Chapter 20: Chapter 19

“This is ridiculous.” I couldn’t help the exasperation as sleeping bags were strewn across my living room floor.

Fallon wrapped an arm around my waist and squeezed hard. “It’s this, or Mom moves you in with her and Lolli.”

That had me snapping my mouth shut. Thankfully, I’d talked Nora, Lolli, and Arden into going home, but only after Trace and Shep promised they’d stay.

“Deal with it, Rho,” Trace said, pinning me with a stare.

“What about Keely?” I pressed. “I’m sure her sitter doesn’t want to stay all night.”

He shook his head. “She’s at a sleepover.”

My shoulders slumped. “That floor is going to be ridiculously uncomfortable.”

“Then go see what’s taking Shep so long with the air mattresses,” Trace grumbled.

I huffed out a breath, extricating myself from Fallon’s hold and heading for my front door. The fire crew was gone, but the crime scene techs were still working. By the time Shep had gone to get camping gear and everyone else had left, it was almost five a.m. Sleep would be futile.

Tugging open the front door, I came up short as I took in Shep and Anson speaking in hushed but clipped tones. Anson’s head jerked up at my flicker of movement. I swallowed hard. “Everything okay?” I thought Anson had taken off an hour ago.

Shep scrubbed a hand over his face. “Just making a plan for tomorrow. Need to move the crew to a different job for the day.”

Shit. This was screwing up more than my life. I had to remember that. “Sorry, Shep.”

He crossed to me then, two camping mattresses under one arm. He used the other to pull me into a half-hug. “None of this is your fault.”

I eased into his side. “I’d like to junk-punch whoever did this.”

Shep chuckled, but the sound didn’t ring true. “I think that’s more than fair.”

Anson watched us in the glow of the porch light. “Be careful. This isn’t someone you should be taking on.”

I swore there was worry in Anson’s tone, giving away that he might care more than he wanted to. Or maybe that was just wishful thinking. “I’ll be careful. And it’s not like anyone’s going to make it through my two bodyguards.”

“Three bodyguards.” A voice cut through the dark as Kye’s motorcycle boots hit the walkway up to the guesthouse. Even in the low light, I could see that his face was paler than normal, worry creasing his brow. “I’m sorry. My phone was on silent. I just saw all the texts and calls. You okay?”

He didn’t move to hug me. That wasn’t Kye. But I could see the true concern in his eyes. Guilt gnawed at me. This second family I’d found all carried their own scars, and here I was, triggering the hell out of them with this close call.

I did my best to force a smile. “Well, Lolli tried to get me high in an attempt to help, so it’s not all bad.”

Kye’s lips didn’t even twitch. “Rho.”

My shoulders slumped. “I’m all right. Really. But Fallon was worried when you didn’t answer. You should tell her you’re okay.”

Kye muttered a curse. “Yeah.”

He headed inside without saying a word to Anson. It wasn’t that he was trying to be rude. His head was just elsewhere.

Anson cleared his throat. “I’m going to head out.” He glanced at Shep. “I’ll touch base in the morning.”

Shep gave him a chin lift in response. “Thanks, man. I really appreciate your help.”

There was something about Shep’s tone. There was a gravity to it that didn’t quite make sense. But then again, I wasn’t sure why Shep had called Anson in the first place. There wasn’t anything he could do to help tonight.

Anson simply nodded, and then his gaze swept to me. I froze. Something about that look held me in place as it glided over me. It was as if he was checking for injuries, making sure that I really was okay.

“Be safe, Reckless,” he gritted out.

It was my turn to nod because my vocal cords didn’t seem to want to work. But Anson didn’t wait for my response, he just took off for his truck.

Shep gave my shoulder another squeeze and then released me. “What’s the deal with you two lately? I can’t tell if you still hate each other or if you have some sort of weird friendship happening.”

I grimaced. I wasn’t sure Shep would appreciate the knowledge Anson had imparted on me earlier tonight. So, I kept it to myself. “I think we understand each other in a way.”

