Page 35 of When You Blush

She smirks and lets out another breath. “Okay, enough of that nonsense. Let’s go eat.”

Chapter Eight

HARPER

I’ve been to the Wolf Den before. Usually, whenever I came home for a couple of days to visit the family, Ava and I would end up here for a girls’ night. We never really liked hanging out at the dive bars in Silver Springs. This isn’t a dive bar. It’s a fun sports bar with pool tables and a jukebox, and the menu is great.

Therefore, when Blake pulled up here, I got excited.

We’ve already placed our orders, and Blake’s holding my hand from across the table. This manlovesto touch. And I amnotcomplaining. I love it when he touches me, too.

“So what’s the longer version of what you told me in the car?” Blake asks as he sips his iced tea. “If you don’t mind sharing, that is.”

Surprisingly, I don’t mind. I feel like I’ve been able to chat this man up from the moment I met him. It’s just easy. And I never feel like he’s judging me. He simply listens.

It’s refreshing.

“Well, let’s see. I was born on a warm July night?—”

Blake laughs, and I smile over at him.

“My parents were addicts,” I say, and his face clears. “Sonotgood at the whole parent gig. My mom would try to get her act together about twice a year, but she loved my dad, and if your partner won’t get clean with you …”

“You’re less likely to succeed,” Blake finishes.

I nod and sip my water.

“Yeah. The thing is, when she tried to get sober, it was almost worse. She was withdrawing so badly that all she did was cry and couldn’t function at all. If she was using, she at least had lucid moments of remembering groceries and stuff.”

I shrug a shoulder, but Blake scowls, so I squeeze his hand.

“When I was in the seventh grade, I met Ava at school. I mean, I’d seen her around because we grew up in such a tiny town, but we became best friends that year, and I started spending most of my time with her family. Her dad didn’t even blink an eye to having me around. Greg’s the best.”

Blake’s eyes warm. “Where’s her mom?”

“Oh, she’s been gone since Ava was a toddler. Took off and left everyone behind. Ava doesn’t remember her, and no one really talks about her. Greg’s been a single dad for a long time. About a year or so after I started hanging with the Hendrix clan, my parents were killed in a car accident. They absolutely should not have been in the car because they were so freaking wasted,and it’s a miracle they didn’t kill someone else with them.”

I lick my lips and drink my water.

“Greg took me in. As a kid, I didn’t know or understand everything that entailed for him. I just knew that I moved in with him and never left. Ava and I shared a room, her brothers became my brothers, and that was that.”

I bite my lower lip, thinking about it. “But man, that must have been hard for him.”

“I’m sure it was a lot of red tape to work through,” Blake agrees.

“He never voiced any concerns or frustrations or anything to me. He didn’t officially adopt me, so I guess I would have probably been considered in a foster situation. But he sent me to college. I got some great scholarships and stuff, but he took care of the rest because he didn’t want me to be saddled with a bunch of debt after I graduated. So yeah, if I need to move home to make sure he’s taking care of himself, I’m happy to do that. He probably saved my life. He definitely gave me a family and made me feel safe and cared for. And Ava and her brothers are mine, too.”

Blake pulls my hand to his lips and kisses my knuckles.

“I’m glad that’s how your story turned out,” he says.

“You and me both. So what about you? Tell me more about your family.”

“My parents are still married and recently moved back to Bitterroot Valley from Florida, where they weretrying to retire. The warmer weather was better for my mom’s arthritis. But they missed home and had serious FOMO most of the time.”

“I get that.”

“I have three brothers and a sister. They’re all still here, too.”