CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Fallon
IFELT TEARS FILL MY EYES, EVEN AS THEY WERE CLOSED. BECAUSE this kiss … This was what I’d been waiting for. All those bad dates, the kisses that had felt like making out with a dead fish, the times I’d tried so hard to feel something, anything, and had come up empty. This was what I’d wanted.
My body pressed harder against Kye’s as if it had a mind of its own. As his tongue slid in, everything in me came alive as if my nerve endings were little sparklers humming beneath my skin.
And then a voice cut in and ruined it. “What the fuck?”
I knew Cope’s angry tone better than any of my other siblings. Maybe because I’d lived with him the longest. I’d memorized all the various inflections of his voice, and this one wasn’t good.
“Uncle Cope, that’s a bad one,” Keely said.
Ellie winced. “On that note, why don’t you, me, and Luca go downstairs? I heard there’s a movie theater. You can tell me what movies we need to stock.”
Luca sent his soon-to-be stepdad a curious look. “I don’t wanna miss the good stuff.”
“Luca,” Sutton warned.
“Aw, man.” He sighed and started after Keely and Ellie.
Cope didn’t even turn to follow the boy with his eyes; he was too busy glaring at Kye. The second the door closed, he exploded. “What the hell are you thinking? That’s our sister!”
“She’s your sister,” Kye corrected. “I’ve never once thought of her as that.”
“You grew up with her,” Cope snarled.
Sutton moved in closer and grabbed his arm. “Take a breath, Hotshot. You don’t want to say something you’ll regret.”
“Are you kidding me? This is a dozen shades of wrong,” he growled.
Arden looked back and forth between Kye and me. “Honestly, I’m not surprised.”
“Makes a hell of a lot of sense,” Shep echoed.
A little relief bled into me. “We’ve been seeing each other for a while but didn’t want anyone to know until we were sure it had legs.
Wanting custody of the girls pushed up our timetable, but it doesn’t change that we’re sure.
” My hand pressed harder against Kye’s chest. “And we want to give Kye’s sisters something stable.
A home. We want to give them everything they haven’t had. ”
Kye’s lips brushed my forehead, and his voice dropped to a whisper. “Thank you.”
My gaze searched the room. Trace was quiet and watchful, but not in a disapproving way, just an unsure one. But of all our siblings, he’d always seen the most. He’d be the hardest to fool. And I could already see him trying to peel back the layers to get to the truth beneath.
The other would be Anson. The fact that his entire job had been about profiling people would make fooling him especially difficult. I couldn’t read his face; it was too carefully masked. When I turned to my sister and best friend, hers was just as unreadable.
I couldn’t deny that the lack of response stung. And more than that, it was confusing. But before I could say a word, my mom rushed toward Kye and me.
She swept us up in a hug. “I knew you two always had a special bond. Something different. And you’re going to give those girls such a beautiful home in all ways.”
Acid surged up my throat, but I did my best to swallow it down. “Thanks, Mom.”
“Hot damn,” Lolli said with a grin as Mom released us. “I thought you two were making a run for the priesthood and the nunnery, but you were just getting down and dirty on the side.”
Cope made a gagging noise. “Jesus. This is too fuckin’ weird for me.”
Sutton whirled on him. “Copeland Colson, I will do more than ground you if you don’t pull your head out of your ass right this second.
You, more than anyone, should know that we aren’t guaranteed a certain number of moments on this Earth.
And we need to make the most of them. If we find someone we love, someone who makes us feel seen, we can’t waste it.
Who cares how they came into our lives? What matters is that they’re there and make us better. ”
The room was quiet for a moment, and then Trace started clapping. Shep let out a whistle. “You tell him, cupcake queen.”
Sutton smiled at Shep. “I try.”
“And you’re damn right,” Arden agreed, scowling at Cope.
Linc pinned his friend and star forward with a hard stare. “You would’ve freaked no matter who Fal ended up with. She’s your little sister. But at least you know the kind of man Kye is.”
I glanced up at Kye, trying to see beneath the mask he’d painted on. Lines of tension bracketed his mouth, and his amber eyes had darkened a few shades. There was hurt in there, too. Because time after time, Kye had been made to feel like he wasn’t enough.
Without considering the wisdom of it, I slid my hand into his and wove our fingers together.
I squeezed hard as I turned on my brother.
“I love you, Cope, but if you do anything to make Kye feel like he isn’t everything I deserve and more, I will do way worse than glitter bomb you.
I will steal Arden’s switchblade and remove any chance for you to have children in the future. ”
Cope’s jaw went slack, and Arden stifled a laugh. Kye tugged our joined hands, so I was flush against him. “You don’t have to get all vengeful for me, Sparrow.”
