As terrifying as it was, I’d shown up at this dinner to press the issue, to see if, with time and distance, Lane had changed his mind.
The reaction to my appearance was comical. The entire room silenced. I’d never heard the Lawless family so quiet, and it had me shifting uncomfortably on my feet.
“Hey guys,” I said, my hand still hanging awkwardly in the air. “I hope you don’t mind me stopping by.”
“Of course not,” Birdie said, wrapping her slender fingers around my wrist and tugging me deeper into the room, directing me to an open spot on the bench that ran along the far side of the table, putting me next to Aspen.
And directly across from Lane.
The tension in the air was so thick, I could’ve cut it with a butter knife. Unspoken words ballooned in the air between me and him, and my mouth opened and closed as I searched for some conversational thread to tug on, to quell this discomfort between us, but there was nothing. Instead, I remained mute as the family dug into the feast Birdie had prepared, Aspen passing me dishes to load up my plate while making small talk.
Or attempting to, anyway.
Conversation became stilted as everyone dug into their meals, the only words becoming murmured requests for certain dishes and refills of drinks. Once eating slowed, though, talking resumed, different groupings at the table launching into discussions of different topics, making it impossible for an outsider like me to pick up the thread of any one of them.
So I sat back and watched, feeling entirely out of place, unable to shake off the sense that coming here had been a bad idea.
“How much more packing do you have to do?” Reagan asked Aria, who sat on her other side, and I zeroed in on them.
Packing for what?I wondered.
“Not much. Most of my clothes are ready, all of my books, linens, those sorts of things. Luckily, the place I found to rent isfully furnished, so I don’t have to worry about moving big stuff across the country.”
“You meanwedon’t,” Owen piped up from the other end of the table, and Trey nodded in agreement.
Aria grinned. “Love you, big brother.”
“Love you too, brat,” Owen replied affectionately.
“You’re moving?” I asked Aria.
She nodded, a broad, bright grin overtaking her face. “To Nashville. Finally going to pursue that singing career.”
“That’s amazing!” I gushed, genuinely excited for her.
Aria was an incredibly skilled artist. I’d seen her perform at the Swallow enough times to know that her talent was wasted in a town like this.
“How are you even affording this?” Lane blurted, and several disapproving glares turned on him—all from the women, including me. “It’s not like you work.”
“I workhereevery day,” Aria protested, stabbing her finger in the direction of the kitchen. “Or did you think Mama did it all by herself?”
“Well, yeah, actually,” Lane said.
“She doesn’t. I work just as hard as she does, and when I’m not slaving away making sure the ranch hands are fed, or the self-care orders are filled, I’m in the barn with Finn’s rescues, or over at the dude ranch cleaning fucking cabins for West.”
“Language,” Birdie admonished, but there was little heat behind it.
Then West threw his two cents in, and the energy in the room shifted. A clear divide opened between members of the family.
“I know what we pay you, Ari, and I have to admit…I don’t think it’s nearly enough to move across the country and stay afloat while you look for work.”
“That’s not really your concern, is it?” Aria replied.
“Your well-being is my concern,” West shot back through clenched teeth. “And I think you’re making a mistake.”
“Agreed,” Crew said.
I got the sense this was an argument the family had in the past, and it was easy to see who was on which side. West, Crew, and Lane obviously didn’t want Aria to leave Dusk Valley and their protective embrace. Owen, Trey, and Finn had remained quiet, giving Aria room to fight her own battle, which gave me the impression they were on board with Aria doing whatever she needed to be happy.
