Hot Summer Nights (Lucas Brothers)

“Do you have to be an ass so early in the morning,” I snap.

“I do if you’re going to try and go backwards in this relationship,” he says.

“I’m not trying to go backwards!” I lie, completely exasperated. “I just have things back in Mason I need to see to. Not to mention, I’d really love to see our son.”

“But you will be laying your head on my pillow tonight, right?” he says, studying me. Bryant’s not dumb, so I do my best to keep my face neutral, but at least my answer is not a lie.

“If you will take me back to Mason , I’ll sleep in your bed tonight.”

“This means I will have my family—my whole family under one roof tonight, right?” he qualifies.

“I’m not sleeping under the same roof as your mother ever again, Bryant.”

“You and Terry are my family, Maggie,” he says softly.

“And Brylee. I mean, I know she’s gone, but…”

“She’s still a part of us, Maggie.”

I nod. “The very best part.”

“We’ll see her again, but we can’t stop living our lives, Maggie. Brylee wouldn’t want that.”

“You really believe she’s out there somewhere waiting for us? You believe in Heaven?”

“I’m not an overly religious person, but I do believe there’s more than we see. I believe in a higher power. I figure he might not be really proud of me, but I do believe in that.”

“I do think I feel her around me sometimes,” I whisper. “You probably think I’m crazy.”

“I do the same, honey. I don’t think you’re crazy.”

“You feel her?” I ask, hope building inside of me that I’m not alone.

“I do. Sweetheart, Brylee was nothing but good and full of love. That can’t just disappear. She’s out there.”

Tears sting my eyes. Brylee is something I don’t talk about—something I don’t want anyone else to talk about—but discussing her with Bryant, especially after all these years, feels right.

“I love you, Bryant,” I whisper.

“Come here, Maggie May,” he coaxes. I know I shouldn’t, but I do anyway. As always with Bryant, what I want and what I need always war with one another. If I was Superman, he’d definitely be my kryptonite. I slide on the bed and fall into his arms. He squeezes me close, but he kisses me gently, and I can feel his love in all of it.

“Bryant, I need to get back,” I tell him a little later, after we have lain together in the silence.

“Give me today, Maggie. We’ll head back tomorrow.”

“I wish I could, but I really do need to go back. I have an appointment tomorrow, and it will take me forever to hike down the mountain to get cell service to call my brother to come get us.”

“We’ll get up early in the morning, and I’ll get you back in plenty of time, baby. I have my truck.”

“I…You have a vehicle?”

“Yeah, I parked it down the hill, off the main road, and I hid the keys underneath my socks in the dresser. I didn’t want it close to the house so you would use it to run away from me. But see? You can make your appointment.”

“You made me think I was trapped here, and you had your truck nearby the whole time?”

I sit up so I can look at him. I know I’m getting unreasonably pissed, but it just feels like he’s been lying to me this whole time. Yesterday, I was telling him that I would love to have some ice cream and we were out and whining because we didn’t have a car. He didn’t say a thing.

“I wanted to work shit out, Maggie. This is it. We have to get it right this time. What I need from you is to take those clothes off and let me have you. I’ll take you to the school tomorrow. We can go spend some time with Terry and then come back here.”

“You’ve got it all figured out don’t you, lover?” I ask him, looking at him lying there, a lazy smile on his face, arms lifted up so that his hands are folded like a pillow behind his head.

“I do. Now come here and give me your lips.”

I worried he was going to hate me before. Now, I know he will. I can’t help it, though. There’s no way he’ll let me go back and go to Dallas without telling him why. There’s no way I’m going to be able to get away from him…

Unless I make my own opportunity.

“Okay,” I answer, feeling guilty, but knowing it’s the only option I have. I fall down so that I’m on all fours, and then because I can’t stop myself, I do kiss him. He will be so mad that he probably won’t realize it, but I put my heart and all of my love for him in this kiss. Bryant groans, deepening the kiss, and I go along with it, sliding my fingers into his, linking them together. We break apart and Bryant kisses down the side of my neck, the scruff on his face scratching my tender skin.