Page 67 of Steele

Mom says you are resting. How long do you need to sleep? After you wake up, will you come get me on your motorcycle? I’m big now. I can hold on. I won’t fall. I can count to 100. Only I don’t like to because I get tired. I can write my name. Lili. Do you miss me?

My gut clenched. Fuck, yeah, I missed her.

Pillar scratched me. I wanted to tell you, but Mom says I can’t bug you. I’ll be good. I even ate my spinach, but it had cheese on it. It was slimy like snails. I like snails but I don’t want to eat them. I will eat vegetables.

Please, dad. I don’t want to be one sock. I want to be a pair.

Even though I smiled, heat simmered behind my eyes. I blinked hard and choked on my emotions. Jaymi tucked her chin against my shoulder, rested her hand on my back, and lightly scored small circles with her nails.

I love you. Don’t be mad at me. Please. Lili

I refolded the paper. For a moment, I couldn’t speak, afraid my voice would break. “Thanks for this. Thanks for talking to her.”

“I couldn’t say much.” Her hand fell away, and she repositioned herself to be on her own chair.

“You did enough, and I appreciate it.”

“But there’s more.” Jaymi stood, crossed to the cupboard, and grabbed the whiskey bottle. “She overheard her mom. She asked me about a resting order. I didn’t correct her. She doesn’t need to know about TROs.”

Jaymi grabbed two glasses, dropped a couple of ice cubes into hers from the dispenser in the fridge, and then splashed whiskey into both. “She doesn’t need to know what her mom is saying about you.” She set the drink in front of me.

“I think it’s better if I stick with coffee.”

She swallowed, blinked a few times, and brought her glass of whiskey to her lips. “You’re going to want the drink after you hear what I have to say.”

I took a breath to speak, but she interrupted.

“Natalie came to my classroom today.”

Chapter Ten

Jaymi

We relocated to the living room. For the next hour, Brett sat silently, sipped his whiskey, and listened to me retell my encounter with Natalie at the school. As I told him about the allegations she’d made, his jaw clenched, and his mouth tightened into a hard line.

I burrowed into the corner of the leather couch, giving him space to process her accusations. “I didn’t believe her,” I said. “The courts won’t either.”

“We both know they will. A haircut and a new pair of jeans aren’t going to erase my ink and my history.”

“But now you have two accounts from a completely unbiased source.” I smiled. “Maybe not completely unbiased.”

He flipped open the folder I’d brought from the school. “Thank you, Jaymi.”

“You don’t have to thank me.”

“I do, and I appreciate you going through the trouble, but these are letters I’m not supposed to have because contacting you violates the restraining order.” He leaned forward and rested his forearms on his thighs. “I’m not going to let this come back on you. You can’t get involved.”

“I’m already involved. School administration knows we’ve been in contact, but only through email and the one visit during Donuts with Dad. They don’t know about the statements.”

“And when Natalie finds out?” He picked up the papers I’d printed. “And she will if I give these to my attorney. You see what Natalie’s doing to me. I’m not letting her near you. Nah.” He tossed the pages back on the folder.

“Lili means more than my job. You don’t have a choice. You have to because Lili needs you.” I crawled across the couch and sat next to him with my legs crossed. “If I can’t give you the letters, let me give them to your attorney. When do you meet with him next?”

“Her. Regina Thorne. The club’s attorney recommended her. Unless I come up with something useful for the case, I won’t meet up with her until next week.”

“Then contact her because this helps your case. Call her tomorrow and ask her to reach out to me. I won’t lie. I won’t have to. Everything in those letters is accurate. You need them for court.”

“Jaymi—”