“Trust me,” I ground out. “I want to.”
Sutton patted Cope’s chest. “Listen to her. Not only because she’s right but because I’d really love to have adorable babies with you one day.”
Cope’s gaze flicked to her, going soft. “You would?”
“Yeah, I would. But not if you’re going to be an idiot,” she murmured.
Cope’s focus moved back to Kye and me. He studied us for a long moment before sighing. “I’m an ass.”
“Accurate,” I muttered.
Cope’s lips twitched. “But I’m an ass who loves you. Both of you. And I just … I knew you two were close, but … I didn’t want to see it, I guess. I don’t like my baby sister growing up, and I don’t want either of you taking the shit some people will give you for this.”
I looked up at Kye and watched a million things pass through his eyes. A muscle fluttered in his bearded jaw, giving away some of those emotions.
“You think I’m not used to people looking at me like I’m not worth the dirt on the bottom of their shoes?
I know what the people in this town think of me, of where I came from.
The mistakes I’ve made. I know. And I’ll take it times a million if it gives me Fal and a home for my sisters.
But I will never let them say a damn word to your sister. Not once. And that’s a goddamned oath.”
Tears were welling again, this time for a whole different reason.
Because the world was so damn unfair. I gripped Kye’s shirt harder.
“If they think that, they’re just blind to the truth.
Because no one has crafted hardship into something more beautiful than you.
No one has taken those agonizing lessons and done more good.
This town and world are just goddamned lucky you’re in them. ”
Those emotions swirling in Kye’s eyes shifted then, creating different colors and tones. Pressure mounted in that place in the center of my chest that belonged to Kye. He lifted tattooed fingers and slid them along my jaw. “Sparrow.”
Beautiful pain flared again. “They should be thanking their lucky stars they live in the same town as you. That you even grace their streets. If they’re idiots, they might just get a glitter bomb in the mail for their trouble.”
“Vengeful,” Kye whispered, so close I swore I could taste the hint of mint on his breath.
“When it comes to the people who matter.”
Kye moved closer, and I thought he might close the distance entirely for more than just show this time. But a loud ringing startled us both and had us moving apart. Kye muttered a curse, and my cheeks flamed as I took in all the eyes on us.
Trace pulled out his phone and pressed it to his ear as he walked toward the entryway. “Colson.”
Mom’s eyes were misty. “You deserve this. Both of you. I couldn’t imagine anyone better for either of you.”
Rhodes wiped her thumbs under her eyes. “She’s right. You both give so much to everyone around you, and you’ll give that to each other, too.” Her breath stuttered. “I’m just going to find the bathroom.”
I frowned at her back as she retreated, trying to figure out what was going on. Anson met my eyes. “I’ve got her.”
Cope moved in, hugging me. “You have permission to glitter bomb me.”
I hugged him back. “It’s no fun if you give me permission.”
“Oh, I’ll help you make it fun,” Lolli offered. “I’ve got endless ideas.”
“Fuck,” Cope muttered.
That had Kye’s lips twitching. Relief flooded my system at the sight. He grinned at Cope in that mischievous way I loved. “Whatever it is, it won’t top a diamond fairy orgy.”
“And for the stunt he pulled today, I’ll be hanging it in our bedroom,” Sutton called.
“Ooooh, that’s a great plan,” Lolli said, clapping her hands and making her beaded bracelets decorated with mushrooms and pot leaves jangle. “It’ll help with fertility and sexual energy for sure.”
“Someone save me,” Cope muttered.
“I feel like my dick stick diamond painting has really helped my performance, don’t you, Vicious?” Linc asked, trying to stir the pot even more.
“Cowboy,” Arden warned.
Lolli adjusted her sequined shirt that read, Save a Horse Ride a Cowboy. “It’s just a hockey stick and a pile of artfully arranged pucks. If you see more, that’s on you. A buncha dirty birds, I tell you.”
Linc gave her a wink. “You’ve got me pegged, Lolli.”
Footsteps sounded as Trace headed back into the living room, but it only took one look for me to tell something was wrong. He didn’t look stricken or even startled, but I’d grown to know the sheriff mask over the years, and he wore it now.
“What’s wrong?” I asked instantly.
Trace didn’t look at me. He looked straight at Kye. “You see Oren Matthews lately?”
Kye frowned. “He came into Blackheart a couple of days ago. Gave me and Jericho some shit about fighting for the MC again. I was going to tell you he hassled Jericho some after. Why?”
A muscle pulsed along Trace’s stubbled jaw. “Because he’s dead.”