Chapter Twenty-One
“I’m sorry you had to see that,” Aasia said when Bear climbed into the truck.
The rain had started again, and Aasia watched the fat drops race down the window, focusing on the gray sky instead of his muscular arms exposed in the T-shirt. Pedora was right about him. Very much so.
“Don’t apologize. We can’t choose our family.” He didn’t start the truck. They sat in silence, watching the rain fall in silence until Aasia felt some of the anger leave her.
“She’s just so…so…”
“Feisty? Stubborn?” he said quietly.
She snapped around to look at him. “You can see that too, huh?”
“Nah. I’m guessing that’s why you two are butting heads. You’re a lot alike.”
She stared for a long moment then looked out onto the peaks of the pine trees. “You sound like Pedora.”
“She’s a smart woman.” He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel in restless energy. “Don’t kill the messenger, but Phoebe asked me to tell you that she loves you and she’ll be ready to talk once you’re ready.”
“Is that really what she said?” Aasia cocked a brow.
He sighed. “She said once you pulled the cornstalk out of your rear you and she could talk.”
Aasia laid her head back on the headrest. “She had to get the last poke.”
“I think she was being genuine.”
“She has that way with men. Convincing them that the sky is purple and pecans are pronounced puh-cans.”
He blew out a long breath. “Is this family turmoil because of a man? Some Jerrod?”
“No, but once she has her mind made no one can change it. Before I met Bentley I dated Jerrod for five minutes. He liked Phoebe, like most men do. I knew he was bad for her, but she wouldn’t listen to me. Even now, she doesn’t see I’m hurt because she disappeared like I meant nothing to her.”
“It seems you two were once very close.”
Aasia stiffened, splaying her hands on her thighs. “I did my best for her. After she was born, I took care of her. I protected her as much as I could. She disappeared. Didn’t even have the decency to tell me goodbye.”
“Just disappeared?” he pressed.
She felt the tears escape down her cheeks. “She and I were close. She was all I had. She was what made me smile daily.”
“Why did she leave?”
“I told her not to run off with him so he could pursue being in a country band in Nashville. I tried to tell her, but like I said, Phoebe must prove everyone wrong. I get that sometimes we need to learn lessons by doing but he was bad for her.”
When he touched her hand she slightly jerked, looking down at where their hands were connected. His much larger hand felt nice on hers. “You two are still family,” he said gently.
She looked at him through unshed tears. “Are we? Or just a collection of DNA?”
The silence seemed to stretch between them, punctuated by the tapping of the rain against the roof.
She wished the rain could wash away all the bad memories.
The rain seemed to be relentless. The sound was amplified and a stark contrast against the lingering silence between Bear and Aasia. They sat staring through the window and the shadows of the rain on the glass feathered their features.
“I don’t talk about my life in uniform much.”
She shifted to look at him. “Why?”
He shrugged. “I’ve done things. I’ve seen things.
Things I wish I could forget. The one thing I’ve learned is that we all should be grateful for the positive things in our lives.
Families aren’t made up of agreements and eye-to eyes.
And they’re not just about DNA. As you can see, sometimes families aren’t connected by DNA at all.
When my military contract was finished, it was my family that saw me through, especially my brother.
To tell you the truth, he and I always butted heads when we were younger.
I’d say blue and he’d say orange. I’d say up and he’d say down.
But now, he’s my best friend. We rely on each other, even though we don’t see each other too often. ”
“Are you saying that Phoebe and I can be best friends? Even though she can’t be trusted?”
He shrugged. “She did come back. That says a lot. I don’t know much but that seems like a big deal.”
She rubbed her temples where a nagging ache started. “You have no clue how much she...”
“Hurt you? I think I can get a good idea.”
Aasia dropped her hand into her lap. “Yes. She hurt me. I was as close to her as a mother.”
“Sometimes kids need to fly the nest to find themselves. Maybe she needs a sister now and not a mother. It sounds like you two have supported each other through a lot as children. Maybe you need the same support as adults because when it comes down to it, you two were there, together.”
“Bear, I’d like to speak to you about something. I don’t know the extent of it, but I feel like I need to bounce my thoughts off someone.”
“I’m all ears.”
“I fear that—”
Lights shining into Bear’s truck paused Aasia.
“It’s Echo. I wonder what he wants?” Bear said. “I better go find out.”
Aasia watched Bear jump out of the truck and head to Echo’s truck. She watched the two men talking. And when Bear looked over his shoulder at her she saw the grim lines around his mouth. Her chest tightened.
He stepped over to the passenger window and she rolled it down. “What’s wrong?” she asked.
“It’s Fletcher. He’s pulled out of the race.”