23. Thea #2
We talk and eat in a comfortable rhythm, going back and forth over different topics. Talking about our upbringing and his parents and mine. He tells me how his dad left them so long ago that it was like he never existed.
I tell him about my parents, telling him that my upbringing was way different from my lifestyle now.
“Are you happy with your life now?” he asks, some sort of worry in his eyes.
I meet them head-on and smile. “I’m very happy with my life now. I love my business, love working with my sisters. I love that I have the freedom to run my own schedule, even if it can be grueling at times.”
“It’s gotta be tough.”
“It’s nicer now that Ophelia is in town. She can help give us three a little more time off.”
He nods. “I’m glad she’s staying with you, with everything going on. Have you…” He trails off, and I wait.
“Have I what?” I ask when he doesn’t continue.
“Have you told them about what’s going on yet?”
I sit back in my chair, my stomach full of food. “I haven’t. I’m trying to leave them out of it.”
“You don’t think they’d want to know?”
“Oh, they would.” I shake my head against the image of Annmarie if she found out. “But we’ve had enough drama with Eric, to the point where I’d rather they think that part of our life didn’t happen at all. ”
“I see.” I can tell he doesn’t completely agree with my plan, but he doesn’t say that. He keeps it to himself.
“I’m just trying to protect my sisters, that’s all.”
“I know you are, and I have to admire that, Thea.” He shrugs and says, “But I think they’d want to know because they care about you. The burden to take on the way everyone else reacts to certain situations is not on you. You’re not causing this.”
“I’m basically the mom,” I admit. “Ever since my parents died, that’s been my role.”
“I know, hon, and I’m not trying to take that away or say you shouldn’t care about what your sisters do or say or feel, but I’m telling you, they’re adults now. They can take care of their own emotions.”
The words are the truth, even if that truth is pretty hard to handle right now.
Leaning forward again, I look at him. He’s turned casual for our night in, just a clean T-shirt and jeans, feet bare and hair a wild mess from his shower that he must have taken between work and my arriving here. As much as I love that cowboy hat, it’s nice to see him so relaxed.
“Is that what you told yourself with your brothers? You’re the oldest, too.”
He shrugs his broad shoulders and crosses his arms. “Eh, I suppose. It’s different, you know, we’re guys. We don’t typically sit around and chitchat about our feelings.”
“Us girls rarely do that either,” I retort.
“Maybe you should,” he says quickly with a grin.
“Maybe you should, too.” I smile at him, enjoying that while we’re giving each other shit, we’re also having fun doing it. “Maybe then you’d know why they don’t come home so much.”
His teasing glimmer slips a little, and he sighs. “I do wish I knew that. Mitch…well, he was small when he lived here. Smaller than any of us boys. So, he was picked on for it, even though we would take care of anyone who messed with him.”
My brows furrow. “He was bullied?”
“Yeah, and for whatever reason, he was extra sensitive about our dad never being around. So, he took those nasty comments from other kids to heart. He left the minute he was eighteen.”
“That’s so awful, I’m sorry.”
He shakes his head. “It’s not a big deal, he’s doing better now that he’s got a life outside of this place. He has a good reputation on the rodeo circuit and has basically left the life he hated behind.”
I reach across the table, skimming my fingers over his until he grasps my hand. “But he left you behind,” I say softly, finishing what he didn’t say.
“Yeah, I guess.” He chuckles.
The moment gets a little heavy, so I pivot the conversation for now. “And what about your brother, Jax?”
He rolls his eyes playfully. “Well, Jax is a different story. He was basically the opposite of Mitch—his ego knew no bounds.”
“Had a bit of a different reputation, huh?” I ask playfully.
Logan laughs. “Yeah, you could say that. But this town was definitely too small for him. He wanted to get out and explore the world, see what it had to offer.”
“Sounds like my sister, Tori.”
He thinks about it for a minute, then asks, “Have I ever met her?”
I shake my head. “Nope. She’s never come here before.”
“Really?”
I sigh, sadness coming to mind at the thought of my little sister. “Tori was…mad when everything went down. She hated Er ic, hated that I let him into our life. So when she was old enough to get her portion of the money from our parents’ estate, she took it and ran.”
We sit in the quiet for a moment, probably both thinking about our siblings and how much we hate that they’re not all happy like we’d like them to be.
I briefly wonder if this is how parents of adult children feel.
“All right.” Logan slaps the table, jerking me out of my thoughts. “That’s enough of that talk, this night is definitely not supposed to be about our siblings.”
“What’s it supposed to be about, then?” I ask, teasing him with my grin.
His eyes sparkle, and he leans forward as if he’s going to tell me the most amazing secret in the world. I meet him halfway, his lips close to mine when he finally says, “Dessert.”
I’m still laughing at his answer when he clears the plates.