Page 119 of Songbird: Black Kite
But in the end, it was the terror that won.
The sky outside the window was just lightening as I slipped from the bed, the edges of the night slowly bleeding from black to gray. Standing there, looking down at Hawk, bathed in shadows, I couldn’t help but admire how incredibly beautiful he was. All our years apart hadn’t dulled my attraction to him one bit. The low morning light made him appear as though he was carved from marble, his face a series of soft curves and bold lines. In the daylight, Hawk had often appeared a bit harsh, his bad boy persona lending to aggression rather than openness.
Now, though, he was different, almost vulnerable. Looking at him, his face relaxed in sleep, the dark strands of his his hair making a chaotic mess on the pillow, he reminded me so much of Cooper that I couldn’t help but smile.
They were both so beautiful it hurt.
Moving as quietly as I could, I gathered my discarded clothes and dressed, stealing one last look at Hawk before I tiptoed out the door.
I wasn’t as stealthy as I’d hoped, though. I’d barely gone five steps when Charlie stuck his head out the door to his room, frowning at me.
“You’re leaving? Again?”
“It’s a school day,” I offered, hoping he wouldn’t press the issue. “I have to get Cooper ready and then I have to get to work.”
Charlie nodded, saying nothing, but the disappointment rolled off of him in waves. Continuing on to the front door, I reached for the nob, freezing when Charlie spoke again.
“He’s not going to let you go this time.”
Not turning around, I kept my gaze on the door, blinking hard to stave off the burn of tears I felt building as I shoved that dreaded hope a little deeper down.
“He will.”
“He won’t.” The words were spoken with such conviction, I almost believed him.
“He has a whole other life, Charlie. One that we don’t fit into.”
“You could. If you tried. If you gave a little and he gave a little, it could work. I know it could, Wren.”
Angry now, I spun around, crossing my arms to hold on to my racing heart.
“Why do you even care, huh? Why does it matter to you if I stay or go? Hawk has the whole world laid out before him. He’s got everything there, at the tips of his fingers, and all he has to do is ask. A world like that doesn’t have room in it for two girls from the Midwest.”
“You know, when I met you the first time, I thought, damn, this girl is something else. You were tough, different, and mature in a way none of the other bimbos that got backstage ever were.” My eyebrows went up, amazed that Charlie even remembered me from that night, never mind enough to have formed any kind of lasting opinion of me. “But seeing you here, now, sneaking out on him again, I wonder if I might have been mistaken. Maybe you are just a coward after all.”
Dropping my arms, I stomped toward him, my anger burning bright.
“You have no idea what I’ve been through in the last fifteen years, Charlie whatever-your-last-name-is. Not one fucking clue. I have worked my literal ass off to provide a life for my daughter in a town that actively hates me. I have dealt with parents who disowned me, men who thought a single mom was just the right kind of desperate to be taken advantage of, and every other bullshit situation you can possibly imagine. I have fought and crawled and sometimes even begged to make sure that Cooper never knew one single ounce of the heartache that I did at her age. So if you want to call me a coward, then you had better bring more to the argument than me sneaking out of a booty call in the middle of the night, because otherwise, you don’t have a leg to stand on.”
Chapter sixty-nine
Wren
Present
“Iwannatakeyouon a date.”
I blinked, staring at Hawk where he stood on my front porch.
He looked good. I mean, of course he did. I couldn’t remember a single time I’d ever seen him looking less than exceptional. Seeing him now, the soft glow of the morning sunlight shining behind him, he looked absolutely delectable. He was wearing another pair of perfectly worn-in jeans, the denim faded in all the right places, with a simple black t-shirt stretched across his broad chest. His hair was loose, falling in gentle waves to his chin and still a little damp from a recent shower.
It must have been very recent, because I’d only left his house ninety minutes ago.
“A date?” I asked dumbly, not quite sure I’d heard him correctly. Itwasstill early, and he had basically shouted the words at me the second I’d opened the door.
“Yes.” Hawk scratched at the back of his neck, his cheeks a bit ruddy in the early morning light. “I mean, uh. Wren, would you like to go to dinner with me tonight?”
“Why?” I blurted, then cringed. Not exactly my finest moment, but when the knock had come at the door, I had just finished pouring my coffee, and I hadn’t had a chance to even take a sip yet. My brain wasn’t exactly firing on all cylinders at this point.
