Chapter Twenty-Seven
Memphis
“So have you swirled the ole honey hole or fully dipped your stinger in the pollen pit?”
I look at my girl’s brother with a mixture of astonishment and anger. “Excuse me?”
I am going to have to kill him and come up with some excuse for his untimely demise so my girl doesn’t hate me for the rest of our lives. And he's a fucking kid on top of that.
“Have you been getting the honey or not?”
“I don’t want to have to kill you…,” I say the words slowly but enunciate each syllable.
“But you will if I keep talking about my sister like I am?” He gives me an odd look for a man whose life has just been threatened.
“Yes.”
He breaks out into a big smile and starts nodding his head. I wonder if there’s insanity in her family.
“That’s all I needed to know, man.”
He starts to walk away, but I reach out and pull him back.
“Explain.”
“Sis has always kept Silas and me safe. She’s always watched out for us and made sure we survived childhood. She wasn’t just sort of a mother; she basically was our mother. I wouldn’t let just any bastard waltz his way into her life and take advantage of her.”
My brows go up as understanding dawns. The kid might be a couple of years younger than Waverly, but he's got her back.
“I might not have been able to take care of her when we were young, but I can now that I’m a grown ass man. Sort of.” No way he's eighteen yet.
“And if I had said something other than threatening to kill you…you would have run me off?”
“Oh, it totally depends on what you said. I might have called my brother and asked him to bring me a shovel and an energy drink for after.”
I can’t help the lift of my lips as I meet this younger man’s eyes. No fear of me being law enforcement. No fear I might retaliate. He said what he said, and he meant it…and I like him for it.
“You’ll have to tell me stories of when the three of you were younger when we're back in town.”
“Hell, yeah I do!” His eyes light up. “Sis was always pulling me out of shit. We’re not very far apart in age but maturity…that’s a different story.”
“And it'll have to wait for another day since your sister is waiting on me and I don’t like to keep her waiting.”
“I hear you. I hear you.” He looks over at Ari and I wonder how serious that is or will become. Pretty damned serious if the look in his eyes are any indication.
I make my way up the stairs and go over to our door. I don’t mean to catch what is being said but it’s kind of hard not to when the door's been left open.
“Are you in love with him?”
Neve could be asking Sadie since I’m not sure where she is right now.
“I…,” that’s my girl’s voice though, “I’m not even sure I know what love is, Neve. My own mother looked at me as nothing but a burden to be shoved off on anybody else. She wasn’t exactly a great role model for that kind of stuff.”
“Yeah, but your grandmother showed you love.”
“I don’t feel the way I do about my grandmother towards Memphis, Neve. He scares me.” My heart sinks to the floor. I scare her. “I could really get hurt.”
What have I done to make her worry I would ever hurt her? Whatever it is, I will change that shit immediately.
“I could give him my whole heart and people don’t understand what that means. They think it’s just words, but to me it'll mean giving him everything. Every piece of me.”
I’m stunned and in awe of this angel.
“Memphis isn’t just some person.” I need to do something very nice for my sister who has got my back. “I’ve never seen him like he is with you. You could hurt him just as much as he could hurt you. That’s love.”
“What if he leaves me? What if he gets to know me and finds out I’m too much like everyone else thinks I am? It would kill me. No one ever stays, Neve.”
That sounds like some shit someone has told her that wasn’t strong enough to take care of her, to understand the treasure she is, and their loss is my gain. There’s no way I’m letting my baby girl go. Not now that I’ve found her. Not now. Not ever.
“I’m pretty sure you couldn’t make Memphis leave. I’m pretty sure he would low-level stalk you if you told him too, but I think the real question you should be asking yourself is what if he’s already in love with you? Just something to think about.”
The room goes quiet and before too long, Neve is coming out.
She doesn’t say anything to me but gives me a look that is louder than anything she could ever say.
She didn’t do that for me, she did that so I would understand how gentle I need to be with my baby girl.
She walks away with a smile on her face and I wonder how she got so damned smart being my younger sister.
I slip through the door and find Waverly standing by the window gazing out lost in her thoughts. I quietly shut and lock the door before going to her. She’s so busy overthinking everything she doesn’t realize I’m in the room until I wrap my arms around her.
“What are you thinking about, sweet girl?” I whisper it in her ear before dropping kisses down her neck.
“What’s going to happen next? What happens after this is all over?”
“Hmm, the bad guys are going to go to jail where they can never hurt you again.”
She turns her head so she can find my eyes with her own forest green orbs. “And then? We just go back to how it was before?”
“To a degree.” I know what she’s asking. “And sometimes you can’t go back to before. Sometimes you have to move forward.”
She huffs and turns back to the window, frustration evident in her tense body.
“And sometimes, baby girl,” I bring my mouth right against her ear, “you move in with me and let me take care of you for the rest of our lives.”