Chapter 11 #2
“I mean that in the kindest, most loving way possible,” Brighten said with a straight face. When I started to giggle, she joined in before she said, “You really are, though.”
“I have never made a decision and stuck to it in my entire life, so I feel like I have to stick with it. I’m afraid that if I don’t, I’ll just end up drifting from one unfulfilling relationship to another until I’m old and lonely with nothing to show for my time here on earth.”
“Are you going to blow off your sister and give up on that business you’re so proud of?”
“No!”
“Then make that your line in the sand, sweetie. Don’t lose what you never gave yourself a chance to have in the first place.
When Hawk pulled his stupid bullshit and got put away years ago, I learned that every minute should count because you never know when the rug will be pulled out from under you and everything will change. ”
“I’m not sure I can be trusted.”
“What?”
“If you knew my dating history, you’d understand.
If there’s a room full of wonderful men who are committed to their families, dedicated to their profession, and go out of their way to help little old ladies cross the street, I’ll gravitate toward the one guy in the room who swears he’s just misunderstood and needs my help to get his life on track right before he steals my car and sells it to a chop shop. ”
“That was very specific.”
“I really liked that car.”
“What do your sisters think of the men you’ve been with in the past?”
I laughed before I said, “Don’t ever ask them that question, because you’ll grow old listening to their horror stories.”
“So, what you’re telling me is that your sisters’ instincts are usually spot on when it comes to the men in your life?”
“Definitely.”
“What do they think of Crow?”
“They adore him.”
“There you go. Not only do your sisters like him, but the man comes with a glowing recommendation from me. It breaks my heart to see how head over heels he is for you only to find out that you don’t feel the same way.”
“You think he’s head over heels for me?”
“I do. I also think you’re an idiot who should get her eyes checked.”
“It’s starting to sting a little more each time you call me that,” I admitted.
“The only way to make that stop is to admit your issue and then change it.”
“But I —”
“You made a solemn vow to get your business thriving and then stick with it until the end, right?”
“Of course. We’ve got plans to expand at some point, and I’d like to —”
“I want to hear all about that later. Right now, we’re solving the problem in front of us, which, I have to say, is mostly caused by your stubborn insistence on punishing yourself and my best friend for errors in judgment you made before the two of you even met.”
“I was on the precipice of making what could have been one of the worst decisions I’d ever made in my life the night we met.”
“But he didn’t let it happen, because that’s the kind of man Crow is. He does what’s right no matter what.”
“He did. He rescued me.”
“Then step up and make a decision that’s good for both of you, Darcy. Drop this bullshit about a year-long vow of celibacy, and let Crow show you how a real man treats a woman.”
“He already has in at least a thousand ways.”
“And it will just get better over time. I promise.”
“You’re just as insightful as Emerald. You should consider becoming a therapist.”
“Oh, hell no. I wouldn’t be able to stop myself from telling people they’re being stupid and need to just get their shit together.
I’m much better suited to selling real estate, believe me.
” Brighten smirked before she asked, “What did Emerald say when you told her you weren’t going to date for a year? ”
“She said that nothing is written in stone besides birth and death while the rest of life is penciled in so changes can be made when they’re necessary.”
“Just FYI, that’s therapist speak for ‘stop being a dumbass.’”
“I really like Crow, and I honestly don’t think I’ve ever been as close to a man as I am to him.
We can talk about anything, but sometimes we just hang out without saying a word, and it’s still just as comfortable.
” I let out an embarrassed laugh before I said, “I’m not making any sense at all, am I? ”
“Perfect sense. You just described the basics of a healthy relationship. There’s more to it than that, of course, but that’s a great foundation.”
“You know, I don’t think Crow has ever lied to me,” I admitted in shock. “He’s the first man I’ve been close to that I can say that about.”
“Oh, he’s lied a million times by now,” Brighten scoffed.
“About what?”
“That he’s perfectly okay just being your friend.”
“He’s not?”
“Oh, he knows that friendship is the first building block to creating a long-lasting relationship just like I do because we’ve seen it in our parents and the other couples we grew up around. He wants more, but he knows you don’t want to hear it.”
“I think I’ve always known. There’s just something about the way he looks at me when we’re talking.
It’s like he can see inside me or something.
It’s disconcerting in a way but freeing in another.
” I realized I had a dreamy look on my face, but I couldn’t have erased it if I tried.
“Sometimes he just stares into my eyes, and I wonder if he’s thinking the same things I am. ”
“Rip your clothes off right now!”
I swallowed hard before I admitted, “Yeah, it’s something like that most of the time.”
Brighten burst out laughing just as Griffin walked into the kitchen and announced, “There’s a woman with a kid on the front porch. She was talking to me through the window, but I didn’t open the door.”
“Good job, buddy. You don’t open the door for anyone. If they belong in this house, then they know how to get into it, or they can ring the doorbell so an adult answers.”
“I know.”
Brighten looked down at her hands and said, “Whoever it is probably has the wrong address because Griff knows pretty much everyone who would be coming over here.”
“I never forget a face!”
“That’s true.”
“I’ve seen hers before.”
“Then who is it?”
Griffin shrugged before he said, “One of Aunt Raven’s friends.”
“I’ll get the door,” I offered as I stood up.
“Griff, go tell Crow he has a visitor, please,” Brighten ordered as I opened the door.
“Who are you?” the woman on the porch asked.
I smiled at the toddler in her arms before I looked at her and said, “I’m Darcy.”
“Where’s Crow?”
“He’s in the back with . . .”
The woman pushed past me as she looked at the child in her arms and asked, “Are you ready to see daddy, pumpkin?”
I sniffed the air around me as I followed the woman into the kitchen and felt my heart start to race when I smelled something I shouldn’t have. No. Surely not, right?
I pushed that thought aside and focused on what I knew for a fact.
Crow’s family was very close, closer than I could comprehend at first. They adored the children and doted on them endlessly, even sharing the responsibility of raising them in a way I wouldn’t have imagined possible if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes.
Griffin almost always had at least one cousin with him, and the children on this street seemed to drift in one large group from one house to another.
Koda and Scoot had left with Crow’s cousin Ruf less than an hour ago, and tomorrow night, Baxter and Lark’s son, Tristan, were going to spend the night at his house.
Right now, Lyric was down the street playing at Holly’s where Phoenix would pick her up in less than an hour.
There was no way in hell that Crow had a daughter with this woman because in the time I had known him, he’d never once mentioned her, and none of his family had asked about her.
So what the hell was going on?