Stanley, on the other hand, knocked roughly on the door.
“Magnolia, I think it would be best if Harrison came down and talked to me alone. I’ll send your mom up to you so she can make sure you’re okay.” His voice was stern but not harsh, until he spoke to Harrison and it became jagged and fury filled. “Harrison, get your ass out of my daughter’s bed and downstairs. Now.”
“Oh shit,” I moaned once I heard his footsteps moving away and tears filled my eyes.
“Hush, baby doll. Everything’s going to be fine.”
“Fine? Fine!” I squealed. “How is anything ever going to be fine again? My mom and step-dad just saw us having sex!”
“No, they saw us after we’d just finished,” he corrected.
I pushed on his chest and scurried off the mattress to grab my clothes from the floor. Throwing them on, I kept muttering to myself. “That’s basically the same thing. You were naked. I was naked. Your dick was inside me. This is not how I wanted to break the news to them.”
“Maggie,” he snapped, snagging my attention. “Our relationship is good news, not something you have to break to them. Does it suck that they found out this way? Yes. Is it the end of the world? No. Nothing’s really changed. I love you. You love me. At the end of today, we’re going to climb into our bed together, just like we always will from now on.”
“But my mom—”
“Your mom loves you and wants you to be happy. She’ll come around once she realizes that we belong together.”
Logically, I knew he was right. Plus, my mom had always been unconventional, so her daughter falling in love with her new brother-in-law was something she might come to accept sooner than most parents would. Hopefully. But her new husband? Not so much. “And Stanley?”
“He might be harder to convince”—Harrison pulled his shirt over his head and stalked towards me—“considering the size of the stick up his ass. But I’ve seen the way he looks at your mom. Hopefully, falling in love with her will have softened him up a little bit.”
“That hardly sounds optimistic.”
He stole my lips for a quick, but deep, kiss. “I love my brother, but I’m not going to let him, or anyone else, stand between me and you.”
“Agreed.” I gripped his hand firmly in mine and reached for the door with my other hand. “We do this together.”
I just wished it didn’t feel like we were off to face a firing squad.
Chapter 11
Harrison
I opened the door to Maggie’s bedroom to find Bunny pacing and wringing her hands. She stopped suddenly and stared at us, wide-eyed. When her eyes met mine, she shook her head, disappointment washing over her face.
She moved towards Maggie, but I pulled her into my side, refusing to leave her behind. “We’ll discuss this all together, Bunny,” I informed her, my tone making it clear I was going to be unbending on this issue. “I’m not going to leave Maggie to face either of you alone.”
Bunny’s expression softened just the tiniest bit, but she locked eyes with Maggie and asked, “Are you okay?”
“I’m great, Mom,” Maggie assured her. “This was my choice. No one forced me or coerced me.”
Bunny hesitated for a few moments more, her eyes bouncing between us warily. Then she turned and silently descended the stairs.
Maggie looked up at me, her blue eyes swimming with unshed tears. I kissed her lovingly and whispered, “Trust me, baby doll.” Her lips tipped up and some of the fear receded.
Keeping her hand in mine, I led her down the stairs to the living room. Bunny had taken a seat on the couch, but Stanley was pacing in front of the television across the room. He halted when we entered the room and when he noticed Maggie, he glared at me.
“Bunny, would you please take Magnolia to another room so Harrison and I can talk?” he asked her calmly. His tone and general demeanor were calm anyway, his eyes were spitting fire at me. “She shouldn’t have to witness this, nor should Harrison be able to hide behind a child,” he spit.
“No,” Maggie piped up. “I’m staying. And, I’d like to point out, once again, that I am eighteen. An adult, not a child. I was an adult long before I turned eighteen and it’s time everyone started treating me like it.”
Stanley’s expression became a little rueful. “You’re right, Magnolia. But, you’re still too young for my much older brother to be taking advantage of you.” His brown eyes shifted to me and all the softness fled from his face. “I’ve never been so disappointed in you, Harrison. I always thought I raised you better than this. I trusted you with my daughter and come home to find you’ve taken advantage of an innocent girl!”
I’d had enough. “Stanley, I’m going to need you to shut it and listen to what we have to say.”
His lips pressed together in a straight line and his face flushed with anger, but he didn’t continue. I nodded and led Maggie over to the love seat. We both sat and I tucked her into my side, ignoring the daggers poking from Stanley’s eyes.
