Tarak stepped closer. “You always did.”
JD nodded. “Consequences and second chances can exist in the same room, Destiny. Don’t confuse one for the absence of the other.”
I looked down at my bandaged hand.
The one that had held fire.
“I’ll pay it back,” I whispered. “Whatever the damages are. I’ll work. I’ll?—”
Edge interrupted. “No.”
“Dad—”
“No.”
I glared at him through tears. “I’m trying to be responsible.”
“You can be responsible by healing, telling the truth to JD, and never hiding this kind of pain from us again.”
“That’s not enough.”
“It is tonight.”
Regan smoothed my hair. “Tonight, you breathe.”
I hated that breathing felt like the hardest thing they could ask.
JD looked toward the door. “We need to move on Cabo after Cal’s ranch, but we’ll think more on the exact timing. She’s not getting on any charter until Doc says she can handle it.”
Regan nodded. “Thank you, JD. Truly.”
JD’s expression softened when he looked at her.
“That’s what family does, Regan.”
Her face shifted again, grief and gratitude tangled together.
“You were there for me,” JD said. “For Skye. For my son. This is me returning the favor.”
Edge looked at JD, and some silent understanding passed between them.
JD glanced back at me. “Skye will meet you at Cal’s ranch. She’s already headed there.”
Regan frowned. “This late?”
“She’s going for a hike,” JD said dryly.
Despite everything, I almost smiled.
“A hike.”
“A very sudden, very private hike in the middle of the night to prepare a room, gather supplies, and make sure nobody at the ranch asks questions they don’t want answers to.”
“That sounds like Skye,” Regan whispered.
JD nodded. “She’ll be waiting.”
The thought of Cal’s ranch loosened something in my chest.
