Whispers of a Broken Halo

by Glines, Abbi

  With a deep sigh I felt all the way to my soul, I went to the door and locked it. Then, I leaned my forehead on the solid wood and groaned at my stupid heart. I gave myself a moment to grieve what would never be, and then I focused on reality.

  I needed to get back to work, and I needed somewhere secure for Cullen to stay when I worked. Somewhere he felt safe. I didn’t want him worrying about me when I wasn’t at home. If I didn’t come up with an answer by tomorrow, I would call Marley. See if she had any ideas. Although it wasn’t her job to help me with child care, she was the closest female friend I had.

  A long, hot bubble bath with a lavender candle burning didn’t ease my mind or help me rest. It took hours before I was able to fall asleep. Luckily, there were no night terrors from Cullen, and my eyes didn’t open until seven in the morning with Cullen standing in front of me.

  “I’m hungry,” he said softly as he stared at me.

  I rubbed my eyes and yawned, stretching my legs out and pointing my toes before I looked back at him. “Let’s go out for breakfast, and then I need to run to Mobile and talk to a friend about work,” I told him.

  Before falling asleep last night, I’d finally decided that going to see Marley in person was for the best.

  “Can I go too?” he asked me, looking concerned that I was planning on leaving him.

  Thanks, Tory, for the damage you’ve done , I thought before sitting up and leaning forward to look closely at him.

  “I will never leave you alone, I promise,” I reminded him.

  He smiled then and nodded his head. If he needed to hear me say it a million times, then I would say it a million and one. I wanted him to feel safe and have the security every child deserved.

  “Can I order pancakes with chocolate chips at the restaurant?” he asked me then.

  I nodded. “Yep!”

  “Will they put whipped cream on them too?” His voice was eager.

  “Absolutely,” I assured him.

  “Rio left,” he then said with some deflation to his prior happy tone.

  “He did,” I agreed.

  “I wish he had stayed,” Cullen said softly, as if he were saying something he shouldn’t.

  “He had things to do. Now, go get dressed, so we can go get those yummy pancakes,” I told him.

  His bright grin was back, and he nodded before running from the room.

  If only chocolate chip pancakes could solve all my problems so easily.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  The club was only open to VIP guests during the daytime. Everything about the club was meant to attract a wealthier clientele. It didn’t have signs out front that would tell what exactly was happening inside, and it was on a nice side of town. I had called Marley and told her I would like to talk to her today but explained that I had Cullen with me. To my relief, she had been happy about the idea of meeting Cullen.

  I parked in the back and went through the staff entrance. Stepping inside first, I made sure none of the girls were walking around in the back offices before allowing Cullen to follow me inside. I took his small hand and went directly to Marley’s office, only knocking once, for fear Cullen might see more than I wanted him to. He didn’t need to know what I did for a job. I hoped he never knew.

  Marley looked up from the baby girl in her arms she was nursing. Bay was a regular here. Marley wasn’t ready to stop breastfeeding, and her husband brought Bay to her often when she had to work.

  “Hello.” Marley beamed brightly at me, then at Cullen.

  Then, she tucked away her breast as Bay turned her head to see what was happening. She made happy noises and wiggled in Marley’s arms to sit up.

  I glanced down at Cullen, who was watching Bay as she reached out her little hand in our direction and gave us a toothless smile.

  “She rarely sees children. It’s exciting,” Marley said, smiling at her daughter’s reaction to Cullen.

  “I didn’t mean to interrupt,” I said.

  Marley waved a hand. “She wasn’t hungry as much as she was just bored. I need to ween her and make our lives easier, but I don’t know if I’ll have another, so I’m holding on to this a little longer.” She stood up and walked around the desk to set Bay on a blanket she had laid out in the middle of the room. “Jim is on his way to pick her up now. He’s just running late. Your timing is perfect.”