“I didn’t come here with the intention of seducing Maggie and that’s not what happened. I fell for her the moment we met”—I held up my hand for silence when Stanley opened his mouth. He harrumphed, but didn’t speak—“and before you accuse me, we waited until after she turned eighteen.”
“It was the same for me, Stanley,” Maggie interjected. “I knew the day he showed up that I loved him.”
“Love?” Bunny gasped. Her eye brightened and she smiled at Maggie, almost dreamily.
“Yes, I love him, Mom,” she confirmed.
“And I am completely head over heels in love with your daughter, Bunny.”
She clasped her hands in front of her and sighed.
Stanley sputtered, “What about college? And—and, you can’t possibly continue your ridiculous lifestyle, constantly leaving Magnolia and—You’re not what she needs, Harrison.”
“Honey, don’t you think that’s for Magnolia to decide?” Bunny asked quietly. “Look at them, Stanley. Really look. It’s obvious they’re in love.”
“But, his lifestyle and...” Stanley was obviously incredulous that Bunny wasn’t backing him up.
“Besides,” she continued. “Magnolia’s right. I’m ashamed to admit it, but she’s been taking care of me her whole life. It’s her turn to have freedom. Even if what she and Harrison have doesn’t last”—I growled, but calmed when Maggie’s hand landed on my thigh—“she deserves the opportunity to make her own mistakes.”
Irritation was blooming in my chest at her referring to my relationship with Maggie as a mistake.
“I don’t think that’s what this is though, honey.” Bunny stood and walked to Stanley, wrapping her arms around him. “He looks at my girl the way you look at me.”
Stanley seemed speechless, staring at Bunny as though he would find the answers to all the mysteries of the world in her eyes. After a minute, he looked rather resigned, but when his head lifted and he looked at me, there was still a hard quality on his face.
“I won’t allow you to break her heart, Harrison. And, making her fall in love with you, only to leave her behind, is something only a jackass would do.”
I nodded. “You’re absolutely right.” Stanley was taken aback by my answer, clearly he hadn’t been expecting it. “That’s why I’m staying here until Maggie graduates. I have some assignments lined up that are all close enough to complete on a weekend, when I can take my woman with me.”
“Stanley,” Bunny said quietly. “You’ve always been so proud of Harrison. Ever since I met you, you’ve shown how much you loved him. Do you really think he isn’t good enough for our girl? That he wouldn’t take care of her or that he’d mistreat her?”
He thought for a moment, then turned his contemplative stare to me. “No,” he admitted, almost reluctantly, making me bite off a smile. He hated to be wrong, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t own up to it when it happened. “I know the man I raised. Besides, our sweet Magnolia can’t
help but make him a better man.”
Maggie jumped up and hurried over to hug her mom and Stanley. “He still isn’t good enough for you,” he said gruffly.
She laughed. “Will anybody ever be?”
“No.” Stanley smiled and kissed her forehead, making me frown and stand up. I quickly grasped Maggie’s arm and tugged her back against me.
“Keep your lips to yourself, brother,” I warned darkly.
Bunny and Maggie laughed, but Stanley was less amused. His lips did tip up, though, and he tightened his embrace around Bunny.
“What about school?” he asked.
“I’m going to travel with Harrison for a while, Stanley,” Maggie responded.
He looked like he wanted to argue, but Bunny came to the rescue once again. “She’s young, honey. She has plenty of time to decide what she wants to do. It’ll be good for her to get out of this little town and see the world.”
“What about—”
“Honey.” Bunny rolled her eyes and stood on her tip toes to kiss his chin. “Let it go.”
Stanley sighed and nodded. “Don’t expect me to stop worrying about her or checking in to make sure you’re treating her right,” he barked at me. “If you hurt her, you’ll be singing soprano for the rest of your life.”
I didn’t laugh. It was an epic struggle, but I didn’t laugh. I stuck my hand out. “Deal.” We shook and Maggie sighed happily, reaching out a hand to her mom. We all stood there for a few awkward minutes, and seeing as how that was already the atmosphere, I figured it was as good a time as any to bring up another awkward subject. Not for me, but it was sure to make my sweet Maggie blush.
I cleared my throat. “Since Maggie is eighteen and I refuse to sleep without her, we figured it would be best to find our own place.”
“Oh, but—” Bunny started to protest.
“Bunny.” I gave her a knowing smile. “You and Maggie are similar in a lot of ways, and from the stupid look on Stanley’s face after you’ve been alone together, as well as the frequency of those instances, I can only imagine that she inherited her passionate nature from you.”