Page 76 of Tripped By Love
I squeezed his hand that I still hadn’t let go of.
“I’m so sorry you lost them,” I said quietly.
His Adam’s apple bobbed. “Me too.”
We drove in silence for a long time.
“I know it’s not the same, but you have a beautiful family with Maliyah, Maria Carmen, and Jonas,” I said.
He nodded. “You’re right. I’ve been lucky to have experienced two loving families. I didn’t always see it that way, but it’s true.”
I didn’t want him to dwell on what he’d lost even when I’d been the one to bring it up. Maybe more so because I felt responsible for making him sad, even briefly. So, I changed the topic, moving away from his family to mine. “I never doubted my parents loved me either. They fought every day of my childhood to make sure I had every possible chance at a so-called normal life. They were there when teachers tried to make me feel stupid, when I broke bones, and when I foolishly tried to run hurdles in track.”
Marco gave me a surprised look much like the one I’d given him. “Hurdles?”
I laughed. “Itriedto run hurdles. It was a ridiculous attempt with my hypotonia.”
“I’m surprised Arlene let you.”
I smirked. “She didn’t know.” My smile faded. “Then, she blamed Brady after I’d broken my arm, because she found out he’d signed the permission slip for me.”
“Wasn’t he at Juilliard by then?”
I nodded. “Yep, but I emailed him, begging him to sign it for me, and he did.”
“He’s a good brother,” Marco said with a gruffness to his voice.
“He really is. He took so much of Mom’s wrath for me as a kid, and then he made sure I could follow my dreams by funding the café and helping me buy the house.” Guilt filled me as it always did when I thought of all the things Brady had done for me over the years.
“Helping you is a gift to him. You know that, right?” he asked.
I nodded. I did. Brady wanted to help us all. Wanted to take some of the money he’d earned and spend it on the people he loved. But it still didn’t make it easier to accept.
“You’re a good brother, too,” I said to Marco.
He didn’t respond for a long time. “I haven’t really been there very much. When I have been, I…” He faded away.
“You were dealing with the events of your own life the best you could. You shouldn’t beat yourself up over that any more than I should beat myself up over Brady’s generosity.”
“It’s easy to say, but not easy to do.”
I nodded, agreeing. In that way, Marco and I were alike. Feeling guilty for things we shouldn’t have.
We were quiet after that. Both of us lost in our thoughts of our families and our pasts and things we couldn’t change.
My phone buzzed, and I looked down to see Mom’s face. I panicked, letting go of Marco’s hand to answer it. “Hey, what’s wrong?”
She laughed. “Now you sound like me,cailín deas. I just wanted to make sure you got to talk to Chevelle before I put him down. That is, if he ever stops following the damn puppy.”
Her words didn’t match her emotions, and I laughed.
“So, you’ve fallen in love with it already?” I teased.
She huffed. “Chevelle, come talk to Mama.”
There was a scuffle, and then my boy’s tiny voice came on. My heart swelled like it did every single time I heard him. “Mama. Dog-dog. Run. I’s follow.”
I listened to him ramble, told him I loved him and to be good, and then Mom came back on. She asked where we were, and I told her we were almost to Belton.
