Page 19 of Forgotten Desires

“Brynn.”

“Crew. Thank you for saving me,” I say, noticing he’s still holding me.

He steps back, clears his throat, and smiles. “I think you probably did a little of that right now for me.”

“I did?”

Crew nods. “I just left my first custody hearing, and my head isn’t exactly where it should be.”

My chest tightens as I hear the ache in his voice. “It didn’t go well?”

“No.”

“I only did family law for a short time, and it was brutal. I can imagine it was difficult to sit through it as they discussed you.”

I was co-counsel with Sydney Arrowood, my mentor in Sugarloaf, on one case, and I hated every moment. It was awful listening to the parents tear each other apart because the mother was getting remarried and he wanted to make her life miserable.

We won, thank God, because I don’t think the kids would’ve been happy with their father, not from what we gathered at least.

“It was all lies. It was whatever Digger could do to make me look like a sex-crazed bachelor who didn’t want to pay for Layla’s care.”

“I’m sorry, Crew. You seem to really love your daughter.”

He sighs heavily, running his fingers through his dark brown hair. “You have no idea. Can I walk with you?”

My eyes widen. I’m stunned at that question. “Walk? Where?”

“Where are you going?”

Definitely not where he’s headed. “To the train.”

“Perfect, we’ll walk together.”

Seriously, this day is just going down the shitter.

“You’re heading to the train station?” I ask.

“Yup.”

Liar.

I decide to call him out on it. “Right, but you were walking toward me and slammed into me. So, I’m not really sure how that math adds up.”

Crew smiles and I swear the sun brightens. Ugh. I need therapy. A smile does not make the world brighter and definitely not his. “Can you let me pretend that I’m going that way? I could use a win today.”

I think we all can. If we had more wins in the world, maybe the losses wouldn’t hurt so much. I sigh, giving in. “Fine. We can walk to the train together.”

“Thank you.”

We start to walk in silence, but I have things I want to know. Questions I couldn’t ask at my brother’s wedding. “So, your name is really Carson?”

“Carson Benjamin Knight. My nickname is Crew. Everyone outside of work calls me that.”

“So not a total lie?”

“It wasn’t a total lie. I was on the rowing team all through high school and college, so I was literally a member of the crew. It stuck and even my dad calls me Crew.”

“I guess that makes sense. Still, probably why I could never find you. Not that I was looking.”

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