Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
GYPSY
The next few weeks were chaotic for me and Marco both.
Sunny had made the cheerleading squad, so I’d been working as many doubles at Fresh Foods as possible to pay for her uniform and the other costs that came with it, as well as the new brake pads I’d finally gotten on the van.
Marco hadn’t been happy when I turned down his offer to pay for the work on my car, but he’d eventually let it go.
Meanwhile, his work had taken him out of town a few times, so there hadn’t been a lot of opportunities for us to see each other.
I’d swung by Alpha Omega to visit him on my lunch break a couple of times, which usually ended up with him dragging me to his one-bedroom apartment over Muffin Top for a quickie.
The first time I’d seen his apartment had been a bit of a shock.
Sure, the whole place smelled like pastries, which was awesome, because everyone in town knew Muffin Top made the best pastries, but it wasn’t what I’d been expecting for him.
There was no personality to the place at all.
No pictures or artwork. No personal effects of any kind, really, at least not that I’d seen as he yanked me through the lifeless apartment on the way to the bedroom.
It looked more like a stopover place than a home.
He had the essentials, furniture-wise, and that was it.
Then there had been a few occasions where he’d come over for dinner and to hang out with me and the kids, but I’d been so exhausted that I passed out on the couch before he even finished cooking.
To say he wasn’t happy with the hours I was putting in was a serious understatement.
He worried about my health and well being, mentioning on several occasions that I was taking on too much.
And more than once, we’d gotten into an argument about it, me griping that I didn’t need his help, and him complaining that I was too stubborn for my own good.
But today everything was different, because today was the kickoff for the annual Hope Valley Founder’s Festival, and no one could be upset or angry during the Founder’s Festival.
A three-day event that started with a parade through town and ended with a big outdoor concert and firework display in the town square was like Christmas in springtime for us.
There were carnival rides and funnel cakes and turkey legs the size of my head.
Booths selling everything from handmade quilts to homemade jewelry to jarred preserves and everything in between lined the streets.
There were so many vendors, you could spend all three days, from sunup to sundown, hitting as many booths as possible and still not see them all.
I knew—my girls and I had tried the year before.
The whole town shut down for the Founder’s Festival, so for the first time in what seemed like forever, I had time off to spend with family, friends, and Marco.
We were all lined up along the sidewalk just outside The Tap Room, waiting for the parade to come through, and I was practically vibrating with anticipation as I waited for Sunny to appear with the rest of the cheerleaders.
They’d spent two weeks practicing their routine for today, and I couldn’t remember the last time I’d seen my sister so excited for anything.
“Sorry, sorry, sorry! I’m so sorry we’re late!” At the sound of Temperance’s frantic cry, I whipped my head around and pinned her with a dramatic glare as she and Hayes finally joined the rest of us.
Catching my look, she flinched, her wide eyes contrite as she joined our huddle.
“Something tells me you aren’t too sorry,” Nona muttered. “You’ve still got sex hair.”
I shot her a scowl before pointing my eyes at Holly and Ray in a ‘not in front of the kids’ look.
Eden and Rory fell out laughing as Tempie started finger-combing her wild locks.
Lincoln, Trick, and Marco groaned unhappily, while Hayes wore an expression of pure male pride.
“Gypsy, what’s sex hair?” Holly asked, looking up at me with big inquisitive eyes as Rhodes did his best to choke down a laugh.
“It’s nothing, doodlebug. Watch the parade. Look, pretty floats!” Once I had her good and distracted, I shot another killing glare at Tempie. “You should be ashamed of yourself. Look what you started.”
“Ooh, they’re coming!” Eden cried, drawing our attention back to the parade as it slowly passed.
I spotted my sister in the crowd easily, her brown hair streaked with red, just like Rhodes’s, shining almost as bright as her smile.
I was whistling and cheering her on when I felt Marco tap my shoulder. “Here, baby, take him,” he said, passing Raleigh to me. “I’m gonna get Holly so she can see better.”
Over the past few weeks, Marco had easily won over each and every one of my siblings, including my baby brother, who was usually fussy about who he showed his affections to.
In a daze, I took Lee and held him to my chest, my breathing becoming labored as Marco bent at the waist and hoisted Holly onto his shoulders.
