If she had learned one thing about Branson, it was that if he had something to say he would. And if he didn’t want to, well he wasn’t going to.
Stubborn.
But she had a secret.
He loved her cooking.
The man had a sweet tooth a mile wide. Didn’t matter if it was food or drink. If it had sugar in it, he would suck it down. She was still hiding things in the kitchen so that he couldn’t find them.
“Have you thought about calling them?” Branson asked after taking a sip of his tea.
“Who?” She had a good idea who he was referring too, but she kept her head down, not looking at him.
Not wanting to give herself away.
“Dominic and them.” She didn’t answer, just kept wiping at the imaginary spot on the counter.
“Why you little minx you!” He chuckled, taking a sip of his tea. “You have called haven’t you?”
She slammed the rag on the counter, with a huff, and looked over at Branson’s wide smiling face.
“Of course, I have. I’m not going to let him just walk away from his family over me. It was a big misunderstanding, and Mark is really sensitive about anything to do with me.”
“I’ll say,” he muttered.
“What now?” She huffed rolling her eyes, slumping against the counter.
The one thing that she wasn’t really all that sure about was Mark and his jealousy. She just didn’t understand it.
She wasn’t going anywhere. Had told him that. But anytime someone just looked at her wrong, he was there like an angry bear.
“Asked something about you and the man damn near bit my head off.”
“Exactly! That’s what I’m talking about! It wouldn’t have mattered how Dominic handled it. Mark is too protective.”
“He has a right to be,” Branson said with a knowing glint, making her think that he knew more about her than he let on. She dropped her head breaking his gaze not wanting to talk about that unsavory topic.
She got enough of it from Ms. Baker and their still weekly phone calls. She didn’t need it from the people around her.
“I know he does. But there is a difference between protective and being defensive.”
“That being?” He sat back, crossing his arms over his chest watching her.
“Well one is holding me during nightmares, the other is alienating all your family, because they said one thing.”
“Hmm … I suppose your right. But I wonder if it’s just him fighting for what he’s found.”
She paused looking up, Branson’s words throwing her. “What?”
“Well women I don’t know about, but men, we are searching.”
“Searching?”
“Yeah. We’re all lookin’ for something. Might not even know what it is, but we’re still lookin’ for it all the same. I don’t know Dominic very well, but I’ve been around Rick a time or two. That man, searching. Trying to find some peace. Way I heard it, got himself a pretty little thing, and found it.”
He took another sip of his tea then gestured with his head to the window she had been watching from. “Maybe it’s not about Mark alienating his whole family. Maybe it’s about protecting something that he’s found.”
“But what did he find? Me? That’s …”
