Page 62 of Burn Falls

Marcy turned, her shoulder-length, light-brown hair fanning around her. She stepped forward with open arms and gushed, “It’s so nice to finally meet you.”

“Let my girl breathe, Marse,” said the man who I couldn’t stop thinking about from behind me.

Marcy let go of me. “Shecanbreathe, you jackass. I was just greeting her.”

“It’s nice to meet you too,” I finally said.

Draven brought me into his arms and kissed the top of my head. “Have a good day, sweets?”

I nodded against his chest. “Slept in, and then I caught up on my TV shows before they disconnect my cable Thursday night.”

“Sounds like a good day then.”

I looked up at him. “Would have been better with you there.”

Before Draven could respond, I turned to see a little girl running into the kitchen with two older girls trailing behind her. “Uncle Draven! Uncle Draven!”

“What is it, girls?” he asked, still holding me in his arms.

“Is this your girrrlfriend?” the youngest sang.

Marcy had a grin spread across her face as she waited for an answer, and Martin went to the fridge with a chuckle. I knew the giddiness was normal for little girls, but I didn’t understand why Martin and Marcy would think Draven having a girlfriend was funny.

Draven looked down at me with his dark gaze. “Are you?”

I sucked in a breath and then bit my lip. “Yeah?”

He smiled and then turned his attention back to the girls. “Yeah, Millie, this is my girlfriend, Calla.”

“Ooooo,” she sang again and giggled some more while holding her hands over her face.

Draven stepped to the side of me but kept his arm around my shoulder. “Calla, this is Melinda, Macy, and this nosey one is Millie. The cutest kids I know.”

I turned to Marcy. “Everyone has an M name?”

She snorted and turned to grab the bottle of wine in the center of the kitchen island. “This one,” she hooked her thumb toward Martin who was passing Draven a beer, “thought it would be cute since both of our names start with an M.”

I grinned. “That’s actually really cute.”

“See. Told you,” Martin stated.

I watched Marcy pop the cork on the white wine and roll her eyes. “Except no one can remember their names.”

“Yeah, I can see how that would be confusing.”

Martin, Marcy, Melinda, Macy, Millie,I chanted in my head over and over.

Marcy slid a glass of wine in my direction. “Take a seat and let me tell you some secrets about Draven.”

I smirked and looked up at Draven again. “You have secrets?”

He closed his eyes briefly as though he didn’t want to answer. “Everyone has secrets, sweets.”

For the next hour, and a couple of glasses of wine later, Marcy and I bonded as though we were becoming fast friends. The sun had fully gone down, the girls were finishing their movie, and I was watching my boyfriend shoot the shit with Martin outside while they grilled steaks.

“How often does Draven come and visit you guys?” I asked, staring at him through the glass window to the backyard.

“At least once a month.”