Page 44 of Hero for the Holidays

“It was good,” she said. She looked down at Lila and then back up at him. “It was really good.”

“Glad to hear it.”

“So where is everybody?”

“I believe about to come storming in here with food.”

As if on cue, the back door opened up, and he heard all of his brothers talking. He could also hear Arizona, Daniel and Micah, and he assumed that Rue was there, but you would never hear her over the din of the Kings.

And they all stopped. Speechless, when they walked into the living room.

“I told you that I had a special guest coming tonight,” Landry said.

“Holy shit,”said Justice, freezing in place. “Fia fucking Sullivan.”

He could see Fia pause for just a second, like she was doing a math equation to figure out how to respond. And then it passed, and she smiled.

“Justice fucking King,” Fia said in return. “There’s a kid present.”

“So there is,” said Justice. “I believe she’s my niece, though, and over the past few weeks she’s grown accustomed to the kind of language we use around here.”

“Very interesting. It just so happens that I’m her mother, and I am asking you to watch your mouth.”

And that was that. Fia had done it. He’d been so pissed at Fia for so long he didn’t think he’d ever fully appreciated just how amazing she was.

The lone woman to serve as part of the core, founding board of this version of Four Corners. Denver, Daughtry, Fia, Sawyer Garrett and Gus McCloud had come together when their parents had all cleared off and looked around and seen just how bad it all was. And realized the ranch was going to die if they didn’t do something.

They established the system they had now. A way of sharing profits.

Denver had money from professional gambling and he’d invested a ton of it, pumping the ranch full of cash so they could reinvigorate their herds.

The Sullivans had leased land, started gardening, done whatever they could do to bring capital into the ranch. All led by Fia.

And here she was, holding her own against all the boys yet again.

Lila looked delighted.

He felt...something. Something rise up inside him and grab hold of his throat. An intense kind of possessiveness that he knew full well lived inside of him. This need to gather both Fia and Lila to him and hold them close. To never let them go.

Feeling it now for Fia, that was a hell of a thing. And definitely not his idea.

“What the hell?” Denver asked.

“Don’t tell me you didn’t suspect it,” said Landry. “Can’t you see her?”

He gestured between Lila and Fia.

“Yeah, I canseeit, but... Damn. I just figured...”

“That he had a type?” Fia asked.

Denver looked abashed. “Sort of.”

“I expect everybody has a lot of questions. And the real reason that I showed up like this, and indulged Landry and his sense of theater, is that I want to make use of you-all as part of the gossip chain. Tell everybody so we don’t have to.”

Landry laughed. “Hell, yeah. There’s so many of you, spread the word.”

“This is quite the small-town scandal,” said Daughtry. “And you told us not to say anything about Lila yet.”

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