"I was just telling Courtney how remarkable it was that Daniel wanted to ride again," Rose explained.
Ivy smiled and breathed a sigh, shaking her head. "Yeah, it seems like every other day he's asking me to go for a ride with him," she said. "I thought he was just obsessed with having somebody on the back of his new bike. I didn't know he was practicing for someone."
"I knew he was practicing," Rose said. "I put the pieces together the second he told your dad he wanted to ride again."
"It makes total sense now," Ivy said.
She hugged me as we scooted over so that she could take a seat on the swing next to us. It was a big porch swing and there was plenty of room for the three of us. I ended up in the middle, which felt great. For years, I had been surrounded by people who loved me and were excited to be around me, but those relationships always felt like they hinged on my music. These women just wanted to sit next to me on a porch swing and talk about the fact that Daniel finally wanted to ride a motorcycle again.
"When'd you get here?" Ivy said.
"To Memphis or your mom's house?" I asked.
"Both."
"Today. Just a few hours ago," I said. "Daniel picked me up at the airport and we went for a drive before coming here to eat dinner. Your mom made lasagna and salad."
Ivy leaned forward and looked past me at her mom with a narrow-eyed expression that made me laugh.
"Your father told you to be home for dinner," Rose said innocently.
"I was helping Shelby hang pictures and stuff," Ivy said. "She said we could have a party at her house after graduation."
"Shelby just bought her first house," Rose said, looking at me. Then she leveled her daughter with a stern, motherly look. "And y'all better not be planning anything wild over there. I know she wouldn’t appreciate that."
"We're not, Mom," Ivy said before looking at me. "I'm graduating next week," she said. "That's what the party's for. A bunch of my friends from school are coming."
I smiled. "I was telling your parents that I met Shelby before," I said. "We were both really young. She might not even remember."
"She remembers," Ivy said, nodding. "I told her about meeting you in Miami, and she told me how y'all met when you were kids. How long are you gonna be in town? You could see her if you come to the party."
Ivy was half-joking when she made that last comment, but I shrugged like it might be a possibility.
"I'm definitely planning on coming to your graduation," I said. "Daniel invited me. That's one of the main reasons I planned my trip for this week."
I had to laugh at Ivy's reaction. She tried not to get too excited, but her legs straightened out and she began stiffly paddling her feet in tiny, quick up-and-down motions like she was swimming in a pool.
"Are you staying a whole week?"
I nodded.
"Don't worry," she said, still kicking. "I'm not going to go around telling people you're here or anything. I know I'd have the whole town trying to come over to my house."
The front door opened, and Daniel stepped onto the porch staring into the front yard with an intense expression. He squinted into the distance, looking toward the road.
"What's the matter, Daniel?" Rose asked.
"Nothing," Daniel said. "But why don't you ladies go ahead and come in for now?"
The three of us stood from the porch swing and made our way into the house. Daniel held the door open for us, but he and I hung back in the doorway so that I could talk to him and ask what was going on. I didn't even have to ask. I just gave him a questioning expression.
"Gina called," he explained. Gina was my publicist, so my brows furrowed the instant I heard her name. He paused, and his expression changed as he tilted his head at me. "Were you crying?"
"Yeah but it was a good cry, what's going on? What did Gina say?"
He shook his head. "It's not that big of a deal. You and I just got photographed at the airport and Gina caught wind of it and called to make sure we knew."
"Already?" I asked. "That was just like three hours ago. How'd Gina know about it?"
"It's nothing big. Somebody took a few pictures of us at the airport and tagged you on their social media. Obviously, you had on your hat and everything, but Gina said it was a pretty clear picture of your face and that it had had some shares and stuff. She said she saw to it that you weren't tagged anymore, whatever that means, but she just wanted to make sure we knew what was going on."
Daniel paused and glanced outside through the window. "I really don't think anyone is going to bother you out here. I just figured I'd have you go ahead and come inside."
I leaned forward, collapsing onto his chest, and he held me and rubbed my back lovingly. "Was everything okay out there?" he asked, referring again to my tears.
"Yeah," I whispered. "Your mom was just being really sweet and telling me how much she loved you."
"She does love me," Daniel said. "But I didn't expect her to take you out here and start gushing about it."
"She wasn't gushing," I said. "And even if she was, I'm glad about it. It was sweet. I really love your mom—your whole family. Is it okay for me to say that?"
"Yes. They love you too," he said. "And I think Ivy was slightly excited to see you."
I laughed. "She was so cute when I told her I was going to her graduation."
"What'd she say?"
"It's not what she said. It's just that she started paddling her feet like she was swimming in a pool."
"What?" Daniel asked in a confused tone like he obviously couldn't picture it.
"Nothing," I said. "She was just really cute and sweet. And she invited us to a graduation party she's having at your cousin's house."
"Oh Lord, I'm sure she did," Daniel said.
"Even if we don't end up going to that, I'm really looking forward to seeing Shelby again and meeting the rest of your family." I pulled back to stare at him, and he glanced down at me, wearing that gorgeous smile.
"I'm glad," he said. "They want to meet you, too."
"What about Owen?" I whispered.
"What about him?"
"What'd he say about me being here? Does he know I'm your girlfriend?"
Daniel's grin broadened at my question. "Owen's really happy you're here," he said.
I couldn't quit staring at his teeth. His smile was so irresistible that I wanted to kiss him constantly. I stretched upward and snagged a quick kiss, regretting that I couldn’t stand there and repeat the process about fifty more times. He kissed me back before squeezing my hand to let me know we should head into the house before we got carried away.
