That last word hits like a gut punch every time.
She nods once, like if she starts doing more, she’ll fall apart. Then she sits beside Rogue, rests a trembling hand on his shoulder, and the room goes quiet again.
Just the clock ticking.
Just the vending machine.
And the hospital’s got the nerve to put up this strange mix of landscape paintings and photos of cute newborn baby feet like all that exists are scenes where pain isn’t real. I stare at the tiny toes while Trouble’s mama lets loose on the waiting room like it’s Judgment Day.
“You boys hear me? After this, you will not fight with those people ever again.” She’s not yelling, not quite. She does something worse—her voice pinches at the vowels, a twist of steel around each word. I’ve seen her break up her boys’ fights with just a look, seen those grown men apologize to her like they’re little kids again, but it’s the first time I’ve heard her use that tone.
“I swear to God, I will put you all in the ground before I let this go on another day.”
Danger’s sitting, but he stands the moment she covers her face. In two steps he’s at her side, wrapping those long arms around her. Knox looks anywhere but at them—at the floor, at the ceiling. I drop into the seat next to him.
“You look like shit,” I say. He half-smiles.
“I know,” he mumbles. He’s got a bandage over the cut above his eye now. “I really fucked this up, didn’t I?”
I flick him on the forehead, nowhere near the cut. “I’d say you have a talent for it.”
He leans forward, elbows on knees. “I didn’t think it’d get to this.”
I’m still watching PJ.
“Why would you do it?” I hiss. “Why would you help them steal from the Stetsons? You could’ve gotten all of us killed.”
He winces. “It’s not like that.”
“No? Then please explain.”
“Things were getting… bad. Real bad. I knew Daddy was never going to ask for help, and the feed bills were stacking up, and you weren’t coming home. I started to feel like there was nothing for me in the future. Then those guys showed up, flashing their money, and I figured, hell, maybe I could outsmart them.” He glances up. “My plan was to let them steal what they wanted, get the cash, and then steal it back. Stolen goods can’t exactly be reported to the police. But I stopped working with them after they blew up PJ’s car.”
I slap the back of his head—not too hard, just enough to echo. “You’re a real special kind of idiot.”
“Ow! What?” He rubs at the spot, but he’s grinning now.
I bury my face in my hands. “The Stetsons trusted you, Knox. Trouble trusted you.”
“I know. I fucked everything up. But I know where they stashed everything, and I’ll get it all back. Every last bit. My plan wasn’t to fuck them over, it was to fuck over the Kennedys.”
I look at him, my idiot of a brother, and realize he’s just a kid in the headlights, stuck between wanting to save the world and being scared of how little of it is actually his.
I push my thumb against his temple. “You could have just asked the Stetsons for help. They love you. Trouble took a bullet for you. Did you even notice what’s been happening on Daddy’s land?”
Knox frowns. “What do you mean?”
“The fencing, the grass reseeded, weeds are gone, all of it.The chicken coop. Did you think Daddy woke up this summer and decided to play being a responsible landowner?”
He shrugs. “I figured you were paying someone to take care of it with that city money.”
“Jesus, Knox. Trouble did all that. I never even asked. He just did it.” I say the words as I hold back tears. “He looked out for us. Even when you were stealing from him.”
He blinks, and sits back quiet now. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him look so small.
Then, softer he says, “Why didn’t you tell me about you and him?”
I stare straight ahead. “Because I thought that whatever was between us… I thought I’d leave it all behind when I went back to Chicago.”
