Chapter 16 #2
I was grateful she’d suggested it, because I’d been about to do that exact thing on my own.
After disposing of our plates in the trash, we made a quick detour to the bar for cans of beer before heading for Birdie, Lane, and Addie.
Undeterred by the awkwardness she was walking in on, Aspen shuffled into the center of the group and wrapped her arm around her mother-in-law’s waist.
Birdie turned her head and kissed Aspen’s temple.
“Hello, my girl.”
“Hey, Mama.” Her shrewd cinnamon gaze swung around the circle. “Lane.”
“Aspen.”
Reagan and I both coughed into our fists, fighting off laughter. Lane and Aspen got along exactly like a brother and sister—with healthy doses of loving animosity from both sides.
“Hello, Aspen,” another voice said, belonging to the one person I’d refused to look at until now. “Good to see you again.”
“Addie,” Aspen said with a fake sweetness all of us could see through. “What are you doing here?”
“Oh, isn’t it just the funniest thing?” Birdie said, either oblivious or willfully ignorant to the tension in the air. “I ran into her at the store in Boise the other day, and we got to talking, so I invited her tonight.”
“That was nice of you, Mama,” Lane said diplomatically, though I wondered if anyone else noticed how tightly he clenched his jaw.
“Help yourself to some food, Addie. Don’t be a stranger.”
“Of course not, Mrs. Lawless.”
She chuckled. “Please, call me Birdie.”
Addie nodded with a small, self-satisfied smile, then glanced at Lane. “Come with me?”
“Uhh…sure?”
When they were gone, Birdie rounded on us.
“Now tell me why you three had to gang up on her like that.”
“We did no such thing!” Reagan protested.
Birdie merely pursed her lips and glared.
Unsurprisingly, as the one of us who didn’t spend a lot of time around Birdie Lawless, I broke first.
“We were just wondering what she’s doing here.”
“I invited her. That’s all you need to know.”
Damn, I’d forgotten how shitty it was to be chastised by a parent.
After Birdie walked away, the three of us looked at each other—and cracked up laughing.
“She’s really mad at us,” Aspen whispered between chuckles.
“Y’all will be fine,” I said around my own. “You’re her family now.”
Reagan settled a hand on my shoulder and winked. “You will be too.”
I didn’t respond immediately, instead taking a beat, deciding how much I wanted to share. Finally, I jerked my head in the direction of outside, and they followed me around the barn to a quiet corner where we wouldn’t be overheard or interrupted.
“You really think there’s something there between us?” I asked them quietly when we were alone.
Aspen laughed. “Yes.”
Reagan nodded her agreement. “Without a doubt.”
“Then what is he doing?” I asked, tugging on the brim of my beanie in annoyance, pulling it over my eyes to shield myself from the sight of them standing together.
“Who the hell knows with Lane,” Aspen answered. “But I don’t think Addie is any part of it.”
“Really?”
“Really,” she confirmed. “Didn’t you notice how irritated he was that she’s here?”
“He was clenching his jaw tight enough to crack a tooth,” I admitted with a laugh.
“Plus, there’s the fact that he told her they aren’t anything more than friends.”
“Wait, what?” I asked dumbly. “How do you know that?”
She wagged her finger between herself and Aspen. “We sleep next to two of his brothers every night. Word gets around.”
“Then why is she here?” I gritted out.
“What happened between you two?” Reagan asked softly. “Back in college.”
Shit. I’d known I’d have to make this confession as soon as I steered us into this conversation. Very few people had ever heard me utter the words out loud, and I was afraid they’d stick in my throat now.
Thankfully, though I kept my voice low in deference to our surroundings, they came out clear and steady.
“I was raped on New Year’s Eve that year. Or, technically, New Year’s Day. Hell of a way to ring in my twenties,” I said wryly.
Aspen gasped, and Reagan instantly reached for me, cupping my hand between both of hers.
“I am so sorry,” Reagan whispered.
“It’s okay,” I assured them. It wasn’t, but I’d never been very good in the face of useless platitudes.
I knew they meant well, but this thing that had happened to me was a very insular experience.
I’d worked hard to overcome it, but that didn’t mean it didn’t still cling to me.
“After that, I couldn’t bear to be touched.
All Lane wanted to do was help, to hold me and comfort me, and I just couldn’t deal. So I pushed him away.”
“Explains so much,” Aspen murmured. “There’s always been that weird tension between you two. For a long time, I really thought you hated each other. But when I heard about his shooting, some things started making more sense.”
“I was out of my mind,” I admitted. “I have no idea how he’s still alive.”
“Crew said you were incredible. Completely in control.”
“Then I’m a good actress,” I said, choking on a laugh, “because inside I was screaming.”
“Lane doesn’t just let people into his personal space,” Aspen said. “You probably know that better than anyone. But he didn’t bat an eye at you staying with him after your break-in. Why do you think that is?”
“He feels bad for me?”
Aspen swatted at me. “Don’t be crazy. You know it’s a lot more than that.”
Could she be right? Could Lane want more?
Could Lane want the same things I did?
I had a lot to think about, so Aspen, Reagan, and I decided to rejoin the party. They walked ahead of me into the barn, but a voice calling my name pulled me up short in the entrance.
Addie.
“Hey, Sutton. Got a sec?”
“Sure.” I had a bad feeling I knew exactly what the topic of this conversation would be, and in that moment, I would rather have been anywhere else.
She shifted her position, angled us so her back was to the barn, and started speaking.
“I know you’re staying with Lane, and I’m sorry about your house, but I hope you’re not getting any ideas.”
I raised a brow. “Ideas about…?”
She gave me a patronizing smile. “You and him.”
“What kind of ideas would those be, exactly? He’s doing me a favor.”
I didn’t owe this woman anything, and I wasn’t about to engage in a pissing contest with her over Lane. She wasn’t entitled to anything from me.
“And don’t you forget it. Lane and I are meant for each other.”
An unattractive snort left me. “If you say so.”
Addie took a step closer until we were toe to toe.
This close to her, it was difficult to ignore the similarities between us.
Long brown hair, pale skin, roughly the same height, though I noted she had maybe an inch on me.
Both of us were athletically built thanks to the physical demands of our jobs.
But where my eyes were amber, hers were a blue so dark they almost looked purple in the fading light of the day.
“Stay away from him, Sutton. You won’t like what happens if you don’t.”
Before I could mount a retort, an arm slung across my shoulders and tugged me back a step.
“Ladies,” Trey said, affecting that laissez-faire attitude he’d long ago perfected. “Problem?”
I forgot, sometimes, that he’d spent nearly a decade in the Secret Service, protecting a former president. That he was as adept as Lane or Aspen, or hell, the twins, who had both been Army Rangers, at reading a room and assessing any potential threats.
I’d never been more grateful to see him in my life.
“Not at all,” Addie said sweetly. “Just girl talk.”
Trey turned slightly to look down at me. “You sure?”
Swallowing hard, I only nodded, not trusting my voice.
She’d fucking threatened me, but I wasn’t about to get into it here.
“Great,” Trey said cheerfully. “Well, good to see you, Addie.”
Without another word, he dragged me away, toward the bar in the corner where the bulk of the Lawless family was gathered.
“Thank you,” I murmured.
Trey grinned. “Happy to help. That woman is crazy.”
I hummed noncommittally as we joined the group, but I couldn’t help but wonder.
Exactly how crazy was she?