Chapter NOVA
NOVA
Lyric and I were talking to Pax in the backyard when Dan and Lula arrived home from their mini honeymoon. I had been stressing my brother’s return.
Dan struggled to see me as a fully functioning adult. He left South Dakota when I was young, only to return years later when I needed saving. Adding a layer of guilt over my shooting kept Dan blind to the real me.
My brother exited the house, wearing his favorite cowboy hat. Lyric told Pax goodbye and then ran for her uncle.
“You came back!” she cried dramatically.
“Don’t let your brother bully you,” Pax muttered to me. “Older brothers think they know shit, but they’re just jealous of our youth.”
With that statement, Pax strutted back toward his house. I walked to Dan, who held Lyric.
“No, I didn’t swim in the pool,” he told her. “I mostly spent time in the room with Lula.”
“Did you play?” Lyric asked as she touched the rim of his hat.
Dan grinned at me. “Oh, yeah.”
Sharing his smile, I said, “I’m glad you had fun.”
“Did you have fun on your date?”
Flashing him a grin like he did me, I replied, “Oh, yeah.”
“Really?” he balked. “Already?”
“I’ve known Boone almost as long as you’ve known Lula.”
“It’s not the same.”
“Why?
Lula appeared and stroked his back. “Before you say something unenlightened, let’s make dinner plans.”
“Mom didn’t eat dinner last night,” Lyric said as she still fiddled with Dan’s hat. “She starved.”
I shook my head before Dan could find out more. “Elle and Zodiac babysat last night, didn’t they?”
Lyric smiled at me. “I felt her monster baby move. Its name is Tent, and I think it’ll eat me when it comes out.”
Ignoring her war with Zodiac, I focused on Lula. “You look happy.”
“I am,” she said and waved at her dad sitting on the back porch next door. “I learned a lot about Dan at the hotel.”
“Like what?”
“He’s a good tipper.”
“Is that code for something?”
“No,” Dan grumbled. “I just give good tips. Nothing more.”
“Such a prude,” Lula taunted him before walking toward the fence where Pax met her.
Dan set down Lyric, who ran after Lula. My brother’s dark brown eyes studied me. When we were growing up, he always seemed tense and closed off. Only when we were alone together could he lower his guard and reveal his softer side.
Right now, he looked tense and closed off again.
“I’m in love with Boone Chester,” I blurted out before he could speak.
“You barely know him.”
“How long did it take for you to know you loved Lula?”
“Many weeks, maybe months.”
Narrowing my gaze, I muttered, “Fibber.”
Dan followed me into the house, where I wiped the counter. He sighed deeply and shook his head.
“It’s happened too fast.”
“I said the same thing about you and Lula.”
“True, but things were wild then. I couldn’t take my time.”
My natural inclination was to go along with Dan’s decisions. I usually trusted his instincts, but he was lying right now.
“You didn’t ride to Little Memphis because you were worried about her.
You wanted to see her for romantic reasons.
You might have rewritten those memories in your head, but I remember everything like it happened yesterday.
You couldn’t shake your need to see her, and I encouraged you to woo her. Then, you didn’t come back.”
“Is that why you’re rushing things with this guy? Do you not trust me?”
“Why do you keep talking about Boone like he’s a stranger? You’ve spent more time with him than I have.”
“Exactly.”
“So you should know he’s a good man.”
“A good man doesn’t mean he’ll make a good husband.”
“I’m not worried about marriage,” I said and shrugged. “I might go ahead and live in sin. Be a rebel, you know? Those old rules don’t apply to me anymore.”
Seeming suspicious, Dan nodded. “Don’t get me wrong. Boone seems like a solid guy, but I’ve never dealt with you dating before. It feels weird, even if I know you’re a grown woman.”
Hearing my brother’s tone soften shattered my attempt at playing tough.
“I’m glad you found Lula,” I said and hugged him. “You made big moves and took chances to win her heart. I see how happy you two are, and I want to create the same thing with Boone.”
“I’ll be patient, but it’s difficult. We just settled in here at the house, and with the new place in Baton Rouge. I kinda wanted things to stay the same for a while.”
“I don’t know what will happen next, but the real Boone has been better than my fantasies.”
Dan held onto me and stroked my head. “How is he with the girls?”
“Great,” I said before giving in to his brotherly powers and adding, “But he hasn’t seen them at their worst.”
“They’re good girls,” Dan said in a quiet, tense tone. “When are you seeing him again?”
“Tonight,” I said casually despite the constant panic brewing in my chest. “We’re taking the girls to a pumpkin patch. We’ll pick up dinner somewhere before coming home.”
As Dan let me go, he wore the same expression as when he visited me at the hospital after the shooting.
Guilt, rage, and grief fought against each other, leaving him silent.
I felt my brother working on reasons why Boone and I were a mistake.
He didn’t share his feelings, but those objections were dancing on his tongue.
Before he could say something that would make me feel bad, Lula and Lyric entered the house with the dogs behind them.
Suddenly, the tension broke, and Dan smiled at his wife.
I felt strangely out of place. Lyric was very interested in where her uncle and aunt had been. She followed them around all afternoon.
An hour later, Skylar arrived home, told them hello, and then went to take a short nap. Lyric joined her sister. I found myself sitting in their room, trying to imagine a life with Boone and the girls.
Where would we live? Would my girls resent me for giving up their new home? No doubt, they’d be upset. They loved Lula’s house and this neighborhood. I’d be asking them to give up everything to make me happy.