The Other Side of Love

Chapter 2

“This is where people go when they want to disappear.” She didn’t smile as she looked me over slowly and intently. “No one else moves to Palm Bonita.”

“I didn’t move here because I wanted to disappear.” I shrugged and stared into her eyes confidently. I stood in the alleyway and wondered who this woman was who had just walked up to me out of the blue.

“Maybe you didn’t want to disappear, but you had to.” Her eyes issued me a challenge and I hid my surprise. She was smarter than I thought she would be. But to be honest, my thoughts weren’t based on anything other than her looks. She looked too beautiful to be intelligent. I suppose a feminist would kill me for saying that, but then again, I wouldn’t say it out loud. I knew that my thoughts were based on my own masculinity, but based on her looks I thought she’d be an airhead. She had long white-blonde hair and big doleful blue eyes that glittered at me with an emotion akin to distaste.

“Perhaps.”

“I know guys like you.” She laughed and shook her head. “You think you know me just by my looks, but let me tell you, mister, you know absolutely nothing about me.”

“I think you’ve got it a bit twisted. You were the one claiming to know me, not the other way around.”

“No, I was just the honest one. I spoke my thoughts out loud.” She turned around then and walked away from me. I hurried up to catch her, feeling confused and annoyed at myself for getting off on the wrong foot already with someone in my new town.

“Hey, wait, I’m sorry.” I grabbed ahold of her shoulder and she flinched, glaring at me as she pulled away quickly.

“Don’t touch me.”

“I didn’t mean to scare you.” My eyes narrowed, and this time I looked at her for a longer period of time. I studied her face carefully this time; I tried to look beyond the surface of her perfect features. Her eyes looked red and puffy as if she had been crying a lot, and her lips looked cracked under her lip gloss. Her cheekbones seemed too pronounced for her face, and her clothes hung on her body as if they were too big. She was either wearing someone else’s clothes or she had lost a lot of weight recently.

“You didn’t scare me.”

“So why did you want to disappear?” I smiled at her weakly, and her eyes flashed at me, looking me over in distrust.

“So you admit it, you came here to get away?”

“I’m dead.” I laughed, but no smile crossed my face.

“I’m dead too.” She nodded and ran her hands through her hair. She had understood exactly what I meant.

“I’m Noah.” I reached out my hand to shake hers. “I mean, I’m Mikey.”

“It’s best not to use any names.” Her handshake was firm, but her fingers felt soft and cold. I wanted to rub them between mine, to warm her up. “It’s safer that way.”

“How long have you been here?”

“Three months.” Her voice lowered. “And if I were you, I wouldn’t ask too many people too many questions. Most of us didn’t come here to get away from something bad.”

“What do you mean?” I frowned, not really sure what she meant.

“Most of the people in Palm Bonita are the bad. They have come here to disappear so that they won’t be caught.”

“Oh.” I pursed my lips. “Well, that means we good guys should stick together.”

“Who said I was one of the good ones?” She raised an eyebrow, and walked away from me and back down the alley. I watched her as she walked away again. She stopped after a few yards and looked back at me.

“Be careful, Noah.” She placed a finger against her lips. “Be very careful.”

I sat on the couch, holding my phone, thinking about the first time I met her when Zane walked into the living room. He stood there staring at me for a few moments, and I laughed.

“Don’t tell me the cat has your tongue.” I shook my head. “This is the first time I’ve actually seen you stand and think before spouting off whatever you wanted to tell me.”

“Blame Lucky.” He laughed as well, and sat down on the couch next to me.

“More like thank her.”

“There’s that as well.” His eyes crinkled as he thought of his fiancée, and I envied him the peace of mind and stability she had brought to his life. I wanted that for myself, but I also wanted to make sure that nothing interrupted the new joy that Zane had in his life.

“What were you thinking about just now?” Zane’s tone became thoughtful. “You looked so far away just now.”

“I was just thinking about the day I moved to Palm Bonita.”

“Palm Bonita? Is that were you where?” Zane stared at me. “Is that here in California?”

I shook my head. “No, it’s a small town in Florida, about an hour south of Orlando.”

“I see. Did you choose the area?”

