Page 91 of The Daredevil

I was a goner, and I knew it. Now, I needed to tread carefully so that I didn’t end up hurting her. What if I couldn’t be the man she wanted me to be? Though I felt strongly for her, was that enough? Michelle seemed like she needed more. Could I offer her what she needed? Was I capable of that? As of right now, my answer was no.

My emotions had a limit. To go beyond that was entering unknown territory—dangerous grounds I didn’t want to think about. How could I love when I didn’t believe in it? Nothing in my life had proven that love was worth it. All I’d ever witnessed were heartache and suffering. Michelle didn’t deserve that.

I didn’t want to lie to her or make false promises, so I’d keep my thoughts to myself and enjoy the present moments with her. What came next would be dealt with later.

Despite the anxiety stabbing me, just thinking about Michelle made me smile. All responsibilities mattered less when it came to her.

Helping her conquer her fears had been important to me. I knew how fear could hold a person back. It had held me back when I was younger. Back then, I discovered a way to maneuver around it to defeat it. With that experience, I’d help Michelle realizeshehad the power. Nothing outside of herself could take that away.

This acknowledgement allowed me to charge forth, claiming my success. The thought brought me back to WaterFyre Rising. I opened a new browser and logged into the demo for Level Two. Remi had created his Level One demo, where the player fought off several city kings. Remi created special portals from the fire basins that mimicked the ones the city lit during the actual WaterFire event in Providence. One of those portals took the player to my world only after they beat the last villain. Remi had injected parts of his life, hopes, and dreams into his world, making it unique.

I did the same with my world. Initially, it was a wilderness inhabited by fantastical creatures. Now I had other ideas to incorporate, all thanks to Michelle. Working on the game with my boys had taught me many things. I’d learned how to create sketches—extremely rough illustrations—of my ideas and thrown them into a program for image manipulation and coding. I’d acquired new skills necessary to make my dream come true. Would I have worked so hard to learn these skills if I didn't have this dream? No. When and where there was passion, magic happened.

Once the demos for each game level were approved by all of us, we’d send them out to a service for finalization and testing, and so on. There were so many steps to making a video game, and each one was an intricate process. We took our time because this video game wasn’t just to make money—though it was a side benefit. WaterFyre Rising was our evolution—the building blocks of our hearts and souls. At least for me it was.

So far, everything for the game flowed smoothly.

After working on Level Two for a few hours, a sense of satisfaction washed over me. I saved my work and logged off. With a clearer mind, I reviewed the proposal to purchase Hallsson’s Excursions and sent it off to my lawyer to review. He could oversee the acquisition for me. Einar Hallsson would like the numbers I’d offered him. When that deal was finalized, I could think about renovating it to suit my needs.

I should have called it a night, but I thought about Michelle and stayed up working on a project close to my heart.

CHAPTERFORTY-SEVEN

MICHELLE

When I arrivedat the craft room in the Youth Center and Food Pantry, Kiera, Audri, and Natalie were already there. Five long tables were scattered around the spacious room. My friends occupied the table near the window. Each table had about three to four volunteers.

The clock on the wall showed I still had ten minutes before ten o’clock.

Approaching my friends, I shrugged off my jacket and draped it over a chair. “I didn’t expect all of you to be here so early.”

“I was already up, so I figured I could help. Remi is with his boys.” Audri held a paintbrush and stared at a blank white T-shirt spread out on the table in front of her.

Tubes of paint, a container of stencils, and other craft items lay in several containers.

Kiera walked over to a rack, grabbed a stack of T-shirts, and dropped them on our table. “Go wild and crazy. I want to see how much money our group will raise!”

“I’ll make something for Remi and make him bid for it.” Audri smiled.

“Exactly my thinking. All the T-shirts will be displayed on the website, so he can bid online.” Kiera turned to me.

Understanding the intention, I reached for a T-shirt from the pile. “I’ll have Royce place a bid too.” That idea had already been in my head.

Smiling, Natalie shook her head. “Seems like you know how to network and run a successful charity.”

Kiera slung an arm around Audri and me. “They’re the only ones with billionaire boyfriends. Might as well put the rich guys to use.”

“I feel so used,” I teased. “Wait until it’s your turn. Who are you dating now? I didn’t have time to ask you yesterday.”

“Right now, no one.” Kiera squirted some paint onto a small plastic dish. “I’m taking a hiatus, which is why I have time to volunteer.”

Kiera never had trouble getting dates. As a fashion photographer, she met gorgeous men all the time, and she was as hot as the female models she photographed. But I’d never know her to stay with a guy longer than a few months.

I bumped shoulders with Natalie, spreading out the T-shirt on the table. “What about you? Are you seeing anyone?”

“Not right now. Too busy getting the lay of the land at work. I’m trying to get an inspector into a building before the renovations can be approved, but the owner isn’t cooperating.” She took a floral stencil and placed it on the white shirt. “He was there at the Krazee Tavern. Grayson Wu.”

“Grayson’s my brother,” Audri said.“I’m sorry if he’s acting like a jerk. He has a lot on his plate these days, trying to merge companies and resolving some personal issues.”

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