I take Dom's hand. "An annulment is not an option because we want to be together."
Duke blows out a harsh breath. "You won't want to be with him when I tell you what I found out about his father."
Dom cuts in. "I talked to my dad this morning, Duke. He explained everything. And I told Cecily everything, too."
"And I don't care," I say to Duke, chin tipped high.
"Un-fucking-believable," Duke yells up at the sky spitting snow on us. "Of course you don't care. Why would you? Why would you ever lift a finger for this family?"
I open my mouth to respond, but Duke is on a roll. "You left," he spits at me. Then he points at Kerrigan, who at this moment is drinking champagne. "She runs around doing God knows what. Who does that leave? Me. I'm left doing everything for this family. I've been left to deal with him." He points a stiff finger at our dad, who pales. "And her," he says, pointing at ourmom, who is now holding the champagne Kerrigan pawned off when Duke called her out. "You left, Cecily. You abandoned me."
"Kerrigan comes home," I say, defensive but not really.
"But not you," he says. "You never do."
Something in my chest fractures at the sight of my big brother breaking down. He's not angry, even if he sounds like it. He'shurting. And he has been, for who knows how long.
A loud engine roars from the other side of the RV, and we scamper around, our fight momentarily forgotten.
Duke throws up his arms at the sight of the snowplow. "Fucking figures. The snowplow was behind us."
"Great," my dad says. "Gives us time to figure out what you meant when you complained about being left behind to deal with your mom and dad."
Duke looks at him, and for what is probably the first time in his entire life, he simply says, "No."
Dad sputters. "What do you mean,no? Don't tell me you're going to start acting like your sister."
Duke strides over and swipes the bottle of champagne our mom holds by the neck. "Which sister?" he asks, tipping back his head and finishing the bottle.
Dad stares at him, not speaking.
Duke steps closer to me. Kerrigan steps forward, flanking me. Our dad looks us over, unsure of what we're doing. I'm not sure of what we're doing either, but we're together.
Another sound comes from the road, the rumble of an engine. Around the crest of a turn appears a giant four-door pickup truck. The vehicle pulls off the road, coming to a stop near us. A man hops out and walks our way, a cowboy hat on his head. He's tall and lean and, most importantly, not a grizzled old fart.
"Hello there," he calls, in that cowboy way. "Do you need some help? I have a chain. I can tow you out."
Kerrigan turns her lips to my ear. "I can think of some ways he can help me."
My lips press together to keep from laughing.
"That was louder than you think," Duke mutters. But there's mirth in his tone, and that's what matters.
The cowboy introduces himself. His name is Christopher, and he works at a ranch not too far away from here. "Quite a snowstorm," he says. "It came on hard and fast."
Kerrigan elbows me. "Who knew paradise was a freak spring snowstorm in Arizona? Can I borrow the gem from your hoo-ha?"
"No, it's mine," I say.
"There is something wrong with both of you," Duke mutters, stepping away to introduce himself to Christopher.
Dom wraps his arms around my waist. "Nobody is allowed to see your carnelian but me."
Kerrigan looks at him in shock, but it quickly changes to a bark of laughter. Then she throws me a wink and lopes off to make sure the cowboy gets an eyeful of her.
With the aid of Cowboy Christopher's kind heart and massive truck with a tow hitch and chain, we are towed out of the snowy mess.
My dad offers to pay Christopher for his trouble, but he waves off payment. "I knew there'd be folks stranded out here. Just came to see if I could be of service."
