20. Flynn
Chapter Twenty
FLYNN
Cat gave me the silent treatment for the rest of the day. Fortunately, I had a few puddle jumper flights, so I was busy. Cat texted me later, asking permission to spend the night with her friend Sara. After confirming with Sara’s mom, I let her go. When I returned that night, it was late. Again. This time, it was because I ended up doing engine checks on all of our planes.
I came by my workaholic label honestly. When I cut the engine to my truck and turned off my headlights, I didn’t miss the fact that I could see two windows illuminated in the darkness. Those windows were in the kitchen.
The mere thought that Daphne might be awake sent electricity sizzling down my spine. I tried to tamp it down, but what I thought was intellectually smart and the right thing to do—avoid Daphne—had little force in the face of my burgeoning need for her.
I walked quietly into the side door, which led into a hallway that offered a back entrance to the private area where Cat and I stayed. I hung my jacket on one of the hooks on the wall and paused by the door that led into the kitchen when I heard a voice.
“Mom, I’m not coming home, and I can’t believe you’re even asking.”
That was unmistakably Daphne’s voice. She didn’t have much of a Southern accent, but every now and then, it slipped through.
She went quiet, and I couldn’t believe I was standing there eavesdropping. But then I couldn’t believe much of anything I did when it came to Daphne. Rational didn’t apply.
After another moment, when I presumed she was listening to her mother on the other end of the line, she said, “Brandon is dead. I know it would be convenient for you if I came back and made nice with Pete, but I won’t. This isn’t about business for me. If I ever wondered what I meant to you and Dad, I know I never was your priority. You just convinced me I was because I went along with everything you wanted. I’m not coming home. Brandon is dead, and I can’t believe you’re asking me to make nice with his father. Pete screwed around on me with someone who I thought was my friend. While Brandon was sick.” Daphne's voice had a sharp edge with that last sentence.
Anger spun in a tight fist around my heart. I knew the details of what happened because Daphne had told Nora. Yet it still infuriated me to hear them spelled out in her voice.
There was another long silence, and then Daphne said, “I’m hanging up now. Goodbye.”
I didn’t realize my hand was on the doorknob until I felt myself gripping it tightly. I didn’t know what Daphne was feeling, but I was fucking pissed off at her mother.
Her silence dragged out just long enough that I almost convinced myself not to march into the kitchen. Until I heard her breath come out in a ragged sigh.
I was through the door in less than a second. I closed it quietly behind me to find Daphne with her hands resting on the counter, and her head bowed, and her shoulders shaking slightly.
“Daphne.”
She spun around, her hand flying to her chest. Her green eyes were bright from her tears, and her cheeks damp. “Flynn. I didn’t know you were here.”
“I heard the last part of your conversation. I don’t like your mother,” I said flatly.
Daphne’s eyes widened. She knuckled at her eyes with one fist and shrugged. “I don’t really like her either,” she said with a bitter laugh.
“Just so you know, I don’t usually eavesdrop.”
She regarded me quietly. “No?” Her lips twitched slightly.
“No. Are you done for the night?”
I finally broke my gaze from hers and scanned the kitchen. Everything was turned off and put away. Daphne’s apron lay in a rumple on the counter with a towel beside it.
When my eyes returned to her, she nodded. “I was just about to go upstairs, but I was thinking about having a glass of wine first. It’s been a day .”
“Come with me.” Striding to her, I lifted the towel and her apron off the counter and tossed them in the laundry bin beside the dishwasher. Catching her hand in mine, I drew her toward the door.
She stopped, tugging on my hand. “I can’t go in there,” she whispered. “Cat’s in there, and she should be in bed if she’s not already.”
“Cat’s spending the night with a friend. And there’s no need to whisper.”
Daphne’s mouth dropped into a pretty little O, and it was all I could do not to kiss her. “Come with me,” I repeated. “I have something for you.”
Daphne followed me. When I first came back from the military to take care of Grant, Nora, and Cat, this section was unfinished. I’d immediately completed this part of the resort first so we had somewhere comfortable to live.
