So. Long(249)

It’s him on screen with Trudi.

Trudi introduces herself, explaining she’s Celebrity Homecoming’s field producer. “I’m here with Buck Wylder to learn a bit more about his relationship with Ms. Loula Mae Fontaine. The world’s dying to know what the story is. So, in your own words, Buck, tell us about your history with Loula.”

My knotted stomach crawls into my throat, and I can barely breathe around it.

The on-screen version of Buck scratches his neck, but then he looks directly into the camera. “Well, Lou and I grew up two houses down from each other. Her mom was—let’s just say she probably didn’t much want to be a mother, and she had other things on her mind rather than Lou’s well being.”

He rubs his chin. “Lou was always my best friend. She and I did almost everything together. So, when she hurt, it hurt me—all the way to my core. Unfortunately for Lou, she hurt a lot because of who her mom and dad were in the community. And, well, people in this town weren’t too kind to a little girl of mixed race.”

I cringe at the millions of memories that bombard me; the sneers and upturned noses and comments made under people’s breath as I’d walk in or out of a store.

Buck runs his hand down my back, setting his chin on my shoulder.

Trudi leans forward. “So, Loula Mae is important to you and has been for a long time.”

The Buck on the phone shifts in his chair. “She’s more than important, Trudi. She’s vital to my happiness, to my life.”

“Oh? Why is that?”

Again those eyes capture me through the screen. “Because, Loula Mae is—well—she was—my wife.”





TWENTY-FIVE





Lou turns to me, her jaw hanging loose, her green eyes as wide as I’ve ever seen them.

She tosses my phone against the wall. “What the fuck did you tell them that for?”

Uh oh. Maybe not the best idea.

“I think this will be the thing that’ll get them off your case. A man’s allowed to give money to his ex-wife. People expect it.”

She jumps up, throwing her hands in the air. “But—but—aw, hell, Buck. I don’t even know what to say.”

“Say you’ll let me allow them to air this. It’s the only way to put to bed all this speculation about our relationship and the money I gave you.”

“Or, we can tell them the fucking truth. You know…that I’m a prostitute.”

“You are not. You and I both know I’d have given you that money anyway, and you’d have come into my bed without a dime. The deal we made was an excuse for both of us.”

She crosses her arms, looking at me through narrowed eyes. “Speak for yourself.”

I stand, running my finger down her arm. Her skin is so smooth and soft against the back of my finger. “You really think I’ll believe you wouldn’t have given in to this attraction? Nope. Can’t convince me of that, Lou. It’s too strong for either of us.”

She closes her eyes. “But telling them we were married?”

I suck in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “That’s also the truth. And I fucked it up. I should never have left you, Lou.”

“But you did leave, Buck. You did.”

I did.

My thoughts scramble, but I find the one I want most. “Only because it was best for you. It was the deal we made, Lou. And by the time you turned eighteen, you had that scholarship and a way out. All I did was free the path for you to take it.”

I drop to the bed. The memory of that day rushes through my mind as I sift through the facts, trying to grab hold of one that will show Lou I was doing what was best for her, not myself.

Lou pushes her fingers over her face and into her curls. “Did it seem like I wanted to be free?”

“We made a deal. I was just standing by it.”

“We made a deal in the aftermath of a shitty childhood.”

“That’s right. Marry to get you out from under your mom and keep you out of the child welfare system, and then divorce when you turned eighteen. Then you’d be in charge of your future.”

“Fourteen months, Buck. We were married for fourteen months. A lot happened in that time.”

Nothing happened during those fourteen months, except that her mom hit the road after I forced her to sign the papers for Lou and me to get married. It took threatening her with the cops for what she and that douche tried to do. The only other thing that happened was that Lou flourished in peace, living with Delores and Manny.

I can’t fathom what she means. “What happened, Lou?”

“You happened, Buck. You.”

“Me? But I didn’t change. Nothing changed. Well, not until that last night.”