Page 62 of Butcher

“What about you?” he asked, looking curious. We hadn’t talked a lot about our pasts. It was mostly the present we discussed. He asked a lot about Ms. Mittens and it was adorable. I was pretty sure my cat wasn’t the only one with a crush. She curled up against him most nights now.

“My mom wasn’t... I don’t know if she was a good person or not,” I admitted. “She wasn’t great to me. Wasn’t bad either,” I rushed to tell him because his eyes narrowed. “But my grandma... She was bad.”

“Were you around her much?”

“All the time growing up until Mom decided she was done trying to raise a kid and dropped me off at Grandma’s permanently.”

He swore under his breath. “And you were stuck with her?”

“Actually she died,” I told him. He gave me a quizzical look. “I didn’t kill her. At least not intentionally. I ended up in the foster system. I think it was better that way.” I finished in the shower and smiled at him as he held a towel open for me. “You know, I didn’t expect you to be sweet, but you keep surprising me.” I didn’t know how to deal with someone trying to take care of me, so I just stepped into the towel, pulled it from his hands and dried myself as he got into the still running shower.

I’d started the talk about our past, but I didn’t really want to continue, so I stepped out into the bedroom and got dressed. When I went back into the bathroom to finish getting ready, I quickly went through my routine. He seemed to understand that I didn’t want to talk anymore and just watched me as I moved around the space. I left the room as he stepped out of the shower. All my things for the trip were packed and waiting by the bed.

I went downstairs and saw that there was only one man down there. Toxic had introduced me to him a couple days ago. “Hi Daryl.”

He turned and smiled at me. “Hey there, Darlin’.”

He seemed to call all the women that, but it still made me smile. It madeeverywoman smile. He seemed like a very nice man. He patted the chair next to him. “Come have a seat. Wanted to talk to you about something.”

Nerves fluttered in my stomach, though I wasn’t sure why. He was just one of those kinds of men who was a paternal figure even though I hardly knew him. He had the ‘dad’ vibe. “Am I in trouble?” I joked as I sat down. I didn’t know how to have a father/daughter talk.

“No, of course not.” He grinned at me. “Why does everyone except Boone think they’re in trouble when I want to talk to them?” I shrugged. “And Boone is usually the only oneintrouble.”

That had us both laughing, then his face turned serious so the smile slid off my lips. “What would you like to talk about?”

“You seem like a good girl.”

Uh. I wasn’t sure that was accurate.

He must have read the look on my face because he laughed and patted my hand. “Boone told me all about you and your...job.”

“Oh. Well, ummm...”

“Don’t worry, this isn’t about that.” He studied me. “This is about Dean.”

I wasn’t surprised that Daryl knew Butcher’s name. After watching them together for the last couple days, it was easy to see that they were close. Or as close as Butcher allowed anyone. He had a wall up that was damn near impossible to scale. I knew because I had the same damn wall. It came from a lifetime of being a loner. Though, Butcher seemed to have found himself a group of people who loved him.

A pang of jealousy hit my heart, then guilt flooded in because I shouldn’t be jealous of another’s fortune. He needed these people. He was appreciative that they accepted him and for that I knew he’d protect them with his last breath. It was just...I wanted that, too. All of it. The people. The love. Him. I never knew this existed, or that I could want it. Now I wasn’t sure how I’d get by without it once I was forced to leave.

Shifting in my chair, it struck me that it was true. I wanted to stay. I wanted a family, like the one Butcher had found. No. This family. That was what I wanted. And I wanted it with him. Ugh. I was in so much trouble.

“Just had an epiphany didn’t you?”

I jerked my eyes up and stared at Daryl in shock. “What? No.”

He chuckled. “Don’t lie to me, Girl. I recognize the look. It’s sort of a flash of panic followed by resignation. Trust me, saw it on my own damn face in the mirror when I first realized I loved my Ellie.”

My heart melted. “Is that your wife?”

He nodded. “Was.”

“What happened?” I asked softly.

“Drunk driver.” He shook his head, sadness in his eyes. “Bastard walked away from the wreck without a scratch. I never spoke to her again.”

I swallowed hard because tears were clogging my throat. I didn’t cry, but how could you not when the pain and despair were so thick in his voice. “Is he in prison?”

“Did his time,” he replied. “Wasn’t enough if you ask me. He got to keep breathing, to keep living, even though he took a bright light from this world.”

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