Dust Storm (The Griffith Brothers, #1)

by Maggie C. Gates

I tried to be all things for all people. Especially my people.

“Yeah, well, I can interact politely with people I don’t like. Once you’re grown, it shouldn’t be hard to compartmentalize being mature even if you have the desire to watch a human turd return to his roots and wade in a pool of shit. Be polite and let karma handle things. It can be a real bitch.”

“You work for success. You deserve happiness.”

No matter how much I tried to keep the bad stuff from happening—how much I tried to protect my family from it—dust storms happened.

“Anything you wanna talk about tonight?” I asked.

“I didn’t love him.” Cassandra sniffed back tears, but they just kept streaming down her face, streaking her makeup. “I just wanted to be loved.”

“All the shit that gets stirred up and clouds your mind. Eventually it’ll settle. You’ll be able to breathe easier.” He looked ahead. “Doesn’t make it better in the moment. Dust storms happen. It’s okay to close your eyes and stumble through.”

“I want to be the person that people go to when there’s a problem. I want to be the one who gets the calls in the middle of the night to fix something that’s going wrong. I want to be the one that holds everything together. I want to be irreplaceable.”

“Change is like the sunrise. It happens whether you want it to or not.”

boys don’t notice clothes. You dress up for yourself first and your girls second. Boys notice how you feel in your clothes. It probably seems like he likes girls who wear loud clothes when he really just likes girls who are confident in who they are.” She flicked the wand, dismissing Bree. “Go do better.”

Grief doesn’t come in stages. Frankly, it would be easier if it did. It ebbs and flows like waves. Bad days always follow good days, but better days are never far behind.

Unfortunately, coping with grief is easier said than lived.

But was being needed worth getting hurt again?

They deserve to know that I put myself out there. Success isn’t guaranteed. Happily ever after isn’t guaranteed. Happily ever eternity sure as fuck isn’t guaranteed, but they learned that one a long time ago. The only thing I expect of them is that they try in life because that’s what I expect of myself.”

“I’m sad that I wasted my time, but I learned my lesson. The people you should be around will make it very clear that you’re wanted and valued.”