His One and Only(50)

The voice was feminine, and it almost definitely belonged to a black woman, but not a southern one. “You’re not from here,” he said.

“No, actually, I’m from Detroit. But I’ve been living in Birmingham for the last five years. It’s actually where my mama was from. She and my dad came up to Michigan to work in the car factories toward the end of the Black Migration. So I’m like a lot of black people from the Midwest, first generation Midwesterner with southern parents. And I’m sorry, I know I’m rambling, but when Josie asked me to meet with you, she didn’t tell me you wouldn’t be wearing anything but a pair of sweatpants.”

Beau ran a hand over his bare chest, and almost started to explain that the sweatpants he wore as pajama bottoms had been the only thing he could easily find, but then he realized there was a more important question that needed to be asked.

“Who are you?” he asked. “And what are you doing in my kitchen?”

At this point, he was bracing himself for the worst, for this woman to tell him she was the person Josie had hired to replace her, because she was quitting after what happened the night before.

“Oh, Josie didn’t tell you we were meeting or who I am?” The woman sounded as surprised as he felt to have an unannounced stranger in his kitchen.

“No,” he said. “And if you’re here about the housekeeping position, then tell Josie if she wants to quit, she needs come back here and tell me herself.”

“Okay, I am so confused, because obviously you have no idea who I am, and I thought Josie would have—” She broke off. “You know what? It doesn’t even matter, because I’m here now, so I’ll just tell you…”

He heard her take a deep breath. “My name is Sam. And I’m in your kitchen because Josie asked me to talk to you.”





CHAPTER 17

A BOMB COULD HAVE DROPPED in the kitchen and Beau doubted he’d have been more surprised.

“You’re Sam,” he said, his voice sounding dull and hollow in his own ears.

“Yes, I’m Sam,” she answered, still sounding confused.

She wasn’t the only one. “So Josie sent you here to tell me she’s a lesbian?”

Sam laughed outright. “No! Not that I know of, at least. She’s the best friend I have in Alabama. She said you had some questions and I should answer them.”

He frowned but made his way to the kitchen table and dropped into the chair beside her. “Okay, then my first question is why has she been spending all her Friday and Saturday nights with you?”

“It’s not exactly with me. Josie is one of the most dedicated volunteers at Ruth’s House, the domestic violence shelter I started when I moved here. She used to be there just about every day, but then she got this job.” He heard the sound of Sam shifting in her seat. “At least I think it’s a job. I’m assuming if she asked me to come in and talk to you, it’s become more than that.”

Regret and remorse exploded like a landmine inside Beau’s chest. “Why didn’t she tell me she was going out to volunteer? I would have been fine with that, but she let me assume the worst. Was she toying with me? Trying to drive me crazy?”

Sam didn’t answer right away, but when she did, her voice was very careful. “I’m not sure you fully understand the situation here. A lot of women volunteer their time for pet causes, but nobody volunteers at a women’s abuse shelter on Friday and Saturday nights.”

And it all started to fall into place. “She didn’t want me to know how important the shelter was to her, because she knew I’d ask why.”

“I think so, yes.”

Beau’s hand curled into a fist on top of the table. “It was her ex-husband. He hit her, didn’t he? That’s why she came back to Alabama. That’s why she was so down and out when my mother called her about taking this job.”

“I’m sorry,” Sam said. “I can’t answer any of those questions for you. That’s Josie’s story to tell. I’m just here to help you understand some things. Like why she wouldn’t necessarily want to tell you where she was going on Friday and Saturday nights, and why she’d rather let you believe she was seeing someone else than tell you she was volunteering.”

“She said it was none of my business,” Beau said.#p#分页标题#e#

“Well, she’s right about that,” Sam answered, with a hint of humor in her voice. “But you also have to understand if she’s romantically involved with you, she might be a little bit more wary than someone who hasn’t been through what she’s been through. A woman with Josie’s past isn’t going to respond well to anyone trying to monitor her comings and goings because that’s one of the first signs you’re in an abusive relationship.”