A soft smile graced her lips. “It was our pleasure.” They headed toward the door, arm in arm.
Teal wondered if she and Trent should show them to the door, before Trent lifted her up. “Where are you taking me?” she asked as Trent gathered her closer.
“I plan to take you here in the grass.” He laid her onto the ground.
“Yeah,” she pushed at his chest, “I am not about to have mosquito bites all in the crack of my ass.”
Trent smacked her thigh as he laughed. “How will they bite your ass when it’ll be my ass up in the air?” Teal didn’t have a come back, but she still wasn’t about to be washing grass and dirt out of her ass later.
“Baby.” She pushed again and finally, he moved back. “I need to get something first.” Her sly smile had him narrowing his eyes at her. “Remember,” She cocked a brow and wiggled out from under him. “The sauce and your promise.” Trent’s smile widened.
“I’ll give you a three second head start.” He sat back. “One…”
Teal scrambled up from the ground. “Hey! That’s not fair, I need more than—”
“Two…” Trent’s count down drown out her words and let fire to her ass as she ran to the house. She had one foot in the sliding glass door, when strong arms made their way around her stomach and pulled her into an embrace.
Trent’s warm breath met her ear, sending shivers down her spine. “Three.”
Sitting down for breakfast, Teal sat across from Trent and spoke about Katie, the kids, her work, and other simple things. Trent sensed she was hedging on something else, and called her out on it. Shoveling the last bit of eggs in his mouth he asked, “You got something you want to talk about?”
Teal straightened and nodded. “I guess I do. I just wasn’t sure how to bring it up. But I’ve been wondering what we’re going to do about this Harper situation?”
He noticed the we instead of the you, and it pleased him. “One thing at a time, babe. We can’t tackle all of my past in two weeks.”
She pushed away from the table and picked up her cell. “Well, Shayla is handled as soon as I return this call.”
She’d told him about some Summer Thompson chick, who worked at a battered women’s shelter. Apparently, she was doing a favor for Teal, as they’d worked together in the past. Trent had spent eight years of his life with Shayla, and ridding himself of her couldn’t happen fast enough.
“Hey, Summer. Thanks for reaching out to me so quickly. How did you enjoy your holiday?” Teal motioned for Trent to get her something to write with.
When he came back, he listened as she explained the entire situation, and waited as the woman on the other line spoke. Trent leaned back in his chair, his hands behind his head and legs spread wide as he got into a comfortable position.
Teal copied down some information, then relayed Shayla’s hotel phone number to her. The call ended with Teal promising to meet up with Summer for lunch sometime soon.
Teal placed the phone on the table and wiped her hands in a job well done. “That is handled. Now we don’t need to worry about it, since we agreed we would put her to rest once we got her the help she needed.”
Trent wished Shayla was that easy to get rid of, but he knew the truth, and he also knew the risk of leaving a child in her hands. She’d mentioned letting the kid stay with him until she got her shit together. And knowing Shayla, her shit wouldn’t get together in this life time, or even the next.
He patted his lap and waited until Teal moved. “What about that baby?” he asked in a docile voice, hoping to cover his true concern. He didn’t want her to feel threatened by a child that wasn’t his.
“There are programs for women who are pregnant. Let Summer handle that, and you handle Markus. I have to say this though, and it may seem fucked-up.” She turned in his arms. “But Markus is a grown man now. Perhaps you can reach out to him yourself? Why go through Harper?”
Trent had thought about that, but the idea fell to ash after the letter he’d recovered from Harper. “No, he has a stepfather who he believes is his real father, and I can’t just step in there and fuck that up for him.”
“I assume that was in the part of the letter you didn’t show me?” Teal stood and gathered the dishes.
Trent followed her as she went into the kitchen. Leaning against the counter, he observed her carefully. He knew his lie had hurt her, and even though they had moved past it, Trent couldn’t help but to be concerned. Her body language told him more than she was willing to say. Turning away from him, she started washing the dishes.
“Yeah,” he admitted. Rubbing the back of his neck he asked, “Do you want to read the whole fucking thing?”
