Trust In Me (Triplets book 2)

Chapter 16

"Nate will do his best to keep you out of it, but if Peyton brings it up, then you may be called in to give a deposition," Ellen informed her.

Shay's stomach dropped at the thought. If she had to do that, it would be a nightmare because of what had happened in her past and because of her family name.

"Nate said you met LouLou." Shay could hear Ellen's smile.

"Yes, I had a wild party with her, Pete, Ernie, and Maisy. We danced the night away." Shay smiled at the memory.

"You met the elusive Maisy!" Ellen squeaked. "I haven't even met her!"

"She's shy and sweet and much younger than the others. It was a surprise since LouLou led me to believe that they were all senior citizens."

"They are. Nate says it's like having a house full of grandparents, and Maisy is like a big sister to him. If Nate has an apartment open, the entire building gets to help pick who the new resident will be, and they all agreed on Maisy. She's autistic and has some health problems, so the low rent helps her when she is between jobs, and when she gets sick, they all chip in to take care of her." Ellen sounded eager to share.

"Not many people know about this, do they?" Shay crossed her arms defensively as if it would help guard her heart against Nathan Wright.

"No, I took a chance in sending you over there. I must admit it was a relief that LouLou took to you. It kept Nate from getting too upset that you found out."

"Nate's a carpenter?" Shay asked.

"Yes, he holds degrees in business and engineering. He wanted to be an architect more than anything, but his father told him he would only pay for his education if he got a degree in business. He snuck engineering in there as well." Ellen was a fount of information, and Shay couldn't help but wonder why she was sharing so much.

"Why not architecture?" Shay frowned.

"Nate thought his father was less likely to object to an engineering degree if he found out." Someone called out to Ellen in the background. "I have to go, but if there isn't anything to do, why don't you take the day off tomorrow."

"Thanks, I think I'll do that," Shay agreed. She could spend the day with her mother and Ophelia, who had asked her to have lunch with them.

Shay ended the phone call and walked over to the windows, looking down at the traffic below as she thought about how little she really knew about Nate. However, the more she learned, the deeper she fell.

The thought stopped her. Fell, what did that mean? Was she falling in love with Nathan Wright?

Shay closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She must be. Why else would she want to know everything there was to know about the man, miss him so much when he was away, and want him so desperately.

The question was, what was she going to do about it?"

She thought about Brody and shuddered. Shay knew she wasn't responsible for any of it, but somehow that was how she felt. She had always known what he was like, even when she was dating him and trying to convince herself she cared about him. Why else would she let him do to her what he did?

Shay gasped. Had he done that to some other girl? Shay quickly reached for the phone with a shaking hand and dialed Nate's number. He answered on the second ring.

"Shay is there a problem?" he asked, sounding distracted, and she could hear voices in the background.

"I – um -" She didn't know what to say or how to ask without revealing too much, but she had to know. "Brody, what did he do?" Shay's voice was barely a whisper.

Nate made an excuse to whomever he was with and left to go to a quieter part of the room.

"Does it matter?" Nate's voice was stern.

"Yes, it does." Shay shook her head even though Nate couldn't see it.

"He," Nate cleared his throat, "he is accused of drugging a woman who works here and raping her." Nate sounded distressed as he said it.

"It's my fault!" Shay cried. "I should have told. I should have said something!" Then realizing what she said, she backpedaled. "Ellen said I should take the day off tomorrow since I am caught up on everything here."

Shay was met with total silence.

"Nate?" she questioned in a hesitant voice.

"T-take the day off. I-I think that is a good idea." He said, then ended the call.

Shay sunk into her chair. Why had she said that? What did he think of her now?

Her phone dinged, and she reached down to check it.

"I am in a room full of lawyers. Now is not the time or place to ask you the many questions that I want to ask. I am sorry if you've been hurt in the past. I will do my best to keep your name out of it."

Shay took a shaky breath, relieved that he wasn't mad at her.

"Thank you," she typed back with a shaking hand.

Shay couldn't help but wonder who she would be today if her first experience in love had been with a man like Nathan Wright. She also couldn't help but wonder if she would ever get the chance to know what a night in Nate's arms would feel like.

Her mind wandered off into a beautiful daydream about Nate until she remembered Danica and returned to earth with a thump. She reached for her phone.

"Danica stopped by. She has tickets for you to go to the premiere of Sullivan Richards' new movie. It is for a good cause. She said it was sometime next month, but she didn't give the date."

"I'm sure you already know the date. Please add it to the calendar." Nate replied.

Shay didn't know how to feel about his response. She wanted him to say he couldn't go, but she was also pleased that he had responded in a business-as-usual tone. 

Why did she have to be in such a hopeless situation? She wished there was someone she could talk to about it, but the only person Shay could think of that she would want to discuss it with was Nate.

She only had two and a half more weeks left. Then she would have some decisions to make.