Read Online Have No Shame by Melissa Foster - Free Book Online Page B

back. He pushed up from the stump, turnin’ his back to me like he, too, was fightin’ an urge more powerful than he could manage. “Life in Forrest Town. It is what it is.”
    “So when you’re done, with the war, I mean, where will you go?” I spoke just above a whisper, afraid of the answer. “Will you come back here?”
    He laughed, but it wasn’t a real laugh. It was more of somethin’ that I read to mean that he wasn’t stupid enough to come back, no matter what he might be leavin’ behind. “Not if I can help it. My friend Arthur invited me to New York, said he could get me a good job there. A real job, not in the fields or maintenance work, like what I could get here.”
    He held his hand out to help me off the stump. I took his hand and stood, holdin’ my breath, not knowin’ if I should let go or hold on. I wanted to hold on. He withdrew his hand, and I swear his eyes lingered on mine for a second. Then again, my heart was beatin’ so hard I might have just imagined it.
    We walked side by side along the bank of the creek. Each step measured, each breath calculated, so I could feel the energy that rode between us like an invisible tie.
    “How’s your mama doin’. I can’t imagine what she’s goin’ through. My mama would be a mess.”
    “She’s thinkin’ that she’s thankful that your mother is kind, even if your father is—” He wiped his forehead with his arm and sighed. “Even if your father is just like everyone else.”
    “You know about that? About my mama?”
    He put his hands on his hips and said, “Sure I know. I’m real thankful, too. Your mama is a really good person.”
    Fear suddenly gripped my chest. “Oh no, who else knows?”
    “No one who’s gonna say anything.”
    I crossed my arms and paced, my skirt swished in the silence. “No one can know about my mama,” I said. “I can’t even think about what could happen to her.” My voice rose, my words tumbled out fast and harsh. “You don’t understand. If Daddy finds out, he’ll—”
    He put his hands gently on my upper arms. Even through my sweater my skin warmed beneath his palms. He looked into my eyes and spoke just above a whisper. “Hey, hey. Did you forget who you’re talkin’ to? I do understand. If anyone does, I do. My brother, Mama, my aunt. We all do.”
    I don’t know why I did what I did next. He didn’t pull me forward. He didn’t push me away. My body relaxed into him and it felt like the most natural motion in the world. I leaned into his chest, my head restin’ on his sweat-damp shirt. He smelled of hay and perspiration. His chest trembled beneath my cheek, his hands moved slowly around me, comin’ to rest, hot and sure, on my lower back. I closed my eyes, feelin’ his heart pound against my cheek. Tears burned at the edges of my eyes. The warmth of his body and the tenderness of his touch were so different than when Jimmy Lee held me. With Jimmy Lee I was an afterthought, an imposition in his precious day, or a means to a climactic end. Jackson welcomed me, drank me in. He didn’t rush my need for comfort or push me away. He didn’t throw me down and push into me. He simply held me, as if I belonged right where I was.

Chapter Eight
    Friday afternoon, Maggie pushed through the front door wearin’ clothes I didn’t recognize, and an expression to match. There was tension in her smile, and her normally laughin’ eyes were different, more serious. I rushed into her arms, and she swung me around.
    “Pixie! Oh, how I missed you.” She set me down, held my shoulders, and pushed away from me, surveyin’ me from head to toe. “Girl, you are one pretty, little thing! Gosh, look at you, all grown up!” She pushed my blond waves from my shoulder and cupped my cheek. “When you were little, one bat of those blue eyes used to get you everything you wanted from Daddy. I bet now they worry him somethin’ fierce. Boys must look at you everywhere you go.”
    My cheeks burned. “I missed