Page 44 of Little Hidden Fears

“Does it pay your bills?”

“Can’t say I have many of those. The trailer belonged to my aunt, my mother’s sister. While I was serving time, she married a wealthy man, and she wrote to me to say she was deeding this place to me. I sure am grateful. As for other expenses, I don’t have a car, but I do have a bike. It’s kinda crazy how cheap you can live if you’re not afraid to give up a few luxuries.”

He grabbed a shimmery pink bar of soap off the tray. The bar had a sliver of black running through the middle. He slipped it into a small white bag and walked over to me. “Here, I’d like you to have one.”

“Oh, I don’t think it’s a good idea for me to?—”

“Please, it’s yours.”

“How about you allow me to pay you for it?”

He swished a hand through the air. “Don’t bother.”

Against my better judgment, I accepted the bar and changed the subject.

“Do you have a girlfriend, or are you dating anyone?” I asked.

He returned to the sofa, shaking his head as he sat down. “I haven’t dated a woman since my release.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t trust myself, I guess.”

“I thought you were trying to live in the present and to leave the past behind.”

“It’s true, I am. I suppose the thing that scares me the most is having to tell another woman about the mistakes I’ve made. It wouldn’t be right not to tell her, but once I did, I couldn’t see any woman sticking around after that. Even though I’ve changed, I’dstill be seen as a monster, and the truth is, I was one, but I’m not one now.”

I had mixed feelings about what he’d just said, and now I understood why Zoey felt the way she did when they’d met. Standing in front of him now, I found myself wanting to forgive his past transgressions, even though I was conflicted. Part of me was of the mind that he didn’t warrant forgiveness, no matter how much he’d changed.

“Do you have any friends?” I asked.

“A few.”

“Are they aware of your past?”

He nodded. “They’re part of my church group.”

The sound of a vehicle rolling to a stop out front distracted me from the conversation, and I turned.

Gabe stood, peering out the window, and said, “Guess I’m a popular guy today. Wonder who those two are?”

CHAPTER 17

“The man on the left is Chief Foley, and the man on the right is Detective Whitlock,” I said.

“Friends of yours, I imagine?”

“They are.”

Whitlock approached the beaded doorway and stood there a moment, as if he wasn’t sure what to do about it. Then he leaned to the side, tapping his knuckle to the window as he announced himself.

“You can both come in,” Gabe said.

They entered the home, and Whitlock smiled at me, saying, “Fancy meeting you here, Georgiana. Great minds think alike.”

“That they do.”

Foley tipped his head toward me and said, “Have you been here long?”