Page 56 of Penny For Your Thoughts
“It’s why these kinds of fraud cases usually don’t get solved.”
“You really think a kid knew how to do that?”
“No.” And that had been bothering me more than I liked to admit.
Lost in my head, I pulled into the first available parking spot. I let Echo out and attached her leash, taking her to the grassy verge for one last pee before we entered the building. Marcy started work at nine, according to yesterday’s receptionist. We were twenty minutes early.
“Want to pop in and see Nana?” Tallus asked, mindlessly scrolling on his phone as we waited on Echo.
“Sure.” Breakfast would be over, and she would likely be in the common area again, enjoying a cold coffee.
Echo finished doing her business, and without thinking or taking note of my surroundings, without an ounce of caution or concern, I followed Tallus toward the main doors of the building.
He was still engrossed in his phone—probably a text conversation with Memphis. Those two were attached at the hip in a virtual sense. A towel fiber in his hair caught my attention, distracting me. I plucked it free and showed him. He guffawed at the offense and wrinkled his nose, brushing it away like it was a bug.
His hazel eyes gleamed behind his come-fuck-me frames as he pocketed his phone. “I told you the new towels were shedding.”
I mirrored his smile, unable to help myself because he was adorable and mine.
“We’ll wash them again.”
Too much in love to think straight, I wrapped an arm around my boyfriend and drew him against my side, pecking a kiss on the top of his head.
I didn’t fully release him as Evergreen’s main doors slid open, admitting us into the vestibule, the same vestibule where Marcy and our unknown kid had exchanged cigarettes back in December. Not looking where I was going, with my arm over Tallus’s shoulder and acontented grin plastered to my face, I nearly collided with my father as he headed out and we entered.
The world stopped.
Dad froze and stared from me to Tallus and back.
A lifetime of reactive behavior kicked in, and I reflexively removed my arm from around Tallus with a jolt but stopped short of shoving him out of my personal space. It was far too late for that. Every muscle in my body tightened, and a rush of adrenaline hit my bloodstream like a dam breaking.
The fight or flight sensation was familiar and toxic.
As a child, I never ran. I knew better.
As an adult, I never fought.
The conflicting pull filled my cells with cement.
Leroy Krause could have been the poster boy for those government ads warning people not to drink and smoke. Years of alcohol abuse had taken its toll. If I ever needed a reason to quit, seeing the effect writ over the old man’s face was incentive enough.
My father was in his early sixties but looked old enough to book a suite at Chez Evergreen. He carried at least forty extra pounds around his midsection. The infamous beer belly effect had gotten him good around his fiftieth birthday, expanding with each passing year.
His jaundiced cheeks were permanently etched with a spider-webbing of veins. An ugly lesion grew on his neck. It had been there for years and never seemed to heal. On occasion, it flared with infection. Dad’s thinning hair was fully gray, never combed, and always greasy. The reek of stale beer wafted off his work clothes. They probably hadn’t seen a washing machine since the early 2000s.
Leroy rubbed a grease-stained hand over his unshaven jaw, a look of disgust curling his lips. His fingernails were stained yellow from his pack-a-day habit that spanned decades. He had a permanent smoker’scough and spoke like his vocal cords had been shredded by a cheese grater.
I avoided my father like the plague. Every confrontation turned hostile. He didn’t dare raise a hand to me anymore; I was much larger and stronger. But I feared the violence that lived inside me still. The one that awoke in his presence, thirsty for blood. The one that wouldn’t flinch at killing this man, even if it meant a lifetime behind bars.
At night, in my dreams, his voice still haunted me.
Catching me with my arm around Tallus, my lover, my boyfriend, would somehow be seen as a direct slight against him, even though our crossing paths had been entirely accidental. I hadn’t meant to react like I was ashamed, but years of instinct were hard to fight when caught unaware.
Before Dad snapped—he was a volcano about to erupt—before I could summon a single word in my defense, Tallus, my charming and fearless knight who refused to let me go into battle alone, hooked his arm with mine, yanked me against his side, and thrust his hand out to Leroy.
“Hi!” The bubbly tone was entirely out of place. “I’m Tallus. Diem’s boyfriend. Well, common law husband, really. He gave me a ring. It was practically a proposal. It’s great to meet you. You must be Leroy. I can’t believe we haven’t met before now. He’s told me all about you.” His sing-song tone oozed pride, confidence, and a hint of I-Fucking-Dare-You, Asshole.
To ice the Don’t-Fuck-With-Me cake, Tallus glanced meaningfully around my father and shouted at the receptionist. “Oh, hey, Alice. Could you let Ruby know we’re here? We’ll just be a minute. I’m saying hello to my father-in-law. We just met. First time.”
