“It’s not me you should apologize to either,” I told her.
Her eyes went up to her brother.
“Darius—”
“What would Dad say to that shit?”he asked.
Ouch.
Low blow but deserved.
She suffered it, her face crumbling.
“Yeah, that’s what he’d say,” Darius whispered.
“We lost her when hedied,” she cried.
I froze.
Darius froze.
Liam froze.
She looked to me.“I was mad at you then.Even before weknew about Liam.He needed you.Ineeded you.”
“Oh, Danni,” I said softly.
Yes, Darius’s sisters had liked me.
She dashed the back of her hand under her eye and pulledbreath into her nose.“You were dealing with a lot.I know you called.I talkedto you.I know you were trying to get to him.But all I was feeling got twistedup in all that happened, and I acted like a bitch.I’m sorry.”She looked againto her brother.“Iamreally sorry, Darius.It just all came back whenyou got hurt, and suddenly Malia was back, and everything was out with Liam,and I got wound up in being pissed instead of being scared because you gotshotandsmashed in the head.And I wasscared.”
Her face crumbled again, and Darius swore, “For fuck’ssake,” hooked her behind the head and pulled it into his chest.
“Get her in out of the cold, honey,” I urged.
Darius pulled her inside, shut the door and led her to thecouch where he sat her down, going down with her, his sister still held closein his arms.
I switched on another couple of lamps before I asked, “Youwant wine?Or something stiffer?”
“How can you be nice to me?”she wailed into Darius’s shirt,“I’m such a bitch!”
“Danni,” Darius said to the top of her head.“This is whyyou do what Malia said and talk shit through instead of being a bitch.Yeah?”
“I think I learned that real good,” she snuffled into hisshirt.
“Kleenex, son,” Darius murmured to Liam.
Liam took off toward the bathroom.
“Now Gabs is pissed at me,” she mumbled.
“Can’t help you with that.She wastryin’to contain it and you swung her ass right out there.You gotta work that outwith her,” Darius told her.
“Huh,” she told his shirt.She blubbered some more, thenmuttered, “Work is gonna be interesting tomorrow.”
“Bed you gotta lie in,” Darius muttered in return, but didit rubbing her back.
“Babe, wine, or something else?I make a mean martini,” Ipushed.
