Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
FALLON
Sisters Are a Pain in the Ass
As soon as I hang up with Elizabeth, my phone goes off.
Planning to ignore it and enjoy my coffee, I give in and answer when I see it’s Aurora.
I’m surprised she waited until seven—five her time in Utah—to call.
My siblings are nosy as hell. Jordan woke me up at the asscrack of dawn. Then Tati and Harper called.
“Hey, little A.”
Her face is a ghostly white under the harsh light of her phone.
Aurora points at me through the screen with concern. “Holy shit! What is that thing on your face?”
Fuck, is there a bug on me? I swipe at my cheeks and forehead. I hate spiders. Please don’t let it be a spider. I glare at her when she laughs.
“There’s nothing on my face, is there?”
Aurora’s heart-shaped face is a mask of innocence. I’m not fooled for a second. She’s a handful of trouble. Just ask JD.
“This thing right here,” she says seriously and takes a finger to draw her mouth at the corners into a smile. “I’ve never seen it on your face before.”
“I smile.”
“You smirk. There’s a huge difference. Happy looks good on you, brother,” she says.
Aurora was the first half-sibling Trevor and I found, and as much as I love my other brothers and sisters, she holds a uniquely special place in my heart.
She and I also had very similar upbringings and survived horrible abuse at the hands of our parents.
We’re so alike in so many ways, it’s probably why she and I are as close as we are.
Aurora started working for me at my nonprofit once she graduated from Duke.
She’s now the director of the organization—and about to become the head of it all once I tell her that I’m retiring soon.
My days of traveling around the world are done.
No more running away. Taking my own advice, it’s time I man the fuck up and fight for the woman I can’t live without.
Opening the French doors that lead out to the balcony from my bedroom, I lean against the railing and gaze out at the horizon, the sun already a big yellow ball hovering right over it.
“What does Elizabeth like to do for fun?”
“Depends on the context,” Aurora replies. “But full disclosure. Her life hasn’t been about anything fun since Ryder died. When it comes to Charlotte, Chris, and Marcus, she’s all hands on deck. She treats herself as an afterthought, if that.”
My sisters—Aurora, Tati, and Harper—adore Elizabeth.
Elizabeth met Tati first during our “Finding Elizabeth” world adventure when we stayed at my sister’s house in Barcelona.
They kept in touch afterward and have been tight ever since.
How Elizabeth came to know Aurora and Harper are interesting stories.
Kitten used to talk about fate all the time, and I’m pretty sure that fate had a hand in the three of them meeting.
“Hold on. My coffee is ready,” Aurora says.
I get a view of the early dawn sky, still cloaked in darkness, when she puts down her phone.
“Everyone still asleep?”
“Like the dead,” she says off-screen. “We hiked the Devils Garden loop yesterday. My calves are sore as hell.”
My view changes when she sits down in a folding chair. “What were you thinking about doing?”
“I’m picking her up for lunch.”
Aurora salutes me with her tin coffee cup. “That’s a start. Then put a ring on her finger and lock her down before she comes to her senses.”
“You’re hilarious.” Although, I’ve already had a similar thought.
“What are you wearing for the lunch date?”
“Lunch is hardly a date.”
Aurora rolls her aqua eyes. “It’s most definitely a date. Go to your closet and show me options.”
“I don’t need you to dress me,” I tell her, even though I’m already walking back into my bedroom.
“Prop your phone so I can see.”
“You’re fucking bossy at five in the morning.”
Aurora waggles her eyebrows. “Just ask JD. In fact, I just left him very satisfied?—”
I press mute. I don’t need to hear about my sister’s sex life.
When she realizes I can’t hear her, she gesticulates wildly, mostly with her middle finger.
Going into the walk-in closet, I set the phone on top of one of the dressers and unmute her.
“What about this?” I ask, pulling a fitted blue, short-sleeved button-up from its hanger.
“You’re an ass.”
“So, that’s a no.” I rehang it.
“Nothing that screams ‘ I work twenty-four seven .’ Dress like a normal person. Do you have a T-shirt in the same color?”
“Yeah.” I slide out a modular drawer and select a neatly folded blue shirt from the organizer, draping it over the valet rod. “Dress slacks or trousers?”
Aurora bursts out laughing. “It’s summer and hotter than Hades there. Wear shorts, stupid.”
“I want to look nice.”
Aurora’s expression softens with understanding. “Elizabeth doesn’t need fancy. She just needs you. Maybe wear jeans since you’re picking her up on the Ducati.”
Blatant hint received loud and clear.
“What about your bike?”
Her face scrunches in horror. “Do not touch my bike.”
Aurora is very protective of her motorcycle. It used to belong to her best friend, Cameron. He was killed by a drunk driver when they were in high school.
“I like my legs and hands where they are. I know better.”
Finding a pair of khaki flat-front shorts, I put it with the shirt.
“Hey, Fal. There’s another reason why I called.”
I don’t like the fatalist tone to her voice. The first thing that pops into my mind is that there’s something wrong with her or the kids.
I pick up my phone. “What is it?” I ask, already going into older brother mode.
I will do anything to protect the people I care about.
I have done a shit-ton of bad, immoral things in the name of keeping my family safe.
And I regret none of them. My conscience is clear.
I would obliterate the world and everyone in it, and laugh while doing it, in order to protect the ones I love.
So, if there is something that needs to be fixed, handled, swept under the rug, or dealt with, I need to know.
Aurora worries her bottom lip. “You know my friend Shelby, right?”
I nod.
“Well, she and Renee were at O’Reilly’s bar last night. You know, the one in Highland off Main.”
I want to shake her to hurry the hell up. She tends to drag things out, and it drives me nuts.
“I know it. Why?” I snap.
She narrows her blue eyes. “Don’t rush me, or I won’t tell you.”
Getting frustrated because she already has me worried, I gripe, “Then hurry the fuck up.”
My sister purses her lips. “Fine. A guy walked into O’Reilly’s when Shelby and Renee were there. They thought it was your friend, Julien, so they started talking to him. It wasn’t Julien. I’ve heard the stories about Jayson and what happened, so I thought you’d like to know.”
My damn stomach drops. That motherfucker has been gone for decades and never, not once, has he come back to Fallen Brook or tried to contact Elizabeth outside of the one time a year they would meet up at their daughter’s gravesite in Seattle.
I know this because I kept tabs on him, but I stopped after Ry passed away.
Maybe Jay is here to see Julien. But Jules would have given Elizabeth a heads-up.
Aurora’s image shrinks into a little square box on the bottom right of my screen when I open my texts.
“Why are you staring at me?” Aurora asks.
“I’m not. I’m texting Elijah.”
Me: Have you heard from Jules’s evil twin recently?
The three dots start dancing, so I know he’s replying.
Elijah: No. Julien hasn’t spoken to him in over a year. Not since their big fight. Why?
Me: Just curious.
Elijah: Welcome home. Heard about Italy. I’m here if you need to talk.
Me: Thanks. I’ll be in touch soon.
“I’m kind of regretting telling you based on the murderous look on your face,” Aurora cautiously says.
“I’ve got to go. See you when you get back. Love you.”
“Don’t do anything stu?—”
I toss my phone onto the bed.
Fuck.