I stared at the two of them together like that as my chest grew painfully tight.
It might not have seemed like much to some people, but it just went to show how amazing Marco was.
He did things like this on a regular basis, and every show of affection and thoughtful gesture was like a battering ram to that wall around my heart.
Catching the look on my face as I turned back to the parade, Rory offered me a soft, supportive smile. She knew what a struggle it was for me, letting Marco in. All my friends did. And while they were excited, they remained cautious in their optimism.
Ignoring the way my heart was beating against my ribs at that very moment, I continued cheering for my sister, silently berating myself for allowing another man to sweep me away from my real life.
I knew to my bones that Marco was a good guy, but there were times when he didn’t know I was looking that I’d see shadows float across his eyes.
The few times I tried to bring up his childhood since that day in the diner, he’d use his hands or his mouth or other parts of his body to distract me.
I still knew nothing about him; meanwhile, he was burrowing himself deeper and deeper into not only my life but my brothers’ and sisters’ as well.
They were coming to depend on him, which meant that when the time came and he left, I was going to have to pick up the pieces of yet another of my mistakes.
After the parade, Sunny had come running up to us, her face still glowing as she asked if she could hang out with some of the girls she’d met on the squad and have one of their parents drop her back home later.
My chest ached as she took off once I’d agreed. Realization that she wasn’t a little girl anymore filled me with melancholy.
“It gets easier, doll,” Nona said, hooking an arm over my shoulders and pulling me into her side as our group wandered toward the town square where all the food booths were set up.
“Hurts like hell the first time you realize they aren’t your little babies anymore, but the pain eventually becomes manageable. ”
Feeling sorry for myself, I rested my head on her shoulder and grumbled, “I know I’m being ridiculous, but this sucks. Rhodes graduates next year, and Sunny the year after. Then they’ll be gone.”
“Yeah, but at least you still have Ray, Holly, and Lee to fill that void. And your kids adore you. I doubt they’ll go far. You’ll probably still see them so much you’ll get sick of them.”
“Doubt it.”
She laughed at my surly tone just as Marco’s soothing voice penetrated the haze of sadness surrounding me. “What’s going on here?”
Nona turned me in a half circle and pushed me toward Marco. His arms immediately circled my back, wrapping around me like a security blanket. “Someone’s having themselves a little pity party is all,” she answered, her voice full of humor.
“I’m not having a pity party,” I snapped, staring daggers at my friend before turning to pout at Marco. “I’m depressed. It just hit me that Rhodes and Sunny are almost grown up, and now I’m terribly sad.” I poked my bottom lip out for emphasis.
“Aw, poor Gypsy,” he cooed, his eyes glinting with amusement. “You think a frozen lemonade would make you feel any better?”
I scrunched my lips and stared to the side in mock thought. “Maybe. If that frozen lemonade had a couple deep-fried Oreos on the side.”
He let out a chuckle as he bent to place a kiss on the tip of my nose.
“Gross!” Ray yelled, and when I looked over at him, his face was puckered in disgust. “You guys promised not to be all mushy and kissy today.”
He was right. Before leaving for the festival, he’d made us swear up and down that we’d keep the PDA to a minimum. I hadn’t realized just how tactile Marco was with me until my brother caught us making out in the kitchen earlier that morning and retched like he was going to puke.
“One of these days, you’re gonna realize kissing a girl isn’t nearly as gross as you think it is now, and I’ll be there to tell you I told you so,” Marco said to Ray with a laugh.
“No way,” Ray asserted. “Girls are disgusting, and I’m never kissin’ ’em.”
Trick came over right then and clapped Ray on the shoulder. “Famous last words, kid. Come on, help me find a spot to set up the picnic blankets. That way you don’t have to see all the nasty kissing.”
Ray was all too glad to join Trick, and when I turned my face up to Marco’s, he was staring after my brother with a soft expression on his face that made me all warm and gooey inside.
Not good.
I couldn’t think about that look, or that Marco had indicated he planned to still be around once Ray was old enough to start appreciating girls. Thoughts like that would only lead to a world of hurt.
“Hey, big man,” I called, intentionally shattering the moment and shifting his focus back to me. “You promised me a frozen lemonade and deep-fried Oreos, remember?”
