the kitchen, she was welcomed by a scene from her past: Sonya making smiley face pancakes while Gabe cut fruit.
Rhiannon found solace in their familiar banter and the rhythm of her small family, especially when she realized they were going out of their way not to talk about Peter. As kind as they were, the walls of the small home pressed down on her. She excused herself after breakfast, and went outside to enjoy the weak spring sun and the rustle of trees.
Gabe wandered out a few minutes later and got to work chopping wood. His house wasn’t too isolated, but there was some land behind it. This was a normal pastime for him.
Rhiannon glanced up at a particularly loud crack and eyed her brother’s form. She’d grown up chopping wood too. He was using more force than necessary. She marked her place in the art history book she’d snagged off Gabe’s bookshelf. “Did you put a hole in your living room wall, yesterday? Watching the show?”
Gabe paused and swiped his arm over his forehead. If he was discomfited by the abrupt question interrupting their companionable silence, he didn’t show it. “I did.”
“Why?”
“’Cause I was mad.” With a grunt, Gabe set up another log and brought the ax down.
“Why?”
“What do you mean why?”
“Why were you so mad?”
He cast her an incredulous look. “Some dick hurt you, I didn’t even know, you think I won’t be mad?”
“You’re not a violent person.”
He raised an eyebrow. He was a big guy, her brother, yet those huge fingers could manage the most delicate fine-line tattoos. “Anyone’s violent with the right provocation. I choose not to be violent, that’s different.”
She fiddled with the edge of her blanket. “Are you mad Peter hurt me, or mad you didn’t know?”
Gabe put the ax down carefully and walked over to her. “Both.”
She scooted over, making room for him on her blanket. “That doesn’t make sense.”
He gathered her hands in his and paused for a moment, like he was organizing his thoughts. “I’m your brother. I’m supposed to protect you.”
“You’re younger than me.”
“Right, which mattered when we were both young. In school, I couldn’t stand up for you because I wasn’t big enough. I barely saw you after you went away to college. But this? I find out some guy hurt you so bad, it almost destroyed your career? The career that’s your life? How do you think I’m supposed to feel?”
“I don’t need anyone to protect me.”
He frowned. “I love you, Rhi. Of course I’m going to protect you. It’s not failure to accept protection sometimes.”
She thought of how she’d called Samson to her room to scare Peter away. Could she have done it herself? Maybe. Had it been nice to have a shield? Yes.
Gabe squeezed her hand. “I know you’ve always considered yourself the provider of our little family. I never thought of the toll it must take on you. My sister, she’s one tough bitch. That’s what I’d tell my friends.”
“I’m a bit concerned you called me a bitch to your friends.”
Gabe chuckled. “Only in a good way. You’re an alpha. But alphas need to rest. And they need to recoup. And they need to cry and be vulnerable and take a break from taking care of everyone.”
Her throat grew tight. “I always thought I couldn’t show any weakness. Like my career depended on me being strong.”
“You’re strong no matter what. You’re strong for speaking up about Peter, you’d be the same degree of strong if you’d stayed silent.” He tapped her shoulders, and she consciously lowered them. “It’s not a weakness to take care of yourself. Asking for and taking what you need to function should never be considered a weakness.”
“I don’t think I know how to ask for what I need.”
“Think of it this way. You delegate a million and one things at work, right? Lakshmi makes your plane reservations. Suzie runs interference on marketing stuff. All of your employees take something off your plate, either because they’re better at it or because it’s stuff you don’t want to do.”
“Yes.”
“So delegate in your personal life.”
“Delegating. That I understand.” She licked her dry lips. “Trust is harder to figure out.”
“Mmm.” He looked off into the distance, and a soft smile played on his lips. She knew that smile. He was thinking about his fiancée. “Trust is the only reason the world ever functions as it should. Sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn’t, and I know that uncertainty is scary, but that’s the only