“You aren’t mad at me?” she asked.
“Of course not. How could I possibly be mad at you for that? Look at what you’ve done for me. You are the only reason I’ve made it this far, Darcy. You made sure I had someone while I was pregnant. You were always there for me to talk to even when we lived apart. You let Gabby and me come live with you.”
“That’s what best friends do,” she said.
“Sure. But you went above and beyond. When I needed to leave again, you didn’t even hesitate to come with me.”
“I wasn’t going to let you do that on your own,” she said.
“But plenty of people would have. I don’t know anyone else who would have dropped everything in their life, quit their job, stuffed most of what they owned into storage, and hit the road with no idea where they were going to end up. You did. You did all that to make sure I wasn’t alone and wasn’t going to be in danger. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you. I wouldn’t have stopped here, and I wouldn’t be brave enough to stay. No one deserves to follow their heart more than you. I have my fresh start because of you. Now it’s your turn to find yours.”
Chapter 37
Clayton
“I want you to have that,” Gia said.
“But it’s yours,” Darcy said, trying to hand her a small decorative figurine.
I remembered that being one of the first things they put into place when they moved into the apartment. Even when the place was still cluttered with boxes and they weren’t sure where they were going to put most of their things, that little figurine took its place on a shelf in the living room. I didn’t know exactly what it was, but it seemed to hold a lot of meaning for both women.
“It’s ours,” Gia said. “And it’s been with us for years.”
“Our guardian,” Darcy said softly, looking down at the figure and running her hand over its head.
“Exactly. And wherever you end up, I want you to have it with you. I don’t need it anymore.”
She looked over at me with an expression in her eyes that made my heart warm and my chest puff out a bit. I couldn’t help it. This incredible, beautiful woman felt safe when she was with me. She was so happy here she was staying for good. I’d hoped for it when she first came to town, but it wasn’t something I thought I’d ever get to have. She had been running, and I hadn’t expected to be the one to catch her.
But I’d gotten an amazing gift. We were falling in love, maybe we were already there, and she was settling down here in my town. I didn’t have to say goodbye to her or to Gabby.
That was more than she could say about her best friend. Gia was having to let go of the one person who had been there for her the most and the longest. The person who had supported her and helped her through the hardest times in her life. Darcy made sure Gia and Gabby got this far. Now she was leaving.
It was hard to believe when Gia told me Darcy decided to leave Green Valley. When I first met the women, it really seemed like they were an absolute package deal. They arrived together and made it clear they were in the whole situation together. I didn’t know what they were running from at the time, and I just assumed it was a threat to both of them.
Now that I’d dealt with Matteo, I realized how accurate that really was. He might not directly threaten Darcy, but I had no doubt he wouldn’t hesitate to get her out of his way if the situation presented itself. But Gia didn’t have to worry about Matteo anymore. Her ex was behind bars and wasn’t going to be walking the streets free anytime soon.
For all his arrogance and bravado when he went after Gia, Matteo came out of the Green Valley jail decidedly more subdued. It was like he got a dose of reality during those hours spent in the room comprised of little more than stone and steel.
Now, I didn’t have as much experience with the inside of the jail cells as a couple of my brothers, specifically Garrett, but it would be a lie if I said I hadn’t ever been told to sit my ass down in one and cool off for a couple of hours. My mother’s death was hard on me and I went through an angry, rebellious time. It didn’t last long, but it was enough to give me the experience Matteo had.
I probably had it a bit easier than he did. Having grown up in Green Valley and everybody around knowing what I was going through, they took it gentler on me. Not so much with Matteo. Nobody knew exactly what happened to him when he was behind those bars, and I wasn’t going to jump right to the conclusion that anybody had mistreated him, but I don’t think any of the jailers were jumping up to make his stay comfortable.
On top of that, the judge he saw Monday morning after the incident had no sympathy. She didn’t want to listen to any of his excuses or latch onto the charming bait he was dangling. Instead, she saw right through him and knew exactly what he was capable of. That meant he wasn’t leaving custody until his trial. That came as a shock to everyone, including Gia, but she was grateful for it.
As much as everybody around her promised to take care of her and make sure she was safe until the moment he got his final sentence, I could tell she was nervous the day of his arraignment. The sharp-tongued lawyer he called in tried to get him released, claiming he wasn’t a flight risk. He even went so far as to use Gabby, saying she was his tie to the community.
Fortunately, the judge wasn’t hearing any of that. She knew he had nothing to do with that baby and hadn’t since she was born. All it took was Gia giving a description of the way he treated her and Darcy backing her up for the judge to see what the rest of us did. Matteo was nothing good and never would be. Gia and Gabby wouldn’t be safe if he was let out of jail. A protection order wouldn’t really mean anything to him.
Gia wanted one as a way to slap extra charges on him, but it wasn’t going to create a bubble around her. In the end, it was just a piece of paper. To stop him from coming after her again, he needed to be in a jail cell. During the hearing, I refrained from pointing out that keeping him behind bars was actually more for his own protection than it even was for the girls.
