Page 23 of Quiet as Kept

“I never thought of it like that.”

“You should. That’s really impressive, Kept.”

You’re really impressive. I kept that thought to myself.

“Do you name the subdivisions, too?”

“I do.”

“What’d you name this new one?”

“Dakota Sky.”

It was named after his eldest daughter. I wanted to swoon. Yeah, this man was definitely impressive.

First Week of May

It seemed like it became a nightly ritual for Kept and I to meet on the back deck once he got the girls bathed and down for bed.

“There’s something about being this close to the ocean after dark with the breeze and the stillness,” I commented as we sat side by side on the sofa.

“Say less. I always thought I would make my home in New Orleans. My father’s originally from there.”

“His people’s people must be from there. I mean, your last name is Boudreaux. That’s a name from New Orleans if I ever heard one.”

“Facts,” he agreed.

“Why didn’t you make your home there?”

“Trinity’s senior year of high school, she was leaning toward Banneker University. She asked me to bring her down here to visit the campus. I fell in love with this part of the state, the proximity to the ocean . . . the weather. Before Trinity had even started the university’s application process, I put an offer on a piece of land. Something about this region spoke to me.”

“Something about this region speaks to me too. The air down here is magical or something. A few weeks ago, I came down here depleted. I was so discouraged. The only thing I had going for me was the hope that there was more to life than what I was living. Now, I go to sleep every night to the sound of the Atlantic Ocean. I drive a fancy SUV around an island that’s beautiful and peaceful. I feel like I have the girls on a good schedule with the music class, the art class, and storytime at the library. One of the moms was telling me that the movement class is opening up at the first of June.”

“Movement? What does that even mean?”

“It’s like . . . beginning gymnastics.”

“Flipping and kicking? That’s a no for Destin.”

I lightly pushed his bicep, enjoying the strength and hardness of it. All that swimming made Kept muscular as hell. He was lean, but his body was as hard as a rock.

I would know because I took every opportunity I got to touch him in some way. If he noticed, he never commented on the fact that I was touchy-feely with him. Since he didn’t mention it, I didn’t stop. It was the only way I could pacify myself. I was his employee. I felt pretty certain that he would never see me as anything other than that. I didn’t expect to ever have his hands on me, so I put my hands on him whenever I could when it seemed like anaturalthing that wouldn’t be awkward or obvious. It was never far from my mind that the former nanny would forever go down in history as a weirdo for getting caught playing with herself in his bed.

“Leave Destin alone.”

“Destin is gonna flip and kick some poor, unsuspecting child in the mouth.”

“You just can’t relate to your youngest because she’s so different from you and Dakota. She’s not all soft, quiet, and shy. She’s?—”

He cut me off with a frown. “You think I’m soft, Xarielle?”

I looked him in the face. “I don’t think you’re soft like that, Kept. Not soft like . . . that. I think both you and Dakota have gentle spirits. And I think you’re . . . safe.” I quickly added, “Which is a huge compliment. In a time where mad women say they would rather face a bear than a dude they don’t know, that’s saying something. I feel safe with you.”

“I’ll accept that answer.”

“Good. Anyway, just because Destin is a?—”

“Hellion?”