Danny’s hair stuck straight up on one side and his white tee was inside out. His facial hair had only just started coming in—a thin shadow just above his lip. When had his kid brother gotten old enough to worry about shaving?
“Where’s Lily?”
Kieran grabbed a sudsy plate. “I took her home.”
“Oh.” Danny ambled into the kitchen, his hands in the pockets of his joggers. “I thought she’d stay longer?”
He’d almost asked her to, but then he’d remembered why they’d kept things casual in the first place. It wasn’t just about keeping work from getting messy; it was about Danny, too.
“She couldn’t keep staying here. She’s got a life. An apartment to go back to.”
Danny folded his arms over his chest, his brows furrowing. “I think she should have stayed. The way she looked when you first brought her home, like she was only half here. That’s not normal…” He frowned. “Is it?”
Kieran shrugged and set the plate he’d cleaned and rinsed on the drying rack. “Everyone responds differently to trauma. Maeve? She placates. She’ll pick something apart until she finds whatever she thinks she did wrong, and she’ll blame it all on herself. She’ll do everything she can to restore peace. Lily dissociates. Goes out of her own body and head to protect herself. Being back in her routine will be good.”
“How do you respond?”
“I fight. Always have.” He twisted at the waist so he couldlook back at Danny and jerked his chin toward the right side of the sink. “I could use some help.”
Danny shuffled closer without complaint. He turned the faucet in his direction and held his hand out for the first dish. “So…is that what happened with Lily’s ex? Did you find him and put him in the dirt?”
“No.” Though he’d imagined all the ways he could’ve on his way home.
The same violence was not so easily contained in Danny. The boy turned toward him, outrage reddening his ears. “No?You’re just going to let that asshole get away with it? You’re a professional fighter, Kier. Why aren’t youdoingsomething?”
Well, that was two votes for how utterly useless he felt. Kieran sighed and stopped scrubbing the bowl in his hand. He leveled his brother with the most patient look he could muster. “If I went after him, what do you think would happen? People can’t just go throwing punches without consequences. What happens to you when I land in a jail cell, huh?” He ducked his head, the thought sending a shiver of disgust down his back. “Sometimes it’s easier—safer—to let shit go.”
Slowly, Danny returned to rinsing, but that didn’t stop him from grumbling. “You’re dating her, aren’t you? Doesn’t it bother you?”
Of course, it did. Every one of his jagged edges burned to tear into Lily’s ex. But first—“Who says I’m dating her?”
Danny snorted and pinned him with an unimpressed side eye. “C’mon, Kier. I’m not stupid.”
Maybe if he didn’t respond, Danny would take his advice and let it go. “I’d love nothing more than to stomp her ex into the ground, but only Lily gets to decide how she deals with him. She deserves that at least.” Kieran refocused his attention on cleaning the dishes. “And if I went behind her back and went after him? She’d hate me for it.” He bowed his head ashe scrubbed at a stubborn spot. “I lost the people I cared about once over a fight. I don’t want to do it again.”
His brother took his time rinsing the bowl and inspecting it for caked-on cereal bits. “You mean with Dad?”
Kieran hadn’t given two shits about losing Brennan. It was the aftermath that still haunted him. He’d been gone for six years. What could he have protected Danny and Shauna from if he’d stayed? “I’m sorry I wasn’t around when Mom died.”
Talking about Charlotte Sullivan left a heavy weight suspended between them. Danny was the first to shrug it off. “It’s whatever. I turned out fine, right?” A sarcastic bite gave his words a razor’s edge.
Did Danny’s bitter humor come from him or Brennan? If only he could wipe away that bitterness as surely as the food residue on the plates.
“Yeah, kid.” He bumped his shoulder against Danny and mustered a little smile. “You did.”
Danny’s stoic expression turned almost thoughtful. “You know, it’s okay with me if you bring Lily around sometimes.”
“We’re not dating.”
Danny snorted and grabbed a towel to dry off his hands. “Yeah, keep telling yourself that. You should invite her to Shauna’s wedding.”
A glass slipped out of Kieran’s hand and back into the water, the spray soaking the front of his shirt. “Weddings are for family.”
Danny flung the towel over Kieran’s shoulder. “Bad news, bro. You’re fucking lame. Bring Lily. I like her more than you.”
Kieran snorted under his breath and lifted the glass back out of the water.
So much for not letting things get messy.
