Read Online The Secret Life of Bryan by Lori Foster - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Lori Foster
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word.”
Bryan’s stare held her a moment more, then he sank back into his seat. “If she’s really away from him, that’s a start.”
“A very good start,” Shay agreed, and with a sigh: “But it’s been an upsetting day. Seeing someone hurt like that makes me feel so damned helpless, as if there’s no escaping the bad stuff.”
Bryan leaned forward again. “I don’t know what’s going on with you, Shay, how you’re tied in with Leigh or why you were hanging around the bar. But if you stay here, I won’t let anyone hurt you.”
She’d only meant she felt helpless in her inability to help the others, but he’d taken it as personal fear. And now, with him offering his protection, she saw no way to correct the misconception. “Thank you. That’s very…” What could she say? Gallant? Heroic? She shook her head. “Thank you.”
He picked up his pad of paper, all business again. “Tell me about yourself.”
For such a big, hard, macho guy, he was damned endearing in his attempts to help. She peeked at the paper he held, saw it had pretyped questions on it, and shrugged. “Sure. What do you want to know?”
“Start with family.”
“Okay.” Shay continued to eat, waiting for him to begin, but he hesitated. “What is it?”
Rubbing the back of his neck, appearing uncomfortable with his task, he said, “If I hit on a sore spot, just tell me, okay?”
“I’m not shy.”
“I noticed.” Their gazes met and held, until he looked back at the paper. “What about your father?”
“My birth father or my adoptive father?”
“You have both?”
“Unfortunately.”
She had no idea what he was thinking, but it didn’t look good. “Start with your father. Do you think he’s interested in where you are?”
The rude sound she made was answer enough. Her father was slime. But her adoptive father, if he had any idea what she’d gotten herself into, would probably give her enough lectures to last a lifetime. Not that it would do him any good. He knew she couldn’t be stopped once she’d set her mind on a course. So he usually just ended up offering his full support.
“Shay?”
She gave Bryan a smile of reassurance. Her father, and his lack of interest, had no impact on her life. “He’s a world-class pig. I haven’t seen him since I was five, and that was when he left me at the bus station.”
His expression hardened. “What do you mean, he left you?”
“He said he was going to buy us something to drink, but he never came back. I sat there almost the whole day waiting, until I had to go to the bathroom. Then I didn’t know what to do. When I started to cry, a woman offered her help, and the next thing I knew, I had everyone’s attention.”
She hadn’t meant to say quite that much. She hadn’t talked about those long-ago days since she was a child. But with Bryan’s undivided attention, the words just seemed to come out. “The police figured my father had abandoned me, and after a few months, they finally located him three states away, living with a woman and her sister.” Her smile went crooked. “He denied being my father.”
Bryan’s expression didn’t change, but there was now an alertness in his dark brown eyes that hadn’t been there earlier.
“What about your mother?”
She shrugged. “The reason my father had me with him in the first place was that my mother refused to keep me any longer. She was what the authorities termed ‘emotionally abusive.’ That was after they found me in the bus station and did a thorough checkup into my past.”
Bryan had the paper and pen out in front of him, but he hadn’t written a word. His jaw looked like granite again. “And after they did the checkup?”
She tried to skim over details while still giving him a truth or two about her past, enough that she wouldn’t get tripped up in it later. But she didn’t want to hurt him with her truths, not when they no longer hurt her.
“I spent some time passing around foster
Bryan’s stare held her a moment more, then he sank back into his seat. “If she’s really away from him, that’s a start.”
“A very good start,” Shay agreed, and with a sigh: “But it’s been an upsetting day. Seeing someone hurt like that makes me feel so damned helpless, as if there’s no escaping the bad stuff.”
Bryan leaned forward again. “I don’t know what’s going on with you, Shay, how you’re tied in with Leigh or why you were hanging around the bar. But if you stay here, I won’t let anyone hurt you.”
She’d only meant she felt helpless in her inability to help the others, but he’d taken it as personal fear. And now, with him offering his protection, she saw no way to correct the misconception. “Thank you. That’s very…” What could she say? Gallant? Heroic? She shook her head. “Thank you.”
He picked up his pad of paper, all business again. “Tell me about yourself.”
For such a big, hard, macho guy, he was damned endearing in his attempts to help. She peeked at the paper he held, saw it had pretyped questions on it, and shrugged. “Sure. What do you want to know?”
“Start with family.”
“Okay.” Shay continued to eat, waiting for him to begin, but he hesitated. “What is it?”
Rubbing the back of his neck, appearing uncomfortable with his task, he said, “If I hit on a sore spot, just tell me, okay?”
“I’m not shy.”
“I noticed.” Their gazes met and held, until he looked back at the paper. “What about your father?”
“My birth father or my adoptive father?”
“You have both?”
“Unfortunately.”
She had no idea what he was thinking, but it didn’t look good. “Start with your father. Do you think he’s interested in where you are?”
The rude sound she made was answer enough. Her father was slime. But her adoptive father, if he had any idea what she’d gotten herself into, would probably give her enough lectures to last a lifetime. Not that it would do him any good. He knew she couldn’t be stopped once she’d set her mind on a course. So he usually just ended up offering his full support.
“Shay?”
She gave Bryan a smile of reassurance. Her father, and his lack of interest, had no impact on her life. “He’s a world-class pig. I haven’t seen him since I was five, and that was when he left me at the bus station.”
His expression hardened. “What do you mean, he left you?”
“He said he was going to buy us something to drink, but he never came back. I sat there almost the whole day waiting, until I had to go to the bathroom. Then I didn’t know what to do. When I started to cry, a woman offered her help, and the next thing I knew, I had everyone’s attention.”
She hadn’t meant to say quite that much. She hadn’t talked about those long-ago days since she was a child. But with Bryan’s undivided attention, the words just seemed to come out. “The police figured my father had abandoned me, and after a few months, they finally located him three states away, living with a woman and her sister.” Her smile went crooked. “He denied being my father.”
Bryan’s expression didn’t change, but there was now an alertness in his dark brown eyes that hadn’t been there earlier.
“What about your mother?”
She shrugged. “The reason my father had me with him in the first place was that my mother refused to keep me any longer. She was what the authorities termed ‘emotionally abusive.’ That was after they found me in the bus station and did a thorough checkup into my past.”
Bryan had the paper and pen out in front of him, but he hadn’t written a word. His jaw looked like granite again. “And after they did the checkup?”
She tried to skim over details while still giving him a truth or two about her past, enough that she wouldn’t get tripped up in it later. But she didn’t want to hurt him with her truths, not when they no longer hurt her.
“I spent some time passing around foster
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