Shep stilled, his gaze landing on my face. “What do you mean?”

I shifted from foot to foot. “He hasn’t told me what happened to him or anything, but I know he’s experienced loss. He gets what I went through. Some of the things that are hard to say. It doesn’t make him less of an ass, but he’s an ass I understand.”

Wariness spread across Shep’s expression. “Just be careful.” He worried the inside of his cheek. “The shit Anson’s dealt with…it’s dark. Darker than anything we’ve seen. I don’t want it to pull you down, too.”

My stomach twisted viciously. Given what all my siblings and I had been through, we’d seen some of the worst of the worst. At least, I thought we had. What was darker than that?

“No, we need Nutella and berries.” A voice cut through my groggy mind.

“Lolli,” Nora hissed. “I think the whipped cream is enough.”

“The girl’s house nearly got burned down, and she’s got a creepy stalker. I think she’s earned some chocolate,” Lolli shot back.

A groan sounded beside me, and then Fallon’s elbow landed firmly in my gut.

I let out an oof as I rolled to my back. “I’m too old for this.”

“Sorry,” she muttered, struggling to sit up. “You need a bigger bed.”

“I didn’t plan on having sleepovers at age twenty-seven,” I grumbled.

Fallon arched a brow at me. “I think you need to be having some sleepovers of the grown-up variety.”

I glared at her. “You’re one to talk. When’s the last time you went on a date?”

She snapped her mouth closed.

“That’s what I thought.” I scrubbed at my face. My eyes burned as if they’d been stewing in acid all night. Only I hadn’t been asleep nearly that long. I glanced at the clock. Eight-fifteen.

Pots and pans clattered from the kitchen.

“Quiet,” Nora hissed.

“Too late. Everyone’s up within a three-mile radius,” Kye called back.

Lolli giggled. “Sorry. But we’ve got waffles.”

I couldn’t help it, I smiled. God, my family was amazing.

Tossing off the covers, I sat up and slid my feet into slippers. I didn’t bother changing out of my PJs, just made a quick stop in the bathroom to brush my teeth. By the time I made it to the living room, Keely was running down the hallway.

She hit me full force, looking up at me with accusing eyes. “You had a sleepover without me?”

“It wasn’t planned. I swear.”

Keely kept right on staring as though deciding if I was telling the truth or not. “Well, you better have another one when I can come.”

I chuckled. “Fair enough. How about I make it up to you with waffles?”

“With Nutella,” Lolli called from the kitchen.

“Yes!” Keely cheered and ran in that direction.

“Shoot,” Lolli muttered. “I forgot the sprinkles in my car.”

“We don’t need sprinkles,” Nora insisted.

“Of course, we do! They’re unicorns,” Lolli argued as she bustled by me and then Trace.

Kye stretched as he stood from the couch, intricate ink peeking out from his tee. “You need a better couch, Rho. It’s lumpy as shit.”

“Language,” Nora called.

“I think I’ll keep my lumpy couch to deter sleepover guests,” I shot back.

Kye just grinned at me. “Good thing I’ve slept on way worse.”

“I bet,” Fallon grumbled.

To say Kye had a bit of a rebellious streak in high school was an understatement. Nora said he’d given her more gray hair than all her other kids combined.

Kye glanced at Fallon, frowning. “What’s wrong?”

She bit her bottom lip. “You didn’t answer your phone. You always answer. I was worried.”

He always answered for her, was what Fallon meant. Because they had a bond that none of the rest of us had ever managed with Kye. He cared in his own way, but a way that enabled him to keep us at arm’s length. But that wasn’t the case with Fallon. He always let her in.

Kye winced. “Sorry. I forgot I had it on silent.”

She stared at him for a long moment, something that looked a lot like hurt passing over her face before she turned back to help Nora with the waffles.

A hand landed on my shoulder, and I glanced up into Trace’s green eyes.

