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She heard the offer and considered it. She was worried about what else might happen. Gemma was already under stress, and she was at an age when things like a man on the doorstep shouting obscenities would terrify her. Their presence, calmness, and strength made her feel safer. “Please,” she said finally. “Stay here for a time. I’m not really comfortable that he won’t come back.” She glanced at the clock. “Gemma will get out of school soon. I should pick her up, especially today.”
“We can take your car,” said Rafe.
She sat between them on the couch, enjoying feeling their legs pressed to hers. Their touch was reassuring. “I was supposed to go shopping today, before… There isn’t much in the house for dinner.”
“Dinner?” asked Max.
“You will stay for dinner, won’t you?” She hated that she sounded needy, but Max just smiled as Rafe nodded.
Rafe brushed a hand down her thigh. “Of course. Max never turns down a meal.”
“Hilarious,” said the bigger biker with an indulgent smile.
“So when we go to get Gemma we either stop at a supermarket or let me treat you to takeout of some kind. Gemma’s a kid, so she’s got to see fast food as a treat, and I’ll eat almost anything.” Rafe grinned.
He was trying to distract her, to make the episode fade quickly, and she adored him for it, but it also made her heart race. He seemed to care about her. So did Max. It came as a surprise that she found herself attracted to these bikers. It went against what she thought of herself. Well, so much for preconceptions. They were opening her eyes, and she would give it a chance, and some time.
“She does like junk food, for sure, and I’m not sure I’m up to cooking. I wouldn’t want to poison you guys after what you’ve done. Thank you.”
“It must be hard.” Max’s voice was soft, and his dark brown eyes looked deep into hers as he shifted slightly.
“It is. I’m really rattled.” She drew strength from both of them putting a hand on her thighs and squeezing lightly. “Even though I know there are crazies out there… I guess I always imagined I wouldn’t have to deal with one. I can’t believe Brad is doing this to me, or that anyone would do all this.”
“Actually, I was thinking even pre-Brad—before all this happened. I know how hard it is to be a parent to your own sister. You have a smart kid on your hands and parental responsibilities you never asked for.” Max’s open vulnerability revealed his sincerity and that he identified with her predicament. He would know better than most.
“I haven’t been where you guys are, but I imagine it’s tough. I’ve seen Max struggle through it sometimes, and Danielle is independent.” Rafe frowned. “Even though I’m sure Gemma loves you for taking care of her, she’s a teen and has to resent you playing her parent sometimes. That must make for a tough balance between being her sister and being the one responsible for getting her safely to being an adult capable of taking care of herself.”
“Definitely,” said Max softly, though Rafe’s words had been mostly for Simone.
Max’s understanding soothed her, and Rafe’s insight amazed her, and she nodded. No one ever seemed to understand the problem, but these men did. “Yes, it gets rough at times—hard to deal with. The times I need to put on a parental face the most are exactly the times she sees me as an interfering big sister. I get to do what I want, and she doesn’t.”
“You’re suddenly cracking down and being too harsh,” said Max in a knowledgeable tone. “You’re trying to save her from things you went through, but she doesn’t see it that way.”
Simone nodded. “She knows intellectually that I am her legal guardian, and our age difference helps a bit, but I’m not Mom or Dad, and I don’t have any authority that makes sense. Sometimes I act one way and other times another. And emotionally, she has that little sister thing going, thinking that I’m just keeping her away from the good stuff because I see her as a tag-along.”
Max nodded. “I know that well.”
“I can see that being difficult, not to mention painful,” said Rafe.
“When I see how she takes direction and even supervision from someone else, someone like you, it hurts a bit. On the other hand, having you guys reinforce what I tell her helps.”
“But you know I won’t always reinforce what you tell her. I see some things differently, and to me she is a tiny almost-adult, rather than a kid,” said Rafe.
Max hesitated but nodded. “Of course, it’s easier for us to see her as an almost-adult. I still feel like Danielle is just a kid, and Rafe has told me more than once I’m stifling her.” He shrugged. “It’s probably true, or was until she moved away.”
She frowned. “You’re saying we might butt heads.”
“I’m saying that sometimes you might disapprove of me treating her more like an adult than you’d be inclined to do. I’m telling you that if that happens, I’m not trying to butt heads with you, just responding to the woman I see trying to come to grips with the world.” Rafe seemed certain of his position.
Max just shrugged. “It all depends on the circumstances.”
She admired the way they acknowledged that. “Sometimes I’m too close to see clearly, so maybe that can be a good thing. As long as you remember I get the final word.”
“I’d expect nothing less, since it’s the same for me and Danielle,” said Max.
Rafe raised an eyebrow. “Concerning your sister? Sure.”
When they went out to the car to get Gemma, Max put his arm around Simone so casually, so naturally, that she accepted it the same way as when Rafe took her hand. She wondered what the neighbors would think if they saw but decided she didn’t care. Her tremors were still there, but they absorbed them. Now her breathing was disturbed more by her feelings for them and the simple fact that she wanted to be near them, to feel their presence, than either anguish or fear.