What he experienced out on the street in front of the cafe was me being nice. If he tried to get anywhere near either of them, he was going to see the mean side of me. And that would not go well for him.
There was still a trial coming. But I had no doubt it would be quick and easy, and he’d be thrown right back into the cell to sit around and think for a good while. Gia told me after the hearing she already felt like he was off her back after the fight, but hearing that he was going to be physically prevented from getting near her was one of the best moments she ever experienced, having to do with him.
I countered that, wondering about the day she had Gabby. That made Gia laugh. She said she barely even thought of them as being connected anymore. Gabby was hers and that was all that mattered.
I didn’t tell her then that I wanted Gabby to be mine. One day would be the right time for that. Right then, it was just about celebrating Gia’s victory and the fact that she was staying in Green Valley.
And now it was about helping her through the difficulty of Darcy leaving.
It felt good knowing Gia’s best friend trusted me enough that she would leave Gia. There was no question about how much Darcy loved both Gia and Gabby. They were precious to her. She wouldn’t have upended her life for them if they weren’t. And I knew without a shadow of a doubt she would do anything to take care of both of them and protect them from anything. It said so much that she was willing to move on with her life, knowing the girls were safe and would be happy here.
But as happy as that made me, it still broke my heart to watch Gia and Gabby cope with the change. Gia was doing her best to look at the situation pragmatically. She took on the task of packing with an organizational vengeance. There were lists, labels, and color-coordinated tape. It was far more structured than when they arrived in Green Valley. She was burying herself in the logistics so she didn’t have to see the emotion.
It wasn’t working out too well for her. More boxes than not had teardrops on them. But I didn’t mention it. She was trying her hardest to
be strong for Gabby. The little girl was having a hard time with it. She didn’t fully understand what was happening. Twice over the last two weeks, I had arrived at the apartment to find she was trying to pack her toys and clothes.
We had to sit her down and explain that Aunt Darcy was leaving but she wasn’t. That conversation always ended in tears but also with her saying she was happy not to be leaving. It was a lot for such a tiny thing to work through and try to understand.
But she did give me the cutest drawing I ever saw, and I had it folded up in my pocket all the time. It filled me with so much happiness, but it was also gut wrenching. Turned out, it was a lot for a big man to try to work through and understand, too.
Darcy wasn’t one to procrastinate. When she put her mind to something, she just did it. That was the kind of woman she was, and according to Gia, it was the kind of woman she had always been. She didn’t like to stew on things. From the moment she broke the news that she wanted to leave Green Valley, it was full speed ahead. She had been waiting around hoping for something to change for a long time, and she was ready to just be done with the waffling and be on her way.
The thought of heading off and finding her own new life was exciting. But when those thoughts drifted over to leaving Gia and Gabby behind, it got real hard, real fast. She couldn’t linger. If she put anything off, she would just hurt more, so she had to go. That meant the preparation, planning, and packing got off to a blazing start as soon as it could.
Two weeks later, it was the last day. Mid-September had just broken through the muggy summer heat and was promising fall. The leaves just starting to fade around the edges promised change that seemed appropriate, considering. We finished packing the last of the boxes and carried them out to Darcy’s new van. We teased her when she came home in that thing. Gia was the one who should have the Mom-van after all.
But as Darcy pointed out, she couldn’t take their one car and leave Gia with nothing, and unless she wanted to go through the hassle of doing the movable storage pods again, she needed to bring everything with her. She was leaving the furniture, but everything else she owned had to go along. A van was the only real option. She could sell it when she got to wherever she was going to land and get something else.
Or she could hang onto it as a promise of the next adventure to come.
Darcy said goodbye to Gabby first. She crouched down and held the little girl tight to her. Gia covered her mouth with her hand and took long breaths as she watched, trying to keep her emotion in check. When she was finished, Gabby ran back to me. She clung to my leg, burying her face against it.
It reminded me of the first time I saw her when they arrived and she hid behind her mama. Now it was me she was coming to for comfort, and I was going to do my best to give it to her. I scooped her up into my arms and looked into her face. Red and sticky with tears, it looked even younger than she was.
“It’s going to be okay, baby,” I said. “This is hard. Goodbyes are really hard. But think of how happy you and your mama are here in Green Valley. You want Aunt Darcy to find that, too, don’t you?”
“Yes,” she said. “But I will miss her.”
“And she’ll miss you. But I’m sure she will come back for visits as much as she can. She already told me she’s going to come back for Christmas. Probably even before that.”
A few minutes later, Darcy got behind the wheel and drove off, one hand stuck out the window waving as she left. I wrapped my arm tight around Gia and we stood there watching until the van was too far in the distance to see it anymore. When we went inside, Gia disappeared into the bathroom to pull herself together. I stayed in the living room with Gabby, playing with her baby dolls until Gia emerged again.
“Thank you,” she said as I pulled her in for a hug.
“Nothing to thank me for,” I said. I kissed her and she sighed, letting her head drop to the middle of my chest. “Why don’t we go for dinner? Are you hungry?”
