Page 17 of Broken

Little did I know it was another man’s bed.

I’m pulled from my thoughts when some men come through the Bluetooth speaker on the nightstand singing about sunrise. I look over at her. Gabby’s looking at me from under her lashes. There’s a smile on her face and she’s clearly fighting her laughter. “Don’t start, King,” she murmurs.

“Woman, this isnotmusic.”

“Lies! This is one of the best songs in the history of songs.”

“Say what?” I bark, trying to figure out if she’s playing me or somehow has lost all her brain cells and believes the shit she’s spewing.

“This is Ambrosia! They’re one of the most underrated bands ever,” she huffs, her eyes round with disbelief.

I grin at her. I like seeing her get fired up. It wouldn’t surprise me if her eyes start shooting lasers at me—such is her dedication to this damn song. “Is underrated code for ear piercing?”

“King! I can’t believe you said that. Try to check your alpha-machoism at the door and just listen to the words of the song. It’s beautiful.”

I shake my head. “It’s a chick song.”

“What?”

“Gabby, the shit they’re singing is total crap made to sell to women. It’s not real.”

She opens her mouth as if she wants to say something but shuts it quickly. Then, slowly, I see some of the light that had shone in her eyes leave. Now, I’m kicking myself for fucking all this up. I start rubbing her stomach to distract her thoughts.

“Maybe you’re wrong,” she whispers. “My mom and dad have always shared this powerful love. He always said from the moment he saw her, she was it for him. She says the same thing about him. If you need more proof, look at Dragon and Nicole, or Dani and Crusher. I think it’s possible. Maybe it’s not meant for someone like me, but it still exists and when I close my eyes, I like to imagine it all around me, shining a light just like the song says so that it can guide me into safer waters. That kind of love is what I’m going to show my baby. I may have never experienced it, but my baby will. I’m going to see to it.”

As I listen to her, my damn throat gets tight. I don’t even think. I pull her into me so that her head rests on my chest and I kiss the top of her head. “Someday, Sunshine, you’ll give that love to your daughter, and jellybean will give it all back to you. You just have to hold on. You’ll get that beautiful life, sweetheart.”

I feel the wet drops of her tears against my chest. I just hold her tighter, silently willing her to believe me—and I hope like hell she does.

I really do.

Chapter 9

King

I staywith Gabby until she falls asleep. I make sure she’s settled, pull the covers around her, put a brief kiss on her forehead, lean down and whisper goodnight to jellybean, then leave the room. I stop walking after taking just a few steps outside. I should have known Dragon would be on that same picnic table, sipping a beer and waiting for me. I consider avoiding him, but figure I might as well get this shit out of the way. So, I walk over, sitting beside him, both of us perched on the table, feet on the bench. He reaches into a cooler, then passes me a beer. I don’t really want a beer, but it feels like I might need it to deal with whatever shit he’s preparing to say, so I pop the top and take a sip.

“A man can make a lot of mistakes in life.”

Yeah, fuck, I know this didn’t bode well for me. “That they can,” I admit. Considering my recent record with marrying a woman I thought I knew, but didn’t, not to mention hating a man I probably shouldn’t have, and believing all the bullshit my mother fed me … Yeah, evidence was mounting up that I keep piling mistake upon mistake.

“That woman in there has a lot of healing to do.”

“Dragon, you aren’t telling me nothin’ I don’t already know.”

“I figure that, son. Thing is, sometimes a man needs to hear it, just to remind him of what he needs to do.”

“Can you get on with reminding me so I can hit the sack? I’m going to take Gabby to work tomorrow morning, and I’m wiped, old man.”

“I’m getting to it,” he grumbles. “Truth is, King. I never liked Shelby.” My chest gets tight, my body jerking as I turn to look at him. “Wasn’t my place. I lost the right to have any say. It’s not like my other two sons ever listened to me. So, I didn’t waste my breath. Don’t get me wrong. Shelby was strong and independent. For the right man, she could be a good woman. You weren’t that man.”

“What the fuck does that mean?”

“There are four types of women in this world, King. Sometimes they’re so similar that you can get them confused, but basically there are small nuances that you need to remember.”

“Please, enlighten me,” I murmur, wondering if he can hear the sarcasm.

“There’s the type A. This type is too soft for the world and needs constant looking after by a man. They feed on attention and need it on a twenty-four-seven kind of watch. Now, there are a lot of men who like that, which is good for both parties. That said, if the woman is not only Type A but has a lot of insecurities, that woman can get unpredictable. She’ll feel like she’s not getting the proper attention and try to find it in another man. They feed from it so, that’s how they live. They can latch onto a man and a man can be stupid. He lets her inside, and there’s a big chance she’ll take and take, but give nothing back. There’s nothing left over from her to feed the hunger inside of you. That’s where the problems lie.”

---