  Cullen let go of my hand and moved just an inch away from me toward Bay. I watched him as he looked at the baby girl flapping her arms and making noises, as if to call him over to her. He was so shy with adults, so it was surprising to see him move away from me instead of cling to my leg like he usually did.

  “She has taken a liking to you, it would seem, Cullen,” Marley said with an amused voice.

  Cullen didn’t look away from Bay but moved closer yet again. Marley chuckled at the sight of the two of them. It was rather cute. Bay was so excited, the closer he got. I was afraid she was going to fall over from her wobbly seated position. Marley didn’t seem concerned though.

  “Now, say you aren’t here to tell me you are leaving us. I don’t think I could handle that news,” Marley said, drawing my attention back to her.

  “Oh, no. That isn’t it. I need this job, even more so now that …” I paused before saying Tory was in jail.

  Marley already knew that, as did Cullen, but I didn’t want to talk about it in front of him.

  Marley simply nodded. She understood my unspoken words. “Good, because we need you. Also, I am sure my brother wouldn’t fare well with losing you either.” She smirked.

  Saint’s interest in me was something I hadn’t known she was aware of, and I felt my cheeks warm at the mention of it.

  “I do have an issue with child care,” I said, glancing at Cullen to make sure his attention was still on Bay and not me.

  Marley’s eyes widened in understanding. “Of course! I should have thought of that,” she replied. “When you asked to meet me, I was so worried it was the worst. I didn’t think about it being …” She stopped and shifted her eyes to Cullen.

  Marley tucked a strand of her long brown hair behind her ear and leaned forward with a grin. “I have the perfect solution,” Marley said with a bright smile. “He can stay at my house with Mrs. Henry. She’s Bay’s sitter. Jim works late most nights, and when he comes home, he is tired and needs to eat and get in bed.”

  That would work if it wasn’t for the fact that I didn’t want to wake Cullen up the nights I worked to take him home. That wasn’t a stable way for him to grow up.

  “Thank you. I’m just worried about having his sleep disrupted.”

  I felt like I was being difficult, but Cullen came first. He deserved that.

  Marley nodded, and she looked as if she was thinking something through. “Bay wakes up as soon as I get home, as if it is clockwork. She wants to nurse. What if Mrs. Henry put them both to sleep in the guesthouse? That way, you could just go to bed yourself, no need to wake Cullen and go home until the next morning. That house is never used. Not since Saint moved out three years ago and bought his own place.”

  I wanted Cullen to sleep in his own bed every night, but maybe for now, this would be okay. I would be there, and he would get used to the situation. It was clear he enjoyed playing with Bay. She was giggling and throwing down her teething ring for him to fetch, which seemed to entertain him as much as it did her. I trusted any sitter that Marley would allow into her home to watch Bay. There was no other option for me right now. Until I found one, this would have to work.

  “Are you sure?” I asked her. “You could take the sitter fee and the rent for the guesthouse from my paycheck.”

  Marley rolled her eyes. “I won’t accept rent money. I consider it good use of the place. I need you here, working, and it’s more of a selfish offer than anything. As for Mrs. Henry, I will ask her about the pay. I pay her thirteen dollars an hour. Twenty an hour for every hour she is there past midnight. I also pay her in cash.”

  “That is fine with me. If
she wants more because he’s older, I understand,” I readily agreed.

  Marley smiled down at the two children. “She might require less. He seems as if he will be more helpful than anything.”

  I thanked her and told her I would be back tomorrow night for work if they were ready for me to return. I still had time off, but I hated to keep losing money. Cullen said his good-byes to Bay, and I would use tonight to explain to him what would change on the nights I had to work. We would make packing up fun. I could take him to pick out an overnight bag and new pajamas today.

  We walked out the back door with my mind on all I needed to do to prepare for our new arrangement. Stepping into the sunlight, I shaded my eyes and almost walked directly into Saint’s chest.

  “Oh!” I exclaimed, stopping just before we collided.

  Cullen’s hand in mine tightened, and he drew closer to my side.

