that. I’m damn strong. So strong I can stand up to you, stand beside you, and I can damn well carry you when you need me to.”
Brady was silent but his eyes were not. They were communicating loudly. Every feeling he had swirled in his gray eyes, cloudy and turbulent.
One day, the storminess would be gone.
One day, he would smile that real, genuine smile again.
“Baby—”
“No, Brady. Not now. Not tonight. All of that can wait until tomorrow. Since I still don’t have furniture we’re going upstairs and sitting on my bed so you can tell me about Nicole.”
“Had—”
“No lip, Brady.”
“Bossy.” His mouth quirked then he said, “I was gonna say thank you. Once again, I don’t deserve your forgiveness but you’re giving it to me anyway.”
“The fact you think you don’t deserve it is a problem. And fair warning, I’m gonna tend to that, too. And before you argue with me let me remind you of something. My father and my uncles are the best men I know. They are loyal, they are smart, they take care of those they love, so they would never let a wolf into their flock. They sought you out. They recruited you. They’ve taken you in and treated you like family from the moment you started working at Triple Canopy. You know them, you know the depth of their love for our family. Would they have brought you into the fold, kept you there, and protected you if you were not worthy?”
“Point taken,” he begrudgingly mumbled and I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding.
Then I stared at Brady, really and truly studied him.
He was not fucked-up. He’d been neglected. He’d been emotionally abused. He’d been let down by the people who were supposed to love him the most.
Fuck those people.
Brady was ours.
We’d loved him the most.
The Walker, Clark, Lenox, and McCoy clans had more than enough love to spare.
He thought he’d claimed me, he thought I was his.
He was right, but he was also wrong.
Brady was mine.
All mine.
And I would love him the most.
20
“Baby?”
“Yeah?”
“I can’t sleep in here,” I told Hadley something she knew.
For the last ten minutes, she’d fallen quiet.
I didn’t blame her—it was nearing midnight. Not only that, I’d emotionally put her through the wringer. We’d gone upstairs, she’d changed out of her still damp work clothes, settled us on the bed, then got down to her interrogation.
And she was thorough.
All the while, Hadley had burrowed in next to me. Her leg was thrown over my thigh, her arm rested over my stomach, and her fingertips gently grazed my skin as I spoke.
I was pinned down, and oddly, it was wholly comforting. I’d told her how Nicole and I had grown up, about my parents drinking, and finally about Nicole’s last birthday.
It was hard to talk about. I’d spent twenty years not wanting to face my part in her death. Once my father had us on his boat, I should’ve demanded Nicole put on a life vest. I hadn’t. Partly because I was fuming angry and not thinking. Bottom line was she was nine, I was eleven, and I should’ve been looking out for my sister better.
Hadley had pressed closer when I told her how my drunk father hit underwater debris but was so intoxicated that after the impact he hadn’t stopped. Instead, he’d cursed and shouted and full-throttled the boat, damaging a large section of the hull.
It had taken seconds for the boat to take on water. I hadn’t been paying attention to my sister as she made her way to the bow as the stern went under. It was shocking how quickly a fifteen-foot Boston Whaler can sink. But that wasn’t what killed Nicole. Her feet got tangled in my father’s old fishing net and she fell overboard.
I dove into the water after her. With zero visibility in the murky water, it took forever to reach her. I’d had to come up for air twice. That was two times too many.
Too late.
Impossible to do CPR in the water.
Too fucking long did I float in the water holding my dead sister while that bastard bitched about his boat.
Not once did he ask if Nicole or I were okay.
I wished he would’ve died instead of her.
But through the whole disturbing story, Hadley remained still and allowed me to get it all out.
Now her head was heavy on my shoulder, her palm was over my heart, and her breathing had evened out. And I was completely drained.
I couldn’t chance