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Micah nodded. “I have,” he said curtly. “I’ve prayed about it almost every day, wondering how I can talk to Rafferty about this. It’s killing me to hide something so monumental from him. We’ve been best friends since the sandbox.”
Micah’s mind flashed back to the first time he’d ever met his best friend. It had been at a local park. While his siblings had been running around, Micah had settled into the sandbox to create a masterpiece. Not long after he’d started a boy about his own age had plopped down next to him and started instructing him on how to make the castle indestructible. Although Micah had been annoyed at being bossed around, he had soon discovered that his new friend Rafferty was the salt of the earth. He had just moved to Pelican Bay and wanted to find friends. Micah soon learned that what he’d perceived as bossiness wasn’t bossiness at all. It was care a
nd concern. From that day forward, Micah and Rafferty had been two peas in a pod.
“And you’re throwing this bash for them tonight,” Caleb said with a grimace. “That can’t be easy.”
Micah shook his head. “Far from it. It’s really a tense situation. And honestly, I have no idea how it’s going to get resolved.”
The sound of a door opening caused both men to swivel their heads in the direction of the hallway. Light footsteps sounded, followed by the appearance of Shayla in the threshold. With her honey blonde hair and hazel colored eyes, she was girl next door beautiful. Micah knew he was biased, but his sister looked better than most cover girls. She was a natural beauty, one who didn’t hide behind a mask of makeup.
“I’m here,” she announced, flinging her arms wide. If Micah hadn’t known her heart was breaking, he might not have picked up on the tell-tale signs. There were slight dark shadows underneath her eyes. The white of her eyes were tinged with red, making him think she might have been crying. And she definitely appeared as if she’d lost weight. “Better late than never,” she said in a half-hearted voice.
“Shayla,” Micah said, moving toward her and wrapping her up in his arms. “I thought you weren’t coming.”
She blinked away tears. “I decided I should be here, so I put my big girl panties on and drove over here.” She squinted at Micah. “You know don’t you?”
“Know what?” Micah asked. He wasn’t good at playacting, but he didn’t want Caleb to get in trouble for spilling the beans to him about Shayla’s feelings for Rafferty.
Shayla leaned up and pressed a kiss on his cheek. “I love you, Micah, but you have a terrible poker face. Caleb told you, didn’t he?”
“Sorry, Shay. I figured he should know given the circumstances. Feel free to punch me if you want,” Caleb said, referencing their sister’s old habit of punching her brothers when they’d crossed the line.
“No. It’s all right, Caleb. I’m not upset about it.” She patted Caleb’s arm reassuringly. “And I haven’t punched anyone for a long time.” Her lips twitched with mirth which was reassuring to Micah. She wasn’t completely down in the dumps.
Micah reached out and swept his fingers across her cheek. “I’m so sorry you’re hurting. I have to admit, I didn’t see this coming, Shay. You hid your feelings pretty well.” He shrugged. “Or maybe I just wasn’t looking. Rafferty is almost like a brother to me, so I never imagined you would fall for him. We’ve all been in each other’s pockets since we were kids.”
“How could I not fall for him, Micah? He’s everything to me. Kind, caring, loyal, funny. Not to mention he’s very easy on the eyes.” She let out a giggle that quickly turned into a sob. “But he’s marrying someone else. And the worst part is, she’s totally wrong for him.” She began to blubber and laugh at the same time, with tears running down her face.
Caleb and Micah exchanged a furtive look. It was their go-to look for when they were worried about something. At the moment Shayla was the subject of their concern.
Micah placed his arm around his sister and led her to a comfy love seat. She sank down into it, seemingly grateful to get off her feet.
“I think you need to go home,” Micah said in a soft voice. “Helping to set up for tonight is above and beyond.”
“I can handle it,” she said, lifting her chin up high. “And I’m coming to the party tonight too. Rafferty will question it if I’m not there.”
Micah and Caleb let out a surprised sound at the same time.
“You’re a glutton for punishment,” Caleb said with a shake of his head. “Do you have any idea of what you’re setting yourself up for? It’s going to hurt like crazy to see everyone toasting their engagement.”
Something told Micah that his baby sister wasn’t being realistic. She was trying to be tough in dealing with the situation head-on. And even though she tended to put up a brave front in hard situations, she was also a marshmallow on the inside. It wouldn’t take much to make her crumble.
“He’s right,” Micah interjected. “Everyone is gathering tonight to celebrate Rafferty and Pamela’s engagement. The whole focus will be on their love story. That’ll be pure torture for you.”
Shayla let out a beleaguered sigh. “You’re right. It will be. It’s going to hurt something awful. But I don’t really have a choice in the matter, not when you think about it. Rafferty isn’t going anywhere and neither am I. And I don’t want to run from him for the rest of my life.”
“When did you get so wise?” Micah asked, wondering when Shayla had matured into such a strong and intuitive woman.
Shayla made a face. “I’m not sure I’m wise, but I’ve been praying about the situation all day and asking God to help me decide what to do. In the end, I decided to come help you set up because you’re my brother and I love you to the moon and back.”
Micah felt his chest tighten with emotion. He wasn’t sure he could speak at the moment, so he simply smiled at his sister and placed his palm over his heart.
Shayla smiled back at him. “I know what Rafferty’s friendship means to you. And I’m coming tonight because I want to see Rafferty happy. That’s part of loving him. I care about his happily ever after.” Her voice softened. “Even if it doesn’t include me.”
Caleb swiped at his eyes. “Now you’re going to have me bawling. This is getting deep.”
Micah nodded, feeling in full agreement with his brother. The Donahue clan was a tight one. Their familial bonds cut through biology and blood and birth lines. They were comprised of the biological kids of Jude and Penelope Donahue, as well as ones who were adopted from the foster care system. All in all, it had never mattered to a single one of them. They weren’t all born from the same mother and their skins tones didn’t all match up, but their hearts and souls were entwined for a lifetime. Both he and Caleb felt Shayla’s pain acutely. And even though Rafferty was his best friend and he knew Rafferty hadn’t done a single thing to lead her on, part of him felt a slight twinge of irritation toward his friend. Not that he would necessarily want to see the two of them together, but he wondered how Rafferty couldn’t have spotted Shayla’s adoration. Couldn’t he see she was one hundred times the woman that Pamela was pretending to be?
