Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 75592 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75592 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
I turn to face him fully. I’m still skeptical, but I ask, “What type of visitation?”
“The kind where she visits with you. Spends time. I’m even comfortable with her doing an overnight or flying to France again.”
I bark out a laugh and shake my head. “Nice try, but if you’re using that as a ploy to get me and your sister back together, then forget it.”
“No ploy. Kat doesn’t need to chaperone. I trust you with my daughter.”
And once again, he has my undivided attention, but I can’t let the skepticism go. “You trust me? Are you addled or something?”
Ethan chuckles. “Yeah, yeah… I know. You’re a Mardraggon and I’m a Blackburn, and our families have hated each other for eternity.”
“Exactly,” I say, stabbing a finger in the air at him. “So pardon me if I’m a little suspicious of this sudden change in attitude.”
“Not sudden,” Ethan corrects me. “It had been happening from the start because it’s always been clear you love Sylvie. It only compounded when you turned your dad into the police, and hell… by the time you were giving up a two-million-dollar case of bourbon to save my sister and then stomping the ass of the guy who hit her, I was pretty much ready to welcome you into the family.”
Shaking my head, I turn away to focus on the sheaf of papers before me. “You’re full of shit.”
“I’m not,” Ethan says, but I keep my back to him. “I trust you and if you want time with Sylvie, you have it. And I know you don’t want to hear it, but it bears saying… I think you’re wrong to let my sister go.”
I don’t reply.
“You said you loved her. Told my entire family in our kitchen. Was that all bullshit?”
I swallow hard, wanting to lie to him but I can’t. Keeping my attention on the task before me, I have to admit to him, “No, it wasn’t bullshit.”
“Then why the fuck aren’t you over at the barn right now begging her forgiveness and getting on with the business of being happy?”
“Because I’m a Mardraggon and she’s a Blackburn.”
“Because you’re too afraid to be a Mardraggon and love a Blackburn,” Ethan sneers. “You’re not your father, you know?”
“I know.”
“You’re not responsible for his debts or his actions.”
“Got that too,” I mutter.
“So you’re just being stupid then.” Ethan laughs and it’s mirthless. “Maybe I shouldn’t trust such a bonehead with Sylvie.”
I turn on him, angry at the words he’s saying but appreciating them all the same. “You know I really hurt your sister eight years ago.”
“She told me all of it,” Ethan says, and I don’t miss the menace in his voice.
“I hurt her again just days ago.”
“Your point?” Ethan drawls, crossing his arms over his chest.
“Don’t you think it’s just a little reasonable that I back away and let Kat have a shot with someone who’s better than me? Someone who’s guaranteed to give her what she deserves?”
Ethan shakes his head, a small smile playing at his lips. “Life doesn’t come with guarantees. It’s all about risk and reward. Yes, you might face more challenges. Yes, it’s going to be hard with the family feud still simmering. But don’t make decisions based on fear. You and Kat, you have something real. You owe it to yourself and her to see where it leads, without shadows from the past dictating your future.”
Christ, I hate that what he’s saying makes a future with her seem plausible. I hate it because I never thought a Mardraggon would have to rely on a Blackburn to make sense of life. That’s twisted in a way I don’t want to consider.
“What’s your sister think about all this?” I ask. Because surely he’s had this same talk with her. She’s been stubbornly silent since she left my house three days ago when I spurned her advances.
Ethan tips his head back and laughs. As his eyes meet mine, he looks almost sorry. “Dude… she is pissed at you. I’m not sure you can win her back.”
“What the fuck, Ethan?” I snarl. “Why did you just lay all that bullshit on me?”
“Not bullshit, my friend.” Ethan claps me on the shoulder and squeezes. “And I do mean that. After everything, you are my friend. Now, Kat is a different story. It’s going to require much groveling.”
He turns and moves to the door. I stroke my jaw in contemplation, wondering just how much groveling it will take.
“Oh,” Ethan says as an afterthought, his hand on the vault door. “Trey and Wade very much are not on board with this and that’s up to you to work out. They still want to kick your ass for what you did to her in college.”
“Of course they do,” I mutter, but honestly… it would be a small price to pay.