“You can always change that.”
“What about you?” she asked, twirling the stem of the wineglass between her fingers.
“What about me?”
“Is there something you’d change about your—?”
“Nope. My life is just fine.”
“What about your brother? Aren’t you curious about where he is now? He’s the only family you have, right?”
Cole’s jaw clenched, but he nodded.
“You could reach out to him. Try to mend the rift—”
“I told you I don’t even know if he’s still alive.”
“You’re twins,” she insisted. “I have to believe you’d know if something awful had happened.”
“Yeah,” he agreed reluctantly, running a hand over his jaw. “I’d know. But Shep made his choice after Dad died. The fact that he didn’t come back for Mom’s funeral... I can’t forgive that.”
“You could at least try to contact him.”
“I have no idea where he is at this point.”
“People have to work hard to hide in this day and age. One quick Google search and I bet—”
“I don’t need him,” Cole snapped. “I don’t need anyone. My life is fine the way it is.”
She forced herself to swallow the bite of pasta she’d just taken, even though it felt like it had turned to sawdust in her mouth. “Good to know.”
Cole blew out a breath. “I didn’t mean that the way it sounded.”
“It’s fine,” she lied.
“Sienna, I’m—”
He broke off when both of their phones chirped wildly. Sienna grabbed hers from her purse as Cole pulled his from his back pocket.
“He’s awake,” she whispered, knowing that Cole would understand she was talking about her father. Jase had texted them both.
She let out a shuddery breath and pressed her fingers to her mouth when a sob threatened to emerge. Cole immediately stood and came around to her side of the table. He dropped down next to her and wrapped a hand around her shoulder.
She buried her face in the crook of his neck, breathing in the strong, safe scent of him. He rubbed his open palm in wide circles on her back, murmuring soothing words against her ear.
“I’ll take you to the hospital,” he told her.
“We haven’t finished dinner,” she argued weakly. “Jase is there and—”
“It’s okay,” he promised. “We can take a rain check on dessert. You need to be with your family right now.”
Family.It was still difficult to believe that just by coming to Crimson and inserting herself in their lives that Declan and Jase were her family. Not after so many years of absence from her life.
But that’s how it felt. They were family. The bond between the three of them was fragile, but it tied them together nonetheless.
“Thank you for understanding,” she said as he gathered their plates and leftover food.
They made quick work of putting away the picnic, then returned down the trail to the truck. They were only ten minutes to the hospital, but the drive seemed interminable to Sienna. She vacillated between guilt that she hadn’t been there when Declan first woke to regret that she’d effectively ruined the perfect date Cole had planned. Once again, nothing she did was quite right.
“Do you want me to go in with you?” Cole asked, parking in front of the hospital’s entrance.
“I should go on my own,” she told him, then leaned across the console to give him a quick kiss. “Thank you again. Tonight was the best date I’ve ever had.”
He traced a finger along her jaw. “And the shortest, I’m guessing.”
“Rain check,” she promised, giving him one last kiss before hurrying into the hospital.
