Amber shot him a dirty look, but the elevator slowed to a stop and the doors opened before she could say anything.
Jasper didn’t wait for a response. As soon as he could slip through, he was gone, his bruising grip pulling Vincent behind. He didn’t slow until they were out of the hospital and near the car, and then he rocked to a halt beside it. “She knew,” he muttered, bracing his free hand above the window. “All this time, and she never said anything. Does she know about Noah?”
“Do you want to ask her?”
Jasper shook his head. “Not right now. I wanna go home.”
Vincent knew better than to read anything into it, but he was pleased if wary at Jasper calling his place home. He unlocked the car and waited for Jasper to let go and get in before moving to the driver’s side.
As he drove he wondered how long it would take Jasper to start asking if he and Noah were half brothers to Amber, rather than only cousins.
Chapter 17
JASPER WASsubdued the rest of the day, and Vincent gave him space, keeping close but not hovering. Most of the time Jasper spent sprawled on the sofa texting. Vincent couldn’t help but be curious, though he held his tongue—at least until Jasper finally heaved a sigh and tossed his phone aside, where it clattered to the coffee table.
Vincent muted the TV show he wasn’t really watching. “What’s going on?”
Jasper sat up enough to slump against the arm of the sofa with an exaggerated groan, which was at least a little comforting. If he was back to his dramatics, he likely wasn’t in shock, or worse, brooding. “Amber wants to talk to me and Noah.”
“That sounds ominous.”
He shot Vincent a wry smile, then rocked forward to crawl across the sofa and put his head in Vincent’s lap.
“Are you going to talk to her?”
“I don’t want to.”
Vincent combed fingers through Jasper’s hair with a soft hum. “Would you rather have it hanging over your head for the rest of our vacation?”
Jasper whined and pressed his face into Vincent’s leg. “That’s not fair.”
“I think it’s more than fair,” Vincent replied. “I’d rather have you fully present when we get back to the cabin, not worrying about what she might say when you get home.”
Jasper didn’t respond for a long moment. “What if she says something terrible?”
“Like what?”
He shrugged and picked at Vincent’s jeans over his knee. “Both my parents were apparently cheating whores. I guess it can’t get much worse than that.”
Vincent flexed his fingers tighter in a gentle tug. “Do you want to talk about it?”
Jasper shrugged again before rolling over. “I don’t even remember her much,” he said, his voice muffled where he’d pressed his face into Vincent’s stomach. “But I thought she’d been happy. I thought they were both happy and loved each other, and that he only started drinking after Mom died because he didn’t want to live without her.”
“Those could all still be true.”
Jasper scoffed. “They were both cheating on each other.”
“That doesn’t have to be mutually exclusive to everything else.”
He pulled back enough to glare at Vincent with one eye. “Yes, it does.”
Vincent raised an eyebrow and decided Jasper could keep being stubborn for the moment. “Okay.”
“Okay.” Jasper slumped into Vincent and blew out a long breath. “Can we go back to the cabin tonight if I talk to her now?”
“Possibly.” Vincent picked up his phone to check his messages. Initially he’d planned to return to the cabin as soon as possible, but when Jasper got absorbed in texting, he held off in the hopes of some kind of resolution. Another day here was worth it if it meant they could properly enjoy the rest of their stay. “They can get a flight plan for two in the morning.”
Jasper sat up and turned wide, pleading eyes on him.
