Page 64 of Shattered Secrets

“Not at all. Honestly, it’s been so long since I’ve had alcohol that I think I’ve lost the taste for it. Not that I used to drink the good stuff or anything.” She nodded to his glass. “What is that?”

“Whisky.” He held it out to her. “It’s my brother’s, so it’s thereallygood stuff. Want to taste? Smell?”

She took the glass, brought it to her nose, and sniffed. “Yikes, no, thank you,” she said with a grimace, handing the glass back.

Matt laughed. “I’ve been told it’s an acquired taste.”

“I’ll stick to my chamomile tea, thanks. And I wouldn’t call not drinking admirable. It’s just me trying to be responsible.”

He studied her for a moment. “Why do I feel like there’s more to your reasoning?”

“What do you mean?” Holy crap, was she that transparent?

“Like there’s a story behind why you don’t drink.”

Yup. Shewasthat transparent.

Scarlet didn’t know what it was—the quiet night, the comfortable couch, the company—but something had her wanting to open up. Had her wanting to tell Matt things she’d never told anyone. “You could say I didn’t have a really great childhood.”

He nodded. “I figured as much when you mentioned you and your mom went separate ways. In ninth grade, right?”

“That’s right,” she said, a little surprised that he’d remembered. “But even before that, things weren’t... Our home wasn’t very stable.” Understatement of the year. It had been utter chaos, and she’d lived in a constant state of fear. Of being taken away, of having to stay, of... everything. “Like when I was in third grade, I remember waking up in the middle of the night with the most horrible stomach pain. My mom was in the living room, but I couldn’t wake her up.”

She recalled the crushed beer cans and empty jug of tequila that had littered the floor. Recalled her mom passed out on the couch, a bottle of vodka clutched in her hands. Bile turned in Scarlet’s belly. It was as if the stench of stale cigarettes, sour beer, and spilled liquor still lingered in her nose.

“I stumbled to the trailer next door, and I swear, I thought old Mrs. Hattery was going to slam the door in my face. But thankfully, she didn’t. I was doubled over in pain and ended up puking all over her floor. I was an absolute mess, but she loaded me into her car and took me to the ER.” Cursing Scarlet’s drunk of a mother the entire time. “I had kidney stones.”

“Holy shit, Scar,” Matt murmured, sorrow and anger flashing over his face.

“CPS was called while I was in the hospital, and my mom got in trouble. I was put in foster care for a couple months until she ‘cleaned up her act.’ Then I went back to living with her. That was our merry-go-round for years.”

Seeing the empathy in his gaze, Scarlet straightened her shoulders. What was done was done. She might not know what a good mother was, but she knew firsthand what an awful one was. “Irefuseto let that be Daisy’s life.”

The empathy in his gaze morphed into something that looked like respect. But, no, that couldn’t be right. Could it?

“You are so damn strong, Scarlet. I hope you realize that. And I also hope you know that you’ve raised an amazing daughter.”

“Thank you.” Warmth bloomed in her chest. Daisywaspretty damn amazing. “What about you? What was your childhood like?”

Matt chuckled. “Boring.”

“I highly doubt that.”

He took a sip of his drink. “My brother and I are close, but we’re very different. Growing up, Jake was the really smart one, and I was the athletic one. Unfortunately, our dad is a bit of an ass who only values athleticism and ‘manliness.’” He air-quoted the last word with a scowl.

“He would try to pit us against each other, showing obvious favor to me. It was so stupid, and thankfully we saw it for what it was and stayed close. To this day, I truly don’t understand our dad. My brother is a great fucking guy andbeyondsuccessful. I mean, look at this place.” He gestured at the room with his glass. “This house is his. And he’s got a handful more scattered around the globe. He even paid off my parents’ house. Yet our dad is still an ass to him.”

“That must be hard. Not just for your brother, but for you, too.”

He shook his head. “It’s hard for Jake.”

“And not you? You obviously care about your brother, so it must have sucked—it muststillsuck—to see him being treated that way.”

“It does.” Matt’s brown eyes held a wealth of sadness, and the sight tore at her heart. “When we were kids, my brother was smaller. He had a heart condition that slowed his growth. And in middle school, he was super lanky. He got picked on a lot. So we teamed up. He helped me with school, and I helped him in the gym, helped him get bigger. Now? The guy’s a freaking beast.”

“Uh, you’re not exactly scrawny, mister.”

He grinned. “Oh no. Jake’swaybigger than me. He’s like The Rock with a full head of hair.”

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