Page 94 of Ice Princess

Uncle Stewart laughs low in his throat.

“Gunner, don’t do this outside your mom’s hospital room,” Rebel warns quietly.

I step back, although everything in me strains to correct my uncle.

“What? Were you planning to hit me, boy?” Uncle Stewart shakes his head. “That’s the problem with your generation. You have no respect.”

“Respect is earned, not given,” I warn him. “Talk about Rebel again and I’ll show you what ‘no respect’ looks like.”

CHAPTER

TWENTY-NINE

REBEL

Gunner pullsme into his mother’s hospital room, his face flushed with anger. My heart pounds as I watch his perfectly crisp jaw line clench and unclench.

This is the second time Gunner’s stood up to his uncle for me. The first was when Stewart Kinsey wrestled his way into a seat at our table that day at the Tipsy Tuna.

He’s been sticking up for me in front of his mom too.

A sudden thought hits me right between the eyes. Did he not go home last night because of me?

I shift my attention to his extra pale face. After a day of hard labor, the lack of sleep is starting to show. He seems weary and gaunt.

“Son.” Sheriff Kinsey’s voice drags my gaze away from Gunner.

Gunner pauses a moment and Iseehim tuck on a mask to show that signature, aloof expression. He moves forward a step and then startles when he realizes he’s taking me with him.

Pale blue eyes shoot down to my hand and widen. He releases me quickly and in a flustered voice says, “If you want to leave…”

“I’ll hang back here.”

Relief flashes across his face and I know I made the right choice.

Gunner approaches the crowd of relatives surrounding his mother.

Carol Kinsey flops an arm over her forehead, moaning pathetically. “Son, you’re here.”

Robert Kinsey, the owner of the hardware store, slaps Gunner on the back.

His relatives absorb him like a giant, human-sized Venus fly trap. With so many Kinseys blocking him from sight, there’s not much I can do except awkwardly hang by the door.

I kind of wish I’d brought Benji with me. At least then, we could be awkward together.

“Oh, son!” Carol Kinsey whines. “I don’t know what came over me. I waited up all night, but you never came home and you didn’t answer my texts?—”

“I answered your text, mom,” Gunner says quietly.

“… my neck started to hurt.” Carol moans. “And black spots danced in front of my eyes…”

“The doctor said her blood pressure was through the roof,” Sheriff Kinsey says.

“You gotta be careful with that, Carol. You know our family has a history of high blood pressure,” Mayor Kinsey scolds.

“What do you mean?” Robert Kinsey grumbles. “She’s our sister-in-law. Not our sister by blood. It’s us who have to worry about our blood pressure.”

“Oh, right. I forgot.” The mayor coughs. “You see how much of a Kinsey you are, Carol?”

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