“I’ve got some news I’ve been waiting to share. Because we don’t have enough shit on our plate.” Greyson looked so tired as he said it. “I’m so f*ck
ing tired.”
“What?” I asked.
“David’s been spotted in town.” Greyson grabbed a pair of glasses and a decanter. Every time I saw him lately he was drinking something and it had me worried.
I didn’t want him to go down that road. It was one he’d been down before. Before Joanna. I’d watched him dry out twice and I didn’t want to make it a third f*ck
ing time.
“Don’t you think we should wait a while for that?” I asked. He’d been drinking a damn lot lately. “Might want to cut back a little, don’t you think?” We’d always been straight with each other.
He considered what I said, then pushed the drink away. We needed to figure out how to rule without vice. “You’re right. I’ve just been so worried lately.”
“But you aren’t your father.” I’d said it to him several dozen times over the years. And he said it to me in return.
“And you aren’t yours,” he said. It was the truth. I didn’t need to hear it, but it was something we reminded ourselves of whenever things got sticky.
It reminded us exactly who we were and what we stood for.
“So,” I asked. “What do we do?”
“We find him. We take care of him. We end this once and for all. That’s what we do.” Greyson looked more like himself as he said it, and I knew it was the turning point for us both. We had a company to run, a family to take over, and David was not part of that equation.
Kathryn
“Do you love him?” I jumped at the words as soon as Joanna said them. I wasn’t expecting anything like that to spring forth from her mouth. But she sat there, a smoothie in one hand, a funnel cake in the other, staring at me.
It didn't matter that we were sitting outside looking over the fall foliage as it draped against the Inner Harbor. No, she was asking me this very question right now.
“What?” I asked, like if I blinked and acted like I was stupid, she would forget she said anything.
It wasn't going to work. I could tell by the smile on her face that she was not going to let this go.
“I asked you if you love him. Janson. I see the way you look at him. I’m not a fool, Kat.” She shot me side-eye, and I knew there was no way I was going to get out of this one.
“Are you going to tell my brother?” I asked. I wasn’t ready to address her question.
“There are no secrets between us, but that doesn’t mean I can’t make an exception. Your emotional state is not any of his business. Or mine. But I’m nosy, and it seems pretty obvious.” She raised her eyebrow as she looked at me and I knew the truth. I couldn’t deny anything to her.
“I do,” I said slowly. “I have for a long time. He’s one of the few people in this whole f*ck
ing thing that seems to have a genuine heart.”
"Why? What made you feel this way?" she asked.
I didn't need to think about it. I already knew. I'd never told anyone this story before. Joanna was the first and probably the only person I’d ever admit it to.
"I was sixteen years old, and my first boyfriend dumped me. I remember sitting on the steps of the school just crying. No one was around, it was after tutoring, and Greyson was supposed to pick me up. But he was busy, so Janson came instead."
She nodded.
"I tried not to let anyone see me, but I was so heartbroken that I didn't care anymore. I mean, I thought about giving my virginity to that guy." It still hurt to think about it. "So there I was, bawling my eyes out and Janson just sat down next to me and handed me his pocket square. He didn't say a word for a long time. When I was finally tear-free, he looked me right in the eyes and said, 'This is just temporary. It feels like you are dying, but you aren't. Someone better will come along and sweep you right off your feet.'"
I knew at that moment that I wanted that someone to be him.
"And then what?" she asked.
"He asked me if I wanted him to beat the son of a bitch up. I laughed, and he took me home. But he was so kind to me that I knew there had to be more to him than just a thug. I'm still certain of it." I could feel my throat starting to close as I thought about it. It really was the moment I decided that I had more than just a schoolgirl crush on him. It's why I acted on what I wanted. Why I had him when I had the chance.
“Does he love you?” Joanna asked.
Dear god, that was not the question I wanted to hear. She knew exactly how to ask them so that they kept me off balance.
More importantly, I didn't have a good answer for it.
"I don't know if he loves me. I know that he is willing to see where this goes, but that's it."
"And where is it going?" she asked.
I shot her a look of annoyance. "Aren't you supposed to be the fun sister-in-law?" I asked.
She giggled. "I get to be whatever I want. I'm nine months and one week pregnant."
She had a point.