“Hey, that’s great.” He squeezed her. “Are you going to have to give up sleep to get it all done?”
“Maybe. But it’s worth it.” She hesitated. “I’m not trying to get rich. I need the money to pay for Dirk’s school.”
Mark rolled onto his back and settled her with her head on his shoulder. “I’ve never been to the Madison School, but I’ve heard about it. It has a great reputation.”
“I know.” She tilted her head so she could look at him. “We knew pretty early that there was something different about Dirk. My dad completely freaked out. He wouldn’t have anything to do with him. My mom went in the other direction. She became completely absorbed with his problems, and wanted to fix him. When she found out there wasn’t a cure for what he had, she turned her back on him, as well.”
Darcy pressed her hand against Mark’s chest. “I was too into my own life to realize what was going on. To me, Dirk was my brother. I loved him, we had fun together. End of story. It wasn’t until my parents died and I was responsible for him that I began to worry about his future.”
“Is he the reason you moved to Arizona?”
“Part of it. There was a decent school where we were, but after all our friends abandoned us, I didn’t see the point in staying. I wanted to try living somewhere warm. Dirk was in a day program there and he was really doing well, but as he got older, he needed more.”
“How old is he?”
“Fourteen.” She smiled. “He’s a great kid. Funny and caring. But he’s growing taller every year and it became difficult to find a baby-sitter for when I wasn’t home. Plus he needed more one-on-one attention. I found out about the Madison School. They’re different in that they focus on preparing teenagers like Dirk for the real world. They have a fabulous staff and an excellent curriculum.”
“How do you pay for it?”
She raised herself up on her elbow. “Not by laundering money.”
“Ouch.”
She lightly kissed him. “Sorry. I was teasing. Actually I’ve been getting by. I had some savings when we moved here and the school lets me pay monthly. That money you saw in my music box is my entire savings account.”
“You shouldn’t keep it in cash.”
“I know. But I get paid in cash and getting to the bank is one more thing I don’t have time to do. The good news is that one of Dirk’s counselors told me that he thinks we’ll be eligible for financial aid. I’m trying not to get my hopes up, but if they could cover even half of his school, it would be a huge help.”
“And in the meantime you work two jobs.”
She shrugged. “I’ve worked three before. This is hardly new to me.”
He studied her, his green eyes dark and unreadable. “You’re an amazing woman, Darcy Montague. I’m impressed.”
His words made her feel all warm inside. “Don’t be. I’m just taking care of my brother. It’s not all that different from what you did with your sister when your parents died.”
“It’s very different. I looked after Maddie for a couple of years. You’ve signed up for a lifetime of commitment.”
His words made her uncomfortable. Not because of the praise, but because she suspected she knew what was coming next. Now that Mark knew about her brother and all that was involved with caring for him, Mark would be heading for the hills.
She shifted so that she was lying next to him, on her back and staring at the ceiling. By blinking very fast, she managed to keep the tears at bay. Part of her wanted to scream out against the unfairness of it all. Part of her wanted to tell him that if he was leaving he should try to keep the door from hitting him on the ass.
“I’d like to meet him.”
The unexpected words hung in the room like balloons. She stopped blinking. A single tear slipped out of the corner of her eye and ran toward her temple.
“What?”
Mark leaned over her. “I said I would like to meet your brother. Why are you crying?”
She sniffed. “I’m not.”
“I saw a tear.”
“I have something in my eye.”
“Liar.” He spoke the word gently, then brushed her mouth with his. “I mean it, Darcy. I would like to meet Dirk. Unless you think it would be too weird for him.”