I shook my head and almost chuckled to myself. “Agent Waldron suggested it might be a good place for me to go and lie low as I didn’t want to become a part of the witness protection program.”

“Wait, what?” Zane’s eyebrows furrowed. “What are you talking about? I thought you were in witness protection?”

“I wasn’t an official part of the program.” I shrugged and looked away from him. “Once you go in, you can’t really come out. I wasn’t willing to close the door.”

“So you did it for me?” Zane’s lips thinned. “You risked your safety for me, yet you couldn’t or wouldn’t tell me what your plan was.”

“I don’t want to go through this again.” I let out a big sigh. “Not now, please.”

“So what happened the day you moved to Palm Bonita?”

“Honestly?” I laughed. “I wondered what the fuck I had done and wanted to call the whole thing off.”

“It was that good, then?” Zane gave me a half-smile, but his eyes looked me over with concern. No matter how angry he was at me, I was still his brother, and he was still concerned about my feelings more than anything.

“Better.” I rolled my eyes. “Palm Bonita is one of those nowhere, small dusty towns, where ex-gang bosses and mafiosi go to spend their days.”

“Sounds delightful.”

“Yeah. It was an adjustment.” My thoughts drifted back to the decrepit apartment building I had found myself living in. It was cockroach- and rat-infested, but even worse than that was the smell. The stench of rotting eggs and hidden fish had filled the complex, and no amount of spray or candles had diminished it.

“Want to tell me more over lunch?” Zane looked at me hopefully, and I nodded. There were many things I couldn’t tell him, but I knew that he would want to know about my time away. And as long as I kept to the bare minimum, everything should be okay.

“The sky looks beautiful today.” Lucky walked into the living room with some recently picked flowers and my face turned white. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” I jumped up. “I thought you said something else. That’s all.” I gave her a weak smiled and I noticed Lucky and Zane exchanging a worried glance. “I’m okay, guys.”

“No one said you weren’t.” Zane grabbed Lucky’s hand, and pulled her towards him. “Noah and I are going to lunch, want to come?”

“If Noah doesn’t mind.” She looked at me eagerly, and I tried not to laugh. She was so different than the type of girl I had imagined seeing Zane with.

“I don’t mind. I’m pretty sure whatever I tell my brother, he shares with you anyway.”

“Zane can keep a secret.” Lucky blushed, while my brother glared at me.

“I’m just joking, guys. It’s fine. I don’t expect you to hide anything from each other. Secrets ruin relationships.”

“Yeah, they do.” Zane gave me a pointed look and I jumped up and turned towards the stairs. I had walked into that trap, and I didn’t want to stay around and feel guilted into revealing information I wasn’t ready to share.

“You guys choose a place for lunch, I’m just going to go upstairs and get my stuff ready.”

“What stuff?” Zane’s voice was curious, and I smiled at Lucky as she pulled him away from me, whispering something about wanting his help choosing out a crib for the babies.

“Hi, I’m Robin and I’m going to be your waitress today. Can I start you off with any drinks?” The girl in front of me was gorgeous and I couldn’t help but to admire her body. I gave her a once-over and I realized that she had caught me as I looked back up and she was glaring at me. As our eyes connected, I felt a spark of recognition light up my heart. I’d never seen this girl before, but something about her had ignited a feeling of warmth inside of me. “I’m not on the menu by the way.” The smile fell from her face as she spoke to me and I wondered what had gotten her so upset. She looked away and the buzz in my ears faded.

“I didn’t think that you were.” I frowned at her in confusion.

“Well, the way you were looking at me made me think that perhaps you thought something else was on the menu.”

“Um, okay?” I looked at Zane to see if I had missed something. Had I said something and not realized it, or was this chick just crazy?

“No, it’s not okay. How would you like it if I looked at you like you were a juicy steak and I was a dog ready to pounce?” Her frown lifted and her expression changed to one of excitement and anticipation, she looked me over slowly and licked her lips before locking eyes with mine. “Not a very nice feeling, is it? To be treated like a piece of meat.”

“Actually, I don’t mind.” I laughed and leaned towards her. “It makes me feel quite excited, actually.”

