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She nodded. “Pretty much.”

I laughed. “Thanks. Anyway, it’s not like that with Molly. Molly is…” There wasn’t a simple way to describe what she meant to me. But eventually, I looked at Belinda and came clean. “…Everything. Molly is everything.”

Belinda smiled warmly. “Yeah, I had one of those once.”

I took a swig of my beer. “What happened to her?”

“Passed away twelve years ago. Car accident.” She glanced away for a moment. “Still think about her every day.”

“I’m sorry.”

Belinda cleared her throat. “Thank you. So, does this Molly girl love this Will guy?”

I shrugged. “I’m not sure.”

“But she picked him over you?”

“It wasn’t really a pick-one-over-the-other-type thing. She knows I live on the opposite side of the country, but more than that, I never really gave her the chance to choose me because I never told her how I feel. I don’t think I can give her what she deserves.”

Belinda wrinkled her forehead. “You don’t have a dick or something?”

I laughed. “No, I’m good in that department. I just mean…Molly’s special. And I…” I shook my head. “I’m not reliable like Will. He’s a doctor, lives in Chicago with her, and has his shit together. She deserves someone stable.”

“You switch jobs a lot or something?”

“No. I’ve been with my company for five years.”

“So why can’t you be stable like this Will guy?”

“It’s…complicated.”

“No shit. Life always is. It’s why those who persevere reap the rewards. You know what people who take the easy way out and don’t push through their problems get?”

“What?”

“They get what they deserve.”

I sighed. “Yeah.”

“So what’s really going on, Declan? It sounds like you got a good job, and you claim your dick works well enough, so what part of you isn’t reliable?”

I was quiet for a long time. Belinda waited patiently, watching me. I could’ve thrown a twenty on the bar and walked out. But I was going to have to admit to someone what I feared. So why not Belinda? Chugging the rest of my beer, I blew out a jagged breath.

“My mother is bipolar.”

“Okay…”

When I said nothing more, she prodded.

“Did your father leave your mom high and dry, and that left a bad taste in your mouth for commitment or something?”

I shook my head. “Nope. He stuck by her side. They’ve been married for thirty-five years. I’m the youngest of five kids.”

“So what am I missing?”

“My father’s a good man. He wouldn’t walk out on my mother. But it changed his life. He carries a pretty damn big burden every day. When I was younger, my mom spent months at a time in bed and couldn’t hold a job. So he worked a lot, and when he wasn’t working, he was trying to help out with one of the five kids, or he was taking care of my mother.”

She nodded. “That sounds tough. But you can’t spend your life avoiding commitment because your father had to carry more than his share. That’s got nothing to do with your life and your relationships.”

“That’s not what I’m worried about.”

“Then you’re gonna need to spell it out for me. Because I’ve spent thirty years listening to people half in the bag tell me their problems. And I’m having a harder time following you after just two beers than any of them. What’s got you afraid to go after the woman you love?”

I’d never said the words out loud before. But fuck it… Looking Belinda directly in the eyes, I said, “I suffer from depression. Started in high school, though, if you asked most of my classmates, they’d tell you I was the life of the party. But I went through some rough times before I spoke to one of my sisters about it and sought help. It’s pretty much under control now, though I take medication and go to therapy to keep it that way.”

“Okay, well, none of us is perfect. But it sounds like you’re managing things.”

I shook my head. “When my mom started out, her doctor thought it was just some depression, too. It took years for her illness to show all its signs.”

“So you think because your mom got worse, that might happen to you?”

I nodded. “Bipolar disorder is hereditary.”

CHAPTER 26

* * *

Declan

“Hey, Dad.”

“Declan! What are you doing here?” My father took off his glasses and pushed up from his recliner, swamping me in a bear hug. “I thought you were gallivanting around the country for that fancy job of yours?”

I smiled. “I’m still working in Wisconsin—just came home for the long weekend. Sorry I didn’t call. It was a last-minute decision.” As in, I woke up this morning and went to the airport without even having a plane ticket or knowing the flight schedule.

“You never need to call. But you just missed your mother. She went over to visit your aunt Gloria. She had some surgery on her foot, so your mom has been helping her out every day.”