I raise a brow at the fort.” I don’t think I’ll ever be able to find you.”
“Well, good. Because it’s our fort anyway, and you’re not allowed inside,” Taryn answers straightforwardly.
“My house, my rules, Little Ghost,” I remind, unable to help the arrogance in my tone. I bite back a laugh. “And last I checked, this fort is inmyliving room.”
I practically feel the breath in her lungs cease, my body soaking in the effect I have on her across the room like it’s ecstasy. The heavy air sits on my shoulders, the weight pushing my feet forward as if the only relief is to see her.
Placing the keys in my pocket, I walk to the part of the floor designed to be the opening—two dining room chairs making a tunnel—that leads into one part of the fort that begins in the foyer.
My tired and sore muscles protest when I crouch down and start crawling on the sheets, but the giggling from somewhere in the fortress shoots determination through my bloodstream. Tristan hurries toward me on his hands and knees, startling me with the brightest smile on his face. The sight is enough to smash into me with the power of a freight train, nearly knocking me out and leaving me breathless. He should’ve had this kind of smile on his face for the past five years, and I hate that I couldn’t be the one to put it there, but I am grateful that Taryn did.
He just needed more—more than his siblings doing everything they could to bring him out of the thick shell that was almost impossible to pierce through.
But he didn’t need us.
He needed someone else who’d willingly decide to be a constant in his life. He needed to know that there was another person out there who cared about his happiness.
On all fours, he closes the distance and sits before me, crossing his legs. “I can’t let you through, brother.”
I snicker. He recently picked up “brother” from Cameron and Brennan. My panic meter buried behind my sternum wobbles. I wonder what else he’s picked up from them. If the twins are more cautious around Elena, I assume Tristan knows a lot more than he leads on.
I raise a brow. “Where are the girls?”
He shakes his head.
“Do I need to bribe you to take my side instead?”
His eyes narrow into slits, challenging me. “What does bribe mean?”
“It means I give you something you want so you can give me what I want.”
His face twists in thought as he taps his finger on his chin in a steady rhythm. “Can you teach me to use the bow?”
That is not what I was expecting. I anticipated him asking for a later bedtime or something he usually whines about, like wanting more dessert.
But this? The unexpected demand warms my face, catching me off guard. Years ago, I told him he would have to wait until he was eight, and the twins and I would take him.
When he was around five or so, Jess would walk him and Elena down to the shop, and they would watch us set up a target. His intrigued eyes always followed, his quaint voice whispering to Jessica if he could try. I wanted to let him. I did. Because it was one of the few times he showed interest in something. But he was still too small to use the first bow my dad bought me when I was eight.
But there are no hesitations. I don’t see why he couldn’t learn now.
“Deal,” I say, reaching out my hand instantly.
He shakes it, that optimistic smile returning. “I’ll go get Elena. Taryn is by the windows in the back corner of the living room.”
Spinning away from me and crawling through the tunnel, he darts farther into the fortress as if it’s swallowing him whole. Tiny bursts of laughter drift through from the left side near the sectional, and the cackle of laughter, followed by a scream, tells me that Tristan has found Elena.
Turning right, I head deeper into the back corner of the living room. The room lights filter through the shades of white and gray fabric as I worm my way through, trying to ignore the painful ache seizing my muscles from my workout not even thirty minutes ago.
I get to a small, tented room and take another right. Damn, this fort is massive. It must have taken them all afternoon to set this up.
“Little Ghost,” I singsong.
The hairs on my arms stand on end, keeping me alert.
She’s close.
I don’t have to look at her to know she took that swift intake of air that she does when she’s startled. But on this side of the fortress, there’s silence. On the other side, I hear lots of giggling and hands and knees thumping on the floor.
