his pocket and retrieved his cell phone. A few moments later, he was saying, “You need to get to the cottage. Bring our father and a first aid kit.”
Through the phone, I could hear Leo respond with, “What’s going on? Is Thea hurt?”
“She’s okay, but she has some scrapes we need to clean up.”
At that, I stepped away from Tristin enough to look down at my hands and knees, only now realizing that they were, indeed, scraped up. It must have happened when I’d smashed into the concrete floor. Of course, now that I’d noticed the small cuts, there was no way to ignore the stinging pain they caused.
Leo said something else on the other end of the line, but I was now too far away to hear.
“Get rid of him,” Tristin replied harshly. “I don’t care how.”
Him. They must have been talking about Tobias. In all of the chaos of the last few minutes, I’d almost forgotten that my best friend from Kansas had shown up out of the blue, surprising me for Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving. Had it really only been a couple of hours since we’d all sat down together to eat the delicious meal Susan had prepared? It didn’t seem possible. I felt older than I had then.
And damn tired.
“Oh, and bring Thea a change of clothes,” Tristin added before hanging up, not giving his brother a chance to respond.
After returning his phone to his pocket, he peered at me, seeming not to know what to do next. He crossed his arms over his chest, then dropped them, before finally shoving them in the pockets of his jacket. “I know this isn’t the time to get into all of it, but I’m sorry.”
All of what? Maybe I’d hit my head again, because I had no idea what he was apologizing for.
Apparently sensing my confusion, his mouth tipped up into an almost-smile. “To be more specific, I’m sorry for all of the times I was an ass to you. And, yes, I know there have been a lot.” He dipped his chin, his stance more slumped than rigid for once. “But I couldn’t go another minute without saying it. I’m so damn sorry, Thea.”
I remained silent, waiting for his eyes to meet mine once again. When they did, they were so full of contrition, I could have sworn I felt his regret glide off of him and crash into me like a wave.
The apology was a soothing balm to my soul, but I knew it wasn’t enough. He’d helped Leo and Hayle take care of me for the last few weeks, making a clear effort to get along with his brothers. He’d finally made peace with Violet. Most importantly, he’d stayed in Moss Harbor, when he’d intended to run away the day after the charity ball.
Still, I needed something else from him. I didn’t know what it was, couldn’t describe it even if he asked me to. It was just there, holding me back from telling him everything was forgiven and forgotten.
When too much time had passed for me to deliver a simple response, Tristin gave me a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “I get it. I’m not expecting anything. I just needed you to know that out of all the shitty things I’ve done, I’m most ashamed of hurting you.”
Then, he scooped me into his arms and started walking toward the house. When I released a shocked gasp, he chuckled. “No crutches until your hands heal.”
Right. My crutches. My hands. My leg. I hadn’t been thinking about any of it while Tristin had been pouring out his heart and I’d remained silent, like I had no words left to give.
Maybe I didn’t.
At least, not right now.
Not when I was going to have to tell all of the Sharpe men the entire story of what had happened with Lily. Leo was going to lose his mind. Hayle was going to withdraw. And Vincent…hell, I had no idea how he would react.
Somehow, Tristin had become my solace in this storm. He was the only one I could count on to be rational, and that’s what I needed right now. To find a way past the field of emotional land mines standing between me and finally attaining justice for my mother.
He was carefully placing me on the couch in the living room when the eldest Sharpe brother sprinted through the front door, his expression frantic. “Thea.” Leo sighed my name as he knelt before me, inspecting my injuries. “What the