Her shoulders tensed and she scrubbed harder. Trent moved behind her. Trapping her body between his and the sink, he reached into the warm, soapy water. Gripping the dish she scrubbed, he pulled it from her hands and took over.
She nudged him with her ass. “I’m not mad at you.” Her soft words echoed in his ears, sending relief coursing through his body. Teal’s gaze was riveted out of the window, her body relaxed into his as he took over the chore.
“You want to get this shit settled before you move.” It wasn’t a question. He knew Teal would want to have all her ducks in a row before taking the plunge.
She turned in his arms. “No, if I wait for that, I could be waiting forever.” Placing her hands on his chest she flattened her palms. “I just want you to—”
“Forget about Shayla and that fucking slap heard around the world?” He joked.
Teal didn’t laugh. “I don’t like the way she affected me.”
He ducked down and kissed her. “Yeah, well. She needed it, I just don’t want her trying to press charges or some shit like that. I’ve had to call the cops on her ass several times and she worms her way out of that shit.” Pulling his hands from the water he dried them on a dishtowel. “I can’t guarantee you’ll be able to pull that off as well.”
Hand on hip, she said, “Hell no, ‘cause I’m not about to get on my knees to suck off Officer Joe Bob.”
Trent gave her a sneaky grin. “I’m willing to bet, if you get on your knees for me, I’d bail you out.”
Teal pursed her lips and smacked his chest. Ducking out from under him, she said, “Finish up those dishes. You promised to take me out for dinner tonight.”
Trent went back to finishing up the dishes. “When did this happen?”
“You didn’t think I was going to come all the way down here and allow you to hold me hostage in bed, did you?” She turned and strutted away, her thick ass swaying. “I want to go to that carnival thing in the next town over.” She walked into the laundry room and reached in the dryer. “The one over in . . .” She leaned up and looked to him. Her brow furrowed as she tried to make sense of the word she was saying. “Muth-uss-sas?”
“Mathoussa,” he corrected. Turning away, he scrubbed a dish, paying close attention to the bacon grease that still lingered. He listened as Teal went on about her love of carnivals. Her dulcet voice lulled him into a false calm, damned near making him forget his issues with crowded and loud places. Trent could deal with them for an hour or so, but even then, the sick feeling in his stomach and his headaches would start.
His heart raced at the idea of spending more than a second in a crowded, noisy-ass place with complete strangers. He could see how easily anyone could use such a crowded place for their agenda. Hell, the Boston Marathon bombings, the subways in New York, and—
A soft hand gripped his shoulder. “Baby?”
He recognized Teal’s soothing voice as soon as she’d spoken.
“Shit, wait here. Let me get a towel.” Before he could say a word, she’d disappeared into the bathroom.
Trent’s surroundings came back into focus and his gaze moved to the sink. The dishwater had a red hue swirling into the sudsy water. What the fuck had Teal made? He didn’t remember any pasta sauce.
The sound of Teal’s feet pounding back to him pulled his gaze up.
The fear in her eyes had him pulling her into his arms. “Shit, what’s—”
Teal pulled from his arms just as fast as he’d grabbed her. “Careful!”
He glanced down to see blood smeared on her arm. His eyes widened, but she gave him no time to react. Yanking his hand from her, she showed him what she’d gone crazy over. Teal shoved his hand up to his face and Trent saw a large gash from the middle of his palm to his wrist. His eyes widened at the sight.
Trent pulled his hand from Teal. “What the fuck?” He looked to her as if she had the answer.
She swallowed hard before she spoke. “I was talking and I looked up at you. Your shoulders were tense and you weren’t responding to me, so I came over and you’d broken a dish, or a cup or something.”
Shame heated Trent’s face at the look of concern in her eyes. Trent glanced away, disgusted by the pity in her gaze; he could take that shit from strangers, but not from her. Pushing past her, he headed to the bathroom. He ignored her as she called after him, slamming the door in her face as she attempted to follow him in the bathroom.
