“No, baby. They’re for you.”
“What does that mean?” she asked.
“We thought you’d like to have a few friends, baby.”
He saw her start to shake, quickly pulled her onto his lap, and wrapped his arms around her. “What’s going on?”
“People don’t like me.”
He tilted her head up. “Now, why would you say that? You’re a beautiful, sweet woman. I can’t see anyone not liking you.”
“You don’t understand,” she said.
“Then tell me,” Mack said.
“I’m retarded.”
His brows snapped together. “I don’t like that word, and I want to know who told you that bullshit.”
“My parents.”
Jesus Christ. He’d like to get his hands around her parents’ necks and squeeze. “That’s bullshit.”
“No, it’s not. They’re right.”
“Why do you say that?” he asked.
“Because I can’t read,” she yelled.
Mack tightened his grip on her when she wiggled and fought to get off his lap. “But you have that book you read all the time.”
“I like to playact that I’m smart, so I pretend to read.”
Fuck, his heart broke for this little bit of a woman.
“Let’s wait until Jace gets back, and we’ll talk about it,” Mack said.
“I’d rather not. I never wanted you guys to know.”
He smiled gently. “Babe, we live together and are around each other most of the time. I think eventually we would have noticed.”
“I don’t know. I’m good at pretending and remembering things. That’s how I got through school.”
“How could you do that without reading?” he asked.
“The teachers were nice and read all the questions on tests. I paid close attention in class when the teachers lectured, so I was able to do well.”
He pulled her tighter against his chest when he saw the tears that pooled in her eyes.
“Relax. Nothing we learn about you will change how we feel about you.”
She relaxed and sighed, and he knew he guessed right that she was worried they’d throw her out as her parents had.
Mack looked up to see Jace with three women.
“Hey, guys, I’d like you to meet Emma, Lacey, and Ava. They wanted to meet Kaylin,” Jace said.
The women practically bounced in place.