Page 25 of The Locksmith’s Promise (The Promise Duet #1)

“Sorry, Dad,” he murmured, holding out one of my lock-picking tools.

For fuck’s sake.

Apple meet tree.

Sucking in a deep breath, I practically growled on the exhale. “Never put yourself in danger like that. A bow and arrow is a weapon like any other. Would you stand in front of a loaded gun? Point a loaded gun at Mickey? At your mom?”

His eyes widened as he swallowed roughly.

“You’re scaring him, Bax,” Maggie snapped, mouth tight, grip tightening.

“Scaring him?” I asked, my eyebrows taking flight as my voice rose. “Good. He should be scared. Did you see what they were doing? He just knocked ten years off my life and could have lost his!”

Pale, eyes wide, she held her palms up as if to fend me off. “Please, just—” She shook her head. “We don’t yell at Corwin, Bax.”

My jaw dropped in the face of her calm while my face flamed at her words.

We don’t yell at Corwin.

I also heard what she didn’t say.

We don’t lock him out of the house.

We don’t pin him to a dirty carpet and burn him with a cigarette.

We don’t whip him with the buckled end of our belt.

“Of course,” I rasped, backing away just as readily. “I’m sorry.”

What the fuck did I know about raising a child?

Especially one I’d only known a handful of weeks.

Corwin looked on with eyes wide.

Mickey moved closer to him.

I winced. Exactly like his father used to move in close to me.

Maggie’s face fell.

I shook my head to absolve her of any misplaced guilt and spun away on my heel with my hands stuffed in my front pockets.

Sergeant Elliott caught my eye.

I looked away and made to stride past, but he caught my elbow.

My body automatically jerked away, my hands flying out of my pockets.

“Easy, son.” Gruffly, he advised, “Mamas are soft, Bax. I would have grounded him for half his life for pulling a stunt like that.”

I nodded and muttered, “Thanks.”

“Want to grab a drink in the beer tent?”

I shook my head. “Thanks, but I think I’ll just take a walk.”

“Okay, son.”

Son.

I couldn’t go home and hide; I was done with running. But fuck if I didn’t slink away like a dog with his tail between his legs.

The beer tent didn’t sound all that bad anymore.

And then maybe the dunk tank.

An unwilling smile curved my lips. If I wasn’t careful, Maggie might volunteer me for it.

Spying Miller sitting back with his long-ass legs stretched out in front of him and crossed at the ankles, I ambled over and eased down into the empty seat beside him.

He tipped his beer bottle up, eyeing me as he swallowed. “You look like a wet cat.”

I snorted, then eyed him. “Are you getting Mickey rabbits?”

He shook his head. “Maxine has this idea in her head about farming wool from Angora rabbits. Says it will be good for the boys to have animals to look after.”

“Huh,” I laughed. “Cor thinks you’re going to eat them.”

He tipped his beer up and cocked his eyebrow. “If I have to take over their care, I just might.”

Handing me a beer, he prodded, “What’s up?”

I sighed and took the proffered beer. “Mickey and Corwin playing William fucking Tell.”

“Jesus Christ.” Miller’s hand dropped, the bottle dangling from two fingers as he lurched forward. “I don’t fucking know how boys survive.”

“My heart near pounded out of my chest,” I admitted. “I didn’t react,” I paused to search for the right word, “well.”

Mouth twisting, he turned his head to the side. “Aw, shit. Did you go off the deep end?”

I paused. “A bit.”

“And?” He lifted the bottle to his mouth. “They’ll survive.”

“They will, I might not,” I grumbled.

The bottle stopped midway to his mouth. He grinned. “Maggie?”

I grimaced. “She didn’t take too kindly to me yelling at her son.”

“Maxine constantly gives me shit for coming down hard on Mickey.” Miller chuckled and took a healthy swallow. “Mothers and sons, man. You know how it is.”

I didn’t. I had no idea. Not from my own mother and not from being around Maggie.

His face flushed as he realized what he said. “Fuck, sorry.”

I shook my head. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Now that I’ve put my foot in it, there’s something else I need to talk to you about.”

I braced myself. “What’s that?”

He winced and scrubbed a hand over his hair. “Jenny really needs to talk to you.”

I narrowed my eyes and stared at him. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

He held up his palms. “She doesn’t want to interfere; she just wants you to know the whole story.”

My lip curled. “Do you know what she’s talking about?”

He winced. “Unfortunately.”

My stomach dropped, but if I had to hear it from anybody, I wanted it to be Miller. “So fucking tell me,” I demanded.

He shook his head, his face going blank. “It’s not my story to tell, Bax. I know you have no time for Jenny, and nobody blames you, but she’s still one of my friends.”

He raised his eyes to meet mine. “And I won’t betray her like that.”

I plunged my hands into my hair and leaned back in my chair. Staring up at the roof of the tent like it contained the secrets of the universe, I murmured, “I just want the past to stay in the fucking past. Is that too much to ask?”

“Talk to her, Bax,” he insisted.

I growled and dropped my hands.

He chuckled. “Growl all you want but talk to her.” He leaned toward me. “If you don’t want to do it for yourself, fine. Even though I think it would be good for you. But at least do it for Maggie.”

My eyebrows shot up. “For Maggie.”

He dipped his chin abruptly. “For you, first, but do it for Maggie, too.”

Weighed down by the past, I pushed myself to my feet. “I’m going to head out,” I said gruffly.

“Okay, man,” he sighed. “We okay?”

I nodded. “We’re good.”

With the sun beginning to dip in the sky, I left him to take a walk before finding out if Maggie and I were the same.