Viking still hadn’t been reassured and told him that he was fucking nuts, but Peanut had always followed his gut. It had told him to take Phoebe home and keep her safe and that’s what he was going to do. Fuck anyone who didn’t understand it. He was pretty damned sure he’d just found his old lady. After watching Phoenix and Rooster struggle with their own relationships, he wasn’t about to put himself through that shit. Phoebe didn’t know it yet, but she wasn’t going anywhere. Heading into the hall he checked on Jazzy. Seeing her sleeping with one leg out of the bed and her hand curled around the covers tucked beneath her chin, he smiled.
He shut the door and headed to his room, glancing up to the landing and barely resisting the urge to go up and check on Phoebe too. The only thing that stopped him from doing it was the fact that he’d likely scare her if he did. He’d bet with everything she’d been through she was a light sleeper. His jaw clenched as he forced himself to walk into his room and head to the shower. He hated thinking about what she had to have suffered to have that haunted look in her eyes that he remembered so well.
Chapter Ten
Standing in the dressing room of the second store Peanut had dragged her into, she stared at the sundress she was wearing. It was blue with small white flowers and a little large on her. She was tugging out the stomach portion of the dress to see how it would look when she was further along. Hmm, it could work. Might get her to the end of her second trimester. She should really be looking at maternity clothes, but she wasn’t ready to reveal her secret yet. She didn’t know if she could trust him or if she’d been staying longer than a few months. She was going to get only a few things today. Just enough to get her by. She’d already picked out some light cargo pants with a stretchy waist, one pair that would fit her now and two others one size up for when she was larger.
Since most of the shirts she’d found had empire waistlines she’d be able to wear them for a longer period of time. Peanut had looked at her like she’d lost her mind when she picked out four of them in the last store. He hadn’t protested and when they were at the counter he’d paid without complaint.
He’d left the house before she’d gotten up this morning. She knew he must have been home because there was a new dish in the sink. He came in while they were eating breakfast and he’d raved about how good the meal was while thanking Jasmine for making it. He’d winked at her when Jasmine wasn’t looking, leaving Phoebe a little out of sorts because what was she to make of that gesture. Peanut had driven her and Jasmine to the school to show her the route she would take when she dropped her off the next day.
The silence in the car on the way back to the townhouse was deafening. It didn’t seem to bother him and she found herself trying to think of something to say, but hadn’t figured out anything by the time they’d pulled up in the drive. He’d climbed out of the car and held the gate open for her as she’d entered before him. She waited while he opened the door and shut off the alarm. He paused only to tell her that they’d go to the mall when they picked Jasmine up at three before disappearing into his office.
He’d handed her a credit card before they’d left this afternoon and told her it was for incidentals. She’d stared at it for a long moment wondering how it even had her name on it. She didn’t know how the heck he’d gotten it so fast. Yes, she’d told him her name the night before, but she’d never expected him to get her a credit card the next day. When she’d asked with a frown how he’d managed to get her one so quickly he’d explained that the bank nearby issued them same day. She supposed there were banks that did that, but she was worried that she was using a stolen credit card. She hadn’t said anything, but she’d wondered about it.
She stepped out of the fitting room to look in the double mirrors that were right outside the dressing room, tugging the dress back out at the waist and glancing behind herself to see what the hemline looked like in the back. It was a few inches higher but it would work; it didn’t expose too much even with the stretching of the material.
“That color suits you. You should probably get a size smaller though because that one’s too big for you,” Peanut said from behind her.
Phoebe jumped. She worried that he’d seen her pulling it out and would guess why but when he didn’t say anything else, she breathed a sigh of relief and tried not to seem nervous. She noticed that Jasmine was dancing around in the black jumper that Peanut had bought her in the last store they’d been in. Jasmine had insisted on wearing it out. He’d told her she could wear it to school tomorrow, but she’d set her feet apart and pouted with her arms crossed until he gave in. She couldn’t help but smile remembering how Peanut hadn’t lasted long against the pouting before he had given
