“What the fuck are you doing?” I erupt, glaring down at her.
The beautiful woman in front of me goes rim-rod straight, a scowl marring her face. “I don’t know what gives you the right to demand a damn thing, but I’m planting flowers to make this house just a tiny bit more welcoming. This is the place of my darkest nightmare, but it’s the only place I have to live.”
Her verbal smackdown hits me like a physical blow. I look over the house for the first time, seeing it through her eyes. I thought saving it for her so she had a place to go after she was released was a great idea. What I never considered was the fact that this house would hold memories that no one would want to come back to. Yet here she is, trying to make it something special for her to build a future. My silence must drag on for too long because she huffs as she turns back to the plants at her feet.
The words fall out of my mouth before I can stop them. “Do you need help?”
She looks up at me with skepticism in her eyes. “What exactly do you want for this help?”
“Nothing.” I can’t tell her I’m trying to make up for the stolen years of her life or that there is something in my soul that is keeping me rooted to her. “I just want to help you get this done so you can feel better about your home.”
She stands there, eyeing me. “Fine, but I’ve got nothing to give you. So, if you are helping, it’s because I don’t know a damn thing about these fucking plants.”
I can’t stop the laugh that breaks free. “I don’t know that I know much more, but it can’t be too fucking hard.”
“Well, don’t just stand there. Let’s get this shit done before it gets too much hotter.” Loretta smiles before turning and getting back to work.
She drops to her knees and grabs a small shovel before looking back at me over her shoulder. “If you’re just going to stand there providing shade, move to your right just a little.”
“You think you're funny?” I question dropping to my knees beside her. “I’m standing here wondering if you are serious in the way you’re using that shovel.”
“If you can do better, why don’t you do it?” She passes the shovel to me.
My phone vibrates over and over in my pocket while I’m working with Loretta. I ignore every notification for the first time ever. I lose track of time as we work side-by-side, plant by plant, having forgotten what it was like to get lost in a simple task. A laugh like I’ve not experienced in a long time erupts when Loretta throws her head back laughing when the shovel gets caught on a root and dirt goes flying up in my face. My laugh is cut short when the sound of a door slamming reaches me.
The years of training kick in, and without thought I spin, putting myself between her and the person standing at the road. And if the look he is giving me is any indication, he is plotting my death. Unable to resist antagonizing him, I smirk as I reach behind me to run my hand up Loretta’s calf. She gasps, clutching the back of my shirt to keep herself steady.
Loretta peers around me to see who has shown up. Groaning, she drops her forehead on my back, clutching my shirt tighter before letting me go and stepping around me to stand beside me. I cross my arms over my chest, leveling my own glare at theman in front of me, the words of my contact rolling through my thoughts. I’ve seen men who kill and do the things this man is being accused of, and he just doesn’t strike me as the man who would put in effort. I wait him out, knowing that a man raised the way he was will not wait long to throw a tantrum for not getting what he sees as his.
“Loretta, I wasn’t aware you had company,” Alan says derisively.
Her back goes so stiff that I swear I hear it snap into place as he makes his way across the yard.
“I wasn’t aware I needed to update you on the comings and goings of the people in my home,” she says harshly.
Alan’s face fills with pure fury. “As my soon to be girlfriend, everything you do is my business.”
Loretta shifts closer to me unconsciously as he continues his march across the yard and his words hit her. I don’t move or even react, knowing that’s what he is looking for. He wants me to lay claim to validate what he is building in his head.
Loretta finally finds her voice. “Alan, what are you talking about? I do not know you or have any idea what you’re talking about?”
Alan continues walking toward us, and without thought I step slightly in front of Loretta once more, being sure that if this motherfucker was dumb enough to act on the urges currently roaring through him he’d have to go through me first.
Seven
Loretta
The man who has been helping me all day to plant the flowers and clean up my home shifts in front of me as Alan storms across the yard. Without thinking, I place my hand on his arm. I cannot fathom why, but I know in my heart that the very large man shielding me wouldn’t allow anything to happen to me. Alan’s eyes note my position and the hand on his arm, then glare at me with an anger I don’t understand. Not for the first time, the stranger's scent wraps around me, tugging at a memory I just can’t place.
“Loretta, come here so we can talk privately about this,” Alan demands from his place halfway across the yard.
“She isn’t going anywhere with you,” the man providing protection snaps. “You can say whatever you want to say to her from right there.”
“Vito, stay the fuck out of this. What is going on between me and my woman has nothing to fucking do with you! If you knew what was good for you, then you would just leave and let us handle our business.”
The man in front of me, Vito, goes so still that I don’t even think he is breathing. “You should choose your next words very wisely. You know who I am, which means you know what I can and will do.”
For the first time, I actually fear the large man in front of me. Shifting away from him slightly, I drop my hand. He places a hand on my waist, stopping my movements. Wishing more than anything that I could stop the shaking that is taking over my body, I stand there watching as the two men glare at each other in some sort of silent gunslinger match. It’s as if we’re stuck in a standoff between two opposing forces waiting to see which will give first. The feeling of a phone vibrating causes me to finally move.
