Page 93 of Drive Me Crazy

"Damn." Boone gapes at me. "That's deep as hell."

One places his hand on my shoulder. "Love will never be black and white; it will forever have shades of gray. Those areas or things, we all must decide if we can live with to love the other."

"Fuck! Am I even an adult? That's deep shit y'all." Landon runs his hand through his hair.

"If she ever figures out if she can trust me with the hard stuff, she knows how to find me." My gut twists and I fight the rising bile.

Boone tosses a shell into the ocean. "What if she takes longer than you can handle?"

"Unlike you, I'll hunt her ass down and make her love me." I glare at him.

"Sounds like a plan." Landon chuckles.

One shrugs. "It's actually what I did."

"Seriously, I want to be there with her. Harper's been through enough on her own, but until she wants me there, I can't be."

Boone reaches down and grabs another beer. "Here. She's as hardheaded as mine, you're gonna need this."

"If she doesn't scare you, make you want to marry her, and want to fight all at the same time, she ain't worth it." One boast.

Landon shakes his fist in the air. "Women! You can't live with them, and we don't want to find out."

"Ain't it the truth." Boone tosses his drink back as we laugh and swap war stories over the next few hours.

"If Harper ever decides that I deserve to help raise her baby, knowing full well I'd love them with all that I am, I'm there for it. It's been the only thing I've ever genuinely wanted."

One holds up a beer, and we meet it with ours. "To the women that own us, the ones that never will, and the ones that taught us what a good damn woman is worth."

"Woohooo!!" We clank our drinks and throw them back.

My mood is lighter by the end of the evening, it's done nothing for my heart. I hitch a ride with Scout when she comes to take Landon home and meander a few houses down.

I stand, watching her through our bedroom window. She's crying again, and my stomach knots. I want to go to her, protect her from everything that's ever hurt her.

But when she's the one causing her own pain, my hands are tied, and my heart lies in pieces at my feet. I'll love her more than enough for the both of us and until she can love herself.

Forever.