Page 64 of Beautiful Exile

Linc eyed her warily. “As long as it’s notspecialbrownies, I’m in.”

“I want special brownies!” Keely yelled from the kitchen.

Nora pinched the bridge of her nose. “Trace is never going to leave her with me again.”

“Where is he?” I asked.

“He got a callout. Break-in at the clinic. I think they were looking for pain medication.”

I winced. Dr. Avery would not be pleased about that.

“Excuse me,” Lolli cut in. “Lincoln and I have artistic vision to discuss. I specialize in diamond art.”

A series of groans lit the air from my siblings, except for Rhodes, who looked positively giddy. “Don’t let these cynics get you down. You know I love my dick flower.”

“Yeah, you love it so much it hangs over our mantel,” Anson muttered.

Linc coughed, trying to clear his throat. “I’m sorry, did they saydick flower?”

Thea grinned from next to Shep. “They did. I got a penis gourd painting.”

“Don’t forget Sutton’s phallic pile of pastries,” Fallon added.

“I think this scares me more than one-on-one sparring with her,” Linc said, lowering his voice.

Kye leaned forward, cupping his mouth in a stage whisper. “It should.”

“Oh, don’t be such a prude,” Lolli snapped. “So, Lincoln. What speaks to you more? A fairy throuple vibe, or perhaps I could do something interesting with hockey pucks…”

“Don’t forget the elves doing it on horseback option,” Kye offered.

“What’s a throuple?” Keely asked in her most innocent voice.

Everyone froze, silence blanketing us. And then the room erupted into laughter.

Linc dropped his head to my shoulder, covering his laughter with my body. “I gotta tell you, Vicious. I love your family.”

I did, too. But more than that, I felt like I belonged for the first time in a while. Somehow, Linc made me feel that way.

I stood at the fence,waiting as my favorite mare made her way over. Sunny was just what her name suggested, a ray of sun in animal form. She’d been born on the ranch not long after I arrived. She’d help you round up cattle or take you on the gentlest trail ride, whatever you wanted, as long as you asked nicely. And she was the one who’d taught me about horses.

Sunny moved toward me slowly, letting out a sound I was sure meant:Where the heck have you been?The moment she was within reach, I stretched out to stroke her face. “I’m sorry, girl. I’ll make it a point to stop by more often.”

I bent down and pressed my face to hers, letting our connection bleed into me. Even if tonight had gone better than I ever could’ve hoped, it was still a lot for me. I needed these moments of quiet to recenter. Calm.

And the horses always gave me that. Animals, in general, helped, but horses most of all. They had a wisdom you couldn’t find in any other creature. An emotional astuteness that made you feel like they could see right into your soul.

“She loves you.”

I turned at the sound of Ellie’s voice, my mouth curving. “We’ve known each other since she was born.”

Ellie moved to the fence line with the same grace she’d had when she arrived at Cope’s. She wore a sundress with elaborate stitching, half a dozen gold necklaces around her neck, and delicate gold sandals. But her hair was tied into a messy bun atop her head, and I saw a smudge of dirt on her shoulder from the after-dinner game of hide-and-seek Keely had talked her into.

Ellie was artful beauty and I-don’t-give-a-damn authenticity. It was a mixture completely unique to her, and I admired the hell out of it.

She slowly lifted a hand, offering it to Sunny.The mare sniffed one, twice, and then leaned into Ellie’s touch. Ellie stroked the horse’s face, reading each reaction to see what the creature liked and didn’t.

“You’re good with them. Some people come on too strong. But you wait for them to come to you.”

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