Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 88263 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88263 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
“Changed you how?” I ask gently, unable to help myself. This is not how I thought this conversation would go, but now I can’t stop it. I need to understand what she’s talking about.
My life hangs in the balance. But so does Ash’s life. And that girl Dara, married to the other brother Finn.
I feel like I’m getting a glimpse over a tall, beautiful wall, only to find the presumably beautiful garden beyond rotten, brown, and ruined.
“It hardened me. It burdened me with the knowledge of all the difficult decisions Orin made every day. And slowly, he began to bring his work home, asking for my opinion, seeking my council. I couldn’t help it. I told him what I thought, even when the situations were—” She pauses, searching for words. “Dangerous and ugly. It changed me. A little at a time, but it changed me, and it took my husband passing away to finally see how far I’ve come.”
She stops talking again. I’m sitting still, riveted. This woman has been on the inside of a powerful family for so long, and she’s talking like it corrupted her.
“You don’t mind then?” I ask, probing. “That my relationship with Nolan is only temporary?”
“Mind?” She shakes her head. “Not at all. If anything, I’m relieved.”
“But, you’re Nolan’s mother. I mean, you don’t think—” I can’t bring myself to say the words.
She understands. “Nolan’s a good man, Keely. If he weren’t a Crowley, you’d be lucky to have him. But don’t misunderstand what he is. Nolan will never change, none of them ever will, and if you stay with him for any length of time then you will start to become like him. You’ll become like me. Hardened, callused against the world, wrapped in a shell. That’s your fate. That’s all our fates, we Crowley women, and if you have a way out—” She stops and silence descends.
I sit there, trying to digest, but I feel like someone kicked me in the teeth.
Nolan’s own mother, the matriarch of the family, is telling me to get away.
Not because Nolan’s bad, but because the Crowley family itself is toxic.
But I don’t see that in Ash. She’s not corrupted, not hardened. Ash is still the kind, selfless, hard-working woman she’s always been, and I wonder if it’s possible to love a Crowley man without turning into whatever Molly fears.
“I’m sorry,” I say finally, just to keep myself from spiraling further. “I didn’t mean to—” I stop, not even sure what I mean.
Molly only smiles at me. “It’s okay, dear, don’t you worry.” She stands, finishes her wine, and looks down. “Only when your time is up, you should run away. Run far, far away from the Crowley family, and never look back. If you were smart, you’d escape the first chance you get.”
Then she walks away, back into the house. I watch her through the back window, laughing at something Nolan says, hugging him briefly before he refills her glass.
I feel stuck. Rooted to the ground. My head’s a blur. Nolan seems so happy, but he doesn’t know.
His own mother thinks I should leave him.
And I’m afraid she’s right.
Chapter 27
Nolan
I drive Keely to the donut shop the next morning myself. I’m still happy from the dinner, and even though Keely turned her back the moment we got into bed last night and fell asleep quickly, at least she got along with my mother.
“You don’t have to do this, you know,” she says after we stop for coffee. “I can make it there just fine.”
“I like to be a part of my wife’s life.”
She doesn’t look at me. “Fake wife. Temporary wife.”
“Just wife.” I glance at her. “Something’s the matter.”
“Nothing’s wrong. I’m just married to a crazy guy and met his mother for the first time last night.”
“Didn’t it go well?”
“It did,” she admits, looking uncomfortable. “I really liked your mother.”
“She seems to have liked you too, although my mother can get along with just about anyone. It’s one of her super powers.”
“Don’t you think she seemed a little—” Keely hesitates, clearly wanting to say something, but she stops herself. “Never mind. I think I’m just a little tired.”
“Go on, say it.” I park out front of the shop and kill the engine.
She turns to face me. “Don’t you think she seems a little sad?”
My eyebrows raise. “Absolutely.”
“I mean—” She stops, surprised by my response. “Really? You noticed?”
“Ever since my father passed, she’s been deep in mourning. As far as I know, last night was the first time she left her wing of the house in months.”
That seems to stun her. Keely sits back, sips her coffee, and frowns down at her hands. “I didn’t know.”
“My mother and my father were close. But it’s more than that. My mother was deeply involved in the family, and now that my brother’s in charge, she feels like she’s losing her purpose, too.” I reach out and put a hand on Keely’s thigh. “Sort of like how I felt, before you came along.”