Page 30 of Broken

“I didn’t know what I was doing. Didn’t particularly want it, but my babysitter did. I was curious. So, it happened.”

“That’s sad.”

“It was, but the seal was broken and from there it got much, much better.”

“Hm …”

I can hear it in her voice, but when I glance in her direction, I see the darkness is trying to hide the light in her eyes again.Time to change the subject.“What does mi cielo mean?”

“My sky. Dad’s always called Mom that. It’s kind of beautiful.”

“Itisbeautiful,” I admit, reaching over and squeezing her hand. “What would you like for breakfast?”

“I had some toast. You don’t need to get me anything. I don’t eat a lot in the morning. I don’t get the severe morning sickness any longer, but I still get queasy. Nothing much has eased that.”

“Have you tried peppermints?”

“Like the candy?” she asks, and I nod yes. “Food in general is a no. I can’t imagine candy would help it.”

“We’ll pick up some of the melt-a-way peppermints. I bet it would help.”

“How would you know that?”

“T had to keep them at the club for Lyla,” I tell her. Then, when I realize who I’m talking about, I freeze, stealing a glance her way. Unfortunately, she catches me. This time, she’s the one squeezing my hand.

“Hey, it’s okay to talk about your family. It doesn’t bother me other than sometimes it reminds me of how off the wall I went. Shame can kind of smother a person,” she warns me.

“Don’t let it smother you. I’d miss that light you shine on me,” I tell her with a frank honesty that I don’t think she understands.

“You’re silly,” she laughs, confirming that she doesn’t believe what I’m saying. “What if we go by Frank’s for breakfast?”

“The doughnut place?” I say after frowning. I remember Crusher and Dani talking about it at the cookout.

“Yep. I do like cream filled doughnuts. Did you know they have banana cream ones?”

“I’m sensing you have a thing for all things banana,” I taunt.

“Just since the pregnancy, actually. When I was like four months, the cravings were horrible. I used to cut up whole bananas and toss them in a container of Cool Whip and eat the whole thing at once. It was both disgusting and delicious,” she confesses with a grin.

“Well, jellybean has to be a girl. Men don’t like bananas. That’s a sissy fruit.”

“You know this for a fact?”

“I’m a man. So, yeah, I got it on good authority.”

“I think you’re a nut,” she snaps back.

“You’re getting too sassy. Let’s get you to Frank’s.”

“That’d be good. They have breakfast sandwiches too, if you’re not a doughnut guy, King.”

“Oh, I like doughnuts. That’s clearly man territory.”

“Men and pregnant women?” she giggles.

“I think everyone likes doughnuts unless they’re aliens sent to live among us and survive solely on water and human brains,” I counter.

“Fighting squirrels, seventies porn, pre-teen sex, doughnuts, and now aliens. You know, King, conversation with you is never boring.”

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