Withholding Secrets by Diana Fisher Page B

he reminds her not to fall in the trap, because Keri will get rid of them someday.” When Keri was with Sky, Sky really did look up to Keri and brought something out in the little girl. Something that I could imagine Sky was never given before. Hope and unconditional love.
    “What do you think when you look at Skylar with the woman?”
    “I think that she really likes Keri.” I wrapped my hands around the amber glass that my beer was contained in. My taste for the damn thing was withering away.
    “And how is Keri with the girl?”
    Sitting back in the finely sculpted wooden dining chair, I laughed while recalling the look on Keri’s face when I said that I would put Sky in the box while the boys were on the ice. She had no idea about hockey, and the anger spilled into her eyes. That was when she threw the first color of feelings at me. “Well, she’s … she’s not bad.”
    “Not good either?”
    “Maybe a little over the edge.” The muscles in my cheeks were fighting, trying to gain complete control, and I ended up losing the battle. The laugh bubbled up and I quickly tipped my chin down to my chest, trying to shield the heat that was building in my face.
    The night she stormed into my office wearing that short, tighter sweatshirt that enhanced her luscious body … those jeans that shaped to her sexy ass … I had to take two cold showers after she left. Needless to say, I went to bed alone.
    “So, it’s apparent that she has some feelings for these two.”
    “Oh yeah. I can see that a mile away. But there’s just something they are not talking about.” Silence filtered through the room and killed my bought of chuckles. A thousand bricks pressed down on my chest, once again, and the heat poured over the edge and was cooled by the dose of reality that shot into my blood. “I offered to sponsor Jordan for the season, but she acted like I stabbed her or something and she wouldn’t even hear me out about it. I just don’t see her having the money to get him proper gear—”
    “If she’s not willing to accept, then you need to drop the subject. Now that it’s on the table, if she needs that help, she will come to you.”
    Looking above her head at the painting of the field of flowers on the wall, my heart thrashed around in search of something to grab hold of. Yes, the offer was there, but I had a feeling Keri would scrape and cut the money short for the family just to get Jordan to play. I don’t know why. I don’t know how. But, that woman was starting to get under my skin more and more.
    “What do you think about this woman? Do you really think she’s incapable of taking care of the kids?”
    “She’s just as scared, if not more, as they are. How can a twenty-one-year-old take care of a fifteen and a twelve-year-old? Really? What kind of life is that for her?” Living on the streets was haunting. I’d seen more things on those streets while trying to survive as a kid before I was brought in to child protection services. Kids having babies, selling themselves for money to survive, selling themselves for drugs. Stealing. Fighting. And it wasn’t just kids that were my age. There were people Keri’s age and up into a senior grouping. What was going to happen if Keri wouldn’t cut her loses soon enough and the three of them were tossed out onto the street? With the missing girls around the state, how could Keri be able to keep Sky from being one of the missing cases?
    “Well, if something arises, then I would suggest for you to keep an eye on those kids and do the right thing. This isn’t going to be easy for her, and if you catch wind that those kids aren’t hers legally—”
    “She’s registered them for school, so they have to be or they wouldn’t have let her.”
    “You’re smart, Kane. Use your best judgment, but it’s really best to not get involved unless needed.” Her lips kissed the rim of her wine glass and she tipped it back to finish the contents. When her eyes came back to