Page 17 of Every Sunset
“Did he speak with anyone…a professional, I mean, about what happened to him?”
“No. Not yet, but I’ll look into it,” she said, and they were the right words, but something about the way she looked away from me as she said it, made me question her honesty.
“You need to call me or Logan if this happens again. Let us come and deal with Max. He’s right that he could hurt you,” I said, hating the way she wouldn’t meet my eyes. I needed to move the conversation on and that did it. She looked to me with fire in those eyes.
“He’s my son! I can handle things just fine!” she snapped.
“Oh yeah? What was your plan when I walked in? Max may be your son but he’s still almost a foot taller than you and at least fifty pounds heavier. When he has a nightmare like that, he doesn’t see you. He doesn’t even know you’re there. He’s trapped in the past and if you get in his way, he will hurt you,” I warned her.
“Hey. The door was open,” Logan joked as he appeared in the doorway. “Everything okay here?”
“Logan? What are you doing here too? It’s the middle of the night?” Anna asked.
“I called him. He needs to fix the front foor,” I explained sheepishly.
“The front door?” Anna looked to Logan with confusion, then she seemed to realize. “You broke in when you heard Max screaming?”
“Yeah. Didn’t think I had time to stop and find keys,” I shrugged.
“It’s fine. He just bust the lock. Luckily, the door is solid oak so it didn’t break. I can fit a new lock right now,” Logan assured her. “How’s Max?”
“He was scared and upset, but he fell asleep again, which is good, I guess.”
“You want to talk about what happened that had him that scared. He was yelling for you? Was he trying to protect you?” I asked pushily.
Anna visibly paled before us and I saw her falter as she leaned more heavily against the doorframe, like her legs had tried to buckle under her.
“No, I don’t want to talk about it!” she hissed. “Look, I appreciate you both coming to help us, but we’re fine. Max will be fine,” she went on in a gentler tone, but it was clear I’d pushed too hard and we were being dismissed.
“Youarefine, or you’llbefine? Which is it, Anna?”
“Anyone ever tell you you’re a nosey, pushy bastard?” she growled as she sent me a stone cold glare.
“I’m sure he hears it plenty,” Logan laughed awkwardly. “Just let me replace that lock downstairs so everything’s secure, then we’ll both be out of your hair.”
“Might as well get used to us both though, sweetheart. We live right next door. We’re not going anywhere,” I added, and I had to admit I loved the fire in her eyes when she turned that glare on me all over again. It was cute. She was cute and I found I quite enjoyed firing her up. Maybe that could become my new addiction, used to keep my mind from the pity it was filled with. It did sound like fun and she looked so damned sexy when she was pissed with me.
CHAPTER 8
ANNA
A week had passed since the night of Max’s terrifying nightmare and since then things had been calmer.
Maddox had fixed my car, so I’d been able to get into town and ask around about a job. I’d ended up with twenty hours a week at the hardware store. It wasn’t anything glamorous, and mainly I just worked the register, since I knew not a damn thing about most of the products sold in the store. Neil, the store owner was an older man, likely in his sixties. He’d owned the place since his father passed decades before and he knew everything there was to know on the subject of hardware. He worked the shop floor, talking to customers while I did some cleaning, shelving, and mainly served at the cash register.
Max had also gotten a summer job at the local outdoor swimming pool. He was working as a lifeguard there five days a week and he seemed to enjoy it. He’d made friends with a couple of other kids who were working the summer there, so at least he’d know someone when he started school soon. He’d had a few more nightmares since that night, memories of the night his whole life had been turned on it’s head, but thankfully none of them had been as violent or terrifying for either of us. I knew Maddox was right – my son needed some kind of therapy to help him through what had happened – but how could I send himwhen there were so many secrets we needed to keep about what happened? Once again I was a shitty mom, allowing my son to suffer just to protect our lies and secrets, but my fears over what would happen if the truth got out was much worse.
I’d tried to maintain some distance between Logan, Maddox, and I since the night of Max’s nightmare. They were getting too close to the truth and I was terrified I would break and tell them everything. So I’d been polite when I saw them, but I tried hard to avoid them where I could.
They seemed as genuine as they’d assured Max and I they were, but that didn’t mean they’d help us or even keep our secret if they knew the truth, and I couldn’t risk that.
Of course, none of that stopped them from making appearances in my hot and heavy dreams, or stopped me from spying on them through the slats in my bedroom blind when they were outside grilling, or just drinking beers. I was a creeper, but who could blame me? Those guys were both as handsome and sexy as sin, and I seemed to be obsessed with thinking about them. I knew it was likely because I was beyond desperate to just get laid. It had been so long and my emotions were running high. I was pretty sure sex and satisfaction with one of those god-like men would calm me right down.
“Hello? Earth to Anna?” I startled at the hand being waved in my face, then blushed furiously when I found Cat, the owner of the diner across the street from the hardware store, grinning at me knowingly. “Dreaming about the Easton brothers were you?” she asked teasingly.
I hadn’t even told her I lived on the property of Logan and Maddox, but she had known anyway the first day I met her at the beginning of the week. Ever since we had chatted when I cameinto the diner to grab coffees for Neil and I, or to have lunch. She was around my age, and married to Tate, who worked as the manager at Logan’s bar -Easton’s. Cat was fun and bubbly, things I needed to feel in all of the chaos, and I had found that chatting with her gave me some semblance of normality that I needed.
“No…o-of course not!” I floundered, and she just laughed as she pushed two coffees across the counter closer to me.