“Noah.” Lucky’s voice sounded shocked and she shook her head at me.

“I’m just being honest.” I shrugged.

“Typical male reaction.” Robin shook her head and turned towards Lucky. “Anything I can get you guys?”

“We’ll have three waters, please, Robin.” Lucky smiled at her widely and we were all silent as Robin walked away.

“Okay, is it me or is that chick crazy?” I exclaimed as soon as Robin was out of earshot.

“Noah.” Lucky laughed and made a small face. “I mean, she does seem like she is having a bad day.”

“She’s off.” Zane shook his head. “Like loony-bin off.”

“Right? What was up with that?” I rolled my eyes. “I thought she was going to grab a knife and stab me and for what?”

“Well, you did give her a once-over.” Lucky smiled at me. “Some girls don’t like that.”

“I looked at her and appreciated her beauty,” I coughed into my hand as Robin returned to the table with three waters. “I thought waitresses were meant to treat their customers like royalty, not like shit.”

“Are you talking about me?” Robin raised one eyebrow at me, and our eyes met again. She had the most unusual hazel eyes; they seemed to change from brown to green to match her temperament.

“Do you see another waitress in the vicinity?”

“I prefer to be called a server.”

“And?”

“Noah.” Lucky’s voice sounded shocked, and I saw her poke Zane in the stomach to get him to say something to me. I looked at Zane and his eyes were sparkling back at me. I could tell that he thought the whole situation was hilarious.

“It’s okay. I’m used to dealing with spoiled rich boys who don’t respect the help.”

“Whoa, what?” I frowned up at her and swallowed hard as I stared at her beautiful shimmering eyes. She was beautiful, and I had a hard time not feeling captivated by her. Her long black hair hung straight down her back, and her sun-kissed olive skin glowed in the bright light of the restaurant.

“Nothing.” She sighed and bit her lip. “I apologize for my words. It’s been a long day.” She looked away from me and back at Lucky. “Do you guys know what you want to order yet?”

“We’re going to share the bleu cheese burger with a large fries, please.” Zane spoke quickly, and Lucky gave him a look.

“Who said we were sharing anything?”

“I thought you wanted—”

“You didn’t even ask me if I wanted the bleu cheese burger.” Lucky made a face at Robin. “Sorry, but can you give us a few minutes?”

“Sure.” Robin smiled back at her briefly and gave me a look before walking away from the table.

“I think she likes you, bro.” Zane winked at me and I shook my head.

“Yeah, right.”

“I bet she wants to take you in the back and—”

“Zane!” Lucky’s voice was impatient. “Is that what you thought about me when you first starting coming to Lou’s?”

“Of course.” He grinned. “I knew you wanted to do me the first day you met me.”

“You’re gross.” Lucky punched him in the arm. “More like you wanted to do me.”

“Of course.” He laughed. “I saw you doing the cha cha cha, and I was hooked.”

“I was learning salsa steps.” Lucky smiled at him indulgently.

“Yeah, whatever.” Zane pulled her towards him and kissed her. “I don’t care what steps you were doing, all I knew was that I wanted to be the one you were doing them with.”

“So you wanted me to take you to the back and have my wicked way with you.”

“I would have been overjoyed.” He grinned.

“What about your date?”

“What about her?” He laughed again and kissed her on the nose. “Now, what’s this about you not wanting to share a bleu cheese burger? I thought you loved them.”

“I do love them and we can share, but you can’t just place an order and expect that I’m going to be okay with it without you asking me first.”

“Are you joking right now?” Zane’s eyes popped open and he spoke slowly. “You do want to share and you do want the bleu cheese burger, but you sent Robin away because you wanted to be difficult.”

“I wasn’t being difficult,” Lucky rolled her eyes at him. “I wanted you to ask …”

“Okay, okay.” Zane raised his hand and put on a puppy-dog face as he cut her off. “I get it.”

“You guys done?” I interrupted them both. “I’ve a feeling Robin is going to have a heart attack if we don’t order and get out of here soon.”

“She does seem a little bit intense.” Lucky giggled and made a face.

