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I have to admit, the fact that she reached out to him pisses me off. And it hurts, because I know it’s my doing. Ryan has always loved Reese like a sister, and before he left for college, he made me swear I’d look out for her. He knew her parents are assholes, that Reese is terribly insecure about her weight and how she looks, but I never thought she’d turn to him for help before she came to me. She was my best friend, mine.

“Reese, I’m…sorry. I fucked up.”

“Whatever, Thorin. See you around.” The line goes dead, and I stare at my phone. Reese has never spoken to me like that, or hung up on me. But, I haven’t exactly given her reason to do anything else. Ryan’s right. I’ve changed, and in the wake of it all, I unintentionally left Reese to fend for herself. I can fix it though, I can make it right. I have the entire summer to fix it, and then our senior year will be different. I’ll take her to senior prom like I promised just before our freshman year—Jessica will pitch an almighty fit but right now I can’t bring myself to care—and we’ll go back to how it always was. Except, I never saw Reese that summer, and Ryan wouldn’t tell me where she was. She never took my calls, ignored my texts, and just about disappeared. I knew Ryan saw her, but she never came to the ranch, and I had no fucking idea where to find her. It drove me insane, to the point where Jessica and I fought constantly, I was out every night getting shitfaced, and come morning, I’d slip further and further into a hole I didn’t know I’d started digging. It was affecting my family too, because Mom and Dad missed having her around, and one morning Mom slipped up and said Reese stopped by before I got back from wherever the hell I was the night before. Told me Reese looked sick, and that made me worry, but what could I do when she refused to take my calls? It wasn’t until school started that I found out Reese’s parents—actually, her batshit crazy mother—sent her to some fucked up camp for overweight kids. Rumors about it were rife at school, and when I saw her the first day of our senior year, her head cast down, the forlorn expression on her gaunt face, I walked over, wrapped her in a hug, and fought like hell to get my best friend back. Too bad it just wasn’t enough.

Chapter Six

Thorin

The screen door opens as I’m about to step out, and when I look up, Reese is standing there, dressed in a pair of brown knit Uggs, skin-tight leggings, an oversized sweatshirt that hangs off one shoulder, and her chestnut brown hair in a messy bun atop her head. In her arms, my nephew moves around.

“Hi,” she breathes, her blue eyes wide as if I’ve startled her.

“Hey.” I stare, unmoving, because I can’t help it. I drink in the sight of her, mentally noting how different she looks. It’s hard to see, though, because her baggy sweatshirt hides it. Before my ogling reaches perv level, the guys are bounding down the stairs behind me, a calamity of loud footsteps.

“Can I, uh, come in?” Reese asks, shifting on her feet.

“Yeah.” So smooth, dickwad. I step aside, and when she walks past me, I catch a whiff of her vanilla scent. The familiarity of it stirs something in my gut, but I shove it aside when she turns to face me.

“I needed to bath, and feed him, but I figured it was time you met your nephew.” I’m aware that we have an audience, but my attention flickers between Reese and my nephew. Benji ushers everyone into the living room, giving us at least a little privacy. Carefully, Reese places the little guy in my arms, and when he looks up at me, all I see is my brother’s—and Mom’s—green eyes.

“Thorin, this is your nephew, and godson.” Reese twists her fingers. “Elijah.”

I snap my gaze to hers and my throat constricts. “You named him after Dad?”

She nods. “I think Ryan and Mel would have wanted that, for a boy.”

“That’s…” I shake my head. “Dad would have loved that.” I fight to keep my voice controlled, but fuck, now I wish my old man was here, too.

“‘Eli’ for short,” Reese adds. “Eli Thorin Decker.”

My heart skips a beat. “Thorin?”

Reese nibbles her lip, and looks away.

“Would Ryan and Mel have wanted that, too?”

“No.” She won’t look at me. “That was me. I chose his middle name.”

Something in my chest cracks, and without thought, I reach for Reese and pull her into my side. She’s always been short, always fitted right into the crook of my shoulder.

“Thank you.” It’s a whisper against the crown of her head, and not nearly enough to express the magnitude of the gift she’s given me. She quickly steps out of my embrace, obviously uncomfortable with the physical contact, and I walk into the living room with her at my side. The guys look up.

“I want you to meet my godson.” I clear my throat. “Elijah Thorin Decker.”

They grin like fools, and approach us.

“Poor little fella,” Carson says. “Middle name like that is a bad omen.”

“Shut up, you ass,” Benji replies. “Reese named him.” He winks at her, and Reese looks a little bashful. Trust him to eavesdrop on a private conversation.

“Welcome to the family, little guy.” Fletch takes Eli’s tiny hand, and gives it a little shake. “I’m your uncle Fletch, and this bastard,” he wraps an arm around Carson’s shoulders, “is your uncle Carson. We’re totally going to be your favorites, and teach you all about getting into mischief. Guy stuff.”

Benji snorts. “Uh, you have to get past his godmother first, douchebags.” How he knows Reese is Eli’s godmother, I have no fucking idea, but it doesn’t surprise me. Benji knows everything about everyone.

“Not to mention his grandma.” Mom appears at my side, and smiles proudly at Eli before looking at us all. “This boy is lucky to have y’all, and I expect each of you to take that responsibility seriously.” Her voice cracks, but she continues with fortitude. “Ryan was so proud of you boys.”

A weight settles in the air, heavy, and stifling, and the guys become subdued. “We’ll make sure Eli is taken care of, Maggie. We’re his family now, and we know how much family meant to Ry. We won’t let him, or you, down.,” Carson says.