Miller's Time (Southern Charmers 2)

I rake my bottom lip between my teeth and shake my head slowly. “No, I don’t think that’s it,” I admit softly.

“Me neither, it’s a bullshit excuse she’s trying to hide behind.”

“Maybe she has her reasons.”

“You don’t understand. Last time she hid deep-rooted feelings it was a clusterfuck. Sometimes I think we’re all still recovering from it.”

I suck in an audible breath, jerking back. “That’s not fair.”

His eyes flare before filling with guilt. “You’re right. It was a shitty, dick thing to say. Things have changed. If Pierce heard me say that, he’d level me out.”

Austin and Andrew come to mind and their own protective way of thinking. “I didn’t mean it like that. You have a right to be concerned. As his brother, you’ve been through a lot. What I meant is that it’s not fair to assume the worst. As you said, things have changed.”

“Do you know what happened to them?”

“I heard Darby’s version years ago when we first met.”

“I’m sure you got the gist of things from her perspective.”

Memories of the first weekend I met Darby come to mind. Stephanie had warned me her best friend had a heartbreaking past, but hearing Darby’s story and witnessing her breakdown was devastating. “It was pretty bad.”

“We lived in pure hell with Pierce.” There’s a hint of something in his tone that sounds slightly like anger, and I feel the need to defend her.

“Hell is a step up from where she was. It was a long time ago, but I still remember the pain and agony Darby was living through. I was visiting Stephanie for a few days. The second night, she got a call. I could only hear one side of the conversation, but it was intense. The next thing I knew, we were in the car and she was driving like a maniac to get to Darby. No amount of forewarning could have prepared me for what we walked in on that night.”

Flashbacks explode in my brain, and a chill runs up my spine, recalling what happened next.

“Jesus, Ashlyn, you look like a ghost. What did you walk into?”

“The saddest, most gut-wrenching scene I’ve ever experienced in my life. A woman I’d never met was curled on the floor, her body visibly convulsing as she wailed into the room. Mail surrounded her. I stood back, ready to call nine-one-one. Stephanie immediately had Darby in her arms and pried a piece of paper out of her hands. When she read it, her own body quaked as she cried with her friend. Darby began to chant the same thing over and over. It didn’t make sense until later, when the pieces came together.”

“What was she chanting?”

I take a sip of wine, suddenly feeling like I’m revealing Darby’s deep secrets. “It’s not my place to say. I probably shouldn’t have told you this much. It was a rough time, and as you mentioned, life was hell for both of them.”

“What was she chanting?” he pushes.

“Why is that important?”

“Because it means something to me.”

“I’m not sure I remember exactly.”

“You’re lying.”

I grip the stem of my glass, knowing it’s useless to deny him. “Fine, you’re right, I’m lying. I’ll never forget her words or the torture in her voice. She was saying, ‘Cole Matthew, Cole Matthew, Cole Matthew. He gave him my name… my name… I was supposed to give him a Cole Matthew.’ That was the first time in my life I saw what true anguish and suffering really was.”

“Holy fucking shit.” Miller’s face has now gone pale as it sinks in. “Did you know what she was talking about?”

“Turns out Darby’s mom had sent her a package and dropped some mail in the box that had been sent to her house. She unintentionally sent the birth announcement for Pierce’s son.”

“Cole is Pierce’s middle name, and Matthew is mine. Pierce named his son.”

“She didn’t tell me that.”

“Connie’s such a fucking cunt,” he spews with hatred.

“I don’t know her, but I’d have to agree. Certainly one of the cruelest tricks I’ve seen.”

He drops his chin to his chest, which is heaving with deep breaths. “God, every time I learn something like this, it reminds me I’m a bastard.”

“Why are you a bastard?”

“I hated Darby for a long time for what I thought she’d selfishly done to my brother. When the truth came out a year ago, it was my words that caused the damage in the first place. Stories like the one you shared make their nightmare all too real.”

I reach over and put my hand on his knee, squeezing lightly. “I may not know all the gritty details, but you didn’t drive her away. She was depressed and needed help. What happened with Pierce isn’t your responsibility.”

“I should have seen things clearer, been more aware of what was happening.”

“What could you do?”

“Who knows, but I wouldn’t have sat around and let him fuck up his life like he did.”