Cyrus
Chapter twenty-two
Double The Trouble
Jesus, everybody in Bluestone is out today. It feels like the entire town is camped out at the park waiting to witness my shame unfold in real time. The man who cast off one family to build another somewhere else.
Being Chief of Police, I should be used to people watching me. A town like this always watches its own. They deserve someone steady. Dependable. Not a man who missed nine years of his daughter’s life because he believed a lie and ran from the fallout.
This will be the first time Liam and Billy meet. My stomach sinks. What if they hate each other? Either way, I will have to face the one woman I have ever loved, the one that I fucking left.
The idea shouldn’t matter this much, yet somehow it does.
Maybe because they’re innocent in all this.
Maybe because I already want us to feel like a family before we even know how.
Mom says Billy is quieter in town than she is at home.
More guarded. Careful with people. But around those she trusts? She shines. Funny. Loud. Full of life.
Liam, meanwhile, is pure chaos wrapped in freckles and grass stains. Wild energy from sunrise to bedtime. Half-feral most days. The kid somehow manages to get food on his face before the plate even reaches the table.
And then there’s Fallon.
Motherhood looks good on her in a way that feels dangerous to my sanity. It sharpened her edges instead of softening them. She’s fiercer now. Harder to rattle. Beautiful in a way that catches me off guard when I’m not prepared for it.
A wrecking ball slammed through my emotional wall that I’ve spent years building. I hope Liam and Billy get along. If they don’t—or if something goes wrong—what the hell do I do? One problem at a time. One solution at a time. Don’t borrow trouble that doesn’t exist.
“Are we going to get out and play? Or are we going to sit here and talk to them? What’s the game plan?” Liam asks me. Scratching his little fingers up and down the bridge of his nose.
I push my waves out of my face. Forgoing a ball cap today might not have been the best decision.
I’m really racking up points in the smart choices department.
I don’t want it to hide behind it, but it keeps the beating sun away.
Jesus, this town’s summers are hellish. “Buddy, I’ve never done this before—but we’ll figure out what works best for the two of you. ”
Fallon and Billy sit in a row of swings, both wearing cut-offs and matching tank tops.
They prop large, bright red sunglasses on their noses.
One with copper hair, the other my ashen blonde.
The outfits and mannerisms are the only things that match the pair.
And all I can think is that damn, they’re perfect.
And I am such a fucking dick to have put them through this.
“Is that them?” Liam asks.
“It is,” I tell him, watching his reaction. His forehead wrinkles in concentration. And I would give almost anything to know what’s going on inside his little head right now.
“She’s taller than me,” he confides to me. I shrug, trying to hide my smile. Height, definitely not where I thought this conversation was headed. I can work with this, though.
“Well…she’s older.” I hedge, running my fingers over the steering wheel.
“I guess I will have to be the bigger man and bite the bullet.” We both sigh; he with disappointment, me with concern.
“Rephrase that, please.” Trying to give the kid some leeway, though, this has to be a tricky situation.
“I’ll deal with it if she doesn’t beat me in Mario Kart,” he concedes.
“I can work with that.” I ruffle his hair. “Are you ready?”
“Let’s do this.”
We slide out of the truck, making our way toward the swings. Hand in hand. Both palms sweating. Fallon spots us before Billy. Her smile freezes briefly before melting into the most traffic-stopping, heart-melting, devastating smile. Directed at my son, not me. Ouch.
Mulch flies around Billy’s feet as she plants them in the dirt, bringing the swing to a sudden stop.
Fallon holds her hand out to her daughter, our daughter, I mentally correct, with ease as they approach us.
Liam squeezes my hand, his little palm tucked into my protective gesture.
He’s nervous, and I would do anything to take the feeling from him.
Guilt, elation. Hell, I’m feeling more than I can process.
For a child? This has to be overwhelming.
“Hello, Liam. I’m Fallon. Do you remember me?”
Fallon’s frame folds down to meet Liam at eye level. Billy unclasps her mom’s hand, pausing, shuffling her feet nervously behind Fallon.
“Yes, Ma’am. Dad says that Billy is my sister, but you’re not my mother.” Fallon’s eyes mist over with Liam’s declaration. Her throat bobs before she consoles Liam.
“I’m Billy’s mother, yes. And Billy is your sister. I’m hoping that you and I will be the best of friends.”
I watch as my son brightens, his eyes shining with excitement and happiness. He leans into Fallon, whispering. “Is Billy going to like me?”
Fallon wraps her free arm around Liam, whispering into his hair. “She’s going to love you, kiddo.”
Fallon leans back, standing. She shuffles a shy Billy around her—the nine-year-old leaning into her mom for comfort and support.
Fal plasters a dazzling smile on her face, gesturing between the two kids.
“Billy, this is Liam.” Our daughter chews on her top lip, a habit she inherited from her mother. It’s…endearing.
“Hi.”
“Hello.”
They stand in awkward silence, one chewing her top lip, the other folding his arms in a tight, familiar pose. Liam untwines his arms from his chest, shoving his hands into the pockets of his shorts. “I would tell you something cool, but I’m too new here to know anything.”
Billy’s eyes dance to me before moving back to her brother. “I’ve never lived anywhere but here. I know some pretty cool stuff. Maybe some fun things we can do, too.”
Liam perks up, “Want to show me?” Billy looks at him, her mind made up. Before jabbing her thumb over her shoulder towards the river. “The steps over there lead down to the river; we can catch crawdads.”
They seem eager. Is optimism premature? Liam waits for approval. “Go ahead, we’ll watch from up top,” I say.
“Keep the water below your ankles,” Fallon reminds them as they dash away.