She shakes her head, outlining the sickle at my arm pit.
“Because they would know it means something.”
37
whip it out
Liam
We have coffee and jump in the Tahoe. I drop her off at the airport sliding doors before eight with a bag that’s packed with actual clothes. She has two matching shoes, and she’s not wearing my tee.
That last part is good and it’s bad. And that’s because I like her in my tee and I can’t afford to.
Before she leaves the car, I extend a hand and look down at her left hand. She does the same before sliding the ring off without a word and placing it in my palm.
It bothers me. I’ve seen the way people look at her. How oblivious she was to the waiter last night who didn’t care that she had three carats of diamonds adorning her hand and still tried. Everywhere we go, people look. And now she’s in the airport, flying to another state for a long weekend, with no protection at all against the men I’d be forced to kill if they touched her.
I slide it as far as it can go on my pinky and head back the way I came. I stop at my brother’s place instead of going home, not bothering to call.
Eleanor wiggles her greeting at the door next to Sariah who has Wills on her chest.
“Good morning,” Sariah steps back as I pull open the door.
“Morning. Do you have coffee?” I lean down to give Ellie a good rub, and she wags and wiggles her hello in return.
“Is our last name Murphy?” my sister-in-law asks.
I smile and look at my nephew in question.
She hands him over and pours me a cup, setting it on the counter. “Ci’s in the shower. I’ll tell him you’re here.”
“Morning, Wills. Is your mama keeping you in milk and clean diapers?” I look down at my namesake, his unmarred skin, against my painted arm. “You’ll let me take you for your first tattoo when you’re ready, right? Your sister’s going to try to be the one, but I’m your guy.”
Walking to the huge windows at the back of Cian’s house, I stare into the bright Colorado morning, wondering how this gets to be my life. Luck of the draw, I guess. Shit father, but gorgeous scenery. “You got a good dad and a beautiful home. And a mama who would grind the world to a halt to protect you.”
His eyes are open when I go on. “And me.”
“And you what?” Cian asks, slapping me on the shoulder as he heads to the kitchen.
“A-B conversation, brother.” I take a sip of my coffee and return to my nephew. “Ain’t that right?”
“Get your own baby,” he tosses over his shoulder.
“I think I’ll keep this one.”
“You’re forgetting who his mom is.”
“She’s scrappy,” I say of his wife. “But I think I could take her.”
“If I remember correctly, I got you in the marbles the last time you tried,” Sariah says, coming down the hall, her supersonic hearing on display.
“Don’t remind me. No good deed goes unpunished.”
“In my defense?—”
“There’s no defense.” My words are plain, but I smile at my sister-in-law. “I’m glad you and Cian found your way back to each other. But it would’ve been easier if we’d skipped all the drama.”
“Now where’s the fun in that?” Sariah puts in, but that’s a lie. Or a defense mechanism. Last summer was absolute shit and given the opportunity to repeat it in any fashion, we’d all abstain.
