Page 55 of Family Forever
Before he finished tucking in Luke, Aric climbed the steps as well and poked his head into Nate and Luke’s room. “I think I’ll turn in early. Good night.” He took a step out of the doorway and Dylan called after him.
Aric poked his head back through the doorway. “Yeah?”
“Thank you for taking care of things tonight.”
His brother nodded at him and disappeared out of sight.
Dylan returned downstairs, pulled a beer from the fridge, and sat in his recliner staring at the blank TV screen, pondering his life, particularly the most recent issue that occurred in the kitchen several hours earlier. His brothers did deserve to get yelled at, but perhaps not as harshly as he had. The fear in Luke and Nate’s eyes when he snapped scared him. So often when he reacted to his brothers he tried to think first about how his parents would have handled the situation, but not this time. He just reacted, and he’d give anything for a do-over.
He drained his beer bottle and grabbed another. The squeaking of his rocker recliner was the only noise echoing in the unusually quiet house. That’s all he wanted earlier, just a few minutes of peace and quiet. Was that so much to ask? It pained him to know his brothers would likely never forget the incident. Forgive him, maybe, forget, no.
Right about now he needed some sort of sign to let him know he wasn’t screwing it all up for everyone, his brothers, Marissa.Marissa.He shook his head. He really screwed that whole thing up. He loved her, and for a while, he thought maybe she felt the same. Yet, he kept pushing her away. Now it was probably too late. She had her friend, Terry. Probably close to a thousand times he tried to justify his actions in that situation, trying to convince himself it wasn’t the right thing to do, to saddle her with a large, ready-made family at her young age. He of all people knew the sacrifices that came with that. It was for the best. For a brief moment, he looked up, to the heavens, hoping God would send the sign. Nope. He strolled off to bed.
Dylan hadn’t been under the covers for ten minutes when he heard a car door slam.Cole?He flung the covers back and rolled out of bed.
He entered the living room just as Marissa bounded through the archway between the kitchen and living room.
“Oh, Dylan,” she said as she leaped toward him and flung her arms around him.
He pulled her tight to his body. Her tiny body shook in his arms. “Shh, sweetheart, it’s going to be okay, whatever it is will be fine.” He stroked her long, silky hair as he whispered to her.
She inched back and locked her bewildered gaze on him. “What are you talking about? I’m fine. I’m here for you. I would have been here sooner but I had to wait for Terry to get back to the campus with his car so I could borrow it. The way Braden made it sound when I talked to him the second time, after I talked to you, was that, well, that…” Her gaze fell to the floor.
Good Lord, what had his brother told her? Heat rose through his body. He’d never been so embarrassed in his life as he was right now with her knowing he’d lost all control the way he did. And Terry; there was that awful name again.Terry.
She lifted her gaze and met his. The sympathetic look in her eyes angered him. He stepped back. “Like I told you on the phone before, I’m fine. That’s it, end of story. You, Cole, and Aunt Mitzi can all just relax. I have everything under control, and I’ll take care of everything myself like I always do.”
Her bright blue-eyed gaze dulled as her eyes watered.
“I just, I…” Her voice cracked, her bottom lip started to quiver, and her words faded.
A sharp pain shot through his heart and a lump the size of a golf ball formed in his throat.Why am I being such a jerk?She came all this way, in the middle of the night to be with him, to help him, and all he could do was shove her away.
She spun and took two steps before he snatched her wrist. “Wait, Marissa. I’m sorry. Please don’t go.”
She stopped but didn’t turn to face him. She patted her eyes with the sleeve of her sweatshirt and started to ease around when Luke stepped off the bottom step and into the living room.
When Luke realized Marissa was standing there his eyes widened in excitement and he lifted his arms toward her. “Hi, Marissa.”
She scooped him up and planted a kiss on his cheek. “Hi. What are you doing up so late?”
“I need a drink of water.”
“Well, let’s just get you one then.” Marissa carted him off without so much as a backward glance at Dylan.
Dylan listened to them banter back and forth for a moment before Marissa offered to tuck him in. With Luke in her arms, Marissa returned to the living room and headed up the stairs. Dylan took a seat on the second to the bottom step to wait for her. He wasn’t going to let her leave without accepting his full apology for being such a jerk. She’d have to hurdle him or climb out an upstairs window to avoid him.
Her last words to his little brother touched his heart like they always did. Secretly, he wanted nothing more than for her to say the same words to him someday.I love yousounding from her soft red lips, directed at him would forever be his dying wish.
Marissa’s light footsteps sounded on the stairs. They drew closer. He knew he better figure out what to say and say it quickly before she left, angry with him. The sound of her footsteps paused. He could feel her gaze on him, yet he couldn’t seem to turn around.
She took another step and then sat next to him, turning at the waist to face him. “I’m sorry, Dylan. I didn’t mean to interfere. I was just worried about you.”
He met her gaze and choked back the lump in his throat. “You have nothing to be sorry for. It was all me. I had a really bad day and I took it out on everybody. I feel truly blessed to know how much you, Cole, and Aunt Mitzi care for me and this family. I don’t deserve it after the way I behaved today.”
Marissa placed her small, warm hand to his cheek. “I can’t believe you’d believe or say such a thing. You are the most caring and devoted person I ever met. You care for these boys as if they were your own. They know how much you love them and they couldn’t possibly love you more. You are the best thing that has ever happened to them.” She paused, sucked in a deep breath, and let it out slowly. “And you are the best thing that ever happened to me. You took me in, no questions asked, and let me become a part of this wonderful family, and for that, it is I who am truly blessed.”
His heart thudded in his chest. He tried to pull his gaze from hers, knowing that if she kept looking at him like she was he’d kiss her. And without a doubt, one sweet taste of her lips and he’d need to do more than just kiss her.
