Page 18 of Silver Linings

“This isn’t just someone, Gunner. This is Lily. My best friend. Sweet Lily Bennett who we grew up with, throwing mud at each other down by the pond and who tutored your dumb ass in chemistry senior year of high school.”

“Yeah, I think I know who Lily is.”

“Lily,” she continued. “The woman who is with our mother right now caring for her because we are in over our heads.”

“Shit, is she? I was hoping she would have slept in a little longer.” He looked at his watch. She’d only gotten a few hours of sleep, and that couldn’t be good for her or the baby. “But to answer your repetitive questions, yes, that same Lily.”

“So, what? You marry her and then just live a happy life with her and the baby? Jesus, Gunner! She’s going to have a baby any day now. You’re not a kid person! Hell, you’re not a relationship person. Don’t fuck with Lily’s heart. Don’t promise her something you can’t possibly give.”

“It isn’t like that, G. She knows it’s about protecting her and getting her back on her feet.”

“So you’re going to be there when she has the baby? You’re going to take care of both of them after the baby comes? You don’t see how that might make you feel things you aren’t ready to feel? How she might start relying on you for things other than her safety?”

“Gia, listen to me. James put his hands on her. That filthy piece of shit hurt her while she’s pregnant. I saw the bruises, and so did you. I heard the panic in her voice when she called me last night. Not only that, but he cleared out their bank account. Did she tell you that this morning? Spent every dollar she had saved for the baby. She doesn’t deserve that. She’s worried and working too hard. I had to take her to the hospital last night before we came home, G. Had to sit there and listen to her as she cried about how she’d already failed her daughter because that scumbag used her. Her doctor was clear that she can’t keep up this level of stress. I just want to help an old friend get back on her feet.”

His sister sat back, folding her arms over her chest. “You are so in over your head.”

“No, I’m not.”

“So she knows you’re going back to Texas after everything here is done?”

“You mean after our mother dies?”

Gia rolled her eyes. “Fuck you, Gunner.”

“Someone needs to say it, Gia. We aren’t just here to hold a garage sale for her.”

“I don’t want to think about it. I just want to soak up the time we have left with her.”

“So do I, but I also live in reality. We’re going to bury our mom while I’m here. If I marry Lil, if I help her out, at least something good comes from all this.”

Gia sat with her eyes glued to Gunner. Finally, she gave a soft nod and sighed. “So, does she know?”

“No. But I’m hoping that a fresh start in a new state will be something she’s interested in.”

“Because it’s with you?”

He shook his head. “No, I think that’s probably the thing that will be the hardest sell.”

“God, you definitely got the short stick in the intelligence department, didn’t you?”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’ve watched that girl pine after you since the summer she cut her leg falling off her bike and you carried her home. You left for the Navy and she never stopped coming over to ask mom how you were doing. Never stopped texting me in the middle of the night when she would read about an attack on the troops, making sure we hadn’t been notified it was you. Every milestone, everything you achieved, she was the first person celebrating.”

“She was just being a caring neighbor.”

“Is that why she sent you all those care packages?”

“What?” That surprised Gunner. The only packages he’d gotten were from his mother, and they’d been legendary. His entire team loved when one showed up, because his mom not only included things for him, but she always made sure there was something special for each of the guys on his team. “The only packages I ever got were from mom.”

Gia shook her head. “No. Lily would come over and tell mom when she was getting ready to send one to you. Mom would always write a letter to go in, but those packages were all Lily.”

His heart squeezed painfully in his chest. Those care packages had sometimes been the only thing to pull him from the darkness of his mind. They always seemed to show up exactly when he needed them most. Why hadn’t she ever written to him? Why had she let him think his mother was sending them?

“She’s been in love with you since we were kids, Gunner. You cannot come riding in on your white horse and give her hope that your support might turn into something more one day.”

“Gunner…”