“Ouch,” Michael said when he was done. “Did you ask Dean about it? He’d probably know.”
Silas took his hat off and ran his hand through his hair before settling it back on his head. “Nah. I want it to come from her.”
“Understandable. So you’re scared, then.” He said it like it was fact.
“No. I’m not scared. I’m annoyed. Pissed. Justifiably angry.”
“Hurt,” Michael revised. “You’ve been opening yourself up to her. You introduced her to your family. Welcomed her into your life. And you’ve been up front about wanting her to stay when she’s done.”
“Yeah?” Silas said carefully, sensing there was a trap being laid.
“She’s been up front about having no intention of staying.”
“So? That doesn’t give her the right to lie to me. To our family about being an only child and not having a father.”
“Hey, man. I’m on your side,” Michael said, holding up his hands. “I’m just saying that if she really believes that she’s going to walk away from you and everything here in a few months, maybe she didn’t feel safe opening up. And maybe you’re realizing how much it’s going to hurt if she does walk away.”
Silas grunted. His brother had a point.
“Are we being stupid here?” Michael asked. “Isn’t this just like all those summer flings in high school and college? All hot and heavy for the season, and then everyone goes back to real life?”
“Not if we convince them to stay,” Silas said grimly.
“What if we can’t?”
“Maybe I’ve been feeling a little overconfident in my ability to make her want to stay,” he admitted. Maybe that was the root of it. He’d been certain she was meant to be his and hadn’t actually considered the idea that Maggie didn’t know it. Or worse, would decide to ignore it.
“You’re expecting her to give up everything to stay here with you. She’s built her entire career around wanderlust. New adventures. Your life, your career—they’re both built on roots. Literally.” Michael took a breath and glanced at him. “Sy, maybe you don’t want to hear this. But you already had one woman hang around town for you for five years, and that didn’t pan out. If you’re serious about this one, maybe you should be thinking more about what she wants and a little less about what you want.”
Silas opened his mouth to argue but then closed it again. Kinship was his home. He’d never thought about living anywhere else. Never thought there’d be anything or anyone who could tempt him to dig out his roots and transplant himself.
He’d taken Maggie showing up in Kinship as a sign, especially after learning about her history. But he’d assumed it was a sign for her to stay. Not a sign for him to go.
They returned to their seats, and Silas accepted a sleepy Keaton from Wallace, who had been lecturing the kid on the finer points of the shortstop position. Silas settled the toddler against his chest and gazed at the men around him.
What would his life be like without them down the block or across the hall or waiting for him at Decked Out?
What would his life be like without the roots he’d planted in Kinship?
Darealmvpeen: My female would never be allowed to work outside the home. Especially not with power tools.
BiyatchPleeeeez: @Darealmvpeen. The 1800s are calling. They want your dumb ass back.
36
“Are you sure they can be trusted with a toddler?” Dayana asked again.
“Day, I think between all of them, including the two who raised children into adulthood, they’ll be able to keep up with Keaton,” Maggie pointed out as she stuck white tapers into the wooden candelabra she’d found in a shop window downtown when she went hunting for another bed and matching chairs for the dining table that afternoon. At this rate, there would be nothing left to stage when the house was complete.
“He didn’t even cry when they left,” her sister pointed out. “Another man who doesn’t need me anymore. And now I’m being dramatic.”
“I feel like you’ve earned the right to it,” Maggie told her, adjusting the forest-green linen chair at the head of the table.
“Well, I feel like I owe you a thank-you and an apology,” Dayana said, setting out a platter of shrimp they’d picked up at the market. “I’ve been a bad sister to you, and making it up to you never translated to more than an item on my weekly to-do list.”
The efficiency of it made Maggie think of Dean, and she smiled.