Her shocked gasp and thump on the door reminded him of just who was on the other side. She’d raise hell if he left her out there, but Trent just couldn’t bring himself to open the fucking door. Instead, he opened the First Aid kit on the side of his tub and pulled out his supplies.
“Lord have mercy, just open the damn door,” came Teal’s muffled voice.
Trent rinsed the cut under the faucet and assessed his wound. While it was deep, he could get away with using skin glue instead of heading to the nearest urgent care center for stitches.
“Hey!” She knocked harder on the door. “You think I’ll be squeamish at the sight of blood?”
Trent tried to ignore her voice, but her concern ate at him. After trying several times to work with one hand, he finally opened the door.
Teal stood, leaning against the wall, still holding the towel she’d ran to get for him. “Oh, now you want my help?” Her hand made it to her hip, just as he made to slam the door again.
She caught the door with her palm. “Hey, hey, hey.” She entered the bathroom. “Let me see.”
He grunted and held up his hand, wincing when she grimaced. “Aw hell, Teal. It ain’t that bad.” He viewed the wound again, then motioned to the First Aid kit. “Take out that glue there.”
“Glue? Hell no. That nasty shit needs stitches.” Dropping the towel, she took his wounded hand in hers. Moving it from side to side to gauge the depth of the cut. “Maybe not. The bleeding is just a slow trickle.”
Trent watched as she flipped the glue box over several times, reading the instructions. He smiled as her lips moved, with no sound escaping them. Finally, she pulled the pen from the box and removed the cap.
“This may sting a little,” she said, but Trent sensed she was speaking more to herself than to him. Her quiet tone turned to a whisper as she berated the pen for not working as she’d expected it to. “This fucking thing,” she muttered.
Trent used his unharmed hand to gently pull the pen from Teal’s fingers. Flipping it over in his hand, he pressed the release button at the top. “Sometimes it sticks.”
She took the pen back and placed it on the counter beside them. Trent opened his hand and displayed it for her. She took the towel and dabbed the wound clean. He felt nothing but her soft warm fingers moving over his skin.
She sanitized his hand, glued the wound shut, and wrapped it in gauze. Her delicate touch soothed him so much that her next words didn’t register. Releasing his hand she asked again, “Does it hurt?”
At her question, he stopped staring at her beautiful face and blinked. Clearing his throat, he glanced down at her handiwork. A throbbing pain pulsed through his hand and up his arm. Why hadn't he felt the pain until now? Looking back at her, he shook his head.
Cocking a brow, Teal placed a hand on her hip. “Okay, now that we got that taken care of, what the fuck is going on?” Eyeing him observantly she added, “You had that same glazed look in your eyes the day of my crash. Like you weren’t fully there.” She crossed her hand over her chest and sighed.
Trent knew he needed to tell her the truth about his episodes, but that was easier said than done. He’d mentioned his PTSD before, but hadn't gone into detail about his triggers. He avoided her gaze by moving around, cleaning the bloodied towels. “Glazed look?”
“Yeah, it was as if you weren’t there. What happened? Was it the carnival?”
Trent turned to her when she went silent. “Ever since my experience overseas, I—” He shrugged, not able to say the words. The last thing he wanted was to talk about PTSD with her again. As if the mandatory meetings all those years back hadn't been enough, now he’d have to wade through the mess with Teal. He trusted her more than anyone else in his life, but that didn’t make speaking about the illness any less traumatic. He was ashamed and embarrassed.
Teal’s hand flew to her mouth. “Oh my damn, your PTSD.” Trent swallowed hard as she spoke. “The reason you were so fidgety when I got you from the airport, the reason you wouldn’t stay in the lodge with everyone during Katie’s wedding, and showing up late when most everyone had already left the rehearsal.” She fell against the counter as guilt flittered across her face. “And here I thought the only episode you’d had with me was when you wouldn’t sit in the passenger seat. Shit, how could I have been so blind? I should have put two and two together about huge crowds.”
Though Trent never imagined Teal would learn so much about him in this brief visit, he felt unburdened and free as she looked up to him.
