Chapter 2

Haisley Beale had no idea how to get herself out of this mess. John and Ellen had taken her in, given her a place to stay, and promised to help her. Now they were gone. She would have to leave, but she had no place to go.

Why had she stayed in this area? She should have run so far that there would be no chance any of them would find out.

“Your name. You still haven’t told me your name.”

Haisley stared at Robert, thinking he wasn’t anything like his parents. Her worry increased. No way would he believe that John and Ellen wanted her to stay. Now they were gone, and she had nowhere to go.

“Haisley,” she choked out, not wanting to give her last name just in case he did something stupid like post it online or something. Maybe some people knew where she was staying, but she’d been careful.

“How long have you been living in my parents’ house?”

“I moved in three months ago.”

“When did they leave? ”

“A little over a week ago. They were supposed to be home soon. I hadn't heard from them in a few days, though.” Haisley stared into Robert’s eyes, wondering if she would ever find peace again. “Are they really gone?”

He nodded. “I’m afraid so. I received a call two days ago. I wasn’t going to come out and do this yet, but I need to get this taken care of. I’m just here for five days. I was planning on having a celebration of life service at the Baptist church.”

Panic made her reach out and grab onto his arm. “No. Not that church. They quit. It’s been a thing.”

“Wait. When did they stop going to that church?”

“A few months ago. They’re over at the church on Fifth Street."

His eyes went wide. “What? They left the church they’ve been attending since before I was born?” He shook his head like he didn’t believe a word of what she’d said.

"Yeah. If you look at their checkbook, you'll see that they've been writing out checks to that church and not the Baptist."

Peach's eyes narrowed. He didn't believe her. "Why did they leave the church? They said they would never leave that place. They'd talked about how the church was their home. They wouldn't leave. What the hell happened?"

She didn't want to tell him everything. The story was a twisted mess that could only get her in trouble if it got out. The truth had been why she'd moved in with Ellen and John. When they'd heard the awful story, they called the pastor out, telling him he was a terrible person. Then, Ellen insisted she live with them.

Though she knew everything because it happened to her, she shrugged like she had no clue. Robert’s eyes narrowed a tiny amount, and she knew he didn’t believe her. She wasn’t really lying, just omitting all the disgusting facts.

If Robert went to talk to the pastor, the man would paint her in a terrible light. She had to tell him the truth, but fear kept her from speaking out. Just the thought of telling him what had happened made her sick to her stomach.

“Where are you staying while you’re here?” Haisley asked.

His eyebrows shot up. “In my room.”

She pressed her lips together. “Um, that’s where I’m sleeping.”

Frustration filled his face, and his forehead wrinkled before his expression went blank. "Why are you here? You're not telling me something, and I find stuff out."

Shock coursed through her. “Are you threatening me?”

“Is there something you feel guilty about?”

She huffed out a breath. “They asked me to stay here. Your mom wanted me here.”

“Why? They aren’t here, so why are you?”

“Because they were just leaving for a little while. They needed to help Audrey.”

“Audrey? Who is Audrey?”

Haisley threw up her hands and thought about storming out. This man was beyond frustrating. “She’s Diane’s kid.”

“Who is Diane?”

“Jesus, you don’t even know Ellen and John, do you?”

Maybe she’d talked out of turn because Robert’s face turned red and his fists clenched. She took a step back, ready to run. Angry men hit, and she was ready for him to start swinging. He didn’t. Instead of coming after her, he blew out a breath and shook his head .

“I’m sorry. I’m angry that my parents are gone, and I don’t understand. Why did they ask you to live here?”

“I don’t know. They were just nice. John and Ellen are good people. That’s why they were helping Audrey. They saw that I needed something and they took me in, just like they saw something needed to be done and they went to Colombia."

Robert shook his head. “I need more information about Diane and Audrey, but I’m starving. I haven’t eaten breakfast. I need food. What is there to eat?”

She hopped up, ready to cook. "I can fix eggs for you." In her experience, few men knew how to cook, and they certainly had never allowed her to sit and relax if a meal had to be made. Will, her ex, had been the worst. The bruises had healed, but the memory hadn't faded.

Robert shook his head. “Sit down and relax. I can cook my own food.”

Her foot faltered, and she reached out and grabbed the nearest chair. “Oh.”

He shot her a look that made her heart squeeze with some feeling she didn't quite understand. His chuckle warmed her, and she had to turn away, or he would see deep red on her cheeks. She didn't want him to know she was attracted to him. It was stupid. So he was hot. She wasn't and didn't need to go looking for something that would never happen.