“I am!” Gabby trilled from where she sat on the floor.
Gia laughed. “I guess that’s a yes.”
We headed out, walking along with Gabby holding our hands between us. Now it was just us three.
Chapter 38
Gia
We had ordered pizza several times already, but Clayton insisted on us going into the little Italian restaurant for dinner. He said it was a completely different experience than just ordering a pizza and eating it at the apartment. The way he said it sounded like he genuinely believed they made their delivery pizzas with a different recipe than the ones they served right there in the restaurant.
I went along with him, not just because Italian food sounded amazing. But also because I wasn’t really ready to be at the apartment without Darcy yet. The sting of her being gone was even stronger than I expected it to be. For the last two weeks, I had been preparing myself for her leaving. I knew she was going to jump right in. As soon as she told me she wanted to leave Green Valley, time was ticking.
Darcy had never been one to hold off on something she wanted. Delayed gratification wasn’t exactly her strong suit. She showed incredible patience with Gabby and delayed everything she could have ever wanted or tried for in her life to be there for me. But when it came to making a final decision about leaving and continuing on, she wasn’t going to hesitate.
In a way, that was good. It meant I could throw myself into the process completely and not think about what it was really going to be like for her to be gone. But now that she was, the reality of it was crashing down around me. It was hard to wrap my mind around going back to the apartment and not having her there. I could barely imagine not seeing her dancing around in the living room or waking up in the middle of the night to her popping popcorn because she got invested in some movie and hadn’t fallen asleep yet.
Most of all, I couldn’t believe I wasn’t going to be able to just sit with her and talk. I had gotten so used to having my best friend right there with me. We talked about everything and I always knew I could rely on her and look to her no matter what I was going through. It went the same for her. We would be able to talk on the phone. And we could video chat. But it wasn’t going to be the same.
I would have to get used to it. I really didn’t have a choice. But I wasn’t in that place yet. I needed some more time to process it all before I would be able to walk into that apartment and feel right without her there.
Clayton showed us into the restaurant, and I was surprised to see how big it was. I thought it was going to be another tiny little place like most of the shops and restaurants throughout Green Valley. Instead, it had a cramped vestibule that opened out into a spacious dining room. Toward the back, an archway cut into the wall led into another dining area.
“This is pretty impressive,” I said.
Clayton nodded and rested his hand on my lower back to guide me further into the space.
“It used to be just this one space,” he said. “But then the family bought the stores on either side and expanded it out. Everybody in Green Valley loves the food here. Back in the day, it wasn’t unusual for there to be more than an hour wait for dinner. There just wasn’t enough space inside to accommodate everybody who wanted to eat here. So they expanded out.”
“How long ago was that?” I asked.
“I was a little boy,” Clayton said. “Some of the memories I still hang onto about my mother are from having dinner here. She had a weakness for their fried cheese. My daddy always used to make fun of her for it. He said it was nothing more than a mozzarella stick she could get up at the bar. But Mama insisted that wasn’t the case. After all, it was provolone cheese, not mozzarella. And the fact that it was cut into triangles and fried made it fancy.”
“That does sound fancy,” I said. “I can understand it.”
He chose a table and pulled out the chair for me. I sat down and scooted it up in place while he pulled out a chair for Gabby. She climbed into it but was much too small. He walked away only for a second, then came back with a booste
r seat for her. He was barely sitting down when a potbellied man with a long gray ponytail and a bright smile came up to the side of the table.
“Hey there, Clayton,” he said. “How are you doing this evening?”
“I’m doing just fine, Nico. I don’t know if you’ve gotten a chance to meet Gia.”
The older man looked at me and shook his head. “I haven’t had the pleasure. But I have heard plenty about you.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” I said.
“What can I get for you?” Nico asked.
“I’d like to try the fried cheese,” I said and saw Clayton’s smile get a little wider.
He ordered an appetizer and Nico walked away, leaving us with our menus. It was still early in the evening, so there weren’t many other tables filled. I could imagine that was going to change soon. By the time the owner came out of the kitchen with our appetizers, we were all ready to order dinner.
Clayton was right. The food was incredible, and I didn’t even miss not having the pizza I’d come to love. I was stuffed when we left, and Gabby seemed to have eaten herself into a food coma. Clayton handed me the bag filled with our leftovers and swept Gabby up into his arms to carry her back to the apartment.
Utilizing a mothering skill I’d mastered when Gabby was a baby and made a tremendous mess when she ate and fell asleep immediately after, I gave her a bath that barely woke her up. Putting her in her favorite pajamas, I tucked her into bed and read quietly to her until she was solidly and deeply asleep. Even after she was asleep, I sat with her, watching her. Sometimes, it still amazed me how much I loved this little person.
When I was ready, I went back into the living room and found Clayton sitting on the couch pouring glasses of wine for us. Taking one from him, I settled close beside him.
“Thank you for helping me with Gabby today,” I said. “I was too much of a mess to try to comfort her. I think I was upsetting her even more.”
His Dirty Hands (The Montgomery Boys Book 2) Page 22
