"That morning after you bailed us out... you found out then, didn't you?" Maverick asks.
"That's why you wouldn't hardly eat anything. And that's why you lost it on Fiona like that," Corbin adds, sounding just as angry.
I just nod, refusing to meet their glowers.
"It was stupid, Rain," Dale chides. "You would have kicked my ass if I had something like that going on and I d
idn't tell you."
They've never talked to me like this. I've always put them in their places, but they've never done it to me. I don't like it. Not one bit. Because they're right. They deserved to know because they're my family, but it was my problem to deal with, dammit.
"You shouldn't have left me, Rain. I love you too much to lose you over something like this," Dane adds, his deep voice a velvety whisper in my ear.
I shiver against the touch I've missed, but I use all my strength to push him back.
"No. I won't be Eleanor," I shakily say once I've put some space between us.
His eyes glaze over with more hurt than I've ever seen, and I instantly feel like a piece of shit.
"You think I'd treat you like Edward treated her?" Dane asks, anger flaring in his eyes.
My other boys all get a little pissed, too, so I'm left with no option but to explain.
"There was a time when Edward thought Eleanor was everything he'd ever need. He knew she couldn't have children, and even though he wanted them, he gave up that hope just to marry her. But shit changes, Dane. People change. Resentment festers and ruins a relationship. I never want you to resent me, and one day you would. This is better. It hurts right now, but it won't destroy us the way—"
"Rain, you've lost your fucking mind. I'm not... I'd never be Edward, and I'll throw you over my shoulder and kidnap you if that's what it takes to prove it."
"We're all kidnapping her. She's coming home," Maverick interjects, now sounding bored.
"I'm good with a felony," Corbin says mildly, picking up a slice of my cold pizza. He takes a bite and quickly spits it back out. "Gross."
I can't smile because I'm too busy avoiding Dane's scowl.
"Dane, don't. Please. I won't always be enough. I want to leave knowing there was that small piece of time where I finally got to have you. Don't ruin it for me."
His eyes soften as he comes closer, and before I can react, he has me backed against the wall and caged in, his mouth on mine as he pours forth a month's worth of pent-up passion. It feels more like a lifetime's worth when his tongue slips in, and I have to grip onto his shoulders to keep from melting to the ground.
I try to break the kiss, but I moan into his mouth instead and pull him closer.
"And you thought the cold pizza was gross," Maverick grumbles.
Dane and I can't help but laugh, and that gives me the chance I need to move away from the kiss, even though Dane has no intentions of letting me out of his grasp.
"I can't, Dane."
"Because you can't have kids?" he asks, his lips tense.
"Yeah. You want a family that I can't give you."
Why does he insist on making me lay it all out there? I'm already aching all over. I'm not selfish, as they said earlier; I'm selfless. I'm giving up the only person I've ever been in love with because I can't bear to see him lose the future he deserves.
"Rain, I was adopted. What makes you think I don't want to give children the same chance I was given? I would have died if Mom hadn't fought for me, or I would have ended up on a path just as rough as my birthparents. Do you have any idea how much I want to be that savior for another child? That's the houseful of children I want. Kids that need a home. They don't have to be my blood, Rain.
"I want to find kids like Britt who are on the streets because people who shouldn't have kids have them everyday. Maybe this is fate, because I never intended on having my own child. If you had fucking talked to me instead of running away, you would have known that. I love you, so quit fighting me."
I don't know what dam breaks, but the tears gush out like I didn't know they could. I hiccup out a sob as Dane pulls me to him, and I dissolve in his embrace as I hug him too tight, clinging to him like he holds my next breath of air. I think he actually does hold it.
"You're serious?" I whisper—the only volume I can manage. I'm praying he's not just telling me what I want to hear.