Page 67 of Mr. Edwards

“Nothing like that. I told you, I help out and he pays me. Don’t try to make this into something it’s not. He’s never once did or said anything inappropriate toward me. He’s a nice guy.”

Unlike your new gentleman friend.

“Are you in love with him?”

“What?” I screech. “Eww, gross. Of course not.” She may get on her back in exchange for money, drugs, or booze, but I have more self-respect than that.

“Fine. Whatever,” she replies, waving her hand around as she stands. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

She needn’t worry about Reece. She should be more concerned about the losers she brings home.

Placing her coffee cup in the sink, she turns back to face me. “You want to do something together today?”

“What?”

“You know, hang out.”

“You want to hang out with… me?” I ask, stunned.

“Sure, why not. Isn’t that what mothers and daughters do?”

Yes, but not this mother-and-daughter duo. “Okay… sure,” I say hesitantly.

“Good. I’m going to jump in the shower.”

“Okay.”

To say I’m surprised by her offer would be an understatement, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t excited about the prospect of spending quality time with my mom. It’s a rarity. I remember when I was about eight years old, she tried to get me to have a drink with her. She said she hated doing it alone. I’d never tasted alcohol before, and I didn’t like it one bit. How she consumes that stuff daily is beyond me. She got mad and screamed at me when I spat it out. It was the first and last time she asked me to be her drinking buddy.

Standing, I turn to head back to my room to get changed when I hear a car pull up outside. I move the dusty, ratty curtain aside and see Bobby’s car parked out front.Great.There goes our mother-and-daughter bonding session. There’s no way she’s going to want to hang around me now that he’s here.

He exits the car, so I turn quickly, heading for my room, but he’s calling out, “Knock, Knock,” before I make it. Blowing out a puff of air, I spin around to let him in.

“Carlee, hi,” he says the moment I answer the door. His hungry eyes scan the length of my body before coming back to my face. I have an overwhelming compulsion to pull my T-shirt down further, even though I’m wearing sleep shorts underneath.

“Umm… hi.”

“Is your mom home?”

“Yeah, she’s in the shower,” I say, moving aside to let him in. “You can come in and wait if you like.” He steps forward and I intake a sharp breath as his arm brushes over my breasts when he passes.Ugh, he’s such a creep. Retreating a few steps, I turn intending to leave. “She shouldn’t be long.”

Reaching out, he grabs hold of my arm. “Where are you going?”

“To my room,” I answer.

“Stay. You can make me a cup of coffee while I wait. It’ll give us a chance to get to know each other better. You’re not around much when I’m here.”

Because you make my skin crawl.

“I, umm…”

Closing the distance between us, he drapes his arm around my shoulder, holding on tight. “Come on,” he says, giving me a disarming smile. “I don’t bite, and I could go a cup of coffee right now.”

Ducking out from under his arm, I skip ahead. I’ll make him his damn coffee, but he better not put his hands on me again.

He takes a seat at the table as I move toward the cupboards. I hope he likes instant because that’s all we have.

My back is to him, but I can still feel his leering eyes on me. “How do you have it?” I ask, reaching up for a mug.