Robert snorted. “Let me guess. The men you’ve known don’t cook.”

“No, they can’t. They don’t know how.”

"Unless they were imbeciles, they can cook. They just don't. It's not that hard to follow directions. Sure, it took a few times working through most recipes to get it right. But I learn something every time I prepare a meal for myself. The most important thing I learned was how to feed myself good food without spending a lot."

She turned and saw he’d pulled out the carton of eggs and found the sausage patties in the freezer. He searched through cabinets for the pans and didn’t seem angry that he had to look in two different cabinets to find them.

After he had the burner on and butter in the pan, he turned to her, his eyebrows raised. “Would you like some?”

Her stomach grumbled. She needed to eat more. She’d lost too much weight, and she knew it was bad. “Yes. I’ll have two.”

“Is there bread?”

She moved to the pantry and pulled out a fresh loaf. “I can make toast while you do the eggs. I don’t want any sausage. It’s too spicy for me.”

“Sure.”

Revealing that just smelling the sausage had made her ill seemed weird. He didn’t need to know everything about her, at least not yet.

They worked on making breakfast together. It surprised her that he didn't get angry once. When he first showed up, he'd looked like he wanted to toss her out of the house. She expected him to be moody and mean all the time. He had his moments, but he was tired and hungry. That made everyone have bad attitudes.

With the toast and eggs done and his sausage cooked, which wasn't making her nauseous for the first time in months, they sat at the table together. Honestly, she felt odd sitting with him. The anger she understood. She'd dealt with so much from the men she'd been with that when a guy didn't get angry, it was weird. This man being able to control his reactions was new to her. He'd gone from red-faced to calm in seconds. It was something she'd never seen before, and she wondered how long that would last.

She scooped up some eggs and was about to take a bite when she really looked at his plate. “How many eggs is that?”

He glanced at his plate and shrugged as he took a bite. “Four.”

“Oh. That’s a lot.” Heat washed through her. She shouldn’t have said anything. The man could eat as many eggs as he liked. She would have to get up early and walk to the store in the morning.

Robert shrugged. “I eat a lot.”

She finally put the bite of eggs into her mouth and moaned at how good they tasted. Too much time had passed since dinner. A part of her moving in here was so she could eat on a consistent basis. She'd been doing great for a while. Ellen had insisted that she take better care of herself, and it worked until one day a few weeks ago, she'd gone into town a little after eight in the morning and run into the pastor's wife. The woman had thrown a fit, calling her names. Haisley had left the store and gone straight back to Ellen and John's place. She hadn't told either of them what had happened. They couldn't control everyone or everything. She should be happy that they'd given her a place to sleep and provided food for her.

Sadness hit hard, and she set her fork down. She’d almost consumed all the eggs, but she didn’t think she could stomach more.

“Hey, everything okay?”

She nodded, trying not to cry. “Yeah. Just thinking about something that happened. I didn’t tell your mom or John. If I’d mentioned—“ A sob escaped her, and she covered her eyes .

“Hey,” Robert said. Then she heard the scrape of his chair, and she glanced up.

He pulled her up for a hug. Fear shot through her, and she froze. He stilled and leaned back. His eyes were full of questions.

What would he think? A reminder of why she was in this current predicament took that exact moment to land a very precise kick that made her think he was going to be strong. Tears began to gather in her eyes, and she fought to keep them from falling.

“Sorry. I wasn’t trying anything. You just looked so sad.”

She shook her head. “I just…I—“ She turned and fled the kitchen. Getting into what had happened and why she was living at his parents’ house was too much. He wouldn’t understand. Hell, he would probably kick her out if he found out.

Haisley shut the door to the bathroom and leaned against it. Tears streamed down her face as she held onto her belly. She wasn't showing if she wore sweatshirts. Soon, it would be too hot here in Georgia to wear clothes that hid her condition. Then everyone would know.

She should have gotten rid of the baby. But she'd had too many miscarriages in the past to not want one to stick, even if it had happened in such a horrible way.

It sucked that the one time her ex drugged her and passed her around to his friends, she got pregnant. She’d woke up naked the next morning on the edge of the pool at some big house on the north side of town. Her head felt like someone had tried to crack it open. The moment she moved to stand, she knew she'd been used. She never should have trusted Will, not even for a second.

She remembered a few faces from that night. One was the pastor of the Baptist church. Now she was pregnant, had lost her job, and was living in a house she was about to get kicked out of. She had nowhere to go and no one to turn to. All of her friends dropped her when Will spread lies about her. She had become a pariah, and it was about to get worse.