Thrill Me (Fool's Gold #18)(87)

Gladys touched her cheek. “We know, and we’re proud of you, Maya. We want you to be happy. Pay it forward or whatever it is you young people say today.”

“I will.”

Eddie smiled at her. “Don’t worry about Del. I’ve known him all his life. He’ll figure out what’s what. And if he doesn’t, I’ll smack him with my purse.”

Maya hugged them again. They’d believed in her back when she hadn’t been able to begin to believe in herself. Whatever happened, she would keep moving forward. If not for herself, then for the two old ladies who had seen promise in her when she wasn’t sure there had been very much.

* * *

DEL HAD LOST count of the beers he’d had, but what with being able to walk back to the cabin, knew it didn’t matter. Nick was sprawled next to him on the sofa, while Aidan had claimed his big recliner.

The evening together hadn’t been planned, but somehow they’d all ended up here, at Aidan’s place. They’d talked about football, the chances of an early snow and whether or not they should get in a camping trip together before it got too cold. But they hadn’t addressed the real reason they were drinking beer together.

Del figured he was the oldest, so it was up to him. “The twins didn’t tell either of you?”

Calling Ronan and Mathias “the twins” was no longer applicable, but they’d been that for as long as he could remember. Changing now seemed impossible. He wondered how they thought of themselves.

“Never said a word,” Aidan told him. “I didn’t know either of them were capable of keeping any kind of secret, let alone one this big.”

“Damned straight,” Nick muttered. “Secrets. Hell of a way to live.” He looked up. “No. They didn’t tell me. Didn’t even hint when they were home for Dad’s birthday.”

“How’d they do that?” Aidan asked.

Del had the same question. Sure, they’d had three years to work through what they’d learned, but to not share it with their brothers. Talk about a twisted family dynamic, Del thought grimly.

“At least we know why they moved,” Nick said. “They wanted to get away from Dad.”

“Mom, too,” Del added. “She kept the truth from them, too.” Ronan would have been wrestling with his identity, while Mathias would have lost half of how he’d defined himself. They’d always been the twins. Two parts of a whole.

“Wonder what else they’re keeping from us.” Aidan sipped his beer. “Could be a million things.”

“It’s not like they’re going to tell us,” Nick said. “Too many secrets.”

Del thought of his brother’s artwork, hidden in the forest. Not that he was going to mention it. There was enough to deal with. He didn’t want to be fighting with his brothers. Not today.

Aidan looked at him. “You’re being an ass about Maya. In case you didn’t know.”

So much for not fighting, Del thought. “No one cares what you think.”

“I have to agree with Aidan,” Nick said. “Come on. She was helping Mom.”

“She lied to all of us.”

“She kept something from us.”

“That our mother has cancer.” Del glared at both of them. “That’s unforgivable.”

“Only if you decide to make it unforgivable,” Nick told him. “It was Mom’s decision to tell us or not. I don’t agree with what she did, but that was all her. Maya was doing a good thing. She kept a promise.”

Del stood up and walked into the kitchen. He finished his beer and grabbed another from the refrigerator.

“You can run, but you can’t hide,” Aidan called from the living room. “She’s good for you, bro. She’s smart and sexy and for reasons neither of us can figure out, she wants to be with you. You’ve got a good thing. Don’t screw it up by being a jerk.”

Del returned to the living room, but didn’t take his seat. “I’m not the bad guy. I trusted her and she lied to me. I knew better. She’d already done it once. She lied about being scared and she lied when she broke up with me. Nothing’s changed.”

“If that’s what you learned from what happened with Maya, then you don’t deserve her. Go on. Make your movies by yourself. Because you shouldn’t bother trying to make it work with another person. One way or another, they’ll screw up and then what? You’ll have to get rid of them. It must be a bitch being the only perfect person in the room.”

“You wouldn’t understand,” Del said, putting down the beer and heading for the door.

“We do understand,” Aidan told him. “You’re looking for a guarantee. Life isn’t that tidy. Shit happens and you deal. At the end of the day, the question is, can you trust the person you love to have your back? That’s what always went wrong with Dad. We knew that the art came first. Always. I don’t know how Mom reconciles that, but she chose to marry him and she’s going to stay with him. It just is. But with Maya—she had Mom’s back. Considering what she’d had to deal with, married to Dad, I’m glad someone was there for her.”

“We could have been there for her,” Del pointed out.

“She didn’t want us. She wanted Maya. And Maya didn’t let her down. That should count for a lot. If you’re too stupid to see that means Maya would have your back, too, then walk out of here. I’m not going to stop you.”