Page 29 of Mine to Love
He jerked his head. “Why?”
“Because I can’t afford to like anyone and I like you way too much. We keep doing this, and one of us will be doing the walk of shame again.” She jumped to her feet. “Good night, Miles.” She disappeared into the house.
She liked him. He smiled.
Now all he had to do was get rid of Charlie.
And by that, he meant, putting that asshole where he belonged.
In prison.
7
Liberty took the drink Trinity, Emmett’s wife, handed her and leaned back in the recliner. The sun had dipped behind the horizon, and the moon and stars had begun to speckle the night sky. “You have a beautiful home. And this view? Holy crow. Watching the boats go up and down the Intracoastal has to be one of your favorite pastimes. Especially at night.”
“Thank you.” Trinity set her glass of wine on the table and plopped into her chair. She pointed to the baby monitor. “It’s one of Leslie’s favorite things to do, next to being out there with her daddy.”
“I’m sorry she was so upset when the boys pulled away on the boat.”
“She’s six months old. She won’t remember tomorrow. Besides, if I don’t get her to bed between eight and nine, she’ll be up till midnight and that’s never fun for the adults. This way, she sleeps till five and she loves to have breakfast with her dad. Those two have such a sweet relationship that sometimes I feel guilty. All I have to do is deal with her while he’s at work and that means sitting with her by the window while she waits for his car to pull in.”
“That’s too cute.”
“It really is.” Trinity smiled. “She lights up like a little baby Christmas tree every time Emmett walks in the room. There are times I get jealous because she doesn’t have that visceral reaction to me, but when it’s time to go to sleep, all she wants is her mama, so there’s that.”
“Babies certainly can be fickle.” Liberty did her best to keep the memories at bay. It had only been a few precious moments that she had with her darling daughter. A few weak cries while the nurses did their best to comfort Liberty. Perhaps it was time to change the subject before she burst out in tears. “How long do you think the boys will be gone fishing?” Liberty had almost said no to hanging with Trinity when Miles first proposed it. But Gabriel had been too excited about the fishing excursion and there was no way she was going to burst his bubble.
Trinity glanced at her watch. “I’m sure they will be back within the hour. Emmett has to be at the station early.”
“It’s got to be hard to be married to a cop.” Liberty sipped her wine. It was a nice dry red, which went with the cooler summer night. She crossed her legs at the ankles. It had been three days she’d seen or heard from Charlie. Not a single text or call.
However, she had changed her phone number, as well as Gabriel’s, making it clear he wasn’t to give them out.
That hadn’t gone over too well at first. He didn’t mind the new cell. That was shiny and pretty. But being told what to do regarding Charlie, well, Gabriel didn’t like that. He had stormed off into his room and slammed the door. She had no idea if he contacted Charlie or not, but the good news was she hadn’t heard from the man.
And even though he rented a place not far from Miles’ mother and had an office outside of town, she hadn’t crossed paths with him, and Gabriel hadn’t either.
But as long as Charlie continued to live and work in Lighthouse Cove, it was only a matter of time.
Restraining order or not, Charlie didn’t like to lose. He’d fought her on the divorce. He hadn’t wanted to sign the papers. He’d done everything to try to stop it, including offering to go to counseling, but that was a little too late. He should have done that the first time she caught him cheating.
Or when she lost the baby.
Instead, he blamed her and told her to go and get her shit together. Their marital problems were her fault, not his, and it was her job to fix them.
Asshole.
“I bet you worry about him every time he leaves the house in uniform,” Liberty said, pushing the thoughts of Charlie and her past out of her mind.
“I worry, but his job here is generally quiet.” Trinity lifted the wineglass and took a dainty sip. She was a class act and while some of her mannerisms reminded her of the ladies at the country club, she was no snob, that was for damn sure. “In all the time I’ve known him, outside of what happened with my biological father and the night Rumor got shot, which was the same night Leslie was born, not much happens here. His job is mostly acting like a tough guy.” Trinity leaned forward. “But it’s his mother who’s the badass. She still scares the crap of me, let me tell you. And she’s seventy.”
“Holy shit. I didn’t realize she was that old. She certainly doesn’t look it. I saw her in action when she dealt with my ex-husband. Somehow, I think the universe was kind when she had all boys and not a daughter in sight.”
“That’s a true statement.” Trinity laughed. “Nathan really wants her to retire. He wants her job in the worst way and he deserves it. I actually think she’s going to do it this year. She’s working less and less and she loves hanging out with all hergrandkids. She’s so much softer with them than she was with the boys. At least that’s what they all tell me.”
“That’s a grandparent’s prerogative.” Not that Liberty knew anything about that. When Sadie had been born, Charlie’s parents didn’t bother to come visit for two days. Their pathetic excuse had been they thought she needed time alone.
Bullshit.