“Hey, guys, are you ready?” Robin walked back up to the table and dropped off a basket of bread. “I thought you guys could have some French rolls on the house.”

“I told you. She wants you.” Zane mouthed at me and I tried not to laugh. “You should ask her out.”

“Ask her out to do what? Kill me?”

“Ask her out on a d-a-t-e.”

“Yeah, right.” I grimaced. “That’s never going to happen.”

“I have a friend that you may …” Lucky started and Zane gave her a look. “Okay, okay. Leeza’s out.” She half sighed and gave me a smile. “So what kind of girls do you like, Noah?”

“Ones that don’t want to kill me.” I joked, but I couldn’t laugh. My mind drifted back to Palm Bonita and Skylar. I could still see the pain in her eyes at our last meeting. I’d never forget our last conversation.

“Do you love me?” Her words were soft but sharp, as her eyes had stared into mine with intensity.

“I love you.” I had said simply and honestly.

“Then take me with you.” She’d pleaded, and her eyes were moist.

“I can’t do that.” I shook my head and turned away from her.

“I hate you,” she’d whispered, and then she’d pushed past me and run away from me. I hadn’t tried to stop her, even though I had wanted to. I wanted to run after her and beg her to understand that my decision wasn’t one I wanted to make. It was one I had to make. But I knew that in her world, it didn’t make a difference. I’d broken her heart and betrayed her, like every other man. And I’d just walked away. That was the thing with love: sometimes, no matter how badly you wanted to be with someone and take care of them, there were obstacles that were beyond your control. Sometimes you had to know when to walk away.

“Noah, you okay?” Lucky reached across the table and squeezed my hand. I looked up at her and blinked a few times to remember my bearings. “You drifted away there for a moment.”

“Sorry.” I said weakly, all humor gone from my tone. “I was just remembering someone.”

“Someone special?” Lucky and Zane both looked at me with curious expressions, and I was about to answer when Robin came back to the table. I waited until she had taken our orders before I continued.

“A girl I met while I was away.” I nodded. “The day I arrived, actually.”

“Will you tell us about her and about Palm Bonita?” Lucky bit her lower lip and stared at me searchingly, hoping that I was willing to give some answers.

“Palm Bonita is one of those cities that you think of when you think of old Wild West movies.” I stared at her, as I started talking. “It’s this small town that seems to be stuck in the early 1940s. There’s this air of terror and anarchy in the city. Nobody cares about rules, yet nobody wants to be seen to not care about the rules. The people who move to Palm Bonita are the dregs of the country.”

“You moved there and you’re not the …” Lucky started and I smiled at her ruefully.

“I’m not a saint, but you’re right, I didn’t fit in with the other people who had made Palm Bonita their home. And they could tell.” I sighed as I thought back to my many acrimonious interactions with people from Palm Bonita. “But I met someone pretty early on, and she was a bright light in a very dark town. A town that was made darker because I was in a bad spot in my life.” I stared at Zane. “I’m still not sure if I made the right decision by doing what I did, but it’s all done now. I can’t change it.”

“If that’s an apology, it’s pretty weak, Noah.” Zane raised his eyebrows at me and I knew he still hadn’t forgiven me.

“It’s not an apology. I’m just saying I was in a bad place when I got to Palm Bonita. I wasn’t sure how long I would have to stay there, and it was a weird experience having to disappear.” My eyes glazed over as I spoke and thought about the loneliness and boredom that occupied my mind in the first few months. “Anyways, I met someone and she gave me some hope, and a life. We became friends and pretty quickly we became more than that. But she wasn’t who I thought she was.”

“A wolf in sheep’s clothing, huh?”

“No,” I shook my head. “She was a wolf in wolf’s clothing.” I laughed bitterly. “She didn’t try and hide who she was. I was the idiot for thinking she was someone different.”

“But you fell in love?” Lucky interrupted me with a curious tone. “You fell in love in Palm Bonita, right?”

“You could say that. I prefer to say that my heart was captured.” I cleared my throat and gave her a sorrowful smile. “Because what’s love, really? What does it mean? What does it matter if you can’t help the ones you love?”

