“Come here.” Mo stood, pulled her to her feet, and then immediately tucked her into his side before resettling on Meredith’s sofa.
She cried.
“Get it all out.”
At some point, she tried to process what had happened, but then the reality that she’d done something that needed to be donebut she’d done it in the worst possible way flooded through her, and she shook with horror and grief for another indeterminate time.
Mo’s arms were warm. His chest was solid. His low, rumbling words, which she was pretty sure were vocalizations, not even words, filtered through the pain and slowly settled her mind and heart.
“I think I’ve made a terrible mistake.” The words came from her, but the voice was all wrong. Scraped and raw and hoarse, she sounded like she had a three-pack-a-day habit.
“I don’t think so.” He shook his head. “Your parents are horrible people, Bronwyn. I wish they weren’t, but they are. I know there’s a branch of the Pierces that are good, but I have to wonder if that’s because they got out of town and away from the others.”
“Probably.” Bronwyn sniffled.
“The people you’ve grown up with and around aren’t good, but they aren’t stupid either. Even Nathan texted you this morning. He claims to want your job, but he doesn’t. Not really. They need you. And people who need you will put up with an awful lot they don’t like.”
“I screamed at them. I told them they weren’t my family.”
“Yeah. They didn’t like that, but was that really new information to them?” Mo asked the question gently.
Bronwyn shrugged and when she did, the motion must have hit Mo’s arm because he released a little gasp of pain. “I’m hurting you!” She tried to sit up, but his arm wouldn’t budge. “Mo.”
“I’ll make a deal with you.” His lips were near her ear. “I will let you get up on one condition.”
“What’s the condition?” She had to move. His arm had to be throbbing by now.
“That you immediately resume this position on my other side. I’m not ready to let you go, but you won’t relax until you’reconvinced I’m not in pain. Plus, my shirt is soaked on this side, so your face is in that wetness, and I don’t want that for you either.”
Now that he’d mentioned it, she realized that his shirt was drenched. And it didn’t feel good on her skin. Not at all. “You drive a hard bargain.”
“Don’t you forget it.” His arms loosened and he gave her a little boost to help her to her feet, but he kept hold of one hand and as soon as she crossed to the other side, he pulled her back down and scooched them around until she was tucked against him again.
Once she was there, she lay silent, breathing slowly until even the random aftershock shudders ended.
“I need to say something to you.” Mo squeezed her hand. “I didn’t know, but that’s not an excuse.”
What was he talking about?
“That day when I made such a jerk out of myself when you were visiting with Mom and Dad at the hospital, I didn’t know how important they were to you. I didn’t know they’d spent so much time with you and that your relationship was solid. I didn’t realize what I was asking them to do to you, or how important it was. To you or to them.”
“I know.”
“Dad ripped me a new one after you left. It was the only time in my life when I thought he might want to hit me. I’ve never seen him that angry. He had to leave the room. And Mom”—Mo shuddered beside her—“let’s say that I understand how my parents treated you because they’ve often had to treat me the same way. Meredith gets herself in trouble by being too good. I get myself in trouble by being a jerk. She’s much easier to love than I am.”
“But they do love you.” Bronwyn knew that to her core.
“Oh, they do. Dad came to me later and apologized for his anger. Not for what he said, mind you. But for the way he reacted. He also told me in no uncertain terms that they would back you—whateveryou decided—unless you decided to stay away from them, in which case they would fight for you.”
Bronwyn sat up and looked at him. “Are you serious?”
“As a heart attack.” Mo looked like the act of telling the story was aging him. “Mom cried a lot. Meredith was mad at me for making them mad at me and for hurting you. It was bad. I deserved it. But still. It was bad.”
“I bet you had dinner with them within a few days.”
“Next day,” Mo confirmed with a grunt. “It was awkward. I apologized to everyone over dessert. They forgave me. And they meant it. But I have to tell you, I’m not sure the breach will ever be truly healed until they see that you and I are speaking to each other again. They’ve been waiting for us to find some resolution. When they get home from their trip, they’re going to yell at all of us. Especially Aunt Carol. But when they’re done yelling, they’ll be thrilled.”
“Why will they yell at Aunt Carol?”
