Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 75699 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 303(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75699 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 303(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
“Does my brother feel the same way?”
“Yes. He does. At least he says he does. It all seems so unreal, Savannah. How do you fall in love in such a short time?”
“It was pretty quick for Falcon and me,” she says. “Though probably not quite as quick as for you and Vinnie.” She chuckles lightly. “I guess when you know, you know.”
“Exactly.”
“But Raven. Your family almost lost you. If something were to happen to you… I don’t know if they could survive it.”
I look out the window of the guestroom. “What is survival anyway, though? Right now I’m surviving. I’m recovering and I’m so happy to be alive. But without Vinnie… Don’t get me wrong. I’ve learned to appreciate everything so much more. The color of the sky, the smell of the cut grass. The beauty and aroma of the wildflowers. But with Vinnie… Everything is even more vibrant. How do you turn your back on that?”
She pauses again.
Until finally, “I wish I had an answer for you. Truly I do. I’ve been in your situation. I forced myself to turn my back on Falcon when I went willingly with Miles. And I did it for Falcon. To keep him safe. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done.”
“And didn’t Falcon hate that you did that?”
She sighs. “He did. But I think after a while he understood why I chose to do what I did. Just as you will understand Vinnie’s choice.”
“So you’re saying sometimes there isn’t a choice. You have to give up your love. You want me to give him up.”
She sniffles through the phone. “Believe me, Raven, none of this is what I want. And I was lucky because Falcon and I got to be together eventually. But look at the havoc we wreaked, the fallout left in our wake. Miles is gone. He was a terrible man, but no matter how you slice it, a man is dead. And my father—who I do care about because he’s a good man at heart—will spend the rest of his life in prison. My mother’s life will never be the same. And neither will Vinnie’s.”
I sigh. “Perhaps you’re stronger than I am. Perhaps you were able to give up your great love. Maybe you knew, somewhere deep down, that it would work out eventually. But I don’t see how I can do it, Savannah. I made a commitment when my recovery from cancer was imminent. I made a commitment to live each day to the fullest. To be the happiest I could be. He makes me happy, Savannah. I’d rather have one day with him than a lifetime without him.”
She doesn’t reply.
“I suppose that makes me sound selfish,” I continue. “In a way it is. When you’ve looked your life in the eye, and you’ve accepted the fact that it may be over, you let go of that fear. And of course that doesn’t mean that I’m not incredibly grateful to be alive. I am. And if Vinnie and I can’t be together, I will deal with that. I won’t let it ruin my life. But I have to try, Savannah. I have to try to be with the love of my life.”
And again, nothing.
I like my sister-in-law. I love her, even. But I don’t think she understands. Yes, she was willing to give up her great love. To do her duty to her family to ensure the safety of the man she loves.
But at the end of the day, she got to be with her love. He came for her.
This time it seems the decision is mine to make.
Finally, her voice comes through the other end of the phone. “Raven,” she says, “I’ve been in fear for my life as well. When those two men came to Falcon’s house to grab me. They had guns trained on Falcon, and everything was up to me…”
“I know. I’m not trying to belittle what you’ve been through. What you and Falcon have both been through. And I respect the hell out of you, Savannah. Your strength and fortitude. But I’m not you. And I’m not willing to give your brother up.”
“Raven… I’m sure he’s told you to stay away.”
“He has.”
“And you want to defy his wishes?”
Her question makes me think.
I’ve let the selfishness grab hold of me, and perhaps I shouldn’t have.
“I’m going to give you the address,” she says. “You’d be able to get it from Falcon anyway because he would never deny you anything. But Raven, I’m begging you. Please. If not for your own sake, then for Falcon’s. Stay out of danger. Come back to us.”
She rattles off the address and I program it into the burner phone.
It’s a two-hour drive, which is far longer than my doctor cleared me for.
But I’m going to do it anyway.
If I leave now, by the time I get there, it will be about dinnertime.