“You can’t change anyone. Not if they don’t want to be changed.” Lucky reached out and grabbed ahold of my hand again and squeezed it. “You know that right, Noah?”

“I do.” I caressed her hand in mine and gave her a grateful smile. “You’re wonderful, you know that, right?”

“Hold on there, brother.” Zane gave me a look. “We may be family, but no flirting with my girl.”

“My name’s Lucky.” She rolled her eyes, but I saw her reach her other hand down and squeeze his thigh. “Not ‘my girl.’”

“Treat her right or you may have some competition.” I winked at Lucky as I spoke and her eyes sparkled back at me.

“You want to be a dad to my children?” Zane grinned at me. “I don’t mind if you want to take on diaper duty.”

“I think that when you love someone and you have a good heart, it shouldn’t matter who the biological parents are.” My tone became very serious. “So yes, if it came to it, I could love both of your children as my own very easily and I would take care of them as my own.”

“Whoa, hold on there.” Zane’s eyes narrowed. “It seems like you’ve already given this some thought.”

“No, not really. I just think that people in general should be more loving. And that I could easily be a father to another man’s kids; maybe even a better father than the biological father.” I smiled at him weakly and then continued. “Why can’t we all be open and loving to everyone?”

“Good point.” Zane cleared his throat. “I was hoping you’d say something like that because I would really like to know what you know about Mom and why she ignored me in Paris.”

“I …”

“I don’t want any bullshit answers from you, Noah.” His voice rose and his tone changed. “I’ve had about enough waiting to find out some answers.”

“Zane!” Lucky admonished him and shook her head in worry.

“No, stop sticking up for him. You’re my fiancée. You should be supporting me. I want to know what’s going on. I want to know why Mom left and how long Noah has known the truth. I’m done with secrets in this family.” He turned away from Lucky and stared at me. “You owe me some answers, Noah. Not some bullshit philosophical thoughts about life and families. I don’t give two shits about how things would be in your ideal world. I want to know the truth about our very real, un-ideal world, and I want to know now.”

We stared at each other for a few moments and I wasn’t sure what to say. I didn’t want to tell him the truth. I knew the truth would hurt far more than me keeping it a secret. Even if it made me the bad guy. Even if it meant he had to hate me for a little bit longer. I didn’t want to risk him going through all those years of pain and rejection again. I could still picture the pain in his eyes when anyone asked him where his mom was. I could still see him as a young boy crying in his bed when he thought no one was around. I could still see the hope in his eyes when the doorbell rang and we still thought our mom was going to come back. And I could still remember the angry, bitter man who couldn’t get over the fact that we had been abandoned. The man that had sworn he would never fall in love, never get caught in that trap. And as I looked at him across the table with Lucky, his beautiful wonderful fiancée, who was starting to show her pregnancy in her stomach and face, and I watched the open and easy love he had for her, I knew I couldn’t risk it. I couldn’t risk him clamming up and reverting back to his old self.

“So tell me, Noah. What’s the big secret you’ve been trying to keep to yourself?”

“Hey, excuse me, guys.” Robin approached the table with a slightly embarrassed expression. “Can you keep it down a bit?” She stared at me with an expression of curiosity.

“Sorry.” I nodded as I looked back at her with a blank expression as she attempted a small smile at me. I wasn’t in the mood for her hot-and-cold games. I was fed up with girls and their games. No matter how beautiful they were.

“I’m sorry about earlier. I think I was a bit …” She blushed as she mumbled on to me and I waved my hand at her.

“Forget about it. It really doesn’t matter. Just give us the check, please.”

“Is there anything else you guys would like? You haven’t even gotten your—”

“Just the check, please.” We stared at each other for another moment and she nodded. “Sure, I’ll be right back.” She hurried away and I watched her walk up to the counter to print out our receipt. She had an air about her that was slightly mysterious and intriguing. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but she was unique and had somehow wormed her way into my already-overcrowded mind.

“Don’t think this is over,” Zane leaned towards me and whispered in a low voice. “You may have been saved by the waitress this time, but next time you won’t be so lucky.”

