Now if only my mother could understand that.
“You’re not yourself tonight Dylan. What’s on your mind?” Gareth asked.
He hadn’t been able to stop thinking of the woman on the street since he’d seen her. It wasn’t as though he hadn’t come across someone begging before. Actually, he and his brothers were very active in the community and supported some of the local homeless shelters. Yet there was something…familiar about her. He couldn’t put his finger on it and it was driving him crazy.
“I met a woman today,” Dylan said.
Gareth laughed. “That explains the distant look on your face. Why the hell are you here with me when you obviously want to be with her?”
Dylan shook his head. “It’s not like that.”
“It never is. So what’s her name?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“Okay. Names aren’t really that important anyway. How about…what does she look like?” Gareth teased.
Dylan couldn’t actually describe much about her. It was as though he’d fixated on her, yet the only thing he recalled was her brown eyes. They were filled with…hurt, and he wanted to help. “It’s not like that at all, Gareth. She was a beggar on the street and I—”
“Don’t tell me you gave her money. What if she is using it for booze or drugs now?”
“She’s not that kind of person, Gareth,” Dylan snapped.
Gareth snorted. “And you know this how?” Dylan had no answer. His gut telling him sure as hell wasn’t going to cut it, not that it mattered. He didn’t need anyone’s opinion. Gareth continued, “I hate to say it Dylan, but you don’t have a great track record with picking the right women.”
“I guess that’s what we have in common,” Dylan said snidely.
Gareth raised his hands. “You don’t see me with the hots for some lady hustling for money on the streets.”
“No. You find them in expensive restaurants taking you for a lot more.”
“Damn. I’d like to argue with you there, but—”
“Yeah. I thought so. But I’m telling you, this woman is different. I…know her. I’m not sure from where, but there’s something about her.”
Gareth nodded. “We have toured a lot of the homeless shelters over the past few months. Maybe she was there at one of them.”
It was the logical answer, but Dylan didn’t think that was it. “I gave her my business card. I told her to call me.”
“What are you going to do? Give her a job? You don’t even know what her skills are?”
It was her connection with the little girl that had gotten to him. It’s why he’d reached out and handed her five-hundred bucks from his wallet. Hell, if he’d had more, he’d have turned it over to her.
“I’m not even sure she’ll call.” But he hoped she would.
“Do you want my help finding her?” Gareth offered.
Although he believed Gareth could help, he also didn’t want anyone stepping in to do what he could, or should, do himself. “No. If I want to talk to her, I’ll find her myself.” He might not have the connections his brother did, but he was resourceful.
“You know how to find me if you change your mind. In the meantime, I wanted to talk to you about Dad.”
“Is there something wrong?” Dylan asked. He hadn’t seen his father in a few months. Not that he hadn’t had time, but he had been trying to avoid the family stuff. He loved them all, but when their father was around, things became…awkward. There was something there that their father didn’t want to talk about, and as they got older, it was becoming more obvious. Dylan wasn’t one who could sit back and let things develop at their own pace. He liked to make things happen. That didn’t always work out so well for him and trying it with their father…probably wasn’t a wise choice.
“He’s been acting…strange.”
“That’s nothing unusual, Gareth.” Their father might be brilliant in business, but his social skills were lacking.
“I mean, he’s talking about Grandfather more and more.”