space I asked for—let alone breaking up.”

“Yep,” he agrees.

“Holy shit,” I exclaim. “You’re unbelievable. I’ve really got to go.”

Again, with the unfazed tone, he replies, “See you tonight, baby.”

I don’t know if I’m frustrated, pissed, or relieved to have actually spoken directly to him—but I hang up straight away. I’m not sure how much more of this I can take.

Asa’s gifts just keep on giving. Him pretending to give me time and space is just his newest one.

And it’s annoying as fuck.

Chapter 26

Deep in My Soul

Keelie

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