Holly grunted. “This has turned into a nightmare.”
Morgan raised her brows. “Um, do you two mind if Holly and I talk alone?”
Kit shrugged. “That’s really not up to us.”
“I don’t mind if Holly doesn’t,” Kemper said.
“Holly?” Morgan looped her arm through hers before she had the opportunity to answer her. “Come on, let’s take a walk.”
Once they were outside on the porch
, Morgan sat on the swing. Holly took a seat on the rocking chair across from her. They remained silent for a few minutes. Finally, Morgan said, “I love my brothers, but they can be blind when it comes to women.”
Oh boy, Holly thought. Here it was. The moment she’d always dreaded. The little sister was going to tell her to back the hell off and get out of her brothers’ lives. Naturally, she wouldn’t want her big brothers messing around with a crazy woman who admittedly had a sex addiction.
What had she been thinking? She should’ve just tried to handle her own issues privately. Then, she wouldn’t have met Dr. Zanati. Then, her fellows wouldn’t have been impressed with a woman who had more awards on her walls than brains in her head. Then, by God, Dr. Zanati wouldn’t have had the opportunity to meet her men!
“The fact is, Blake and Grant were the same way. They wanted to help me, but at the same time, they wanted me to help myself, and at first, they were hell-bent on me seeing someone. This news came after I’d been clean about three months. One day, just out of the blue, Grant asked me if I still craved meth. I told him the truth and off I went seeing one former addict after another.
“That’s the sad thing about addiction, no one understands it unless they’ve had an addiction problem and the doctors you see are typically those who are still battling their own demons. That’s not to say they aren’t the appropriate people to talk to, but in your case? Dr. Zanati isn’t going to help you. Only you can help you.”
Holly started to say something, and Morgan held up her hand. “Can I make a suggestion?”
“As long as you aren’t going to tell me to go back to Dr. Zanati, sure.”
Morgan grinned. “Do you want to know what helped me most? Staying busy. My mother used to say an idle mind is the devil’s workshop, and she was right. A busy mind is often an exhausted one but it’s better than obsessing about the things that can get you in trouble.”
“True.”
“I volunteer. I stay busy here on the farm, too. I’m enrolled in an art class, and of course, I’ve gotten very involved in the lifestyle. Grant and Blake want me to open an alternative living bar, something we may do soon. You could help, too. I’ve already told them I’d like to get to know you.”
“Why? I didn’t think you liked me.”
“Oh come on, Holly. I don’t know you. How could I dislike you? That’s the addiction talking there. We addicts have that in common. We believe the world is against us after spending months or years tearing ourselves down with our hang-ups of choice, we believe everyone else can’t wait to take their best shot, too.”
“You’re probably right.”
“I know I am,” Morgan said. “Tell ya what. Let’s work on getting to know one another by being a support system for each other. If you feel like you’re getting sucked into your sex addiction, come talk to me. If I’m thinking about meth too much, I’ll come find you.”
“But I don’t know anything about meth.”
“No, but you’re a compassionate woman who can bend an ear for a friend, right?”
“I guess,” Holly replied.
“And don’t worry about talking to me about sex. I know everything there is to know about my brothers. They just think I don’t. Besides, you don’t have to give me the torrid details about your life. You can just lean on me when you need a friend.” She pushed away from the swing and started back inside.
“Morgan?”
“Hmm?”
“Thank you.”
“That’s what’s sisters are for.” A beat later, she winked. “But don’t tell them I told you that. They’re so whipped I know we’ll soon be family.”
Epilogue
One year later