“Give it a break, Zane.” I sighed. “Please, just give it a break. Okay.” I pulled out some twenties and placed them on the table before jumping out of the booth. “I’m going to walk home, I’ll see you guys later.” I hurried away from the table and I saw Robin turn around and watch me as I left the table. I turned around to thank her as I exited, but a weird feeling filled me as we made eye contact, and I felt flustered and uncomfortable. I nodded and mumbled a quick “thanks” before hightailing it out of the restaurant and walking down the street. I needed to think and plan. I knew that Zane was not going to let this rest. And I also knew that I couldn’t allow him to know the truth. But I didn’t want to lose him as well. Not after Skylar; the pain that remained in my heart from leaving her was still almost too much to bear.

“Hey,” I knocked on the study door and walked in without waiting for Zane to grant me access. “What you up to?”

“Balancing the checkbook.” Zane shrugged as he looked up at me from his table.

“Sounds fun.”

“Yeah, it’s a bundle of delight. Almost as much fun as disappearing to a small town in Florida.”

“Yeah, that was great fun.”

“I’m surprised you came back, what with your great love still being there and all.”

“Sarcasm doesn’t suit you.”

“I’m sorry that you think that.” He turned back to his computer. “I’m kind of busy.”

“Is that a hint to leave?”

“I won’t stop you if you walk out the door.” He started tapping on the keys in front of him and I walked over to the table.

“Hey.” I sat down in the dark mahogany chair.

“Yes?” He looked up at me in irritation.

“Really?” I rolled my eyes at him. “We’re going to play this game?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I know you’re mad at me. I understand that. I didn’t expect you to just forgive me when I got back. But this—this weird, rude sarcasm, this is not what I expected. Shout at me if you must, scream, whatever. Just don’t treat me like some random person you don’t know and don’t like.”

“But I don’t really know you, do I?” He frowned at me. “And it’s not like you trust me or care about my feelings. You didn’t tell me you were working for the FBI, you won’t tell me about our mom. I mean, come on, Noah, what sort of brothers are we?”

My breath caught at his words and I stared into his blazing eyes with my heart pounding.

“Do you think it was easy for me to just walk away without telling you? Do you think it didn’t keep me up at night? Do you think I didn’t want to call you every single morning and every single night? It fucking killed me, Zane. I wanted to tell you so badly.”

“So why didn’t you? You told others. Do you know how much that hurt me?”

“I don’t know why she told you I told her.” I said angrily. “I—”

“Who is she?” Zane frowned at me. “I was talking about Sidney.”

“Oh.” Fuck. “That’s what I meant …”

“No, it isn’t. Who is she? Who else did you tell?” Zane starred at me with a shocked and incredulous expression. “I know you’re not talking about Mrs. Johnson, but who else is there? Wait.” Zane’s expression changed to anger as realization dawned. “Are you talking about Mom? Did you tell Mom?”

My face turned red and he looked at me in confusion. “So you’ve been in contact with her? To the point where you would tell her about leaving?”

“It’s not like that.” I shook my head and my tone was bleak.

“What is it like, Noah?”

“Have you ever loved someone so much that you’ve walked away because that is the only thing you can do to protect them?”

“What?” He looked at me in confusion. “What are you talking about?”

“When I left, all I could think about was you. I knew that you would be devastated. We were all we had. And you’ve looked after me my whole life. You’ve been the best big brother ever. And you’ve always tried to protect me. Even when I didn’t need protecting. Well, I had to protect you as well.”

“You weren’t protecting me by leaving and making me think you were dead, and you sure aren’t protecting me by not telling me about Mom. I’m not a baby, Noah. I don’t need you to hold my hand while you rip off the Band-Aid. Fucking pull that shit off and let it burn.”

“Going to Palm Bonita without telling you was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do in my life. I wasn’t skipping and singing songs, delighting in the fact that I pulled the wool over your eyes. But I couldn’t just do nothing. They killed people, Zane. I was young and dumb and maybe I handled it incorrectly, but when Agent Waldron told me this was the only solution, I believed him. I had to give up everything. When I moved, I had nothing and no one and no one to talk to.”

“I’m sorry.” Zane’s eyes looked bleak. “I can’t profess to know what it was like.”