“Baby . . .” She opened her mouth to say more, but didn’t.
Trent couldn’t allow her to feel an ounce of guilt. She couldn’t have known how he suffered, as he’d become a master at veiling his emotions. He dropped the shit in his hands and reached for her. “Fuck. Don’t cry.”
Tears formed in her eyes, but Trent sensed no pity from her. She was once again beating herself up for something she couldn’t control. He missed her firecracker attitude and her witty tongue, but he was now realizing her explosive demeanor was a shield she only let down for special people in her life.
She came to him without pause and wrapped her arms around his waist.
Pressing his lips into her hair and squeezing her tight, he took in her sweet scent. “I want to take you to that carnival.” He wasn’t sure how long they could stay, but Trent would try his best.
She leaned away, blinking rapidly. “No.” Teal reached up and stroked his roughened cheek. “You can keep me cooped up here all night. I’m pretty sure there’s an inch of skin on the bottom of my left foot that you haven’t kissed yet.”
He chuckled at her attempt to lighten the mood. “Nah, we can go. I wouldn’t mind bringing home some cotton candy to eat off your body. And I’ll make sure to cover every square inch of you, this time around.”
She gave him a teary eyed smile. “If you’re trying to compromise, I say we leave early and get lunch. Then we can leave before sundown, when all the people start showing up.” Her voice took on an optimistic tone.
Trent was unable to deny her anything when her dark eyes bore into him and her arms wrapped him in a loving embrace. He could try this, for her. He was stronger than he gave himself credit for, and he would not let some measly disorder ruin this for him.
Trent noticed more than most would ever give him credit for. As the type of man to keep his mouth shut and mind his own business, his eyes and ears were always open, continually surveying everything around him. For instance, the second he and Teal had entered the carnival, he noted how she maneuvered him away from the crowded box office area and over to a lone, shaded picnic table, complaining of the heat until the crowd had died down. Next, she’d deftly steered him through the crowds and bypassed rides with long lines and loud carnies.
At first, Trent had grown frustrated with her constant coddling, but then realized that even though he felt a bit emasculated by her overprotection, her effort to
keep him from suffering an episode was appreciated.
Teal placed a hand over her stomach. “I’m gonna need to take a break from the rides. I think I’ve met my calorie quota for the year with that candy apple and funnel cake. One more ride and I will puke.”
He tugged her closer. “I need to play at least one game. Get you one of them stuff bears.” He’d caught her eyeing a little koala bear as they’d passed by one of the stands earlier. It was the game where you had to keep a water pistol aimed at a little bull’s-eye a few feet away. Trent was damned good with sharp shooting, and though all this shit was rigged, he felt his extra abilities would help him win his woman a prize.
She turned to him, covering her eyes to shield the sun. “Baby, you sure you up to that?” She glanced at her watch. “It's getting late and the night crowd will be here soon.”
Trent loved how she wanted to protect him, but that wasn't his woman's job. He would give the protection, and she would get what she wanted—a fucking stuffed bear with a leaf hanging from his mouth.
Without a word, Trent pulled Teal’s hand through the crowd, angling her left and right, until they stood in front of the red, blue, and orange stand. The carnie, an old white man with hair whiter than snow, sang, “Step right up, folks. Only three measly dollars a game!”
Trent pulled his wallet from his pocket. Yanking out a bunch of bills, he shoved the wallet back in his pocket. He handed the money to Teal. “Walk me around this place to every game we pass, pay the carnie and point out the prize you want.” He leaned in and kissed her. A spark flickered to life the second his lips touched hers.
“You want to win a prize for your sweetheart?” Trent lifted his mouth from hers and glared at the man for interrupting. He knew the games were gaffed, found that out the hard way as a kid with Logan and friends. Back in his youth when they'd been considered nothing but lot lice—kids who came to the carnival and didn't spend a cent—Trent had made friends with the carnies and learned a few tricks of the trade.
Indelible: Beneath His Ink (Teal and Trent Book 2) Page 14
