Page 53 of Fortune's Control
“You disappear into that woodshop every night,Shane. Yes, I’ve noticed.”
“Well, if you noticed, so did everyone in town. Pete, Diane, Lainey, and all the rest. This town is my home. People here cheered at your appearance because you accomplished the impossible.” I frowned at the admission. “Since returning home, I’ve been angry at the world, uncomfortable in my body, and frustrated about everything. Do you know what else?”
“I think you’ll tell me, regardless of what I say.”
She wasn’t wrong. “I made the right decision back then.”
“And now?” Her soft question, given with a touch of finality, told me she knew what came next.
“Twice, I asked if you needed help, and you refused. It was your choice, so I told myself to leave you be. Then, you walked into the restaurant, and I watched you all night. It was your third chance, and I wasn’t letting you go that time. All that remained was figuring out how to accomplish it, and then Aiden’s ridiculous shenanigans presented the opportunity.”
“Shenanigans?!?” Lilah covered her mouth to stop a giggle. “Shane, you’re thirty-one, not sixty-one.”
“Call it a prank, if you prefer. It doesn’t matter. You were shocked and unsure of what to do, while I saw an opportunity. A third chance came up, and I wasn’t letting you go. I didn’t agree because of pity or to save face. I did it, knowing it would overwhelm you so you couldn’t refuse me a third time. It bound you to me while I figured out what to do next.
“So, after hearing this, do you believe I’d give up over a poorly worded statement and a date night that didn’t end how we wanted?”
Lilah struggled for a response. Her lips moved, forming one word and then the other. “I think you deliberately knocked me over, and it worked. Thank you for following me. Repeatedly.”
“Then we agree. Come here.” We were right next to eachother, and it wasn’t enough. I beckoned her closer. I cupped her cheeks as she leaned in, dragging her against me. “I like you, too, Delilah Mayberry, and we won’t be calling a damned thing off tonight. Do you get that?”
Her frantic nod said enough. I closed the last bit of space between us and kissed her.
18-Shane
“Do they know we’re up here?” Lilah’s cat-like stretch pulled her further over my chest as heavy footsteps echoed through the walls. “I think they’re stomping around on purpose.” A blender started up. “Margaritas.”
Emma and Sophie hit it off after meeting, due to their mutual connections and shared sense of humor, which they liberally applied to my friends. “If they do, we won’t be bothered. Come here.” I crooked my finger, beckoning her closer.
“There’s nowhere to go without crawling inside you.”
“That’s kind of the point.”
We ended up stripped down to our underwear and on my bed, content to be close, with no demands or expectations.
“Shane, where is Fortune’s Creek?”
I shook my head, half-convinced I’d misheard. “What?”
“Is it real? I mean, does it exist, or is it a metaphorical place? Come here and find your fortune.”
I moved to sit up against the bed frame. “The town’s origin, including all fortune-seeking myths, is a question for my sister. But yes, it’s real. You want to see it?”
“Absolutely.”
“Right after we take gator fighting lessons.”
I closed my eyes and waited for her inevitable reaction.
“What?” she squawked.
“You need to protect yourself.”
“You’re joking. I don’t believe you.” Lilah put a leg over my hips, straddling me, and looped her arms around my neck. Shecrooked her neck to study me. “Why didn’t you tell me about your baseball game?”
“Baseball?” My features scrunched up, confused. What did my high school curriculum have to do with anything? “I’m not…. Aiden. Either him or Jack. Either way, I’ll wring both their necks to be certain. They’re probably in cahoots.”
“Cahoots?” Lilah’s voice changed, lowering into a deep, off-key tone reminiscent of an old film. “Hey, chief. We got ourselves a crime caper, you hear? We’re going to bust this thing wide open.” My jaw dropped as her cheeks reddened. “I think it’s best if we pretend that didn’t happen.”
