The casual promise of violence should probably alarm me.Instead, it makes me feel safer than I have in months.
Later, after Tempest has left and the children are settling into their new bedrooms, I find myself alone with Hades in his living room.He's putting together a bookshelf for Jake's room, one that came with approximately three hundred pieces and instructions written in what appears to be ancient Sanskrit.
"Need help?"I ask.
"I've got it.Why don't you sit down?You've been on your feet all day."
I settle onto the couch, watching him work.There's something mesmerizing about the way his hands move, sure and steady as he fits pieces together.Strong hands that could probably break bones without effort but are gentle enough to comfort a crying child.
"Can I ask you something?"I say.
"Shoot."
"Why are you doing this?Really.You could have just taken custody of the kids and asked me to step back.It would have been a lot simpler."
His hands are still on the screwdriver he's using."That what you think I should have done?"
"It would have made sense.You're their uncle.You have more experience with...complicated situations.I'm just the uptight sister-in-law who didn't even know them that well."
"You're not uptight."
"Ethan always said?—"
"Ethan's a fucking idiot who wouldn't recognize a good thing if it bit him on the ass."
The vehemence in his voice surprises me."You barely know me."
"I know enough."He looks up from the bookshelf, his dark eyes intense."I know you walked away from a life of comfort to take care of five kids who aren't even yours.I know you stood up to that controlling bastard even when it would have been easier to give in.I know you make Lily laugh and help Mason with his homework and listen to Emma talk about boys without judgment."
"Anyone would do that."
"No, they wouldn't.Most people would have done exactly what Ethan suggested.Put them in foster care or boarding school and gone back to their lives.But not you."
"They're family."
"Yeah, they are, and so are you."
The simple statement hangs between us, loaded with meaning I'm not sure I'm ready to unpack.Because if I'm family, if this arrangement is more than just temporary convenience, then what does that make us?
What does that make him?
"I should probably start going through some of the boxes from their old house," I say, changing the subject to safer ground."Help them decide what to keep in their new rooms; what memories are important to them."
"Want help with that?"
"You don't have to?—"
"Angel," the nickname stops me cold, "I want to help.With all of it.The kids, the house—whatever you need."
Angel.He called me Angel.He’s never called me that before.
"Why?"I whisper.
"Because you matter to me.You've always mattered to me."
The admission hits like a lightning bolt, illuminating feelings I've been trying to ignore for years.The way my heart races when he walks into a room.The way I find excuses to sit near him at family gatherings.The way I've compared every touch, every kiss, every moment of intimacy with Ethan to imaginary moments with Hades.
"Hades..."
