Page 66 of Her Courage

"It's them," he announced after a moment, his posture relaxing fractionally. "Oscar's escorting them in."

Moments later, the doorbell chimed. Oscar appeared, flanking two young women who looked enough alike to obviously be twins but different enough to tell apart easily.

Sierra was the first through the door—petite, with dark hair pulled into a messy ponytail and kind eyes that immediately found Kaleb. "Kale!" She launched herself at him, wrapping her arms around his waist in a fierce hug.

Monica followed more slowly, her movements measured. She was taller than her twin, her hair shorter and styled neatly. Her eyes swept the room, assessing, before landing on me with open curiosity.

I noticed Oscar's gaze lingering on Monica. Just a fraction too long. His expression shifted from his usual professional neutrality to something softer.

Interesting.

"Sierra, Monica," Kaleb said, his voice rough with emotion as he hugged Sierra back. "Thanks for coming on such short notice."

"Are you kidding?" Sierra pulled back, her hands gripping his arms. "Your text sounded urgent. What's going on? Is this about Mom?"

Kaleb glanced at me, and I offered him a small nod of encouragement. We'd rehearsed this—or tried to, anyway. There was no easy way to tell them their mother had attempted murder.

"First," Kaleb said, turning to gesture at me. "I want you both to meet someone very important. This is Lottie—Charlotte—my... our girlfriend."

Monica's perfectly sculpted eyebrow arched. "Our?"

"Yes." Kaleb pulled me to my feet, his arm wrapping protectively around my waist. "Lottie, these are my sisters. Sierra and Monica."

Sierra's eyes went comically wide, her gaze darting between Kaleb, Andrei, Colby, and me. "Wait. Wait wait wait. Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"Depends on what you think I'm saying," Kaleb replied, a hint of his usual humor breaking through the tension.

"That you're all... together? Like, together together?" Sierra's voice pitched higher with each word.

I felt heat crawl up my neck. This was not how I'd imagined meeting Kaleb's sisters.

Monica simply stared, her expression unreadable.

"Yes," Kaleb confirmed, his tone leaving no room for argument. "The four of us are in a relationship."

Sierra blinked once. Twice. Then a massive grin spread across her face. "Holy shit, Kale! That's amazing!"

"Sierra!" Monica hissed, shooting her twin a sharp look.

"What?" Sierra shrugged, unbothered. "Good for them. I always said Kaleb needed more than one person to balance out his workaholic tendencies. Apparently he needed three."

Despite everything—the stress, the fear, the absolute chaos of the last few hours—I found myself laughing. Sierra's acceptance was so immediate, so genuine, it was impossible not to love her for it.

Kaleb, however, looked like he wanted the floor to swallow him whole.

Monica crossed her arms, studying us with that analytical gaze. "I don't care who you're sleeping with, Kaleb," she said finally. "But I am... curious about the dynamics of it all."

"Monica!" Now it was Kaleb's turn to look scandalized.

She simply shrugged, a tiny smile playing at her lips. "What? Sierra's thinking the same thing, she's just louder about it."

"It's true," Sierra confirmed cheerfully. "I have so many questions."

Kaleb's face had gone through approximately seventeen shades of red. "Can we maybe not discuss my sex life with my baby sisters?"

"We're twenty, Kale. Not babies," Monica pointed out.

"And you're the one who brought it up!" Sierra added.