“Something is up with Justin. I can’t put my finger on it, but he’s been acting funny. I thought once he got here things would be different. I thought we would fall deeper in love, and it only feels as if the opposite has happened.” Ava hands her a tissue, and she buries her nose in it. “Anyway, we’re getting together in a bit. I guess I should pull it together.”
Ava grunts, “If he’s not into you, then he’s not worth it.”
“He’s worth it.” Harper looks resigned to the fact she needs to keep fighting this uphill battle with him. “I’d better get ready.” She pulls us into a quick group hug before heading out the door.
“That boy is trouble,” I growl as if he were right in front of me.
“He’s an asshole. As soon as he dumps her, and he will because he is a dumb piece of shit, I’m going to kick his ass all the way back to California.” Ava starts tossing my stuffed animals off the bed one by one.
“Easy.” I pluck the pink pig from her hand and save him from a missile-like launch. “So, what did I really miss?” I look up at her from under my lashes. If anyone is going to tell me the truth about anything, it’s Ava.
“Jet has completely lost his mind.” She gives a devilish grin, and I can’t seem to decode it. “He tried to apologize to Lawson, and Grant says they brawled again—only this time Lawson kicked some serious behind.”
I can’t breathe. Not in a single fantasy situation did I envision the two of them even in the same room again, let alone assaulting one another. At least Jet didn’t kill him, so there’s that.
“Is Lawson okay?” There. I said his name, first time in a week, as easy as pushing a watermelon through my vocal cords.
Ava blinks at me with a curt, very much pissed look on her face. “No, Lucky. He’s not.”
In keepingwith my promise to Piper, I change and head down to the Black Bear to meet with Jet and Daisy. I sent a text letting them know I was back and that we needed to talk.
Ava insists on accompanying me, and the last thing I’ll do is refuse her the right. The Black Bear is thick with bodies this early evening, most likely because spring break has come to an unceremonious end. The 12 Deadly Sins rock the house, and I see a majority of The Row scattered around the bar.
Ava and I head to the poolroom, where Jet asked to meet us, and no sooner do I walk through the door than my brother wraps his Rock of Gibraltar body over mine and loses it.
I have never seen or heard my brother cry. Not at my father’s funeral, not at my mother’s. Jet has been the granite foundation in which I could plant my feet on, and now here with his hot body, his heated breath sobbing over my shoulder, his back bucking in time with his tears, I do the only thing I can—join him.
This was a lousy idea. We should have met at his place. He wanted to, but I was terrified he’d pull out the padlock. I figured somewhere in public was the best place to have it out, and as usual, I figured wrong.
Jet pulls back and gives a hard blink, his eyes swollen and red as apples. “I’m so sorry.” He quickly wipes down his face. “I’m sorry I confined you all these years. I’m sorry if I pushed you away because of how much I wanted to protect you. I was loving you, Lucky. I loved you the best way I knew how. There’s nothing more important to me than keeping you safe.”
“And that’s why you paid Lawson.” The words come out low, quiet, more like a fact than an accusation. With Jet I get it. He needed to keep me safe. This is just my brother proving there’s nothing he won’t do to make sure I’m protected. But with Lawson… I’m quick to push him out of my mind.
“And that’s why I paid him.” He offers a half-smile while leading me to a table in the back where Daisy sits.
She jumps up and gives me one of her sugary perfumed hugs, and I squeeze her hard because Daisy is actually starting to feel like a sister to me. We take a seat, and I fill them in on the offer Piper made me. I fill them in on her brother’s guesthouse at his ranch, and the fact I even went horseback riding a few days in a row.
“Sounds like summer camp.” Daisy’s voice is heavy, her features still carved with grief. “Never, and I meanneverdo that again. We don’t mind the fact you want to take off. We just want to know that you’re not dead in a ditch, hon.”
“I get it. I do. There was no good reason to punish everyone with worry just because I needed to clear my head a bit. It won’t happen again.” I pick up my brother’s rough hand and kiss it. “If I want to be treated like an adult, I’ll have to act like one.”
“You’re all grown up in my eyes.” His eyes fill with moisture once again at the thought.
“Are the two of you going to kill Piper?”
“Nope.” Jet is the first to answer. “I’m glad you were safe and with someone we know.”
“Did Piper say anything?” I narrow my gaze at Daisy. As much as I’m thankful she didn’t give them a road map of my whereabouts, I wouldn’t doubt it if she dropped a tiny hint.
Daisy wrinkles her nose. “Piper said she knew where you were, period. That was all it took to stop your brother and me from filing a missing persons report.”
“Fair enough.” I’m actually glad about it. I was too lost in grief to handle this the right way. In that respect, Piper helped me as well. “What’s this I hear about Lawson kicking your ass?” A part of me wants to smile, but my broken heart denies me the pleasure.
Jet and Daisy exchange a quick glance.
Daisy leans in, her hot pink nails clicking over the table creating a somber tune of their own. “Words were exchanged. You should probably speak to him about a few of these things.”
“What kind of words?” I look to Jet who seems to be having some telepathic conversation with his girlfriend.
