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“Don’t kiss my ass.”
“I’m not.” I set my glass down and rested my elbows on my knees. “I think you’re blindly stubborn and need to let go of the past. I think your brother is a hotheaded idiot, and you’re the arrogant but pragmatic one. I’m not afraid to be real with you. But I do acknowledge the wrong my family committed against you. I never should have wanted vengeance. I shouldn’t have been so stubborn and narrow-minded. My father provoked your family in the first place. He’s the perpetrator, and you’re the victim. I see a lot of Vanessa in her mother, and knowing what my father did to Pearl starting to make me a little sick…” I took a long drink of my scotch and returned the glass to the table. “Now that I love a woman with all my heart, I constantly want to protect her. The idea of something like that happening to her… I don’t even want to talk about it.”
Crow kept a straight face even though discussing this probably killed him inside. “My wife is a survivor, not a victim. That’s not how I see her. That’s not how she sees herself. Would never want her to view herself in any other way.”
“When are you going to talk to Vanessa?”
He shrugged. “I’m not sure. My wife has made peace with the past. She’s been happy for a long time. To stir up those memories will just bring her down. It’ll be hard for her to talk about it, especially with her daughter.”
“I can imagine…”
Crow opened the bottle again and refilled the glasses. “Do you watch sports?”
“Occasionally. You?”
“Never.”
“Then what do you do?”
“I work then go home to my wife,” he said. “What else would I do?”
“Sounds kinda boring,” I teased.
“You think so?” he questioned. “Then what’s your day like?”
“I work in the morning and then…” My voice trailed away when I realized my life was the same as his. I immediately went to Vanessa, watching TV on the couch or making dinner together in the kitchen. My whole life revolved around her. There were no more parties or late evenings on the town. Everything else had been sacrificed to accommodate for the diamond in my life.
Crow gave a slight smile before he drank from his glass. “Look who’s boring now.”
“Yeah…guess so.”
He set his glass down. “I’ve talked to my wife about this situation many times. It’s all we talk about now. I mentioned the similarities between our relationships and asked her about it…asked if she would change anything. Her answer was no…that there wasn’t a better man for her out there. She didn’t have any regrets, any moments when she wondered if she’d made the wrong decision. She wonders if you’re right for Vanessa…and we just can’t see it right now.”
“I am right for her.” I fought for her every single day, and I wasn’t going to downplay my confidence. “I’m the only person man enough for her. I make her stronger, and she makes me the strongest man on the planet. I don’t come in a pretty package, but you don’t want me to come in a pretty package. I’m like a guard dog that scares everything off. You can sleep well knowing I’m taking care of her.”
He shook his head slightly. “I don’t feel that way at all.”
He’d insulted me a lot, but none of his taunts ever pierced me as deeply as that one.
“I’m constantly worried about her. My dying wish is to know my two children are safe. With Vanessa, I don’t feel that way. I’m afraid I’ve given her the foolish belief that she’s invincible. She thinks she can handle you, and now she’s put so much confidence in her strength that it’s become her weakness. She’s blinded by lust, and it’s clouded her judgment. I want to know my daughter is taken care of by a great man, not just someone who can provide for her and take care of her…but be good for her. To love her the way I love her, to care for her as the small woman that she is. That’s what I want…and I don’t feel that way about you.”
I could barely get the question out. “Why? You told her you want her to be with a powerful man, someone who can take care of her. I fit that bill perfectly. Nothing can get past me.”
“But you’re also a target. One of these days, something is going to go wrong. Someone is going to want revenge. An attack will arrive, and you’ll never see it coming. You won’t be able to protect her.”
“I’d die before I let anything happen to her.”
“And in this case, you may both die. The only way to ensure that doesn’t happen is to get off the radar. Live a quiet life with honest work. Keep your head down. Practice a life of peace and quiet. That is the only way to make sure she’s safe.”
