Page 124

As we drive a bit down main street, Tate stops the car, pulling into a parking space.

“What are you doing?” Ares asks.

“Just one last thing before we go,” Tate says, getting out and back into the cold.

We all follow him, confused as he heads down the street and walks into Birdie’s shop.

“No one said anything about detours,” Callan mutters, and I put a hand on his arm with a smile.

Tate walks down the row of shelves and then stops in front of a mug. It’s glazed in beautiful sunset colors, and it looks almost the same as the colors Callan did in my tattoo. He wraps his hands around it and then smiles when Birdie comes out from the back.

“Belated Christmas gift?” she asks.

“It just made me think of someone special,” he says. “How much?”

“On the house for you,” Birdie replies.

“I can’t let you do that. You already gave me the kick in the ass I needed to get me to pull my head out of there.”

Birdie waves that away, smiling at all of us. “What are your elders for, if not dispensing priceless wisdom? And anyway, do you know how long I’ve been waiting to see someone shake up the Carters and the Thorntons from their bullshit? You all not letting their drama keep you apart was the highlight of the season.”

Ares wraps an arm around me, pulling me in to his side. “They tried, but they’re not going to succeed. Not now, not ever.”

Birdie nods approvingly and then looks at me. “You know, when I was younger, I would have loved having three men like this all over me. You found three good ones, Brynn.” She winks, and I feel my cheeks flush.

“It’s never too late,” I say.

She laughs. “You’re absolutely right! Now, unless I’m mistaken, you all are heading out of town?”

Tate nods. “Yeah, back to real life. Thank you though, really.”

“It was nothing. Now go on, before the universe decides to dump a snowstorm on you. And don’t be strangers. The next time you’re in town, I expect to see you.”

She waves us out, and we head back toward the car.

Someone comes walking up from the opposite direction, and it’s not until he gets close that I realize it’s Jordan. He glances at me and then at the three men, a look of disdain coming over his face.

“It figures,” he mutters.

I stop, looking him right in the face. “Excuse me?”

“I said it figures. You’re so high maintenance that you need three men just to manage your mess. That’s what went wrong with us, I guess. I didn’t have any back up.”

Callan’s jaw goes tight, and he takes a step forward like he’s going to actually hit Jordan this time. But before he can, Ares moves in front of him, putting himself between the two of them.

“You have a lot of nerve running your mouth,” he tells Jordan. “Brynn has moved on from you, and if you know what’s good for you, you should move on too.”

“Or what?” Jordan asks. He seems to like his chances against Ares better than Callan, which is stupid.

Ares doesn’t make any moves toward him though. His expression is cool as he looks Jordan up and down. “Or you’re going to find that life can be hard for you around here. Or did you forget that I’m a Thornton. My family is on every board this town has, and beyond that, I have plenty of personal connections. It wouldn’t take more than a few words to the right people to have you on everyone’s shit list. Is that what you want?”

Jordan’s eyes go wide, clearly caught off guard by how willing Ares is to protect me. “It’s not that serious, man,” he mumbles.

Tate raises an eyebrow. “If it’s not that serious, then why are you still running your mouth? You have a lot of opinions for someone who had the chance to take care of Brynn and failed. You didn’t deserve to take care of her. If you did, you’d know that it’s a fucking privilege.”

Jordan is left looking between the three of them. Callan hasn’t said anything, but he’s still radiating danger, like hitting Jordan in the face isn’t off the table.

He seems to think better of saying anything else. He just shoves his hands in his pockets and keeps walking up the street.