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“Causing trouble as per usual.”
I sigh.
Todd grumbles.
“You’re the last person who deserves trouble, Marci. But looks like you’re finally getting the goodness you deserve. You and Jesse together have got people talking. In a good way. Folks in this town know true love when they see it.”
My stomach tumbles, and I clutch the door rest.
“Thanks, Todd.”
We arrive at Billy’s place, a boxy house with a chain-link fence, and a messy front yard. The lights are on inside.
“How much do I owe you?” I ask, lifting my purse.
“Are you kidding me with that? Free of charge.”
“Todd.”
“You’ve got free rides for life after the way you’ve helped me. Now, go on, get. And if you need a ride back to the mayor’s house, you let me know.”
“Thank you.”
I exit the vehicle, swallowing emotion. This town is everything to me, and after the struggles, I can’t believe how good I feel. Even if it’sfake.
The word hurts.
Todd waits until I’m on the front porch, knocking, before he starts up his engine to leave. I scan the street, but I don’t see Savage. He’s got to be parked in a car somewhere, watching, because I doubt that he’s hiding in a friggin’ bush.
The thought of Savage with his beard and neck tattoos peering at me from between leaves brings a giggle to my lips. I knock on Billy’s front door a second time.
Finally, the door clicks open.
My brother’s eye is badly bruised, but his mouth isn’t swollen anymore, and he’s got an ice pack in his left hand.
“Marci. You came.” He gives me a smile. “Thank you.”
I take a hesitant step inside.
Billy closes the door behind me. He hurries through the open-plan living room and grabs empty pizza boxes and beer bottles, clearing off a space for me to sit on the sofa. He drops his ice pack onto the coffee table and fiddles with the hem of his oversized gray sweatshirt.
“You gonna come sit down?”
I circle him and stand behind the sofa instead. He turns to face me, his back to the door.
“I came out here because I still have hope that things can change, Billy,” I say. “You didn’t get it easy in life, but I don’t think that’s an excuse for the way you’ve been behaving lately. We need to have some boundaries.”
“Boundaries?”
“That’s right. You can’t call me and expect me to drop everything.”
The corner of his lip lifts. I don’t like that smile. It’s cocky.
“That’s what you did now. You came running over the minute I asked for help.”
“You didn’t ask for help,” I say. “You told me that you wanted to apologize, talk it out, and that you had a gift for me.”
“So you came for your own selfish reasons. Because you wanted your gift.”
