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“Your room isn’t next to his!” He flings an accusing finger in my direction. “In mere minutes after learning our sister is missing, he’s fucking the stray he brought home! He clearly doesn’t give a shit about Daisy anymore. He’s written her off because she’s so reckless, but she’s hurting. That’s why she does all this crazy shit to get herself in these situations. And again, it all comes down to him being in that fucking chair!”
Silence descends on the room. My brothers and I have never really talked about me being in this chair or the impact it had on our family, at the time. We just kind of ignored it and moved on. We’ve discussed, several times, Daisy’s reckless behavior but notthe cause of it. I know my injury is the cause, but I have no idea how to get her to move past her perceived guilt in the matter.
“Rosco,” I begin but stop. I don’t know what to say to his brutal assessment of my actions in the last few hours. I need to explain myself, but what Marley and I shared is personal. I’m not ready to discuss it with my brothers. “I love Daisy. You know I do.” He glares at me but nods. He knows. He’s just angry, hurt, and worried, which I understand completely. Why can she not want to live for us? Why are we not enough motivation to keep her from trying to kill herself?
“I’m worried for Daisy. I’m scared shitless that she won’t come home, this time,” I confess my worst fears. “Yes, I sought comfort from Marley. She was a distraction from my fears for a while.” Rosco gives another short nod. “But I do care for Marley,” I tell him. “I wasn’t with her for just a distraction. We have something special. I’ve known it from the moment I first met her.” A door slamming a second later has us all jumping. Dalton strolls into the kitchen glaring at me. What have I done now? It seems all I can to this morning is piss people off.
“Damn, man.” Dalton walks over to the near empty coffee pot. He picks it up, tilts it to see the contents. He pours the remainder of the coffee into a cup before he begins preparing to brew another pot. “You have the worst luck.” I glare back at him. What’s he talking about?
“What are you talking about?” I ask having forgotten about the slamming door. Bo and Rosco too are looking curious.
“Marley just heard part of that conversation.” Dalton gives me a pointed look. “But not the last part about you having feelings for her.” He shakes his head. “Man, when you said she was a distraction, her face paled; she spun around, and headed for the front door. You are fucked, man. You’re going to have to do some serious groveling to get back in her good graces.” Fuck! The man is right. Marley’s already seems skittish about what happenedthis morning and now I’ve given voice to those fears. I wipe my hand down my face. How on earth can I fix this? I spin my chair to go in search of her, but Rosco’s hand on my shoulder halts my movement.
“Let me talk to her?” Rosco asks. “This is my fault, after all. If I hadn’t been such a dick, you wouldn’t have been saying any of that shit.” I want to be the one to assure her, but maybe hearing it from someone else will get her to believe it. Reluctantly I agree and watch him head out after my girl. Bo’s chuckle draws my attention.
“You’re so fucked, dude.” I scowl at him, knowing all the while he’s right as rain. If she doesn’t forgive me for the second time in as many days, I am well and truly fucked and not in a good way. I sigh heavily as the weight of what has happened in the last twenty-four hours affects me. Finding out the one woman, who’s been my obsession for the last year, is in danger, bringing her into my home, learning Daisy is missing, and then having Marley for the first time. So much change in such a short amount of time. It’s difficult to process it all, but other than sticking my foot in my mouth, I wouldn’t change it. I want her here in my home, in my bed. It’s where she belongs. I just need to get her to see it.
Rosco
I hurrythrough the house and out the front door in search of Luke’s woman. This is all my fault. I was being a bratty child, but in my defense, I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, at the time. It pissed me off to no end. I get where he’s coming from. Hell, if I had a woman that I truly cared about, I’d want her to take my mind off what’s happening to my sister, too.
The main problem is I’ve been over there. I know what those fucking insurgents do to females they capture. I’ve pulled more than a few from their clutches. Well what was left of them. Bastards. Gang rape, mutilation, and endless torture. I swallow down the bile rising in my throat as I recall the broken, shell-shocked women I’d rescued during my years of service. I am a SEAL, so my team was often sent in to find and bring back those who’d been taken by the enemy. Civilian and servicewomen alike. The very fact Daisy is in uniform makes it even worse for her. They hate women in general, but even more so a strong woman with purpose. The insurgents enjoy nothing better than breaking those women. I shiver, recalling what one army lieutenant had divulged in her shocked state of mind when my team had pulled her out of the stronghold. She’d been held for two months when we found her. She had been beaten, malnourished, and dehydrated. Those were to good parts of what she’d endured.
