Page 15 of Serenity

ChapterSeven

Dillon

“Dillon, no.”My mom leaned forward and placed her palms against my cheeks. “Wipe that sad look off your face. I didn’t mean it in a bad way. It’s just that knowing Declan’s death played a part in saving the life of the girl you fell in love with helps bring me a littlepeace.”

I searched her face and didn’t see any sign that she wasn’t thrilled about the discovery that had rocked my world. “I don’t understand. You’re okay with Faith having Declan’s kidney? It doesn’t bother youatall?”

“Quite the opposite. I like to think that your brother would have grown up to be the kind of man who would have stepped in front of a bullet if it meant saving the lives of his nieces and nephews,” she explained. “Although he never had the chance to make that kind of decision, if you and Faith have children together some day then he still managed to come to their rescue. I hope like hell your children never face that kind of danger, but I take comfort in knowing they’re going to be born because of Declan’s sacrificenonetheless.”

Hearing her put it like that hit me hard. In the time since Faith had shared her shocking discovery with me, I’d been focused on how it had affected me and my past. I hadn’t stopped to think about the how our lives would’ve been different if my parents hadn’t made the decision they had five years ago. “If Faith had died”—I could barely get the words out because I couldn’t imagine a world without Faith in it—“I still might have fallen in love with someone and had childrensomeday.”

“It wouldn’t have been the same,” she chided, shaking her head. “You might not have known what you were missing, but you’re living the life you were meant to with the woman you were destined to love. I knew she was the girl for you from the very first moment I saw the two of you together. I just didn’t know it was possible because Declan gave her the giftoflife.”

I’d been one-hundred percent certain about Faith and my feelings for her from the get-go, but knowing her connection to Declan had filled me with doubts. “Do you reallythinkso?”

“I do,honey.”

I finally gave voice to the root of my fears. “What if the reason we fit together so well isn’t because she’s the woman for me? What if I’m drawn to her because a part of Declan livesinsideher?”

My mom cocked her head and looked at me with surprise in her eyes. “Do you really think the reason you love Faith is because of the bond you had with Declan? That everything you feel for her is based on the kidney that savedherlife?”

“I don’t know!” I huffed out, frustrated and confused by everything I was feeling. “How else would you explain how quickly I fell in love with Faith? No other woman ever made me feel even a fraction of what she did from the moment I laid eyes on her. If it wasn’t because of Declan, then whatwasit?”

“Love isn’t logical,” my dad answered. “There’s no explanation for why we fall in love with the person we’re meant to be with. If you’re lucky, it just happens. Like it did for me with your mom and for you withFaith.”

“But how do I know she’s really the one, and I wasn’t wrong about why I fell for her in the first place?” Ipushed.

“Close your eyes.” She used the ‘mom’ voice, so I found my eyes drifting shut before I even thought about it. “Think back to the way you felt when you first saw Faith. She knocked you flat on your ass if what you later told your dadwastrue.”

My eyes popped open and I swiveled my head to glare at my dad. “You toldherthat?”

“I’m surprised you haven’t figured it out yet, but I tell your momeverything.”

“Keep them shut because I’m not done yet,” Mom chided, waiting for me to close my eyes again before she continued. “Think about the time you’ve spent with Faith in your life. About how happy she’smadeyou.”

Even with as horrible as things were between us right now, I couldn’t help but smile as I did as my mom asked. Up until she found out Declan was her donor, things had been amazingbetweenus.

“Now picture your future without Faith in it,” she finished, shocking the hell out of me with the harshness ofhertone.

My mind blanked at the very idea of spending the rest of my days without her. “I can’t.” I opened my eyes to find my mom staring at me with tears in her eyes even as she smiledatme.

“Do you know what I thought when I found out you and Faith were dating?” sheasked.

“Thank God my baby boy is finally settling down?” It was a feeble attempt to use humor to try to stop myself from crying alongwithher.

“That too,” she agreed. “But I couldn’t help but feel that it was so fitting you’d fall for a girl namedFaith.”

I shook my head, notunderstanding. “Why?”

“When I was pregnant with you boys, your dad and I went round and round over what to name you both,” she answered with a slight smile. “I wanted names that sounded good together and started with the same letter, but your dad wanted names that you could grow into. Something strong to signify the men you’d become laterinlife.”

“I think you won that battle,” I said, thinking about how well our names had fittogether.

“No, we compromised,” she corrected. “We picked names that had everything we both wanted. Your brother’s name meant full ofgoodness.”

I smiled sadly thinking it had been an apt way to describe my twin. “Andmine?”

“If I’d had my way you would have been a Donovan, but I couldn’t argue when your dad suggested Dillon because it meansfaithful.”

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