  “You okay?” Saint asked with concern in his voice.

  “Uh, yes, I’m fine. The sun was in my eyes,” I explained.

  “It’s eleven in the morning. You’re never here now,” he replied.

  “Um, I had to talk to Marley about something,” I said, and he continued to stare down at me, waiting for more of an explanation. “I needed to figure out child care, so I could return to work.”

  Saint looked down at Cullen and gave him a nod. “I see. Did you find a solution?”

  “Thanks to Marley, yes, I did,” I told him.

  “You’re coming back to work then?” His steady gaze was so focused.

  I nodded. “Tomorrow,” I replied.

  His tense stance eased somewhat. He was clearly relieved. “Good,” he said simply, then looked down at Cullen again and held out his hand. “I’m Saint. It’s nice to meet you, Cullen.”

  Cullen glanced up at him and then his hand before slowly letting go of me and reaching out his small hand to shake Saint’s. I could see his little shoulders straighten as he did it. How strange the male species was. I looked back up at Saint with a smile on my face. His gaze met mine, and he winked.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Rio

  The past week, I had spent time at my pops’s, helping my gramma. Every morning, I moved Pops from his bed to the kitchen to eat, then to the living room recliner before I went to work. During my lunch break, I went back to their house to take him to the bathroom, then to his bed for a nap. After work, I moved him to the kitchen for dinner, then to the shower chair for Gramma to bathe him before moving him back to bed.

  Having him home was a relief, and I was happy to move him daily, although it left me with little time in the evenings to do much else. I had only been back to my place to get clothing once. The only communication I had with the guys or Henley was texting.

  Tonight, after I got Pops in bed, I found Hazel in the kitchen, loading the dishwasher. She looked up at me and smiled wearily. She had been doing as much around the house as she could to help Gramma. That, mixed with working extra hours in the office, was getting to her.

  “Go to bed. I’ll finish up in here,” I told her.

  She rolled her eyes. “No. You always load it wrong.”

  Shrugging, I sat down at the table. “Fine, but you look like shit. You need to get some rest.”

  She chuckled. “Thanks.”

  I pulled my phone out of my pocket and checked my last two text messages. Drake had sent one ten minutes ago, telling me to get my ass to the bar. I was too damn tired to go to a bar. Then, Henley had sent me one before him, asking if I had checked on Bryn this week.

  Bryn wasn’t my responsibility. Why was Henley intent on acting like she was? I didn’t need any reminders of Bryn. I was struggling to keep her out of my head as it was.

  “What’s the scowl for?” Hazel asked.

  I glanced up at her. “Henley being nosy,” I replied.

  Hazel smiled as if that was funny. “About what?”

  Sighing, I put my phone down and leaned back in the chair. “Bryn.”

  “Ah,” Hazel said with a much larger grin.

  “What does that mean?” I asked her, annoyed.

  “It means, okay, I get it. I understand your scowl; it’s amusing,” Hazel said, folding the dish towel, then laying it over the side of the sink.

  “No, it’s not amusing. Henley thinks I should know how Bryn is doing. Why would I know that? I haven’t seen her in seven days,” I said.

  Hazel pulled out the chair across from me and sat down. “Seven days, huh?” She was still smiling.

  “What?” I asked, annoyed.

  “The fact that you know how many days. You’re keeping count.”

  Fuck. I was keeping count. Why was I doing that?

  Hazel rested her elbows on the table and leaned forward. “You like her. I don’t see how this is a bad thing. I like her too. She’s good. You know the truth about the Jeep now. Is it because of her job? I don’t understand why you won’t admit that you like her and do something about it.”

  Because there was too much darkness in our past, and I was scared to face it. I didn’t say that though.

  “Her job is part of it. I wouldn’t be able to deal with that,” I admitted.

  I already struggled with it, but she hadn’t contacted Henley about keeping Cullen. I wasn’t sure she was going back to that job. The relief at the fact that she wouldn’t be able to go back without someone to watch Cullen was instant.

