Since soft expressions didn’t happen often with Searcy, I paid attention to her. Or, I usually would.
But not this time.
Not when she was speaking complete nonsense.
“He moved in next door to me?” I gasped.
“He loves you. You’re his entire world. Of course he’d eat pizza, even if he despises it,” Searcy continued as if I hadn’t questioned her earlier words.
“What?” I pretended to not hear her.
“You heard me,” she called me on my bullshit.
“I don’t think I did,” I grumbled. “Listen, I think that you’re trying to make me feel better, but maybe the man just eats pizza to appease me. Maybe, it’s easier just to eat the pizza than let me in deeper. He’d rather me not know anything more about him so he doesn’t give me that kind of information.”
Searcy, showing her true colors, snorted.
“Don’t be dense, it’s not a good look on you.” She narrowed her eyes. “That man loves the hell out of you. He literally eats pizza when everyone and their brother knows he hates it to the point of leaving. He moved you into his house, when he had zero desire to do so at first. Then fell in love with you and your son. When he saw you starting to catch feelings, he pushed you away because he feels like you’re too good for the likes of him. You have this beautiful kid, and a full life ahead of you with nothing but rainbows and sunshine in your future. Then there’s him. An ex-con who plans on tanking his business to appease a deep-seated anger inside of him at the men that practically stole his life from him. He won’t have a job in eight months’ time, and he won’t have anything to show for his life but fifteen years in a federal penitentiary. What, exactly, did you expect him to do? Tie you to him with the love he so obviously feels? Don’t be dumb, Baker. Open your eyes and see what that man does for you. Getting freaked out that he’s been living in a house next door to you is stupid. He moved there because he loves the hell out of you and couldn’t stand the thought of you being too far away from him in case you needed him.”
That was my Searcy.
Hitting hard right where it hurt, no tact or build-up.
By the time she was finished speaking, my heart was in my throat and I was panting.
“Searcy…” Doc started, but Searcy held up her hand and said, “I’m not done.”
Doc closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, but let Searcy continue.
“He’s loved your kid for practically the entire time that he’s known him. Audric calls or texts, letting him know you need something, and he’s out of here. The only people that come first to these type of men,” she encompassed the men at the table. “Are their old ladies. It’s time for you to start fighting for him like he’s been fighting for you. Even if you didn’t know that he was doing it.”
I swallowed hard, my gaze going around the table.
None of the men contradicted her.
I swallowed back the tears and said, “I’ve tried. Every advance, he sidesteps it. When I was about to ask him to stay last night, he told me that he didn’t want me around him anymore. I showed up with breakfast at his door this morning after Holt’s chiropractic appointment, and he didn’t answer. I’ve went to his office, and his assistant told me that he was busy. I’ve even called my dad to see if he could get Copper to talk to me, and my dad said no. I don’t know how to reach out to him. When I got here, I spotted him immediately, and he left. I think that’s a pretty clear indication that he doesn’t want me around.”
“Just start stripping naked,” Searcy suggested. “Preferably in a crowd. He’ll have no other recourse but to gather you up. Then you can attack him.”
There were chuckles, but no disagreements.
“I’ll…” I started to say I’ll do it, but the door to the back room opened and Copper walked out.
That’s when I really looked at him.
He looked haggard and tired.
Like he was breaking apart at the seams.
“Y’all might want to start looking away,” I suggested.
Keely grinned.
Searcy walked to her man and covered his eyes.
“Not a chance,” Webber said.
“Pig,” Silver snorted.
