Chapter 34
—Kasey—
My chin tucked back in shock. “Excuse me?”
He’d barely said two words to me and now he announces that we’re going on a date. Tomorrow. The audacity!
His dark eyes pinned me to the spot and an authoritarian edge entered his tone. “Yeah, I am.”
My spine straightened of its own accord. “And what if I don’t want to?”
Reed shrugged and smirked. “I think you do.”
“Well, I don’t.” I huffed and took a quick mouthful of wine. Chardonnay. My favorite. I narrowed my eyes first at the offending wine in my hand, then at the offending man towering above me.
“Yeah, it’s your fave,” he drawled, wearing a stupid-ass yet disastrously sexy grin.
I scoffed. “Your arrogance astounds me.”
Much to my annoyance, he chuckled. The unwavering confidence in his stare intensified. “It did the first time too.”
Bracing one hand on the arm of the couch beside me and with his gaze still holding mine for ransom, Reed leaned into my space and began to speak, only to be cut off by a new arrival at the door.
“Heyo!” was called.
Reed snapped upright and turned to greet another guy—an older version of Banks.
Simone nudged my side. “That’s Dusty. The oldest brother.”
“Thanks,” I whispered. “So there’s Rusty and Dusty?”
“Yeah. Rusty is Russell, and Dusty is Russell Junior.”
I blinked rapidly while processing that. “Have I met Dusty before too?”
“Yeah, you have.”
Fuck. I stood when Simone did, and once he’d hugged her and explained that it was just him today—no Isabelle—he turned to me.
“Hi, darlin’. It’s good to see you again. I hope you’re back to giving my little brother shit again.”
I hedged a little, and my eyes briefly flicked to Reed, who stood off to the side, smirking.
My shoulders straightened with resolve and determination to wipe the stupid-ass look off his face.
I gave Dusty my best grin. “Of course. And he takes it like a little bitch.”
Banks, choosing that moment to take a sip of beer, laughed with his mouth full and sprayed amber liquid over his mom’s plush carpet. Instead of rushing for a cloth, he threw his head back and roared with laughter, loud enough to drown out Dusty’s similar hearty laugh.
The indignation on Reed’s face was comical. I couldn’t deal with it, and while I wanted to smirk smugly right back at him, I burst out laughing too.
Dusty wiped his eyes with the back of his forefinger. “Ah fuck, I needed a good laugh. Even better at Reed’s expense.”
“Anytime. You can find me here all day.” I flicked my hair and dashed another glance at Reed.
A cloth was thrown at Banks, and his mom told him to dab the carpet before it stained, and I left him to clean up as Dusty moved off to find himself a drink.
Unlike my usual self, I hung on the fringes and assessed the family dynamics. From where I stood, I could see Laurel breezing around the kitchen with poise and grace, and Rusty tinkering with the barbecue on the deck directly off the kitchen. Simone chatted to Dusty and Banks nearby, and when I couldn’t see Reed, a wave of respite washed through me. Maybe he’d gone to help his dad with barbecuing.
I softly touched Simone’s arm to get her attention. “Babe, where’s the bathroom?”
“Upstairs. I’ll show you.” She handed off her drink to Banks and excused herself.
We took the stairs in unison and were halfway to the top when she asked how I was doing.
“A little overwhelmed, to be honest.”
Taking a bathroom break wasn’t about needing the toilet—it was about needing a moment to regroup internally. I felt old parts of me coming back, and new parts slipping away. Both were liberating and terrifying, especially whilst surrounded by a family that obviously knew me well.
Simone commiserated with me. “When they’re all together, they’re a lot. If it gets too much all you need to do is let me know, okay?”
I squeezed her forearm. “I won’t, but thanks.”
She playfully swatted my arm. “Want me to wait out here for you?”
“Creepy, so no.”
She snickered. “I’ll be downstairs. Oh, and in case you’re curious, Reed’s old room is to my right.”
“Thanks, babe.”
I eased the bathroom door closed and locked it. My heels clicked as I carefully picked my way across the marble floor tiles—slippery, but stunning. I fussed with my appearance in the large mirror, scrutinizing my hair and makeup. I looked rough. Skinnier. Paler than usual. And the longer I stared, the more I didn’t recognize myself.
Shaking off the haunted feeling that crept over my shoulders, I ran my hands under cold water before plucking up my wine glass and carefully click-clacking to the door. In the hallway, I paused and looked left and right. Choosing to snoop, I strolled along the hallway until I found a room with an “R” sticker on the open door.
The sense of doing something I shouldn’t didn’t stop me from slowly entering the room and looking around. The room didn’t hold any of Reed’s childhood belongings but was obviously set up as Posie’s nursery. I pushed my way in farther and stopped in front of chest of drawers. Above it on the wall was a montage of photos that depicted a baby growing into a dashing young man who graduated from the police academy, and I couldn’t help but giggle at the angelic little boy’s face grinning at the camera.
“I knew you’d snoop.”
I jumped with fright and let out a scream I wasn’t proud of. Pressing a hand to my chest, I whirled toward the doorway. “Fuck, you scared me!”
Reed snickered and casually strolled into the room, one hand tucked in his pants pocket and the other holding his beer.
“You always liked looking at my kid photos. I know exactly which one is your favorite and which one you find cringe.”
I turned back to the photo board and studied it for a quick second, then pointed at the photo of him with his bangs cut far too high. “This one is cringe.”
His rumbling chuckle came from my left as he stepped close. “So you tell me every time. Leif convinced me to let him cut my bangs the day before school photos. It’s fucking horrendous.” I heard him take a swig and swallow. “Can’t believe Mom wanted to put it in the damn frame.”
“Probably because it’s funny,” I teased, squinting at his newborn baby photo. As I touched it with my forefinger, Reed took the words directly from my tongue.
“Looks like Posie, huh?”
“Yeah,” I said on an outward breath. From the dark hair and dark eyes to the little button nose, Posie had an uncanny resemblance to Reed.
Reed shifted a little beside me, and our arms brushed. “She’s doing well, you know.”
I swallowed down a wad of guilt. I hadn’t even asked how either of them were.
His eyes shifted to mine when I turned. “And you? How are you?”
He shrugged. “Good days and bad.”
When I didn’t know how to respond and the pause had drawn out a little, Reed tenderly brushed a wayward piece of hair back from my forehead. “Today’s one of the better ones,” he whispered.
My mouth refused to re-moisten after I swallowed thickly. “It is?”
“Yeah,” Reed murmured, angling closer.
The warmth from his body radiated onto mine, lulling me closer without conscious thought.
My treacherous eyelids fluttered closed with the barest sweep of his fingertips across my cheek, and as his face lowered toward mine, my head and my heart waged a silent and confusing war.
To kiss him, or to keep my heart shuttered?