The main area was a combined living room and kitchen. I toed my shoes off, and Daphne followed suit. She was wearing an oversized T-shirt tied in a knot at her waist over a pair of leggings. She looked up at me as if waiting for me to tell her where to go.
“Be right there,” I said as I gestured toward the sectional sofa that took up most of the space in the living room.
Crossing into the kitchen, I fetched two bottles of hard cider from Diamond Creek Brewery. Returning to the living room, I set the bottles on the table. Daphne was seated with her hips on the edge of the sofa, and her hands clasped over her knees. She had that tidy, princess vibe going strong. I wanted to kiss her senseless and mess her hair up.
“Did you try some of this when you went to the lodge restaurant with Nora?” I asked as I opened the bottles.
Daphne shook her head. “I had wine. What’s this?”
“Delia’s cider. It’s really good. She started bottling it and selling it through the brewery about a year ago.”
Daphne curled her hand around a bottle and lifted it, leaning forward to sniff. “It smells crisp.”
I took a sip and commented, “I don’t care how it smells; it’s delicious.”
Daphne took a swallow, her lips stretching in a slow smile. “It’s absolutely delicious. Cider isn’t really a thing in the South, you know.”
“I don’t actually know because I’ve never been to the South. Since apple trees grow where it’s colder, it makes more sense that it’s popular where it snows.”
Daphne took another sip. She let out a low moan as she lowered the bottle to the coffee table. Fuck me. Daphne and food and drinks were dangerous. She was always exclaiming over flavors and smells. It was a good thing I was too busy to be in the kitchen often, except when I scarfed down food.
“You can relax, you know,” I said, patting the back of the couch.
Daphne rolled her eyes as she shimmied her hips back into the cushions. Curling her knees up to her chest, she wrapped one arm around them. I didn’t like the vulnerability flickering in her eyes. As strong as she was, her gaze had an almost bruised quality tonight. Knowing what she’d been through, it amazed me how well she held it together most of the time.
“How was your day?” she asked politely.
I took another swallow of my cider before setting it down. She leaned forward to reach for her bottle, but I beat her to it and handed it over.
Her knees slid down until she was sitting cross-legged with her hands curled around the bottle of cider.
She took another swallow as I replied, “Busy.”
“Your days are always busy, Flynn. Nora thinks you work too much and worries about you.”
I chuckled. “I know she does. You’re the pot, and I’m the kettle. I think you work too much ever since I discovered your habit of staying up late and baking.”
She held my gaze solemnly and took another swallow of her cider. She was making quick work of it. “That stuff is strong,” I murmured.
“I need strong tonight.”
“Tell me why you don’t want to go home.”
Daphne took two more swallows before lowering her bottle again. “Nora told you everything, huh?”
“I think so.”
“Well, things are messy because my ex and his family are my father’s business partners. He’s next in line at my father’s company as the CFO. My parents would like me to make nice and smooth things over. Appearances are very important to them. I didn’t realize how little appearances mattered until Brandon died.”
Daphne’s words came out calm and measured with little emotion. It was almost as if she’d practiced saying this.
I didn’t realize I’d shifted closer to her and reached for her until my palm was sliding down her arm. She released one of her hands from the bottle, allowing me to curl mine around hers.
“You’re cold.”
She shrugged. “I’m cold most of the time. It’s a downside to being small.”
“Not a fan of your mother,” I commented.
Daphne regarded me quietly and took another sip of her cider. “You don’t need to be angry on my behalf.” She lifted her chin slightly as she spoke, a surefire way to rev the engine of my need for her.
“I know you can take care of yourself, Daphne, but that doesn’t mean I can’t be protective. There’s nothing you can do about it.”
“I’m pretty sure there’s nothing I can do about anything you think or anyone else for that matter.” She took another gulp of her cider, draining the bottle before leaning forward to set it on the coffee table. When she leaned back, I scooped her up and pulled her onto my lap.