“Go get your things, Shiloh,” my mother says, her voice unnervingly calm. The guys stiffen beside me, a flicker of uncertainty passing over their faces, as if they’re not sure if I’ll actually go back with them or not, or maybe they just don’t want me to.
“Mom, I’m staying here…with them.” I hold her gaze, willing her to understand what I’m putting down because the last thing the band needs right now is some asshole standing over there recording this whole thing for social media.
Snow crunches behind us, breaking the tense silence, and my body stiffens. I glance over my shoulder to see who it is and my pulse eases when I notice that it’s Zane approaching. He moves with that calm, no fucks to give, gait that shows he is equal parts approachable and not to be crossed. Like he could fuck someone up with a single blink, and still take your grandmother grocery shopping afterward.
His dark eyes catch mine for a fleeting second before scanning the crowd behind me. Without warning, he slides his arms around my shoulders, pressing himself to my back in a protective hug. The warmth of his body grounds me, and I lose all sense of unease. My parents’ eyes burn into us, shifting from me to my guys, their lips pressed into a firm line. I take a slow breath, letting it settle in my chest, knowing that this needs to be done.
“We’re actually together. All of us.” I don’t think I’m breathing as my only family stares back at us. I anticipate a competition between whose brain can explode the quickest. Chris and Noelle Fox, or Jovi’s. The worst part is that no one is saying anything.
My guys shift slightly closer, flanking me like sentinels. I know if they open their mouths, they’ll unload a lifetime of shit on this moment. They know how things were for me growing up, and they also know that mentioning it right now would only upset me, so they stay silent. I can practically see the gears turning in my parents’ heads. Finally, my dad exhales, stepping in closer, his eyes softening.
“Shiloh.” His voice is low, and I don’t miss the hint of vulnerability in his tone. “I don’t always understand everything you do, or the wayward chaos you always end up surrounding yourself in, but you are my daughter. That will never change, and I will never wish for it to.” His words catch me off guard, and my throat feels tight as my emotions threaten to rise to the surface.
“Dad,”I choke, but then he reaches out and shakes Axl’s hand, then Nix’s, before turning back to face me. Zane extends a hand to my father, the other still wrapped around my shoulder, and I feel a sense of calm unlike anything I have ever felt before in my life.
“I'm Zane. Their boyfriend. It's nice to meet you, Sir,” he says, and now I think my brain is the one that explodes. My father shakes Zane’s hand, and my mother scoffs, spinning on her heels, then starts walking down the snow covered driveway. My heart sinks, but I school myself because her reaction was expected.
“Don't worry about your mother. She'll come around,” my dad says, and when Zane removes his arm from around my shoulder, I step forward, wrapping my dad in a tight hug.
“Thank you. I love you.” That is all I can manage to say as he hugs me back, placing a gentle kiss on the top of my head before pulling away. I needed this. While I may not have my mother’s support, shocker,my dad’s is more than enough.
“Uh, Dad?”
“Yes?” I look up at the surrounding faces, looking back at us like we’re stars in a damn soap opera.
“Why did you bring the entire town with you?” He turns around and starts laughing, looking back at my guys.
“We didn't know if we needed a search party or not, and when they learned thatStone Coldcould have possibly frozen to death, you couldn't have kept them home if you paid them.”
“Wait. You know of our band?” Axl says, his eyes widening with surprise, and my dad chuckles.
Don't say it.
“My daughter only played your songs on loop whenever she visited.”He said it.“I can't say I'm a fan, though. I've heard better sounds come out of a tool shed. But I applaud your musical enthusiasm,” my dad finishes, garnering a laugh from my guys.
After threatening the guys that if they ever hurt me, he would personally cut their beloved cocks off, he turns and heads down the drive, townspeople in tow.
Jovi, on the other hand, isn't letting us get away with anything without explaining the details to her first. As usual.
“I'm a little embarrassed to even talk about this with you. But, babe, I'm happy.” I told her about leaving Carol’s Bar, explaining in as little detail as I could because I know she doesn't want to hear about how her brothers have fucked me six ways from Sunday. But shesurprises me by smiling, looking like the cat who got the cream.
“You have no idea how hard I had to work for this to happen.”
“Wait… what do you mean?” I question, because even though the guys told me that she had tried to convince them to tell me about their identities so many times over the years, I fail to see how ‘this’,as she called it, was her doing.
“I planned this whole gig. If it wasn't for the weather fucking it all up, you would have gone backstage and they would have been so swept up by the fact that you were finally back in town at the same time as them, that they wouldn't have risked letting you get away.” I sit with that for a moment, but I'm still not getting it. Did she play matchmaker this entire time?
“Shiloh.” Jovi places a hand on my shoulder, gazing into my eyes. “They've always been in love with you. I used to roll my eyes about it, but after a while, I was almost sad that they never got their shot with you. And I may or may not have read Axl’s diary in high school.”
CHAPTER 14
SHILOH
JINGLE BELL, JINGLE BELL, JINGLE BELL COCK!
After we saidour goodbyes to Jovi, I slipped into a warm shower, letting the water wash away the shitshow and adrenaline of the day. When I emerged, the cabin smelled like cinnamon, and I followed that scent like a damn police dog. Phoenix took it upon himself to cook for us, and the spread he’d prepared was literally heaven. Watching him move around the kitchen makes him even more magnetic.
Now, we’re all huddled together on the couch, a cozy pile of blankets and tangled limbs. Phoenix’s guitar rests across his lap, and he strums lightly, the soft notes filling the cabin like a gentle heartbeat. The perfect backing track to Axl’s and my debate about whetherDie Hardis a Christmas movie or not.It absolutely is, and I will fucking die on that hill.
