Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 82214 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82214 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 411(@200wpm)___ 329(@250wpm)___ 274(@300wpm)
“Where are you staying?” I asked when Duke had finally risen from the bench.
He reached out his hand, and I took it in a firm shake. The asshole squeezed hard as shit. “With a friend of mine. He’s an old buddy.”
“College?”
“Nah. I met him through Darlene. We didn’t get along at first, but he’s been there for me.”
That sounded familiar. “Someone I know?”
“Maybe. Elroy Judd?”
That bastard. Either he was lying to my face or two-timing some friends just to make drama happen. It had been a long time since we’d hung out, but I couldn’t remember him being a lying asshole. “He tell you anything about me?”
“Who? Elroy?”
“Yeah, Elroy.” I tried to hide the anger melting my features into a puddle of wrinkles and narrow eyes, but really my face was starting to feel like a mound of sludge.
“Not really. I don’t know.” Duke seemed uncomfortable now, but still, he thought about it, and before he spoke, I knew what he was going to say. “Well, wait now. Did he tell you something?”
Elroy saw Darlene at the bank frequently while we were married. He’d never told me, but neither did she. It was easy for me to assume that Darlene just didn’t think much about it, and she’d said as much, but that didn’t mean Elroy never thought more of their few minutes together each time. He’d crushed hard on Darlene in college, but he never disrespected our relationship. Had he?
“He told me you tried getting Darlene to close her account. And move out of state.”
Duke’s face flushed, and it almost looked like he’d swallowed a rock. “Why the fuck would he say that?”
“Well, Darlene confirmed it. Mostly. So it wasn’t a lie.”
“But it wasn’t the whole truth, either.” He sat back on the bench, but this time I was relieved. “That shit’s between me and her, but she was stressed and felt powerless because she couldn’t afford the house on her own dime. She wouldn’t take my help because you were already paying for it all. But it didn’t sit right with her, so I told her we could move somewhere else. I mentioned moving up north, but when she shot that down, I didn’t push it. I just told her I wanted to get out from under your thumb. No offense.”
I tried not to take offense, but the way he worded it made it a hell of a lot harder than maybe it should have. After my earlier recognition of how horribly I interpreted things, I decided to hold my breath and let him continue.
“I want to provide for her. You understand that. And I totally get you wanting to provide for your family. But man, I just want to be able to build a family. With Darlene. And we’ll take what you feel like you need to give us, but you know she doesn’t want your money. She just wants you to be there for James.”
“But closing the bank account?”
He rubbed his knees. “I thought it would be a first step. You know, a step of trust for us. She was so afraid to lose everything if you stopped paying, and I thought that’s what you might do since she said it all the time.”
I cringed. “I’d never do some shitty thing like that.”
Duke held up his hands in a placating gesture. “I know, man. I know. I know now, anyway. I just wanted to keep her safe. And James. Not from you. Just from stuff I didn’t understand, you know? I didn’t know you. I didn’t know what would happen.”
He just wanted to do the same thing I did. Duke and I had the wrong ideas about each other, but apparently, his was a lot more accurate than mine. I’d never leave my family out to dry like that, but I hadn’t kept many promises, so it was only fair that he’d assume I was a worthless piece of trash looking for an excuse to bow out.
“Damn, I’ve really screwed up.”
“Another chance, right?” Duke offered an awkwardly friendly smile, but I nodded anyway and tried to smile back. It felt pathetic, but he seemed to accept it. “Sounds like I need to kick Elroy’s ass, though.”
I waved him off. “Don’t. Now that I think about it, I think he’s just trying to stir up a little drama so he can be a shoulder for Darlene to cry on.”
“What the fuck?”
I laughed. “He had a crush on her in college. I didn’t think much of it then, but now I’m wondering if he’s just trying to stay relevant.”
“He’s gonna get his ass beat if he keeps it up.”
I shot him an approving grin. “Maybe, but maybe you should just move back in with Darlene.”
“I don’t know, man. I don’t take kindly to liars.”
I smacked his back. “Then feel free to hold me to my word.”