Page 99 of A False Start
I grin, preening under the compliment about my horse. “Thanks. He’s good. I’m hoping to get some training on him this winter, so maybe he’ll be ready for an amateur like me next summer.”
She nods. “It’s a good plan. Giving him this time to unwind. Why not send him to Griffin? Some time up in the mountains and on the trails would be perfect for him.”
Stefan goes still and glances over his shoulder at the table. The first time he’s done so since I arrived. “Well, I don’t know. I thought maybe—”
“I think that’s a great idea, Violet.” Mira smirks before taking a sip of her wine, and now my brother turns all the way around to give her the full weight of his scowl. She ignores him. “Don’t you, Griff?”
He nods with a forced smile. “For sure. Happy t’help.” He bridges the words together.
“Nice. We’ve got a room full of big talkers here tonight,” Mira announces with a laugh.
Stefan’s shoulders drop, and his expression softens as he takes his wife in, throwing her a bone and tossing out a joke. “Almost makes me miss Billie.” He winks and everyone laughs, knowing there is no replacement for the space Billie’s personality takes up.
The night carries on in a similar relaxed fashion. Stefan and Griffin are quiet and the rest of us carry the conversation. Even the usually quiet Cole steps up to fill the void, because easy as the company is, not even one of us is oblivious to the unspoken tension. When we finish eating, Stefan shoots out of his chair and flees to the kitchen, insisting on cleaning up—as he always does.
But this time, I follow him because I hate this strain between us. He’s the only true family I’ve got, which means the big dummy is stuck with me.
“Are you going to keep ignoring me?” I ask as I stride straight into the kitchen with an armful of plates.
“I’m not ignoring you.” He flicks the tap, letting steaming water fill the sink.
“Don’t be a dick. You’re my only family. I can’t handle you being mad at me.”
He turns then, looking at me a little sheepishly. “Every single person here tonight considers you family. I hope you know that. And I’m not mad at you.” He runs a hand through his hair, eyes flicking around the house like he’s searching for a word hidden in one of his bookshelves. “I’m worried about you.”
I blink at him, not having expected that response.
“I love Griff like a brother. But he’s got some matters he needs to attend to before I’m going to look kindly upon himlovingyou.” He spits the word out, clearly a little wounded because we kept this from him. “I don’t want you to get tangled up in that. And most of all, I don’t want you to get hurt. You’ve been hurt enough for one lifetime. I’veletyou be hurt, and I’m trying to figure out a way to prevent that from happening to you again without being an overbearing fucking douchebag.”
I laugh. I can’t help it. He barely swears, and it cracks me up every time he does.
“Stop laughing! It’s a hard fucking balance!”
I fall back against the edge of the counter and flatten my hands against my face, shoulders shaking with laughter.
“God. You’re such a pain in my ass. I love you so goddamn much. It’s almost annoying.” That sobers me a little. Stefan and I have a lot of years between us. In many ways, we’re united by our upbringing. In other ways, I’ve only come to truly know him recently because he was lucky enough to escape the hellhole that was our childhood home while I was still younger.
“I love you, too.”
He groans and then closes the space between us, folding me into a firm, brotherly hug as he rests his chin atop my head. When he pulls away, he holds me by the shoulders, green eyes pinning me with their sincerity.
“I want you to be careful. I want you to put yourself first. I want you to consider the implications of getting involved with a man this much older than you, one with demons big enough to rival your own. One who is about to get dragged into the media. And I really,reallywant you to go to vet school. I want to watch you walk across that damn stage at your graduation, a huge fuck-you to the monster who raised us. I want the world for you. Every dream, every goal. I want you to have every opportunity our mom never got.”
His fingers tighten, squeezing my shoulders in a way meant to be comforting. “You got that?”
I nod, trying to keep the tears at bay.
I got it all right. He has no idea how perfectly aimed that shot was.Becoming my mother.A perfect strike to the spot that makes all my defenses slam straight back into place.
35
Griffin
Gold Rush Ranch is beautiful.Everything here looks flawless. The rolling hills and perfect white fences. The shiny horses and pristine buildings.
I don’t belong here.
The pebble in my hand rolls across my fingers as I sit on the back step of the guesthouse. I toss it, watching it clack across the ground and bounce off another rock.
