Page 33 of Until Delilah

We step inside and there are only three tables with chairs around them, but the line to order is twenty deep.

Max stands behind me and wraps his arms around my waist. I feel his hot breath on the shell of my ear before he speaks. “I thought we’d order and then we can take our food to the park. Have a little picnic and enjoy the sunshine.”

It really is a beautiful day. It’s in the sixties; the sun is warming the slight breeze. I’m tempted to turn and look at him, but when I notice every set of eyes on us, I keep facing forward and read the menu.

I know it won’t take long for everyone to know I’m with Max if they don’t already know after the game yesterday. It didn’t escape my notice that most of the moms were looking at me when I’d turn their way. It seems I’m the talk of the Little League team. I only hope it doesn’t come to bite me in the ass if Bradley comes looking for me. There’s no reason for him to come looking here, though. I have zero connections, and it was a random pick on where the buses were going that day. If I’d had more time to plan, I might have picked someplace else, but I’m glad I didn’t.

Maybe it was fate that brought me to Murfreesboro and into Max’s arms.

* * *

I digmy chopsticks into one of ten containers of food we have sitting around us and pick up a piece of Kung Pao shrimp before tossing it into my mouth.

“How do you do that?” Max chuckles from beside me. His long legs are stretched out as he leans on his arm. He’s got a fork full of noodles hovering close to his mouth. “I’ve never been able to figure out how to eat with chopsticks.”

“It’s probably because my mom’s favorite place to eat by their house is a Chinese place. Her and our neighbors used to get it at least once a week. We’d have a spread like this, but there were more of us to eat it. Me, my sister, Ava, and my sister’s best friend, Birdie, just picked it up.”

“Your parents are really great. I can’t believe they want to buy a place here though.” He shoves the noodles into his mouth and smiles at me.

“They are pretty great.” I set my chopsticks in one of the containers and turn my body toward his and bite on the inside of my cheek. “Does it bother you that they want to buy a house here?”

He finishes chewing and sets his fork down to hold my hand. “Not at all. Now, if they wanted to move into my house, I might not be up for it, but family’s important. I want you to be able to have your parents here and for them to come to Beck’s games and to watch the baby grow as much as they’re able.”

My eyes mist up at his words. He can’t be as perfect as he seems. There has to be something wrong with Max; I just haven’t found it yet.

“Plus, we can always visit them. I wouldn’t mind some beach time every now and then.” He looks down and when his gaze comes back up, his face turns serious. “Speaking of the baby. The hospital checked you out and everything, right?”

“Yeah, I didn’t even know I was pregnant until that day. Talk about a shocker.” My chest aches thinking about that night. Who knew something so devastating would bring me to where I am now? “They checked both of us out and said everything looked fine. Why?”

“I don’t know much about pregnancies or babies. Literally next to nothing, but I want you to start seeing a doctor that’s meant for that type of thing.”

“An OB/GYN? I’m thinking of finding a midwife or a doula. I need someone who won’t put me on the books.” I cringe at what this means. “And that entails me giving birth not in a hospital.” And with no pain meds.

Max’s face hardens. “Beauty, I think it’s time for you to tell me what you learned that night. The way you talk scares me and I’m pretty damn unshakable. I need to know what we’re dealing with.”

I know I should tell Max, but I don’t want his life in danger. It’s already bad enough we’ve started a life here. What happens when Bradley finds me? What will he do to the people I’ve grown to care about?

13

Max

The fearI see in her eyes has me scooping Delilah up and sitting her in my lap. “You can tell me anything. Nothing you say will change the way I feel about you. I only want to be better able to protect you. I don’t even know what to look out for.”

She lays her head on my shoulder and shudders. I hug her to me and give her time to tell me what I desperately need to know. I thought she’d tell her parents, but her dad came to me last night and asked if I knew what happened. The fear in his eyes had me vowing I’d do everything in my power to protect his daughter and grandchildren.

“When I first met Bradley, I didn’t know who he was, and now thinking back on it, I think he wanted it that way. He said and did everything perfectly until we moved in. It was like a switch flipped and the man I thought I knew was gone.” She takes a deep breath and holds it for so long I start to worry. Right as I’m about to pull her away and check on her, she blows it out. “It was an accident when I found out he was a lawyer on a political path. We were at some gala he said was for work, but when I was in the bathroom, I learned it was for his father, who is the governor of Mississippi.”

That doesn’t seem like a big deal, but I know there’s more, so I keep quiet knowing how difficult it is for her to open up and tell me this information.

“Once I knew who his father was, I was curious why he didn’t tell me. Then one day, I saw an article online saying how corrupt his dad is and his grandfather. He’s a state representative in the House. I thought nothing of it, though. People hate politicians and make up lies every day. I was going to show the article to Bradley when he got home, only it was gone. Any mention of it was wiped off the internet. Who has the power to do that?”

Someone very big.

“He said I was tired and must have imagined it, but I knew I didn’t. I went along with it but kept my eyes and ears peeled for anything else. There was this niggling feeling deep down in my gut telling me I needed to stay on my toes and not let it go. But the second I’d see something; it was gone in a matter of hours. It made me think maybe I was going crazy, and I was imagining it because I wanted to.”

What kind of family was she involved with?

No wonder she’s had such a hard time believing in me. This mother fucker tricked and deceived her at every turn.

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