I spot Marley a good way down the street, headed toward town. Her short little legs at a near jog to get away from Luke’s beach front home. I sigh and head for my truck. I need to fix this for my brother. He doesn’t deserve this. He’s worked so hard to look after all of us younger ones even after losing his ability to walk. I slide into the driver’s seat of my truck and start the engine. I back out of the drive and slowly approach the fleeing woman.
“Marley!” I call when I come alongside her. Her head whips in my direction, but she faces forward again, not breaking her stride. “Come on, get in,” I demand. Still she keeps walking completely ignoring me. I continue to cruise alongside her as I try to think of something, anything to say to get her to comply with my request.
“Just leave me alone!” she exclaims, striding down the street. I don’t let her deter me. I keep following along. She finally stops, turning to me.
“What are you doing?” she demands angrily. I respond with the first thing that pops into my mind.
“I’m tryin’ to drive you to the store,” I reply in my best Morgan Freeman voice. She looks incredulous. Then a tentative smile forms on her face, and she begins to shake with laughter. I grin in response. “Come on, little girl, get in.” I gesture to the passenger side. Shaking her head, she complies, much to my relief. Luke would never forgive me if something happened to the feisty little woman. Marley climbs into the passenger seat. I wait until she’s securely buckled before I begin driving again.
“Where are we going?” she asks after it becomes clear I’m not turning around to take her back to Luke.
“I’m going to take you to the police station,” I answer. “I figure you need a little time away from my brother, and I need time to explain what you partially overheard.” Her head whips in my direction. I glance at her briefly before returning my focus to the road in front of me. “Look I know you overheard Luke talking about the two of you being intimate.” I glance over to see her face beet red. “But you didn’t hear the whole conversation, so what you heard, you took out of context.” She snorts before turning to look out the window. I look at the passenger side mirror and notice the tears she’s trying to hide.
“I don’t see how what he said could be viewed in any othercontext.” She spits the word out like it tastes bad on her tongue. And I’m sure it does if what I think she is thinking is correct. She’s quiet as we drive, and I work to form the correct words to say in my head to get her to forgive my brother. “It’s just…he said he has feelings for me, and I believed him.” A sob escapes her. It breaks my heart to hear her sadness.
“Look, Marley, Luke does have feelings for you,” I tell her, getting another snort of derision. “It’s true. You didn’t hear the whole conversation. I was being an asshole, because I’m worried about our sister. I accused him of not caring about Daisy becauseI heard what you guys were doing, and it pissed me off.” She remains silent. I take that as encouragement to continue. I relay our entire conversation.
When I’ve finished, she remains looking out the window, not responding to a word I’ve said. Did I say the right things? I’d hate it if I ruined Luke’s relationship before it had a chance to begin. “Marley?” She keeps her head turned. The Bluetooth on my vehicle begins to ring, signaling an incoming call, Luke. Shit so not the time for him to be calling, but I can’t ignore him. “Robertson,” I answer.
“Where are you?” Luke demands. “Did you find her? Is she okay?” I glance over at Marley to gauge her reaction before answering. She has her head turned away still. “Rosco! Is Marley all right? God! If something happens to her because me…” He breaks off. His voice cracking. That gets a reaction from her. It isn’t much, but her shoulders relax just slightly.
“Yes, I found her,” I answer him. The sigh of relief coming from him is palpable. “Look, calm down, she’s unharmed. I’ll take her to the police station and get that squared away, then I’ll give you a call and let you know how it went.” The silence in the truck is overwhelming.
“Rosco.” Luke’s voice is strained. “Tell her I’m sorry. I never meant to hurt her. Please get her to understand. I can’t lose her. She’s…she’s everything.” The sharp intake of breath from the other side of the vehicle draws my attention. Marley is staring at the screen on my truck in shock. “Is she there?”
“Yeah, bro.” I chuckle. “She’s heard everything. I think you are good man.” I peek at her.
“Marley, baby, please forgive me,” Luke pleads over the line. “I never wanted to upset you.”
“I know,” Marley answers. Her voice is soft and full of motion. “I’m sorry I overreacted.”
“I’ll see you soon, okay?”Luke questions.
“Yes.”Comes her soft reply. The call ends, and we descend into silence once again. Maybe I haven’t fucked this up for Luke after all.
