Searching for Beautiful(42)

He washed his hands, dried them, and grabbed his keys. “I’ll drive.”

Gen stared at him. “You don’t have to come with me. It’s my family. I’ll be fine.”

“I know. I haven’t seen your parents in a while, and I’d like to hang with you today.”

She narrowed her gaze. “You and my father don’t get along. Izzy will probably be there. I don’t need a babysitter.”

“I know. I’m still going.”

She glared at him. He stood in her kitchen, relaxed, the black ink of his tattoo crawling up his meaty shoulder and caressing his ear. The diamond in his ear gleamed, along with his eyebrow ring, and his hair was a delicious mess of dark curls. Gen knew he wasn’t budging. She’d seen that look before, and it was all pretend casual. Inside, he was a rock, and if he wanted to go with her, he was going.

She huffed out a breath. “Fine. Come on.”

When they pulled up to her mother’s house, Gen was grateful for his presence. A mass of cars filled the driveway, and her stomach fluttered. Had she always been afraid of disappointing her family? Funny, they’d never pressured her with career, or their expectations of what type of person she should be. Had it all been her own aspirations and drive for success? Maybe it was time to be brave enough to admit her mistakes. That she didn’t know all the answers, and maybe wasn’t the person they always thought she was.

“Ready?”

He grabbed her hand.

“Ready.”

They walked together up the steps to the big porch, where white wicker rocking chairs and tables spread out. Their family had called her home Tara because it was the core of who they were. She remembered when her father had abandoned them for the lure of the bottle, and how her mother struggled to keep the house on her meager salary. Remembered the endless crying at night from her mother’s room, and the anger burning in Izzy directed at her father. Her brother, Lance, was in medical school at the time and had gotten his girlfriend pregnant. The house welcomed all of them in, along with the new baby, who became her first beloved niece. Lance married Gina and raised Taylor there for the first few years as he struggled through medical school.

One day her father returned, sober, determined to get his family back. It was a long, hard road to forgiveness, but never forgetfulness. Eventually her mom took him back and they healed, but scars were left behind. She knew something had changed in Izzy during that time. Her twin had always been physically the same, but so very different under the surface. Where Gen longed to fit within the rules and be the best, Izzy flouted those same rules and embraced rebellion. It was almost as if she felt too much, and her emotions had gotten too big to contain. The long spiral into trouble almost broke the family apart again.

She remembered the day she discovered marijuana hidden in the closet, deep inside an old gym bag. Izzy begged her to keep the secret, promising she was holding it for someone else, and that Gen needed to trust her.

Gen wondered if things would’ve been different if she’d listened to her sister. Instead, she told, and after that everything changed. Izzy never trusted her and shut her out, and the closeness they’d once shared dissolved. A coldness seeped between them, a wall so high it couldn’t be scaled. Gen mourned the loss of her twin every day.

Gen took a deep breath and opened the door.

The house enfolded her in a tight embrace and memories of comfort. The scent of lemon polish floated around her. The gorgeous staircase with the elaborate Southern charm emphasized high ceilings, bay windows, and an innate coziness that welcomed visitors.

“Genevieve!”

Her mother rushed toward her, holding her tight with a mother’s strength. Maria MacKenzie was of Italian blood that bred a foundation of family, food, and iron willpower. Alone, she held all the fragments together and was always loving to strangers, opening her home and herself to anyone who needed her. Petite, with curly dark hair and strong, animated features, she took control in moments.

“Wolfe, thank you for taking care of my own. I knew you’d bring her back.”

Wolfe nodded, kissed her cheek, and stepped back.

The rest of the crowd bum-rushed her.

Alexa reached her first, gripping her fiercely like a mama bear bent on protecting her cub. “I was so worried,” she whispered. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

“I’m sorry,” she said. “So sorry I did this to everyone.”

“Shush, we just want you to be safe.”

Gina and Lance came next. Lance gave her the older brother worried stare, while Gina fussed, explaining Taylor was at a friend’s house so she didn’t have to deal with her thousand questions about why her aunt ran out on her wedding.