King's Country (Oil Kings #4) - Marie Johnston Page 0,50

during the winter and the hunting cabin during the summer.”

“That’s not possible,” Beck said.

“She managed to clean the bathroom. It was about all he’d let her do. I cleaned it so she wouldn’t have to . . .” I sucked in a breath. “So she wouldn’t have to once again deal with how he’d lived when she’s still mourning his death.”

My brothers were quiet. Dad’s gaze was aimed across the pastures like he could see it.

“He was sick,” I stressed. “The guy that killed Mama was sick. I think he needed to be punished, and he was, but come on. No one wakes up one day and decides to be addicted to drugs.”

“There were obviously a lot of bad decisions made, by both Danny and . . .” Dad pinched the bridge of his nose. We were all trying not to get lost in that night. Coming home. Finding Mama. The terror.

The way panic had paralyzed me. How my kid brain was stuck on how I hadn’t told her that I’d gotten all my spelling words correct for the first time that year, and she couldn’t be gone because I had to tell her. She would’ve been thrilled. She’d helped me study the night before.

Tears burned the backs of my eyes. Fuck. Nineteen years could seem like two days at the oddest moments.

Dad cleared his throat. “But none of it was Bristol’s fault.”

“Why didn’t she come to the funeral?” Beck asked, but less hostility coated his words than earlier.

“Think about it,” I hissed, my gaze darting around. “She was eight. Danny fucked up and he knew it. What was she going to do? Walk out on her dad and go anyway?”

“And after?” Xander sounded more curious than resentful.

“He had nothing left but her and his pride.”

Beck stuffed his hands into his jeans. “And I’m guessing how we treated her didn’t help.”

Aiden folded his arms, but he was staring at the concrete.

Xander bobbed his head, his expression resigned. “It hurts to say it, but Mama would’ve been ashamed of us.”

“She brought on a lot herself,” Beck said, then sighed. “But I can see why. The town turned against Danny after the funeral. And against her.”

“We didn’t give them any other lead to follow,” Dad agreed.

I shoved my hand through my hair. It was long dried after my shower and probably sticking up in a million directions, but Bristol seemed to like me rumpled as much as clean. “Can you see why this trust is fucking things up? What the hell do I do?”

Aiden’s brows pulled together like we were in a boardroom and he was mentally running the numbers. “You’re going to have to prove that your feelings for her are real enough so that when you tell her, she’ll understand the dilemma you’re in, even if she’s hurt.” He looked me in the eye, his gaze the most serious I’d seen since the night Mama died. “But whatever you do, don’t marry her without telling her about the trust.”

Aiden might not have told Kate, but she was so head over heels with him, she wouldn’t leave him. Not in a million years. They were married. I wasn’t my brother, and Bristol wasn’t some smitten librarian. If I told her about the trust, she’d see right through all the excuses we’d used over the last few years to justify our actions, and I’d be back to being just another guy who’d treated her like crap.

Chapter 9

Bristol

I was used to feeling like a rusted nail in a jewelry display, but being around the King women was next level.

Kate was dressed similar to the night we’d met up at the pub. Kendall wore a gauzy burgundy top and cute jean shorts that probably had a brand name I’d never heard of. Her hair was gathered in a top bun that must really be a thing since that was how Savvy wore hers too. Savvy’s impossibly long legs were in leggings, or tight jeans, I couldn’t tell without staring. Then there was Eva with her pixie cut and pink-tipped hair. She might be wearing leggings and a baggy T-shirt full of gamer controls tied at her waist, but she and the others exuded a polished air that I would never attain.

My drying hair was pulled back into a ponytail. I pulled at my plain red Hanes T-shirt. It was clean with no frays. It didn’t seem like enough.

Kendall must’ve sensed my nerves. As soon as I’d walked in, she’d pulled me to the counter