“You holding up okay?” he asked.

“Other than some internal bleeding courtesy of sharing a bed with Fallon, I’m good.”

Trace chuckled, the faint lines around his eyes deepening. “She’s tiny and quiet but secretly violent.”

“Truer words have never been spoken.” I studied him for a moment, trying to choose what I said next carefully. “Is there anything new?”

The amusement slid from his face. “Too soon. We need to run a bunch of tests, and that’s not exactly a quick process. But I called in a favor at the lab, and I’m hoping they push you to the front of the line.”

“You didn’t have to do that⁠—”

Trace squeezed my shoulder. “Rho. You matter. You mattered when you were just Fallon’s annoying sidekick. But you’re my sister in all the ways that count. I’d do anything for you.”

My throat constricted, and I threw my arms around his waist in a hard hug. “If you make me cry before breakfast, I’m gonna be really mad.”

Trace choked on a laugh. “God forbid we have a hangry situation on our hands.”

“Someone feed her. Quick,” Shep called as he handed a plate to Keely and then Arden. “I don’t want to lose an eye.”

“Shut up,” I yelled.

“Look who I found,” Lolli called from the doorway, mischief in her voice.

I peeked around Trace to find a deer-in-the-headlights Anson being dragged behind my eighty-three-year-old second grandma. His eyes were comically wide as he took in all the people.

Keely climbed up onto a stool at the counter to get a better look. “Are you my supergran’s new boyfriend?”

Kye choked on a sip of orange juice as Nora let out a strangled sound. Fallon covered her mouth to try to hold in her laughter, but Shep just snorted as he glanced their way.

“What a catch, A,” Shep called.

Color hit Anson’s cheeks, but Lolli just cackled as she patted his chest. “I’m not sure I could keep up with this one.” She winked at him. “But I’d sure like to try.”

“Someone please bleach my brain,” Trace begged.

Lolli smacked him upside the head as she passed. “I don’t need any of that sass, young man.”

We all filed into some sort of chaotic line to get breakfast. All my siblings teased Anson mercilessly but were soon distracted by the spread that Nora and Lolli had put together. There were waffles with all the trimmings. Blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries. Nutella, whipped cream, and sprinkles. Maple and marionberry syrup. And, of course, bacon and sausage.

We scattered across the living space, taking up every available surface to eat on. At least four different conversations had erupted, with all the distractions under the sun. Yet I kept seeking out one person.

Anson hovered near the outskirts, perching a plate on the end of the kitchen island. He watched the scene play out as if it were a movie. But as each moment went by, more and more shadows gathered in his eyes.

Shep’s words echoed in my head. “The shit Anson’s dealt with…it’s dark. Darker than anything we’ve seen.”

Anson quietly slid his plate into the sink before slipping down the hallway. No one seemed to notice, as if he were practiced in moving like a ghost. But I saw him.

Pushing to my feet, I followed him down the hall. I quickly slipped on shoes and headed out into the sunshine.

Anson was already halfway across the lot, and I jogged to catch up. “Anson,” I called.

His shoulders stiffened, but he slowed, turning around to face me.

I came to a stop just in front of him. I didn’t say anything; simply searched his face, trying to uncover the secrets he’d buried so deep.

Anson’s gruff voice cut through the early morning light, so in opposition to the sunshine. “You should get back to your family.”

I frowned at him. “You’re hurting.”

He opened his mouth as though he were about to argue, then closed it again, his gaze drifting toward the mountains. “I’m always hurting. I’m used to it.”

I reached out, my fingers curling around his. I felt the bumps and ridges of calluses, maybe a scar. Anson jerked, shocked at the simple touch. But I didn’t let go. When was the last time someone had touched him with simple kindness? I didn’t think I wanted to know the answer.

I looked up into those swirling, fathomless eyes. “You shouldn’t be alone in it.”

A muscle fluttered in Anson’s cheek. “Alone is the only way it doesn’t taint someone else.”