“Help me keep an eye on Pate, ’kay?”
Cass and I nodded. I was short, but I could still see her cute little blonde ponytail bopping around.
“You want to tell us?”
Parker chewed her bottom lip nervously.
“It’s okay, sweetheart. I was living in my car at one point. I had to run away from my family too. They didn’t want me when I got pregnant.”
Parker’s eyes got big.
“I didn’t know that. I’m sorry.”
“I’m just saying, you aren’t betraying anyone by telling the truth. Family is who we choose, not who we get stuck with at birth.”
She nodded but didn’t say much.
“So, things were bad at home . . .” I prompted.
“Yes.”
“You ran away.”
“Yes. A bunch of times.”
We all exchanged another look. A bunch of times. That sounded ominous.
“What happened?”
“The police always brought me back. He wouldn’t let me go.”
“He?”
She looked away and whispered.
“My stepfather.”
“Motherfucker,” Cass muttered furiously under her breath. I concurred. I was ready to go ballistic. Even Michelle looked murderous.
“You don’t have to tell us, sweetie,” I said. Parker looked like she wanted to crawl into a hole. She wouldn’t even look at us.
“She just did tell us, Kelly.”
“I meant, she didn’t have to tell us any more,” I said, crossing my arms and glaring at Cass.
Parker’s pretty face was so miserable, it was breaking my heart. This was not what we’d had in mind for a girls’ shopping trip. But she had to get it off her chest so she could start to heal.
“Your mother didn’t do anything?”
“No. She didn’t believe me.” She looked up at us, her eyes shining. “He didn’t get what he was after. Not everything. After the first few times, I fought back. I didn’t make it easy for him.”
“Good girl.”
“I hope you tore his nuts off,” I said.
Parker let out a startled laugh. The sound was like tinkling bells in the middle of a library. It broke the tension.
“Pate, you can come on back now, hon.”
The dear girl skipped over and sat, right next to Parker. She rested her pretty little head on her shoulder. Even though she hadn’t known what we were talking about, she was a smart kid. Sensitive.
The gesture was clear. Parker was one of us now. We were going to help her.
And most of all, we wanted her to stay.
“You ladies okay?”
I turned to see my man hovering nearby.
“I told you to wait outside!”
Cain looked disgruntled as he crossed his massive arms over his chest.
“Can’t protect you from outside.”
Everyone laughed again, and just like that, it was just a girls’ shopping trip again. I clapped my hands together.
“Okay, we need jeans. Some cotton tops. Mostly casual. Maybe some flannel. And” —I held up my finger before anyone could protest— “a couple of girly things. Don’t argue with me! I insist!” I winked at Parker. “You won’t know until you try it.”
She nodded happily and took my hand. We started shopping in earnest. She refused to even try anything that wasn’t on sale.
We found a couple of pairs of jeans that looked mega-hot on her. She seemed to like turtlenecks, so we got some of those. Some T-shirts that fit her incredible figure really nicely without being too sexy. Bras and panties. A couple of cardigans, though she wanted hoodies instead.
The better for hiding in, I thought.
I allowed her one. And I found a pretty denim skirt that she didn’t hate, and some floral tops to go underneath the sweaters as another option to the flannels she preferred. We grabbed some socks and made her try on a pair of cute ankle booties, though she insisted she only needed sneakers.
“No. I don’t need all this. I’m just going to be waiting tables. Nothing else.”
“Shane made us promise to get you lots of stuff. He’s going to be mad if you say no,” I said, waging a little psychological warfare. “Besides, you are going to be doing other things. You’re going to be hanging out with us.”
I looked around and everyone nodded.
“And babysitting me!” Pate offered. Parker teared up a little at that. “Okay,” she finally agreed. “I’ll take it.”
“Thatta girl,” I said, hooking our arms again. “Now, let’s hit the makeup counter.”
She dug her heels in, and I had to settle for buying her a small kit as a gift. She bought a three-pack of ChapStick on the way out. I had heard Cass’s theory that Parker was in love with Shane. It was hard to believe, to be honest. Shane might be extremely good-looking but he was off his rocker. The guy was certifiable. Everyone knew that.
But apparently, he could do no wrong in Parker’s eyes. She was a smart girl. Cautious but kind. I really liked her.
Maybe, I thought to myself, just maybe, she sees something we are missing.
Cain carried all the bags to the SUV where Hunter and Vice were waiting with their motorcycles. They rode escort for us as we dropped everyone off at The Jar. Shane was waiting with his bike and a spare helmet. We consolidated the bags while he stood there, not saying anything other than a few brusque words exchanged with Cain. I noticed that he barely looked at Parker, except when she wasn’t looking at him.