Chapter Thirty-Two
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“Y ou’re sure they’re up?” Autumn whispered, standing behind Gavin in the plush-carpeted hallway. “I don’t want to wake them up if they’re still sleeping.”
“I’m sure. Tristan thumbs-up’d my text a few minutes ago.
” He was dying of curiosity about what was happening between his twin and Cassie.
Tristan was notoriously, annoyingly tight-lipped about personal shit like that, but it had been a long time since he’d been involved with anyone.
And Gavin had a feeling that involved was way too mild a term for what was going on.
Even so, he knocked softly on the front door of the condo he used to share with his twin, waited a few moments, then slid his key into the lock before entering with Autumn and Carly.
Tristan appeared around the corner from the kitchen, put a finger to his lips to caution them to be quiet. “Cassie’s still sleeping,” he murmured and hugged Autumn, who shot Gavin a pointed look, then Carly.
Carly wrapped her arms around Tristan and pressed her face to his chest. “Hi, Trissy.”
“Hey, cutie.”
But she didn’t let go.
She held on long enough and tight enough that Tristan looked up and met his gaze over the top of Carly’s strawberry-blond head. “You okay?” he asked her.
She nodded against his chest, pulled in an unsteady breath that told Gavin his brave girl was on the verge of tears.
“She’s been really worried about you,” Autumn murmured, stroking a hand over Carly’s hair.
Yeah. Gavin wondered if they’d made a mistake in telling her about the fire. Her fear for her favorite uncle had triggered her PTSD from her own traumatic ordeal this past spring in the Portland riots.
Tristan cupped the back of her head with one hand and pressed his lips to the crown of her head.
“I’m okay, cutie,” he said quietly, the genuine love and protectiveness he displayed for her making Gavin’s chest tighten.
Their bond was incredible to witness. Carly loved all her aunts and uncles, but her relationship with Uncle Trissy was on another level.
“Promise?”
Gavin felt a sharp twist under his ribs. Aww, sweetheart.
“Promise.” Tristan continued to hold her until she had control, then pressed another kiss to the top of her head and let her go. “I’m making crepes,” he told her with his patented funcle smile. “Wanna help?”
She smiled back. “Yeah.”
Gavin followed them all into the kitchen, sat at the island with Autumn and slung an arm across her shoulders while they watched their daughter and Tristan do their thing.
Moments like this, he wanted to pinch himself to make sure it was all real.
Their family had come a long, long way in a short time.
“Okay, you crack the eggs in here one at a time, and I’ll mix them up.”
Carly dutifully followed his instructions. Tristan whisked the crepe batter in a bowl until smooth, then started cooking them on the stove, pouring a thin layer on the preheated pan and swirling it to cover the entire surface.
“I put the bag of things for Cassie next to your door. What can I do to help?” Autumn asked.
“You can make the whipped cream.”
“I’ll do it,” Carly announced, making a beeline for the fridge. “It’s my favorite part.”
“All right, then do you have any fruit to slice up?” Autumn asked.
“Berries are draining in the colander in the sink,” Tristan said.
“I’ll get the syrup and Nutella,” Gavin offered.
“Wow, you’re amazing, thanks,” Tristan said dryly, shooting Carly a wink.
“The others should be here in about five minutes,” Autumn said, busy slicing strawberries into a bowl.
Tristan paused as he slid the finished crepe onto a plate. “Others?”
“The whole crew,” Gavin said. And at a tap from the front door, he went to answer it. Marley, Warwick, Decker and Teagan were all there, along with Bristol and TJ. “Cassie’s sleeping,” he told them, stepping aside to hold the door.
“Got it.” Marley swept past him for the kitchen, grocery bags in hand. “I brought bacon, eggs, jam, butter and bread,” she announced in a loud whisper.
“Perfect.” Tristan smiled at them from the stove and accepted hugs from the women. “Thanks for coming.”
“Of course.” Bristol stepped aside to give him room to finish cooking the last crepe. “Has she been asleep long?” It was obvious to Gavin that she was bursting with curiosity about him and Cassie too.
“About six hours or so now,” Tristan said, sliding the crepe on top of the stacked plate.
“Good. She needs it.” She glanced around. “Wow, this is a gorgeous place.”
“I picked it out,” Gavin said, helping himself to some sliced berries.
“He didn’t.” Tristan slid the bowl out of his reach.
“You need a hand with anything?” Bristol asked.
“I just finished with the crepes, but Marley brought us bacon and eggs too.”
“I’ll help cook them.”
“I’ll make coffee,” Gavin said.
With impromptu brunch preparations well underway, they stayed in the kitchen and talked amongst themselves. “Anyone go past Cassie’s place on the way over?” Tristan asked.
“We did,” TJ answered, accepting a mug of coffee from Gavin. “Forensics team was there. First floor looks completely gutted, but from what I could see, the upstairs didn’t look too bad.”
“Hopefully she’ll be able to save most of her things up there.” Bristol pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose and slid a second tray of bacon into the large wall oven.
Tristan stopped talking when a door opened down the hall, looking toward the kitchen entry. Cassie appeared there in one of his button-downs and a pair of sweats. She’d folded them over several times at the waistband, but they still swallowed her.
“Hey.” Her hair was still mussed.
Tristan immediately went to her, drew her into a hug and kissed her temple. Autumn nudged Gavin with an elbow, and he hid a smile, well aware that she was jumping up and down inside.
He shot a smug look at Marley. See?
“Did we wake you?” Tristan asked Cassie.
