Page 100 of Ransom

MICAH

"Say again?" I order as I pat my son's tiny back. He wiggles at the rumble of my voice but doesn't wake. He's used to our loud family, so none of the raised voices in the room are bothering him.

Nick rakes his hand through his hair and trades glances with Maverick. I don't like that they've been keeping secrets.

At all.

"What part don't you get?" Nick asks.

Kade, sitting on the arm of the sofa, snorts. "Try fucking all of it, asshole. You're telling me you knew about this the whole time and didn't fill us in?"

"It wasn't our place. He asked us to keep it quiet, and we were trying to respect his wishes. That's all."

"Good for you. But now you're telling me he's taken off to this town and isn't coming back?"

There's panic on a few faces in the room, mainly my brothers' faces. The women seem less worried. I slap Kade's shoulder and sign, "Why aren't the women worried? They look weird."

Kade scowls and scans all the faces in Declan and Cara's living room. We're all here. When an SOS goes out, we fucking come. But not all of us seem to be as worried about this situation.

"Micah's right. Why the fuck do you women seem happy about this shit? What the fuck are we missing?"

Cara, Janey, and Cadence, all sitting on the floor, resting their backs on their men's knees, trade glances and smile again. "Annoying!" I say, glaring at them. They just laugh, but thankfully, Cadence speaks up.

"I don't see the problem, to be honest. You're telling us Ransom's been obsessed with a woman he has history with, and finally left to go see her. And now he's decided to stay a little longer. That's a good thing."

"It's good he's gone?" Colton asks, scowling.

"It's good that he's staying. That means there's something there worth staying for. And this woman…Blair?" Nick nods, and Cadence grins again. "Well, Blair must be something else. The way you've described her, I'm half in love with her. So yeah, I'm excited for Ransom. This is good."

I watch my brothers process this information, their faces a mix of confusion and concern. Noah shifts in my arms, and I adjust him carefully.

"It's not that simple," Jonas mutters, his fingers tangled with Janey's. "He isourbrother."

"And?" Janey tilts her head back to look at him. "Don't you want him to be happy?"

"They're scared,"I sign one-handed. "Change."

"Damn straight we're scared," Kade barks. "Twenty-five fucking years he's known this woman? And none of us knew?"

Cara rolls her eyes. "So he kept one thing private. You're acting like he betrayed you."

"Didn't he?" Colton's voice is subdued. "We're supposed to know everything about each other. That's what family means."

I shake my head. "No. Family is... trust." The words come slow but clear. Holly's hand on my thigh grounds me as I let the words come instead of fighting to get them out. My brothers will wait, no matter how long it takes. "Trust him... to tell us... when ready."

"Micah's right," Nick adds. "And he did tell me and Mav. When he was ready."

"But why now?" Dec asks. "Why's he choosing now to go back?"

Cadence absently taps Maverick’s knee. "Maybe he finally realized what he was missing. Sometimes it takes a while to face what you really want."

"See ourselves?" I ask, bouncing Noah gently. It would be easier to sign, but I'm not putting my son down. I don’t like any of this, and I need eyes on my brother. Until I see him, I won’t know if he’s good. And if he’s not good, he’ll need us.

Kade nods. "Yeah, what Micah said. We need to meet this woman. See what's got Ransom so twisted up he'd leave everything behind."

"He hasn't left anything behind," Cara protests. "He's just expanding his world to include someone else."

Holly's fingers brush my arm, and I turn from the heated discussion. Her eyes meet mine, soft and understanding. The others fade into background noise as I study her face, the gentle curve of her smile, the way she leans into me while gently running her finger down Noah's cheek.

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