Laughing, he shakes his head. “Only you would worry about me in this moment.”
“He was your brother whether you had a good relationship with him or not. That can’t be easy.”
“It was one of the easiest things I’ve ever done. He made it a you-or-him situation, and I was never gonna fucking choose him.”
“Where’s your dad?”
He shrugs and reaches for the gauze, wrapping it around my wrists. “Gone.”
“Dead?”
“Don’t know. Joanna’s family took him away. I doubt they’d end it this quickly.”
My eyes widen. “Scotty? Is he okay? Ryan hit him with his gun, but he said he wasn’t going to kill him. But—”
“He’s okay. He’ll have a hell of a headache for a while, but I’m sure Sarah will gladly be his nurse.”
“The bars!”
Tucker chuckles. “Baby, what are you talking about?”
“I put the carrot bars in the oven right before Ryan showed up. I didn’t turn the oven off. They’re ruined. Oh God! Your house didn’t start on fire, did it?”
He rubs my thighs and smiles up at me. “They’re burned to shit, but we got them out before they did much more than smoke up the place.”
“I was going to surprise you with them. You said your mom used to make them for you.”
“It’s a good thing you can make more, huh?”
I smile and watch as he fixes me up. It’s not as bad as it looked out there, but I’m still horrified by my reaction.
“I saw my mom,” I whisper. “She told me she was disappointed in me. That I was pathetic, and I wasn’t her daughter.”
“It’s this house,” he says. “That wasn’t your mom, baby. I know it wasn’t.”
Tears fill my eyes, and I don’t know how I even have tears left. “What if it was?”
“Your mom loved you enough to kill her brother for what he did to you. And she probably blamed herself, feeling like she let it happen. She couldn’t take that, and she took her own life. It’s kind of fucked up, but it’s love.”
“I love you, too, Tucker.”
He smiles and kisses me. “Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere else?”
I point to a red mark on my skin. “I think Ryan drugged me with something. I woke up in the basement. It was stupid to take the blindfold off, but I had to know when I heard them walk upstairs. And then all hell broke loose.”
“Nothing else is hurt or broken?”
Shaking my head, I wince. “I have a headache, and I’m thirsty. But I’m okay. Thank you.”
He helps me stand, and we walk into the living room where everyone stands, waiting. Their eyes all land on me, and I feel both embarrassment and happiness. They’re worried about me.
Blood on the fireplace catches my attention, and I walk over to gently touch the mantel. “What happened?”
“That’s where I fucking killed Ryan,” Tucker says.
Pulling my hand back like it’ll burn me, I step away. “I see.”
“Are you okay, sweetheart?” Jethro asks.
