“Do you honestly believe that?” Beth asked.
Natalie’s body tensed. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You haven’t been here in seven years,” Beth said.
“Wow.” Natalie’s head bobbed up and down slowly, as if she were processing what had been said. Finally, she spoke, “You didn’t want me here, Beth. I was in the delivery room with you when Diesel was born, and then when Brady and Charity came, you didn’t even want me to come to town to meet them, let alone be in the room. How do you think that made me feel?” Tears glistened in Natalie’s eyes. “But I respected your wishes, and I stayed away.”
“It’s not like I could have stopped you if you really wanted to come,” Beth grumbled.
Nat’s body tensed beside me. “Are you pissed off I didn’t come visit when you clearly told me not to, time and time again?”
Beth shrugged.
“That’s not fair,” Nat protested. “How many times did we talk on the phone about how no one cared about what you wanted? How no one listened to you. I was trying to give you what you said you needed.”
“When’s the last time you were here? You couldn’t even be bothered to come back when your grandpa died.”
Natalie gasped. My body instinctively puffed up to protect her. “That’s enough, Beth.” I snarled. “You’re out of line.”
My sister gave a sheepish nod. “Sorry, I just thought you’d come back here sooner. Brian and I separated right around the same time. It would have been nice to have you here.”
“But you didn’t ask,” Natalie said.
“I told you it would be nice to hang out while you went through the cabin,” Beth grumbled.
Nat’s shoulders slumped. “I had just spent the last six months with my grandpa in palliative care, taking the train two hours to see him several times a week between shows. Holding his hand while he died. I was exhausted. I didn’t have the mentalbandwidth to deal with going through his cabin on top of everything else.” She scrubbed her hand across her face. “Could I have done a better job of being there for you? Sure, probably. But I just…I was doing the best I could at the time.”
“It hurt that you didn’t come after Brian and me separated when I told you that you could. And now you are finally here, and you’re with my brother.”
Natalie sat forward on the couch. “Are you kidding me?”
“You know how I feel about my family.”
I sat up straighter. What did that mean? “How you feel about your family?” I interjected. “Meaning me?”
“Yes, you.” Beth’s head dropped back on her neck. “I’m so tired of everyone thinking you are so perfect. Asher will look after the family. Pay the bills. Hell, you could probably solve world hunger if you tried, and I’m just the colossal fuckup. You don’t get to have my best friend think you’re perfect too. Someone has to pickme.”
“Jesus, grow the fuck up, Beth,” I snarled. My sister was acting like a petulant child. She had three fucking children and still couldn’t be the grownup in the room.
Beth reared back like I’d slapped her. “Don’t tell me to grow up,” she yelled.
“Then stop acting like the world has done you wrong. Have things been hard for you? Yeah, but take a look in the mirror. You aren’t in this position by accident.”
“I didn’t ask to get pregnant the summer I graduated from high school. And I sure as hell didn’t ask Brian to be a deadbeat dad.” She glared at me. “You got to go off to school and live your life. You’re back here by choice. I’m stuck here.”
“You had three kids with him, Beth. Seems like a choice to me,” I snarled. Anger surged through me. Yes, I’d gone away for school. But I’d come back because of my family, and I’d done everything in my power to make my sister’s life as comfortable aspossible. Hell, the only reason she even found out about Nat and me was because she’d shown up to ask for more money.
“You think everything has been easy for me?” I asked. “I lost my best friend because of you.”
“Brian’s an asshole,” Beth snapped.
“Yep, he is. Doesn’t mean it didn’t suck to learn just how big of an asshole he was. When you two got together, I told you that you could do better than him, but I didn’t stand in your way. I stood by you instead.” I pinned her with a stare, daring her to argue with me. I remembered the day I found out they’d been going around behind my back, and it hurt. That was why I was cutting her so much slack about this thing with Nat. But that slack was quickly running out.
“I defend you to Mom and Dad constantly. I pick you over my wallet. I pick your kids over my free time. Anytime you need anything, I drop everything because you’re my baby sister and I love you. I have never once asked you for anything. Until now.”
“But you could have anyone in this town. Why does it have to be my best friend?” she whined. “I don’t want you to be together.”
Why had I not realized how spoiled my sister had become? Maybe rescuing her all the time wasn’t actually helping her at all. She sure as hell didn’t seem to appreciate it. She just took it for granted that what she wanted won. But not this time. Her selfishness was really pissing me off. I took a deep breath to calm myself down. Natalie’s knee tapped lightly against mine, and the gentle reassurance that she was there loosened the knot in my chest. “Don’t I deserve to be happy?” I asked.
