“What I’m trying to say is that I’m sorry, and I’m so damn happy to see you I could cry, so please stop being mad at me. I love you.”
As she blinks those big doe eyes, I feel the wind disappear from my sails, and I close the gap between us to tug her against my chest. The tension evaporates from her shoulders instantly as her arms wind around my neck, and the evening is still around us for a long beat.
“I love you, too, Pest.”
She heaves a relieved sigh, hugging me more tightly before questioning, “Now, can we discuss Lissie?”
I sit back enough to look down at her, reaching to hold her hand when her eyes grow solemn. “What’s up with Lissie?”
“Well, you know how she wants to be a singer, right?”
At my nod, she continues, “Well, there’s an open mic night at Rebels on the third Friday of every month, and she keeps saying how she’d love to go, but every time it rolls around, she finds an excuse not to.” She shrugs. “I dunno. I think ifyouwere to offer to go along with her,maybeshe’d actually go this time.”
“What makes you think my presence will work?”
“You’re her big brother. She trusts your opinion. She loves you? Take your pick.” Faith frowns before shrugging once more. “It’s worth a try, Fordy. Everyone deserves at least ashotat their dreams, right?”
Momma steps out onto the porch before I can answer, regarding us both with a wary gaze. “No shots fired?”
I chuckle as Faith shakes her head before snuggling in closer in an exaggerated display of togetherness. “Nah, my big brother couldn’t be pissed—” At Momma’s stern glance, Faith shoots upright, changing her verbiage. “I mean to say, Fordy couldn’t be annoyed by his Pest any longer than absolutely necessary.”
She stands up and walks to Momma’s side before shooting me a wink. “Besides, the enemy of my enemy is my friend, right?”
“Who’s our mutual enemy?”
Momma chuckles as she pulls Faith back inside, calling out over her shoulder. “Seems like poor Fal is everyone’s enemy these days.”
CHAPTER 26
FORD
I’mawake with the dawn for the second day in a row, and having spent twenty minutes tracing the contours of Emmy’s beautiful face with my eyes, I ease myself out of bed, careful not to disrupt her.
Once dressed in faded blue jeans and an old green shirt that’s seen better days, I grab my hat, take one last lingering look at the woman I love, and then tiptoe into the hallway. The smell of coffee brewing greets me, and I follow the scent to the kitchen, where I find Momma at the table with a book in one hand and her coffee in the other.
“Morning, Momma.”
She glances up with a soft smile as I approach before bending at the waist to kiss her cheek.
“What are you doing up so early?” Her eyes twinkle as she watches me move off to pour myself a coffee. “Thought you’d be upstairs, getting down to the makin’ of those grandbabies?—”
“Momma!”
She chuckles before taking a sip of her coffee and slipping a bookmark between the pages of her book so she can place it on the table. “You know I’m just playin’ with you, right?”
I pin her with a deadpan look as I slide into the chair beside her. “You’re a sadist, you know that, right?”
She nods enthusiastically before wiggling her eyebrows. Her signature zero-shits-given approach to life makes me chuckle as we both sip on our coffee before placing them side by side on the table.
“It’s nice havin’ you here, Fordy.”
The sincerity in my mother’s tone as she utters those six words speaks volumes, and all I can do is swallow harshly in the face of the raw emotion within me.
Because, truthfully, now that I’m back here, I can admit just how much I’ve missed it. How keeping myself at arm’s reach from all I love over these past years has been punishment for a crime I don’t remember committing.
“I know you’ve never visited him. That you still haven’t spoken to him either.”
My brows deepen in a dark frown as I clench my jaw painfully, but I remain silent, respectful enough to let her say her piece.