“On it,” he murmured, grinning down at me. “Think Ray’s head’ll explode if I kiss you again?”
“I’d say that’s a likely outcome.”
“Should we risk it?”
The smart decision would have been to say no and step away. But when it came to Marco, I was discovering that I led with my body and my heart, not my head. “Hmm.” I lifted my finger and tapped my chin. “Think you can be quick about it?”
His response was to bend his neck and press his lips to mine.
“Knock it off!” Ray’s shouted words were quickly followed by the sounds of our friends’ laughter.
Marco
An afternoon spent in the sun surrounded by her friends and loved ones had loosened Gypsy up in a way I’d never seen before. She laughed openly and freely. Her guard lowered when she was surrounded by her friends, the hardness melting from her eyes and making them shine brighter than usual.
I could have stared at her all damn day, but movement from the corner of my eye caught my attention, and I turned as Rhodes shifted on the picnic blanket we were spread out on. Like mine had been, his focus was on his sister, and an emotion I couldn’t quite read worked its way across his face.
“Haven’t seen her like this in a long time,” he said quietly.
Even though he kept his gaze trained on Gypsy, I knew he was speaking to me and that whatever he was trying to communicate was important.
“She thinks I don’t know how hard it is for us.
She tries to hide it so I won’t worry, but I notice things. ”
My stomach twisted into knots as I said, “Of course you do. You’re one of the smartest kids I know.”
He finally turned his attention to me, and the darkness swirling around in his gaze left an acidic taste in my mouth. “Our parents were assholes. She ever tell you that?”
“Not in so many words, but I’ve been able to piece it together on my own.”
A bitter snort bubbled up from his throat.
“Of course she hasn’t. She doesn’t talk about it.
If she did, she’d have to admit to us how hard she’s struggling.
” He turned his head, staring off at nothing as he continued to speak, ripping my heart into pieces with every single word.
“I remember one time, when I was nine or ten. Our dad had come home, already drunk as hell, and went to the fridge to grab a beer, not that he needed it. When he saw we didn’t have any, he started yelling at Gypsy so loud his whole face turned red.
She’d gone to the grocery store earlier that day because there was hardly any food in the house, and she used the money she’d earned to buy us bread and milk and baby formula instead of beer for him.
He backhanded her so hard, she flew into the table and cut her forehead on the corner.
He slapped her,” he seethed, his jaw clenched so tight it had to hurt.
“For buying his kids food, he slapped the shit outta her.”
A silent rage was building up inside me, desperate to get out and find that asshole so I could hurt him worse than he’d hurt Gypsy.
“She isn’t gonna let you in,” he continued before I could say a word. “Not all the way. Not unless you force your way in.”
“Rhodes—”
“Force your way in, Marco. Please.”
Gypsy suddenly flopped down at my side, leaning in to me until I wrapped my arm around her shoulders. She beamed at me and her brother, no walls up whatsoever. “What are you two talking about all quiet over here?”
“Nothing,” Rhodes answered, shrugging carelessly. “I think I’m gonna go get a turkey leg.”
“Another one?” she yelped, bugging her eyes out as Rhodes stood to his feet. “That’ll be your third one! How do you fit so much damn food in your stomach?”
The shadows fell away as he smiled down at his sister. “I’m a growin’ boy.”
She snorted and rolled her eyes, then reached into her pocket to pull out some cash for him.
“I got it, babe,” I tried, stilling her hand so I could pull out my own money.
“No, Marco,” she stated firmly, her gaze growing hard. “You do too much for us as it is. I can get my brother a stupid turkey leg.”
I wanted to argue. I wanted to shake her until she realized she didn’t always have to control everything, but when Rhodes caught my eye and gave an indiscernible shake of his head, I knew this wasn’t the time or place to put up a fight.
There would be plenty of opportunities, so I let her have this round.
I watched his back as he disappeared into the huge crowd of people, thinking of everything he just said and knowing for certain that there was no way I was letting a single member of the Bradbury clan walk out of my life.
I’d force my way past the walls around Gypsy’s heart.
I’d scratch and claw until I finally got in there.
Because the days of them struggling were done.