  “That’s an asshole move. She must make a lot of money, and she needs money to raise her nephew,” Hazel said.

  “She’s practically naked, Hazel. She serves men drinks, topless,” I told her.

  Hazel rolled her eyes. “And you know this because you went to the topless bar to see boobs! You’re such a hypocrite.”

  I shook my head. “It’s different,” I argued.

  Her eyebrows shot up, and the blue vein in her forehead popped out. She was heated. “You want to go see the women who work there without their clothing on, but you judge them for doing it. How is that okay?”

  I stood up from the chair and took my phone. I wasn’t going to talk about this with her. She was never going to understand. Besides, my head was now full of images I had tried not to think about. Bryn walking around in nothing but that tiny little pair of panties was something I had to work hard not to dwell on. Tonight, I was tired, and that one memory seemed to want to haunt me.

  “Good night,” I told Hazel and headed for the basement, where my bedroom and bathroom were.

  Hazel called out, “Good night,” in return, and I was sure she laughed again before I closed the door behind me.

  Downstairs, in the silence of my room, I groaned and tried to think of something other than Bryn and her naked body. I needed to get laid, and yet I had no time to go do it. After I’d bailed on Vanessa, I wouldn’t be able to call her up again. She had been pissed at me when I canceled. There was no time to date someone—or I didn’t want to make time. It seemed like a chore.

  Walking into the bathroom, I stripped off my clothes and got into a hot shower. I reached for the body wash, and I stopped fighting it. The memory of Bryn in the panties, belly ring, and those heels came back clearly. It was burned in my thoughts. I took my hard cock in my hand and let my imagination take over. Except, in my fantasy, she was dressed that way only for me. We were alone. She was down here in my room, and no one else was home.

  I started with my mouth and then tasted all over her. Spending time on her perfect, large tits, then down to her flat stomach before burying my face between her thighs. She was on her back, lying on my bed with her legs spread open for me. Her dark blonde hair splayed out around her head and her mouth open as she moaned. I continued to lick her as her fingers clinched my hair and she cried out my name.

  She started to beg me to fuck her. I was more than ready to be buried inside her. With one last lick, I moved over her body, and she lifted her hips for me as I sank inside with one hard thrust. She screamed my name, and her nails dug into my biceps as I began to move in and out o
f her tight, wet pussy.

  Her breasts bounced as she moaned my name over and over.

  “GAHHHH!” I cried out as my release shot free, and I had to hold myself up with my free hand against the wall of the shower as I continued to pump my dick. My knees were weak from the intensity of my orgasm. Damn.

  I stood under the water and closed my eyes, tilting my head back so the water hit my face. From the amount of cum that had just come out of me, I should feel relieved. Unfortunately, I wasn’t even close. That had just made things worse.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Bryn

  Two weeks into our new arrangement, Cullen and I were adjusted. It was working out better than I’d hoped. The first night I’d left Cullen in a new place, he had seemed nervous even though we had talked it through and he knew I would be there when he woke up. However, he had soon grown very comfortable with Mrs. Henry, as had I. She was an excellent sitter.

  I felt as if I should be paying her more than twelve dollars an hour, but she’d insisted that was all she would accept. She told me that Cullen was more help than he was work, and after the first week, Mrs. Henry had said she felt guilty for taking twelve dollars an hour from me. However, I wasn’t going to give her less. She was a widower, from what Marley had told me, and never remarried or had children of her own. She was making it possible for me to work, and I knew she needed the money.

  Marley had left early tonight, and I had to work until closing. Trix had Covid and was out for two weeks. I was going to have to close for her since she normally did that. Marley had said she would put Cullen to bed in the main house tonight and send Mrs. Henry home.

  My feet were killing me, and when I slipped off my heels, I groaned in relief. I stretched my legs out in front of me and wiggled my toes. I still needed to help Saint close up, but he was locking up after the last customer left. I had this time to change into some clothing.