“It was hard. There were some days where I didn’t even make it out of bed because I didn’t care. I was in this limbo. I had nowhere to go, nothing to do, no one to talk to.”

“How did you get out of that funk?”

“One day, I met someone. She knew right away that I wasn’t like most of the other people in town.”

“Is this the girl you fell in love with?” Zane questioned me, and a dart of pain shot through my heart.

“She’s the girl that broke my heart into pieces.” I shook my head. “We’re powerless, you know, when it comes to love. No matter what type of love it is. You can love someone wholly and completely as a wife, a mother, a sister, a daughter, a friend. But none of it matters. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter if you want to do the right thing and take care of someone. Sometimes there are external factors that will do everything in their power to stop you from making something right.”

“So this woman that you met? She’s the one that gave you hope? Did someone stop you from being with her?”

“I thought she was a victim when I first met her. I thought she was hiding out from an abusive ex. The first time I met her, she told me to be careful in the town. She told me there were a lot of bad people. I should have taken her at her word. She warned me from the beginning.”

“Did someone hurt you?” Zane clenched his fist.

“Not physically.” I shook my head and closed my eyes as memories came pouring in from my early days in Palm Bonita. The second time I’d seen her she was in the grocery store, studying the labels on milk. “I’d recommend the whole milk.” I smiled at her as I walked over to her. “People like to recommend the two percent or one percent because it has less fat, but whole milk is a lot better for your bones.” She’d stared at me for a minute without talking before grabbing a bottle of one percent. “I see you take advice well.” I continued with a quick smile and grabbed a bottle of whole milk.

“I didn’t ask you for any advice.” Her eyes smirked at me. “I make my own decisions.” She walked away from me and down to the produce aisle. For some reason I followed her and picked up some bananas as she grabbed some apples. She looked over at me and shook her head before walking up to me. “I thought I told you to be careful in this town?” Her voice was low and she looked around the store to see if there was anyone watching us as she spoke.

“I don’t take advice well, either.” I grinned at her, and she laughed. This time the laugh hit her eyes and her whole face was transformed with beauty as she smiled at me in genuine humor.

“Would you like to come over for dinner tonight?” she’d asked me lightly as if it were no big deal, and I had accepted eagerly and happily, not knowing that that invitation was going to change my whole life. A carton of milk had changed my life.

“Noah, you okay?” Zane’s voice interrupted my thoughts and I nodded.

“Yeah, yeah. Sorry.” I sighed. “I was just remembering the day she let me into her life.”

“You still miss her?” His eyes searched mine.

“No, I don’t miss her.” I shook my head honestly.

“But you still think about her a lot.” He wasn’t asking a question, but I still nodded.

“Everything changed in my life when I met her and she brought me into her life. I was no longer the boy morphing into the man. I became the man.” I spoke with conviction. “She made me a man.”

“That’s a good thing, isn’t it?” Zane looked at me thoughtfully. “Lucky made me realize that I was still acting like a boy a lot of the time. She brought out the man in me; all I want to do is love her and protect her. That’s what we’re made for, you know. To look after our women and to love them as best as we can.”

“I’m glad that Lucky has brought the love back into your life.” I answered him honestly. “Family is so important. I’m glad you’ve added someone else to our small group.”

“We missed out on a lot, didn’t we?” Zane sighed. “No mother, no father to talk of. No real love. We had nothing. I’m surprised we turned out this well.”

“We’ll always have each other.” I grabbed his arm and squeezed it tightly.

“That’s all we can really ask for, isn’t it?” He nodded slowly. “To have a family that truly loves and accepts us.”

“That’s all that matters.” I agreed. “You made a good pick with Lucky, she’s amazing and I already love her like she’s a part of the family.”

“Yeah, I’ve been blessed.” His eyes shone with emotion. “I’m glad you love her; she’s already the central part of our family. She loves you like a brother, you know. She really loves and cares about you. It’s funny that you’re not even related, but she always talks and worries about you.”

“I guess you don’t have to be related by blood to love someone as a family member.” I stared at him, my eyes blazing. “Sometimes they worm their way into your heart and they become a part of you. And when someone becomes a part of you, they automatically become your family.”