I probably was making a face.

“Now you’re frowning,” he added, still grinning.

I glanced up at him. “Why are you watching my face?”

“Because it’s cute.”

Oh.

The elevator door opened and my thoughts went to meeting his uncle. This was important. I already respected this man. No matter how many times he cursed while we were in there.

“Uncle D was a big man once. The cancer has slowly beaten his body down. But when I was a kid, he was like the Incredible Hulk to me. He could do anything. It’s hard to see him so frail now.”

Slate was preparing me, or maybe he was preparing himself. The little boy in him needed reminding that the big man he knew wasn’t there anymore. The lump threatened in my throat again and I mentally scolded myself. I couldn’t get emotional. He needed me to be strong.

“Here we are,” he said, knocking on the door once before turning the knob and going inside.

“It’s about motherfucking time you got your sorry ass down here to see me. Hell, boy, I could be dead in a week.” A deep voice—not one I imagined from a frail man—filled the room.

“Stop your bitching. I’m here, ain’t I? And I brought something nice to look at.”

I stepped around Slate to see a man you could tell once had a big build, but his body was thin and pale now. The sickness had taken so much of him. His pale blue eyes met mine and he began to smile.

“Well, Jesus, Mary, and the cradle, it’s a woman that ain’t half-dressed and hanging on your arm like a common prostitute.”

“Uncle D, this is my friend Vale McKinley. I told you about her this summer. Her boyfriend is the one in a coma. Vale, this is my uncle D.”

He continued to study me. “How’s that boyfriend of yours? Opened his eyes yet?”

I shook my head. “No, sir. He hasn’t.”

He frowned. “Well, he better fucking hurry that shit up before you get hitched to someone else. Pretty girls like you don’t stay single long.”

“Have you eaten today?” Slate interrupted him.

His uncle shot him a disgusted look. “I ain’t saying nothing I shouldn’t. Stop trying to change the subject. And no, I ain’t eatin’ that shit they bring me. Pure ol’ horse dung would taste better.”

He turned his weak gaze back to me. “Now, you don’t go getting any ideas about this one.” He raised his gnarled hand and pointed at Slate. “He ain’t for the likes of you. He can’t stay with just one. Not in him. Sure as he realized he had a face that made women’s panties fall off, he started using it. Shame, it is. A good girl like you would be the thing to give him the life he always liked to pretend he had.”

“You gotta eat something,” Slate said. “What do you want? I’ll go get it.”

This time I had to cover my mouth from the giggle that bubbled up when Uncle D rolled his eyes before looking back at Slate. “Boy, if’n I want something to eat, I’ll tell you. Now stop being so goddamn rude and let me talk to this girl. She needs some wisdom from an old geezer like me who has seen it all.”

Slate sighed and walked over to the sofa under the window and waved his hand for me to have a seat. “Might as well get comfortable. I don’t think he’s close to easing up.”

I went over and sat down beside Slate. His uncle was entertaining, and I liked the way he and Slate bantered with each other.

“Now, tell me about school and how you’re both doin’. It’s important to get the schoolin’ or you’ll end up like me, working on a farm your whole life.”

Slate leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest. “I’ll let you go first,” he told me.

“It’s harder than I was prepared for, but I’ve been spending a lot of time in the library.” My cheeks heated at the mention of the library, and I hoped he didn’t notice. Thinking about Slate and the girl in the stacks wasn’t the mental image I needed at the moment. “It’s helped get my mind off everything else, though.”

Uncle D turned his gaze to Slate. “And you, boy? You still fucking in the library or you studying, too?”

A laugh burst out of me and Slate just shook his head. “You’re not even gonna give me a break with company here, are you?”

Uncle D raised what would have been his eyebrows if he hadn’t lost all the hair on his head and face to the chemo. “You thinking she don’t know? Hell, she’s heard it all about you, I’d wager. It’s a miracle she’s seen in public with you.”

“We’re friends,” Slate informed him.

Uncle D made a huffing noise and waved Slate’s comment away. “Ain’t nothing about that girl meant for friendship. You see her and you want her. She’s just too good and clean for ya. Or that’s what you think. But hear me now, ’cause I know what I’m talking about. That girl wouldn’t be here with you visiting your sick dying uncle if she didn’t care about you. So you get that shit out of your head and be smart. Be fucking smart for once. Don’t let the thrill of a skirt and easy sex mess this up for you. The best sex ain’t easy. You just don’t know it yet.”

If my face could get any warmer, I would be surprised. I knew I was blood-red. The heat radiating off my cheeks was enough to warm the room.

“Okay, that’s enough,” Slate said. “Let me get you something to eat. I think we’ve had enough wisdom for the day.”

But his uncle D wasn’t finished. He looked at me. “He’s been a whore. I’ll be the first to tell you. But that ain’t affected his heart any. That boy’s got the biggest one I’ve ever seen. When he loves, he loves big. He doesn’t let you down and he stands by you no matter what. I know it because he loves me. Don’t let his past mistakes and possibly his future mistakes let you miss out on being loved by a heart that damn big.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

THE AWKWARDNESS FROM Uncle D’s advice had eventually faded when he began talking about the hot nurse that hadn’t been in today and how he’d eat peanut butter and crackers if she’d feed him.

I enjoyed being around Slate’s uncle. He was right: Uncle D had no filter and said whatever he was thinking. Every time I remembered he was sick and dying, my heart ached. I didn’t like to think of him being gone. The love and respect in Slate’s face when he looked at his uncle was obvious. It also made complete sense as to how Slate had turned out the way he had.

Next we headed for Crawford’s room. I wasn’t sure what made me more nervous—having Slate with me or Juliet’s reaction to the sight of me.

“Why don’t you go on in alone? I’ll get a Coke and wait out here.” I could argue with him that no, he should come, too, but I didn’t. Because the idea of him coming with me was part of what was making me nervous. It wasn’t like Crawford would see us together and know something. It just … it was cheating. At least, that’s what it felt like.

“Okay,” I agreed. He squeezed my hand.

“Go see him. Talk to him. I’ll be waiting.”

That. That right there was what made Slate special. It was hard to pretend he wasn’t special when he did things like that. What guy was so understanding in a situation like this? I hadn’t known one.

I knocked on the door lightly before slowly opening the door and stepping inside. Juliet was, of course, sitting by Crawford’s side and a book lay open in her lap. Her eyes locked with mine and her eyebrows rose in surprise.