Glassed Destiny

Rumor Has It

She really didn't know what to do after that. It always had to be that she finds the one person with a more messed up past than her. She wished she could figure out more about this, even hear it straight from Jim. But there was no way that he was going to give her a straight answer. He'd probably just change the subject or tell her that he'd rather not talk about it.

It didn't mean that she couldn't try, though.

"So," she looked up from her food. "What's your brother like?"

"William?" he asked. "The best way that I think I could ever describe him is that he talks way too much. If he weren't married, he'd never stop working, either."

"He's married?"

"Yeah," he answered, taking another bite of the pasta he ordered. Of course, he had the largest bowl of it known to man. She wouldn't be surprised if he wound up eating all of it. "I think you'd like her. She's pretty nice."

That sounded fun, but also like she was going to be brought into something that she might not want. Instead of making any promises, she just kept the conversation going. As long as she didn't seem like she was prying, or thought badly of them all, then she just might get something out of him about it.

"You know, I heard a bit about that brewery," she said. "There were some people saying that you used to own it before your brother."

"Really?" he stopped eating when she said that, wiping his mouth. "That must have been someone who's been here for a while, then. It's been a long time since I owned the company."

"What happened to that?" she asked. "Did you give it to your brother?"

"Yup," he sighed a bit. "I inherited it when I was sixteen. It was a bit difficult trying to keep the place afloat when I hadn't even been able to finish school at the time."

"Oh, that sounds stressful," she put her hand on his. She couldn't help but feel bad for him. He really did look upset by having to tell this story. And his eyes looked lost in the past that she had brought up. "I don't know how you did it."

"I don't know how either, to tell you the truth," he shook his head, holding on to her hand a little tighter. "But I realized that it wasn't for me pretty quickly afterwards."

"Why?"

"It just wasn't my dream," he answered, taking another bite of his food. Seeing him eat again was a good sign that she hadn't upset him too much. Now she was a little skittish about being so upfront with him about things. "I just kept the place running until my brother was old enough. As soon as he was, I gave it to him and went into the police academy. Haven't regretted a single thing."

"But you still help them?" she asked.

"From time to time," he told her. "I'm still a shareholder, and I want to make sure that it stays up and running for my parent's sake at least." Then he squeezed her hand a little. "I'm just sorry that it had to happen now."

She was kind of happy that it had happened now actually. It gave her more time to think about what was going on rather than jumping right into those arms that she loved to have around her. Every time they were on these dates, she always wound up in his hugs. They were the most comfortable ones she had ever gotten, if she were being honest with herself. While the man might be taking his time with things, she couldn't help but enjoy those few dates just for the conversation alone.

"I hope you're all careful in there at least," she told him. "I wouldn't want you to have to deal with those huge wolves trying to maul you or something."

There was a look in his eye for a second. Indigo was too afraid to blink, for fear that she would miss that one moment that grabbed her attention. Maybe it was just a trick of the light, but she could have sworn she saw those dark eyes turn yellow for a split second. His calm face changed to a wilder one as he smiled. But that was only for a short second before he was back to his normal calm self.