“He caught me by surprise. I’ll be ready next time.”
“You won’t have to be ready because you’ll be living here as of right this second.”
“Hold on. I think I missed a few chapters in this story. Who the hell are you?” JD demands of Fallon, linking his hand with mine and holding it securely on the top of his thigh. It’s possessive yet supportive, and I find that I like that he does it all the same.
“I’m her brother. Who the fuck are you?”
“Maybe brother,” I remind him.
“Like I’m your maybe friend?” JD says to me, and for the first time tonight, I smile. “And when did you get a brother?”
“Officially,” Fallon says, “it was at six-thirty this evening when the DNA results came back.”
“That’s what you were meeting with Trevor about at Ruby’s?” JD asks me.
Dustin and Prescott have kept quiet and are watching our verbal back and forth like they are watching a tennis match at Wimbledon.
“You said not until this weekend,” I say to Fallon. My heart just picked up from staccato to stampede.
“I had them put a rush on it.” He takes out a folded envelope from his back pocket and hands it to me. “Welcome to the family.”
I practically rip the paper open.
Dustin and Prescott look over my shoulder.
“Wait. You’retheFallon Montgomery?” Prescott asks, literal stars in his eyes.
“Yup,” Fallon says, making sure to pop that ‘p’ in the most sarcastic way possible.
“And Rory’s your sister?” Dustin gapes at him, then me, as what that means sinks in.
I wish it would sink in for me. I’m a little punch-drunk from seeing it confirmed in black and white. I mean, I pretty much knew after meeting both Trevor and Fallon, but having it scientifically confirmed with ninety-nine-point-three percent accuracy kind of makes it real now.
“If you weren’t injured right now and I was sure that JD wouldn’t pummel my ass, I would be shaking the shit out of you. You just hit the lottery jackpot, Rory. You’re a Montgomery,” Prescott gleefully announces.
I ignore Prescott because I couldn’t care less about the Montgomery money or prestigious name. Fuck that. I’m just glad I don’t have to go back home anytime soon. All I need is a few days to figure things out, find a place that won’t eat up what little wages I make, and get settled.
Trevor strolls briskly into the room. “Your bike is trashed. I’m sorry, Aurora.”
“What? How?”
“Looks like someone took a crowbar to it.” Trevor slices his gaze to Fallon. “I called Ryder, and his dad is sending someone out right now to get it.”
I hadn’t cried at all tonight but hearing that my sister and her loser boyfriend tore Cam’s bike up has tears spilling over.
Fallon drops down on his haunches in front of me. “Ryder is a good friend. His dad owns Randy’s Custom Auto. If anyone can fix your bike, it’s him. I know it won’t be the same, but at least you’ll still have it.” Fallon seems to get how important that bike is to me.
“Thank you,” I numbly respond, wiping the tears away.
JD brings my hand up and holds it to the corner of his mouth and quietly tells me, “It’s going to be alright.”
Fallon stands back up. “You’re part of the family now. We take care of each other. Why don’t you go pick out a room? It’s late and I’m sure you’re beat.”
Trevor motions to JD and the guys. “If you’re sticking around a little bit longer, why don’t I give you a quick tour of the place while Aurora gets settled. We have a couple of families living here and it’s after midnight, so please keep it down.”
Dustin and Prescott look like they just received golden tickets to Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory.
JD holds back. “You guys go ahead. I want to stay with Aurora.”
