CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
Kye
“HAY HAY, DO YOU THINK YOU COULD MAKE US PRINCESS DRESSES like this one for Halloween next year?” Clem asked as she pointed to the screen saver with a woman in a true cupcake dress.
Hayden launched a piece of popcorn at her. “Look at how poofy that thing is. It would take me five million hours to sew.”
“I could help,” I offered.
Hayden eyed me warily. “You want to help me …sew?”
“Why not?” I asked, a little affronted.
“Your hands are massive,” Hayden pointed out. “I highly doubt you could thread a needle, let alone stitch all those delicate layers of tulle.”
I could practically hear Ellie making a “that’s what she said” joke in my head. She and Lolli were two peas in a pod when it came to the inappropriate remarks.
“We could get a sewing machine,” I suggested. “That would probably help.”
“I know the perfect starter machine,” Nora suggested.
Hayden pressed her lips together, and I could tell she was trying not to laugh.
“What’s so funny about me sewing? Think about all the intricate tattoos I ink on people.”
That grin flew free then. “I’m just picturing you on some tiny stool covered in tulle and sewing away maniacally.”
“What does man-man-eye-ack-ly mean?” Gracie asked, confused.
“Maniacally means in a loud, extreme, or wild way,” Clem said instantly.
I turned to the eleven-year-old. “How’d you know that?”
She shrugged. “When I don’t know what a word is while I’m reading, I look it up.”
“Have I told you lately what an amazing genius you are?” I asked.
Clem’s cheeks turned pink, but she nodded. “You told me.”
“It’s amazing,” I praised. “Your brain is incredible.”
Clem’s gaze shifted to the side.
“What?” I pressed gently.
“Mom always said I was a freak,” Clem whispered.
Anger flared somewhere deep as I remembered all the lies Renee had filled my head with over the years.
That I deserved the abuse she and Rex heaped on me.
That I would ruin anything I touched. It killed me that my sisters had experienced the same.
It was the last thing they deserved. I opened my mouth to tell her that, but Gracie got there first.
“Mom’s a big ole liar, liar, pants on fire,” Gracie growled.
Hayden’s mouth curved. “Little G’s right. And she’s not our mom. Not anymore. She never did anything a mom should do. So, I think we should stop calling her that.”
My heart ached, but at the same time, I was so damn proud of them. All of them. Because they were rising up after everything they’d been through. I didn’t miss Nora’s eyes misting over.
Gracie twisted in her chair, her fleece blanket covered in rainbows moving with her. “Kye Kye?” she asked softly.
“Yeah, Little G?”
She pulled her tiny lip between her teeth like Fallon occasionally did, her nerves clear.
But I didn’t rush her. I let her take all the time she needed to get her words out.
“I know you’re our brother, but do you think …
could we … would it be okay if we called you Dad and Fallon Mom? Or Daddy Kye Kye and Mama Fal?”
That invisible fist seized my heart in a brutal squeeze. Her wanting that was the last thing I’d ever expected. “Gracie, I’d be honored if you wanted to call me anything like that,” I croaked.
“Really?”
“Really. But I am partial to Kye Kye thrown in there. And I bet Fal would feel the same about you calling her Mama Fal.” I looked at my other two sisters. “That doesn’t mean you have to. You can call me anything you want. Well, maybe not butthead.”
Clem giggled. “I’d like to call you Dad. We never really had one of those.”
My throat burned, fire racing through me. “I’d love to be that for you.”
Hayden twisted her fingers in a blanket. “I think … I think I’d like that. We never had either. Not really.”
“Hay, we had you,” Clementine argued. “But now you don’t have to be that. You can rest and play and do teenager stuff.”
Fuck. Clem was so wise beyond her years. Hayden had given up her childhood to take care of her sisters. But she didn’t have to anymore. She could be their sister instead of their mother.
I reached over and squeezed her hand. “It’s time for you to live. Do whatever it is you want for you.”
Hayden’s eyes glistened as they lifted to mine. “I love you.”
I pulled her into my arms and hugged her tightly. “I love you, too.”
“This is even better than the movie,” Clem whispered.
“We still get to watch it, though, right?” Gracie asked, worried.
I chuckled as I released Hayden. “Yes, we do. Let me go see what’s taking Fal so long. Maybe she decided to make brownies.” I wouldn’t put it past her.
“Ooooooh, brownies,” Clem said happily.
“I’m with you,” Nora agreed. “I’ll make some if Fal isn’t.”
I laughed as I climbed the stairs two at a time. Crossing toward the kitchen, I saw the drinks on the counter, but no Fallon.
“Sparrow?” I called as I walked toward the garage. The door to it was open, and the lights were on.
I stilled as I saw yet another door open. The side one to the outside. Blood roared in my ears as my gaze jumped around the space, but I didn’t see Fallon anywhere.
I was already moving, my bare feet hitting the garage’s cement floor and not even registering the cold. My gaze locked on the alarm panel as a chill skated down my spine. The digital screen read: Unarmed.
My heart hammered against my ribs. That wasn’t right. It had been set twenty-four-seven since Fallon’s attack. We’d taken no chances.
I strode outside, the outdoor motion lights flicking on, but no one was there. Not a single soul.
Jerking my phone from my pocket, I hit Trace’s number. My entire body felt like a boa constrictor was wrapped around it, squeezing the air out of me. The life. But I still managed to run for the front of the house as the phone rang.
I knew a deputy in a squad car should be watching the place. The gravel pierced the bottoms of my feet, but I didn’t give a damn. I kept right on running.
“Everything okay?” Trace asked by way of answer.
I couldn’t get the words out. Not as the squad car came into view. Not as the man I’d known for years, Deputy Fletcher, lay on the ground, bleeding out.
Dropping to my knees, I felt for a pulse. “Send everyone,” I croaked. “Send them now. He has Fallon.”