Hot Summer Nights (Lucas Brothers)

Well, this is starting off great…

18

Maggie

“Where are you going?” Bryant asks, catching up to me.

“I’m walking home,” I rumble, refusing to look at him—or stop walking.

“Maggie, stop. You can’t walk home,” he says, but I just shake my head.

“I can unless you have a car here that I didn’t see?”

“I… well, no, I don’t, but you can’t walk home.”

“Watch me.”

“Maggie, damn it. You’re not going anywhere,” Bryant finally says, and now he sounds pissed—which I find laughable. He doesn’t have a right to be mad.

“I am. You had no right to do this, Bryant.”

I stop walking to turn and look at him. I let him see my anger and my frustration. I don’t, however, let him see the hurt or fear that I’m also feeling. I don’t understand those two emotions enough to try and dissect them right now—especially in front of Bryant.

“Maggie, you gave me two weeks, and I want them.”

“You… I gave you those two weeks back in Mason, not in some cabin in the middle of hill country where Bum-fuc— Whose cabin is this anyway?”

“Titan and your cousin Faith’s,” he answers.

I blink. Outrage overpowers everything else. “We’re in my cousin Faith’s cabin?”

“Hers and her man’s, yeah,” he says so calmly that I just want to kill him.

“Geez, Bryant, you just got the whole family involved in kidnapping me, didn’t you?” I reach up and tap gently on his forehead. “Hello,” I mock. “Where are your brains, scarecrow?”

“Knock it off, Maggie,” he replies, pulling my hand away from his face. I notice however, he doesn’t let go of my hand.

“Knock it off? You know my family, Bryant. You know them. You just gave every last damn one of them a reason to matchmake. Do you have any idea the type of crazy you’ve rained down on our heads?” I exclaim, still not quite believing what he’s done.

“I’ve been in this family for a while, Maggie. I know what I’m doing. I wouldn’t have had to if you would even try to be reasonable.”

“Reasonable?” I scoff.

“Exactly. What was up with you leaving this morning so early.”

“I had work!” I mostly lie.

“I know, and I also know when exactly you leave for work. You snuck out of the house an hour early and did it purposely, not bothering to wake me up.”

“You needed your sleep,” I explain, chewing on the corner of my lip.

“Damn, Maggie, how many more lies are you going to tell me?”

“Damn, Bryant, how could you think getting my mother involved in kidnapping me was smart?” I bark back.

“When you promised me two weeks, I get those two weeks. You don’t get to run away or hide from me, Maggie. We’re going to really try to get shit right, here. There’s too much on the line.”

“You don’t get to decide what I do or don’t do, Bryant. We’re not married anymore.”

“Like I ever tried to decide for you when we were married. I always let you make your own decisions, Maggie. Don’t start acting like I didn’t now.”

I take a deep breath because he’s telling the truth. More than that, however, is the fact that I’m just too tired to fight.

“Bryant. I have a life in Mason. I have appointments coming up. I can’t just hide away in a cabin for two weeks.

“You can and you will. Your mother and Mary canceled all your appointments, and Black spoke to the Superintendent of the school, and they’re getting your vice principal to take over for you. You absolutely have nothing that will force you to go back to in the next two weeks,” he announces. I blink, my chest feeling tight.

“That’s where you’re wrong. I have a couple of appointments coming up in Dallas that I can’t miss,” I respond, hating even thinking about them and mad at Bryant because he’s making me.

“Oh yeah, Dallas,” he says, sarcastically.

“What’s that mean?” I ask, confused.

“That means, Maggie, I know all about Dallas.”

My heart stalls in my chest. “What do you mean you know all about Dallas?”

“You should have told me, Maggie. I deserved to know.”

Oh God… “Bryant, I would have told you, but I didn’t want you to get upset—”

“You’re damn right I’m upset, Maggie. But more than that, woman, I’m hurt.”

Guilt builds inside of me. I should have told him, but I didn’t want anyone to know. I didn’t really want to deal with it myself. Besides, telling Bryant made it more real, and I wasn’t ready for that.

“I never meant to hurt you, Bryant. I really didn’t. You have to know that.”

“We’ve been exclusive forever in whatever we’re doing, Maggie. Maybe that doesn’t mean anything to you, but it sure as hell does to me.”

“Of course it means something,” I argue, not sure how he can think anything but that. Just because I didn’t tell him I am afraid that I’m sick has nothing to do with the fact that Bryant is the only man I want to sleep with. “Bryant—”