At some point, we end up in a quieter corner, and Seth’s expression turns serious.
“We need to talk about the business,” he says. “Your real estate business.”
I tense slightly, the old anxiety creeping back in. “What about it?”
“Whatever you want to do, we’ll support you. If you want to keep running it, we’ll help. Buy out your parents’ share, protect it from their mess, whatever you need. You don’t have to do it alone anymore.”
The offer is practical and loving all at once. I hesitate, really thinking about it for the first time, about what I want, and not what I feel obligated to do.
“I think…” I take a breath. “That I might want to let it go.”
They wait, giving me space to find the words.
“My parents can sell the business and the house. I’m done tethering my future to their decisions. I’ve spent so long trying to save something that was never really mine to begin with.”
“Is there anything else you want to do instead?” Carter asks gently.
The answer comes easier than I expected. “I want to be your photographer.”
A beat of silence.
“Our personal photographer, I love that.” Kai’s grin is spreading. “Perfect. You can start with us, in the bedroom. Very artistic lighting required.”
“That’s not photography,” Carter says dryly when I lift my camera. “That’s straight-up porn.”
Kai raises an eyebrow, amused. “And the issue is?”
“You can’t go capture the moment and then immediately aim that thing at our asses.”
I laugh, shifting my grip. “It’s called documenting real life.”
Seth’s mouth twitches into a smirk. “Real life, huh? You planning to submit those to a gallery or blackmail us later?”
“Depends,” I say sweetly. “Are you going to cooperate and give me new photos for my portfolio, or do I have to work with whatever material you’re offering?”
Kai grins. “I volunteer as tribute.”
Carter groans. “Of course you do.”
Kai tilts his head suddenly, like he’s remembering something. “Should we tell her the final surprise?”
I narrow my eyes immediately. “Should I be worried?”
“Yes,” Carter answers, deadpan.
They take my hands and lead me through the house, pointing out rooms and plans and little touches they set up for me. A reading nook by a window, a dark room that could be converted to a photography studio.
We step out the back door into the expansive yard. In one of the stalls stands Brutus.
“Wait.” My voice comes out strangled. “What’s he doing here?”
Carter delivers it like it’s the most normal thing in the world. “He’s ours now.”
“Ours?”
“Farmer Crawford is getting too old to handle him,” Kai explains. “He offered us Brutus because we’re apparently the only people crazy enough to want him.”
Brutus grunts and shifts in his stall, his dark eyes tracking our movement. He looks exactly as terrifying as he did in the arena. Two thousand pounds of muscle and attitude, a living legend of destruction.
