“Christ, woman. How do you look so damn good all the time? Wearing none a’that shit that other broads spend hours on, and you still look ten times better than any of ’em.”

He kissed me one last time, squeezed my ass tightly with both hands, and sat down on the bed where I’d been just minutes before. I just stood there for a second, wondering what to do, but when I heard the roar of pipes, I rushed to get dressed. I didn’t have time to worry about Dragon watching me hop around the room, trying to pull my jean shorts on. When I was finally dressed, he pulled me between his thighs with his hands on each side of my waist.

“I’m gonna take your old phone and trash it. I know that dick’s been calling you, and that shit’s gotta stop. You file for divorce yet?” he asked, watching me like a hawk.

“Yeah, when we first got here. Vera helped me fill out the paperwork.”

“Okay, there ain’t no reason for him to keep callin’. That phone I got you does all sorts of shit. I had Vera put in everyone’s phone numbers last night, so you should be good to go. It’s also got Internet if you want it since we don’t get that shit out here. You need to use it as a hot spot. You tell me, and I’ll set that shit up.”

“Okay,” I whispered.

He was taking care of me, and I loved it.

“Okay.” He smiled back at me. “I’ll be home early. You see if Vera can take Trix overnight soon. My balls are probably fuckin’ purple after that shower this morning. If you woulda given me a boy, I coulda told him to piss out the damn window.” He chuckled. “We need some fuckin’ time to ourselves.”

He leaned up and kissed me softly, still chuckling about the pissing-out-the-window comment and walked out of the bedroom. I was glad he was in a hurry, or he would have noticed that I hadn’t moved an inch since he mentioned giving him a boy. I was frozen solid, my mind racing with the memories I was desperately trying to beat back. I didn’t know how long I stood there after hearing his bike leave before Trix came running into the bedroom.

“Mama! Auntie Vera is here!”

“Okay, baby,” I answered and grabbed her hand as we walked toward the front of the house. I needed to get my shit together before Vera noticed anything was off.

Our picnic was fantastic. Vera and I sat out on a blanket and watched Trix run around the backyard, picking flowers and spinning like a top. I loved the space we had out here; there were no houses for miles around, and as Trix got older, she’d be able to come out here and play without me having to watch her every second. The sun was high in the sky, and it was hot as hell when Trix started begging me to run through the sprinkler. Vera had the foresight to grab one when she’d went grocery shopping for me, and Trix had been playing with it and asking nonstop when she’d be able to use it. I finally gave the okay, and Vera helped Trix strip down to her underwear as I rounded the side of the house to get the hose.

The recruit that had been keeping an eye on things was on the front porch steps, knees wide with his elbows resting on them, holding a phone. He glanced up when he heard me and quickly stood up as I rounded the house.

“Hey, I don’t think we’ve actually met. I’m Brenna.” I gave a little wave.

“Yeah, nice to meet you. Casper,” he told me with a nod of his head.

“Casper?”

The boys came up with stupid nicknames all the time, and they stuck. I knew this. But I couldn’t figure out why they would give this dark-skinned kid the name Casper.

“Uh, yeah.”

He took a few steps closer, and it clicked into place. His eyes were the lightest shade of blue I’d ever seen. They were almost white. When you matched them with his dark skin, he could have looked pretty freaky. But the way he was looking at me didn’t make me feel anything but comfortable.

“Ah. Your eyes. I get it,” I said with a smile.

The kid was handsome. If I were a few years younger, I would have been checking him out, but the life I’d lived the last five years left me feeling old enough to be his mother.

“Yeah. Genetics are a funny thing. My mom was Hispanic, but my dad had red hair, almost like yours. My sister and I both got all of our mom’s features, but our eyes are like our dad’s. It’s pretty fucking weird since brown eyes are dominant.” He shook his head and grabbed his phone again as I started walking toward the hose at the side of the porch.

“You can come out back with us if you want,” I called with my back to him. “We’ve got soda and stuff back there. Lunch. Plus, Trix is going to be running through the sprinkler like a maniac, which should be fun times.” I grabbed the hose and spun back around with a smile on my face that quickly disappeared by the look on his.

“I need to bring you up to the gates. Some official is up there, and they’re not letting her through, but they said you need to get up there.” He looked at me worriedly.

“What?” I couldn’t understand what was going on.

“We have to go to the gates, Brenna. You want me to let Vera know?”

He started to walk around back, but I stopped him.

“No, I’ll just bring this hose back and let her know. No reason for Trix to miss out on the sprinkler.”

I hurried around the house and found Trix with her head on Vera’s lap on the picnic blanket. Vera raised her finger to her lips to keep me quiet, but as soon as I got close, Trix popped up and started clapping her hands.

“You little faker! I thought you were sleepin’!”