We joined the rest of his family in the living room and spent the next hour or so talking to them. They had all pitched in with helping Shelby fix up her new house. The whole family donated their time and some of their extra furnishings to the project, and Ivy filled them all in on what Shelby was putting where.
It was just a normal evening for the Bishops—one where they sat around and caught each other up on what had been going on in their lives during the past few days. I was overjoyed that they welcomed me into their family conversation without feeling the need to filter what they said or even try to impress me.
I loved them all, but there was already a special place in my heart for Owen. It wasn't out of pity, either, because honestly, I couldn't see where he was at any detriment in life because of the injuries he got in the accident. His scar was actually becoming on him, and the fact that he was wearing jeans made it impossible to tell that there was anything different about his leg.
My warm feelings toward Owen weren't a result of me feeling bad for him—it wasn't that at all. If anything, it was out of gratefulness. I knew Daniel had been deeply concerned about Owen's feelings all these years, which was why he didn't date. They had both experienced pain and heartache as a result of the accident, and I was truly sorry for that, but the end result was that Daniel remained single long enough for me to find him. He unintentionally saved himself for me, and for that, I was eternally grateful.
Daniel was a diamond in the rough—a true, pure soul with a heart of gold—and I knew deep in my heart how fortunate I was to call him mine. Granted, it wasn't all about me. God, no doubt, used the accident to affect the lives of the boys and everyone around them, but I still somehow felt that Owen's sacrifice translated into my gain, and I had a special fondness for him because of that.
It was almost 9pm when Daniel told his parents he and I should be getting home. We thanked them for the meal and made plans to go by Bishop Motorcycles within the next couple of days so that I could take a tour.
Owen was ready to leave as well, so he walked outside with us. The two of them talked about one of their family friends who had a swimming hole on their property and the fact that Daniel should take me out there. I had never gone swimming in a "hole" before, but I figured it might be fun, so I just smiled and went along with it.
Daniel and I stood next to his motorcycle, and Owen walked toward his truck, but turned and leaned against it instead of getting inside. He smiled at us. Daniel came to stand behind me, wrapping his arms protectively around my shoulders. This made Owen's smile widen as he shook his head.
"I can't believe my eyes," Owen said, pretending to rub his eyes with his fists as if he was seeing things. "I thought Daniel would never find a woman who suited him."
"I had to trick him into liking me," I said, turning in Daniel's arms so that I could stare at him from over my shoulder. "I had to fake sick so that he'd come take care of me." We both knew that I had not been faking it, but that's just what came out.
Daniel smiled at me before looking at Owen. "Plus, she showed off," Daniel said. "She danced and sang these songs into a microphone and had a bunch of people cheer for her and stuff."
I rolled my eyes at him and we all laughed.
"Seriously, though," Owen said. "I'm not sure any less of a woman could have managed to get his attention, so I'm glad it worked out."
He was being sincere, and I smiled, feeling a bit shy and speechless.
"I probably don't deserve such a compliment, but thank you," I said. "I definitely feel like I'm the one who scored in this situation."
"You really did," Owen said. "I know he's my brother and everything, but I'm not just being biased… he's a good man."
"He likes you a little bit, too," I said.
Owen gave me a confident smile and shrug as he turned to open the door of his truck. "It runs in the family, I guess. We like each other." He climbed into his truck, and I ran over so that I could catch him and give him a hug before he closed the door.
He seemed surprised but thankful that I would do such a thing and he leaned over to hug me from the driver's seat. "I'm glad you came to Memphis," he said.
"Me too," I said. "I'm so happy to meet you guys."
We stared at each other with sincere smiles before he closed the door. I stepped back as he started the truck, rolling his window down in the process.
"I'll see you soon," he said. He gave us a two-fingered salute as he backed up and headed out of the driveway.
I turned and stared at Daniel once we were alone.
He laughed at my wide-eyed expression.
I was on the very verge of mentioning how amazing it was that I could not tell Owen wore a prosthetic leg even though I knew it was there and had been looking for it, but I reconsidered saying that.
"What?" he asked, chuckling at my expression.
"I love him," I said instead, which was still the truth. "I love all of them—your whole family, but Owen… I don't know. I just like him so much."
"Me too," Daniel said. "He's good to me. He's never once made me feel…" Daniel hesitated, handing me my helmet. "He's just a really good person."
I smiled as I put on my helmet. Part of me wanted to say more, but I stayed quiet while I searched for the right words.
"While you and Mom were on the porch, he told Dad and me that he was talking to someone."
"Who, Owen?"
Daniel nodded.
"Talking, talking?" I asked, tilting my head at him as I fastened my helmet strap. "Like a girlfriend?"
Daniel nodded again. "He definitely didn’t say the word girlfriend. He said he'd been talking to someone, but then he got quiet and seemed really secretive about it."
"Did he say who she was?"
Daniel shook his head. "Dad and I both tried to ask him questions, but he wouldn't say any more. It seemed like he almost regretted mentioning it."
"Oh, now I'm curious," I said.
Daniel smiled at me. He grabbed the handlebars in such a way that I knew he was about to start the motorcycle. I stood back while he started the engine and then gestured for me to get on. He glanced over his shoulder, waiting for me to get situated. I stretched upward, placing a kiss on his cheek.
"You ready?" he asked.
I gave him a nod, and off we went.