“No.” She eased back and smiled politely at everyone. Gavin hated all of this for her. Her life had been turned upside down, she was still under threat, and now she’d lost her home and most of its contents. “Hi.”
Bristol crossed the room to give her a big hug. “Hi, babe. I’m glad you’re okay.”
“Me too.” She looked to Tristan. “Nothing else from CPS or the Sheriff’s Office yet?”
“No. But we’ve made a big brunch. Hope you’re hungry.”
“Smells fantastic.”
“Here, Cassie. I set you a plate right here next to Uncle Trissy.” Carly gestured to the spot at the island, and Cassie walked over to her.
Once the food was ready and set out on the center island, Gavin hung back, watching Tristan and Cassie. It was extremely telling.
They might be identical physically, but he and his twin were different in a lot of other ways.
Tristan was quieter. Contained. People sometimes overlooked or underestimated him when the two of them were together because Gavin was louder and liked the attention, whereas Tris preferred to stay in the background.
Their childhood and parents’ deaths had affected them, Marley and Decker differently.
All four of them had dealt with it and coped in their own ways.
Marley and Decker the parental figures. Gavin had goofed around pretending nothing fazed him.
But the double tragedies had still left deep scars.
If it hadn’t been for Autumn and her family giving him the stability of a safety net, he didn’t know what would have become of him. As for Tris...
He had turned inward. Hard.
Deep down, all of them feared abandonment. But Tristan especially. Food insecurity had left him starving for both nourishment and stability.
Tris felt things deeply. He was quietly emotional, kept things to himself and covered his pain with quiet determination and control. But an intense inner fire burned inside his twin that few people ever got to see.
And Gavin had just seen it now with Cassie.
His twin sat next to her as they ate, with Tristan watching her closely the whole time. And when she’d finished what was on her plate, she took some from his. Not only did Tristan not react, he gave her more. Willing to go hungry again to make sure she was taken care of.
“Hey, I thought I was the only one Uncle Trissy shared his food with,” Carly said with a laugh.
Tristan just smiled, and Cassie gave him a curious look, but it was telling that even Carly had picked up on the significance.
That outwardly innocent gesture told Gavin just how invested Tristan was. And it also told him there was no way to make him back off now, whether Cassie was as invested in the relationship as he was or not.
The kitchen was crowded. He angled between TJ and Warwick to make himself a plate. As soon as he finished, Autumn steered him out into the living room. “What? Why were you looking at him like that?”
“Him and Cassie. He’s all in.”
“I wondered. You think?”
“I know it.” It was a revelation. He’d never seen his twin like this, that inner intensity on display for everyone who cared to notice it.
Autumn shot a worried look over her shoulder. “Do you think she’s...emotionally available? I don’t want to see him get hurt.”
Autumn had loved Tristan like a brother since they were kids. Almost as long as she’d loved him. “No idea. But let’s hope so, for his sake.”
“You gonna talk to him about it?”
“Hell no.” There was zero point. “He’s made his decision, and he’s not changing his mind.”
Back in the kitchen, he stood with Marley and Decker as Carly chatted away with Tristan and Cassie. While they talked, Tristan took another piece of bacon from his plate and put it on Cassie’s as soon as she’d finished hers. Again, voluntarily.
Next to Tristan, Marley looked up at Gavin, eyebrows raised in a “you’re seeing this too, right” look.
At the counter, Decker said nothing, but he was definitely taking it all in, watching silently with his arms folded across his chest. And though his expression gave nothing away, Gavin nevertheless got the distinct impression that their big brother approved of them as a couple.
When everyone was finished, they all pitched in to clean up, then moved to the living room. Cassie lingered behind in the kitchen, probably to have a few minutes of quiet. She stood with her back to him, pouring herself another cup of coffee.
Gavin saw his chance. “I know we’re a lot. All of us at once like that.”
She glanced back at him, smiled, but he could see the unspoken fatigue in her eyes, the shadows beneath them. And no wonder. She was under a shitload of stress, had just lost her home after almost losing her life twice in one week. “It’s okay. I needed the company.”
“That’s good, since it looks like you’ll be seeing a lot more of us from now on.”
Her cheeks flushed slightly, and she turned away. “You want more coffee?”
“Nah, I’m okay.”
She turned to face him, mug in hand. “Can I ask you something?”
“Yeah, of course. What’s up?”
“What did Carly mean when she said that about Tristan sharing food? She made it seem like a big deal.”
Gavin hesitated, wondering how much he should say. He wouldn’t interfere in Tristan’s personal life. But Cassie deserved to know where Tristan was at. So that if she wasn’t as invested as he was, she could do something about it sooner rather than later.
“For Tris, it is a big deal.”
She frowned slightly, clearly not following. “Why?”
“Because if anyone else had tried that—barring Carly, of course, because she can do no wrong as far as he’s concerned—they would get a fork stabbed through their hand.”
She laughed, then sobered when she realized he was being mostly serious. “He’s shared with me plenty of times before.”
“Yeah. Exactly. You and Carly, that’s it.” He watched understanding dawn in her eyes.
He’d said what he needed to tell her. He didn’t feel right saying more, so while the protective brother part of him wanted to tell her to back off if she wasn’t ready to give all of herself, he kept his mouth shut and left the kitchen to join the rest of the family in the living room.
Tristan had made his choice. If Cassie broke his heart, then Gavin and the rest of the family would be there to try and help him pick up the pieces. Even if they would never fit back together the same way again.
Gavin really hoped it wouldn’t come to that.