Read Show Me How for Free Online

in time to see Deacon fighting a smile, his mouth slightly open to respond. But his large frame tensed when he caught sight of me, and his mouth fell into a sneer.
    Irrational, betraying heart.
    â€œMommy!” Keith shouted as he barreled into my legs.
    â€œHey, honey,” I said softly, and ran a hand through his hair as he began talking a mile a minute.
    â€œMommy, Deaton’s tryin’ to fix your car, but I told him he couldn’t fix your car. Because the aliens came after it. Right, Mommy? But I’m Iron Man and I made them go away so they can’t come after any more cars.”
    â€œI heard. I could’ve sworn I was woken up by Captain America this morning.”
    He sighed. “That was like, five years ago!”
    â€œOh, of course,” I said as I fought my own smile, and turned us toward the warehouse. “Why don’t we go inside so Deacon can work?”
    My son’s face fell, but it was Deacon who responded.
    â€œ He isn’t bothering me,” he said in a gruff voice.
    There was an odd pang in my chest as his words from the day before mixed with his implication then. Embarrassed heat crawled up my face, and despite how hard I tried not to, I looked over my shoulder at the angry scowl on his face.
    Light brown eyes were narrowed on me, as cold as ever.
    Again, the way he looked at me made me feel as though I deserved his anger—­and I wanted to hate him for it.
    â€œKeith, go inside.”
    â€œBut—­”
    â€œGo inside,” I whispered, but my tone left no room for discussion.
    After an exaggerated huff, he trudged into the warehouse.
    My embarrassment and hurt and anger snapped with the sound of the door shutting. “What did I ever do to you?” I demanded through clenched teeth, and turned to fully face Deacon as he pushed from my car, and rose to his full height.
    â€œTo me? Not a damn thing.”
    A frustrated laugh burst from my chest, but my eyes pricked as tears gathered in them. “Then why have—­why are you—­I don’t understand . . .” I trailed off, fumbling for the words as he slowly closed the distance between us.
    For each step he took toward me, I took two back.
    For as long as I could remember, Deacon had called me “Charlie Girl” and had tried to joke with me in an attempt to bring me out of my shell. But that Deacon had been missing for years. Out of his friends, he had been the fun one and nearly always had a lax smile and booming laugh . . . but that guy was nowhere to be found now.
    Grey always referred to Deacon as a teddy bear. The man in front of me was anything but.
    He was tall and had a large, intimidating frame, courtesy of his love for the gym. His white shirt stretched tight over his chest and shoulders, and was stained with grease, as was his jaw. His dark hair was wild from running his hands through it over the course of the day. And his honey-­colored eyes, darkened with frustration, highlighted the angry set of his mouth, which curled into a taunting smile when I backed into the warehouse wall.
    â€œYou gonna try to finish that thought, Charlie?” he asked in a low voice. “Is the shy, sweet girl trying to find a backbone for once? Oh wait, no, you know all about backs, don’t you? You were probably on yours when you got pregnant.”
    My mouth slowly fell open as his words tore through me. “What?” The word was nearly inaudible, but I couldn’t find my voice anymore.
    â€œEveryone around here acts like you’ve done nothing wrong, and I don’t fucking get it. Shy, sweet Charlie,” he mocked again. “No one would have ever expected you to try to ruin a relationship—­and who knows how much longer you would’ve gotten away without anyone knowing?”
    â€œYou know nothing ,” I choked out.
    He placed his hands on the wall above me, and leaned down. “I know you fucked Grey’s