Greta snorted, nodding. “He is.”
Zade walked in, picking up Callie and carrying her to the couch. “Ladies, great to see you.”
“You lasted, what…forty minutes? New record for you,” Greta said, and I grinned behind my beer. Their friendship, ease with each other, trust…it was what I’d always wanted.
Zade gave a goofy grin and took the beer from Greta. “Stone IPA, one of my favs.”
“Asshole, that’s mine!”
Their bickering lasted another couple minutes before Zade narrowed his stealthy gaze at me. “You, Kenzie, lied.”
“Uh, what?”
Shit. Shit. Tanner told them. That means Aaron is killing him right now.
“You were covering for Tanner.”
Both Callie and Greta stared at me and I started sweating. I pushed my glasses up and shrugged. “Be more specific.”
“That’s all he said. You lied to help him out, and that he wasn’t ready to tell us yet. He sent us on our merry way and ripped Aaron for being a shitty brother.”
Tanner’s standing up for me?
Why?
“So where’s Aaron?” Greta asked the million-dollar question and my stomach filled with dread. This was too secretive, too sneaky.What if they find out?
Zade grimaced and tightened his hold on Callie. “To be frank, I admire the guy, but Hilly is a little dramatic and I wanted to spend time with my girl.”
Greta rolled her eyes, but her smile was tight. She was worried. “I’m sure he’s walking here now.” She gave me a weak nod and got up to check her phone. “Kenzie, were you covering for Tanner?”
“I was being a friend to someone who needed one.”
She made a face as though she was unhappy, but perked up when another set of heavy footsteps led to her door. She raced to the entrance, yanked it open and sighed when she saw my brother. She hugged him hard, and I understood Tanner’s aversion to their coupledom. They were a lot to take.
Aaron set Greta on the ground and narrowed his gaze at me. “Tell me what’s going on.”
“Well, I’m at your girlfriend’s place after we had an awkward showdown in front of everyone on the quad. That about sums it up.”
Zade snorted, earning a smack from Callie, but I appreciated his unspoken support. Aaronwasdramatic.
“No shit. Tanner told me you lied for him. Why?”
Maybe it was his tone, or the way that this was the second time in two weeks where he’d been an ass, but I snapped. “Because I know what it’s like not to be able to open up about problems when everyone else around you has their own shit to deal with.”
“Kenzie…” His voice trailed off as Tanner made an appearance at the door. Those brown eyes found me immediately and it took him less than a second to read the room.
“Leave her alone. I told you. She covered for me and when I’m ready to tell the rest of you, I will.”
“Why can’t you tell us, Tanner?” Greta asked, the hurt in her voice evident. Everyone waited, watching Tanner and the physical signs of his stress. He stared right at me, took a deep breath and spoke in a tone I imagined he used on the field—assertive, intense and leaving no room for bullshit.
“Because there was never room to bring my shit to the table when we were dealing with Zade’sandAaron’s problems. I’m not lashing out, so don’t act butt-hurt about it. You guys are my family, but you’re givingherway too much shit for saying the right thing at the right time. My past is fucked up and I’ll tell you when I’m ready.”
An uncomfortable silence filled the room as they all digested Tanner’s words. My heart hurt for him. He stood too straight and kept his fists at his sides, and I’d bet money he was counting the seconds until he could leave. Callie spoke first. “I’m glad you were able to talk to Kenzie about it, TJ.”
“Dude, same. We’ll be here when you’re ready,” Zade added.
Greta mumbled something similar and it was Aaron who broke the awkward tension with the question on everyone’s minds. “But why did it have to be my sister?”
