Page 27 of Declan's Dove

“Do you have any idea where she might’ve gone? Does she leave town without you often?”

“You think she left town?” His eyes are wide, and his piece of pizza laid down in the box.

“I don’t know if she’s left town or not. I was just asking questions, seeing if you might know,” I explain. “Why did you get so nervous when I suggested her leaving town? Is she not supposed to?”

“No. It’s just that, um, we don’t spend time away from each other like that. What I mean is, she doesn’t leave town except for the one night she went with you to Uncle Ethan’s fight.”

Now I get it.

“You’re worried if she left town something bad might have happened to her.” He nods his head.

“Mama doesn’t always take good care of herself. It’s like you once said. She needs someone strong and brave to watch over her. To keep her safe.”

I reach over and grip his shoulder with my hand, giving him a little squeeze of reassurance. “I was talking about you. You’re the strong and brave person who’s supposed to look out for your mother. Do things to help her out so she can rest and not worry. Those things are ways she can take care of herself better.”

“Yeah, I know. But sometimes it feels like I’m not doing a very good job.” Carter says, picking at a nonexistent piece of lint from his pajama pants.

“Why do you say that, kid? Have you been getting in trouble at school?” I give him a stern look.

“No, sir.”

“Are you keeping up with your chores and your homework?” He nods again.

“Then I don’t understand what makes you think you’re not doing a good job taking care of her?”

Carter picks at his thumbnail. “Sometimes at night, she still cries in her sleep. She doesn’t like it when I ask her about it, so I pretend I don’t hear her. She has nightmares,” he says the words so quietly, as if he’s the one afraid of her nightmares.

“Do you know what the nightmares are about?”

He glances up at me, then back at his hands, shaking his head. I know he’s lying. I can see it on his face.

I squeeze his shoulder once more, which gains me another look at those hazel eyes that match his mama’s.

“If you need to talk about something, and you don’t want anyone else to know, you can tell me, and I’ll keep it between us.” There’s a hint of hope, or maybe relief in his eyes, but it’s gone in a blink. His shoulders sag and he shakes his head.

“Mama says we don’t tell everybody everything.”

“Because people aren’t always who they seem to be. Some people are up to no good, even when they say they want to help,” I finish repeating his words from earlier. “Yeah, you said that before. But I’m not everybody. I’m your friend and soon I’ll be Violet’s man.”

His eyes get big, and I can tell he’s fighting to hide a smile. He likes the idea of me being in their lives, which will go a long way to help me convince Violet. But for now, I need to focus on him and what he’s struggling to keep hidden.

“What do you mean when you say people are up to no good? Who?”

Carter shrugs his shoulders. “I don’t know.”

“Did someone who was supposed to be your mom’s friend hurt her or you somehow?”

“No. She didn’t have friends until we moved here.” I find it hard to believe since everyone who knows Violet here in town adores her. “Well, except Mili, but she’s moving here now too.”

Mili? I make a mental note to find out who this Mili person is.

“Is your mama close friends with Mili? Did they used to work together where you used to live?”

“Um, I don’t know. She talked to Mili a lot. When we moved, Mama talked to her every day. But they didn’t go out or anything. Not like Mama and Auntie Skyler do. I don’t know how girl code works, but doesn’t it include things like shopping and girl’s night out? I think that’s what Auntie Sky calls it.”

I laugh at his description. “I suppose if they were close, she would spend more time doing things like that with Mili. Do you know Mili’s last name?”

Carter looks suspiciously at me. The kid’s too fucking smart for my own good. I turn back to my dinner and scoop up another slice and take a huge bite. I’ve lost my appetite completely, but it distracts him enough he keeps talking.

---