“Oh, for God’s sake!” she rapped out loudly.“Tonight isnot about you.That scene at Dad’s was notall aboutyou.The entirety of everyone’s lives arenot all about you.”
She drew in a big breath.
And then she let him have it.
“Mom dying was notall about…YOU!”
Jag put his hand on the small of her back, but other thanthat—other than letting her know he was close, and she could call on him—he waspowerless to do anything.
And he didn’t want to, because he wanted his folks to spendtime with his woman, he wanted to eat schnitzel and fruit, meringue and cream.
But she needed to do this.
Elijah looked like he’d been sucker punched.“I can’tbelieve you just said that to me.”
“I should have said it ten years ago,” Archie retorted.
“Word on that,” Joany muttered.
Archie shot her a look.
Joany pressed her lips tightly together.
“I lost her too,” Archie said to her brother.“Dad losther.”
“He got over her pretty quickly,” Elijah returned sharply.
“No, he didn’t, it took years for him to find and marryHaley.And Mom’s picture is still in his wallet.”
Oh fuck.
At her deteriorating tone, Jag moved his hand from her backto curl his fingers around her hip.
“He just moved on with his life,” she continued.“He has agreat capacity to love.He has to give it to somebody.Okay, so you can havewhatever it is you need, Eli, do you honestly want him to have nothing?To bealone?To grieve and pine for her untilhedies?Is that what youwant?”
Elijah said nothing.
“And what am I to you, Elijah?”she pushed.“I was your cookand your cleaner and your caretaker after she was gone.Now I’m youradministrator and property manager.When do you start being the big brother andmaybe think about what your little sister needs for a change?When do you kickin with this family, Eli?When does it stop being all of us tiptoeing aroundyou and your grief?When are you gonna wake up and see we all lost her, we’reall trying to move on, not because we want to, butbecause we have nochoice?”
It was torture, not pulling her in his arms.
But Jag held still, close, but not invasive, and let herhave what she needed.
“I don’t have to be okay with my father marrying anotherwoman, having another family, being with someone that is not my mother,” Elijahbit.
“Yes you do,” she fired back.
Elijah’s head jerked.
“That’s what love is.That’s what family is,” Archie stated.“Finding a way to be okay with someone you love being happy.Even if, at first,it hurts.There is absolutely nothing wrong with Haley.She loves Dad likecrazy.She treats him like gold.She cares about us.He didn’thave anotherfamily.He addedto ours.”
Elijah stood there, motionless and speechless.
Arch wasn’t the latter.
“Now, honestly, if you cannot get your head out of your ass,Eli, I have to tell you, in front of company, two of those company I do notknow but I very much want them to like me, but I have to say this anyway…wehave an official problem,” she declared.“Because I’m not playing this game foryou anymore.You either figure it out, and I’ll help you, or we co-own abuilding and that’s it.And if you have some issue with how I manage it, you’llhave to put it in writing, and I’ll decide how I feel about your concerns.Ifyou don’t like my decision, you can let me buy you out, or you can sue me.”
Elijah’s eyes widened.“Are you honestly standing therereducing us to that overHaley?”
