But that wasn’t truly the case, and no matter how much I tried to convince myself that Rylee being with him wasn’t the right move, deep down inside I was well aware that she truly belonged with her brother.
A brother who had texted me multiple times already. The first few were about how Rylee was doing. She was standoffish with Ryland when he left, but what did he expect after promising to be back to drag her away to a new city, new home, and new life? She was polite because that was just the type of kid she wasbut she also didn’t engage as enthusiastically as she had before learning the true reason for Ryland’s visit.
The other texts were random links to bedroom furniture and purple bedding and décor. At least he was observant and asked if purple was the color he should use to decorate her room at his house.
He also sent three links to very expensive and very impressive private schools. Two of which were not schools for Deaf students but offered special services and amenities for Deaf and hard of hearing students. The third, however, was a school for the Deaf and I had to say I was impressed with all three.
Ryland was taking all the necessary steps to ensure Rylee had everything she needed but I still didn’t like him.
“It’s too organized,”I signed lazily and lifted my wine glass nudged between my thighs. I took two large gulps and watched Marlee.
Her brow lifted when she signed,“You don’t like him because he’s organized?”
“Yes…no…well kind of. Organized isn’t always good. Life is messy and sometimes being too organized makes things stuffy and robotic.”
She grinned and sipped her wine. I frowned and threw my hand up, signing,“What?”
“You know what I want,”she signed back casually and finished her wine.
“No I don’t.”
“Yes you do.”
I did. She wanted me to admit I didn’t like Ryland because he was taking Rylee from me. Not only was he taking her but he’d invested the time in making sure things would be done properly to accommodate all her needs. He cared about her and that made it much harder to hate him. Ryland was a good guy trying to do the right thing for his sister.
“Fine, I don’t like him because he loves her.”
The manicured brow rose again.“And?”
“There is no and.”
“Yes there is.”
“Then please inform me, H-O-E, because I have no clue what you’re talking about.”
She finished what was left of her wine and smiled smugly.
Her hands were in motion and I felt the accusations before she spoke her piece.“You don’t like him because you like him, Somee. Be honest with yourself.”
I frowned and my hands jerked through the air.“That makes no sense.”
“It makes perfect sense. The man is fine as shit. He’s sexy, and if you say he’s not, I’m going to throw something at you. He’s also hearing and you have made it your sole mission in life to not date a hearing man. And honestly that’s your mother’s voice in your head but that’s a story for another day. The point is, you don’t like him because you like him.”
“Not true.”
“He’s not fine?”Her expression dared me to lie.
“Well yeah, he’s fine, but I see fine hearing men all the time.”
“A man you agreed to quit your job for. A job I personally know you love more than me because according to you it’s the best job you’ve ever had in your entire life.”
I tensed.
“I’m not quitting for him. It’s for Rylee. You saw her. She doesn’t want to go and the only way she will is if I go with her.”
“Kids are resilient. She might not want to go but she will because she doesn’t have a choice. He loves her, so he’ll go out of his way to make her happy. She’ll adjust. You know that, but you still offered to go, which means compromising the future of that perfect job of yours. You like him.”
I would have to unpack that later, because I did, but like was as far as it would go.