“I didn’t take it,” I slapped back.“But I wasn’t going towalk out of a house where your mom had spent hours cooking and totally ruin thenight for her.”
“Someone disrespects you, you make it so they don’t do itagain,” Darius retorted.
“Your sisters didn’t buy that food and cook it,” I returned.
“Right, then, you made me and Liam take it and eat dinnerwith it,” Darius shot back.
Well, hmm.
I did do that.
“It was the right thing to do,” I stated.
“So, Aunt Lena talked trash about Dad, you’d sit down todinner with her after?”Liam asked me.
Uh-oh.
I caught my lip between my teeth.
Because…no.I wouldnot.
“Yeah,” Liam grunted.
“Ma would have got it,” Darius declared.
She probably would have.
Aw, hell.
I lifted my hands and pressed down.“Okay, okay.I get it.You’re right.And I’m sorry I put you through that.Though, I was really happyto have some time to catch up with Miss Dorothea.But yes, I’ll have otheropportunities and we should have come home.”
The doorbell rang.
“Fuck,” Darius clipped, then prowled out of thekitchen.
“It’s gonna be Aunt Danni or Aunt Gabby,” Liam said, staringat the wall between kitchen and living room like he could burn holes through itwith his laser beam eyes.
“Fuck,” I snapped and followed in Darius’sfootsteps, noting he’d switched on a lamp by the couch on his way to the door.
I was getting close to the front door when I heard him say,“You need to back off and let me cool down.”
“I’m here to apologize,” Danni said.
“I hear you.You still need to back off and let me cooldown.”
I stopped in the archway to the entry and Danni, who Dariuswas barring at the door so she was still outside, looked to me.
“Malia, get him to let me in,” she demanded.
I shook my head.“I’m sorry, Danni.I intervened for yourmom, but you have to work this out with your brother.”
I turned to move out of eyesight and nearly ran into Liam.
“Liam, honey, I’m so sorry,” Danni said pleadingly.
“Not me you should apologize to,” Liam replied.
“Malia, seriously.I’m sorry,” she called, and I stopped andturned back.“You were right.I should have connected with you so we could talkthings out.That was fucked up.”
