by Tijan
These were his people, his friends, his colleagues.
They weren’t mine, but through Nova, Nate was now my family in a way. That meant I would put on a brave face, and I’d walk my rear back there. I’d find wherever they were, and I’d go in to meet whoever was back there.
Unless they truly didn’t want me back there?
Maybe this really was only for Nate?
“You’re Quincey.”
I turned and recognized her immediately. I would’ve anyway. I was a fan, and I froze for a full beat before an awkward laugh came out. “Sorry. Hi. Yes. You’re Samantha Kade, Mason’s wife.” I held out my hand, and she took it. There was an equally awkward handshake, which I had to laugh at because I hadn’t been fanstruck in a while. “I follow you on your social media since your first Olympics. You became an inspiration for me. I’m Quincey.”
She relaxed, a laugh easing from her, and moved closer.
She was stunning. Jet-black hair. Dark, almond eyes. Heart-shaped face.
“I know. I’m Samantha.”
“Yes…” My breath hitched in my throat. “I—yes. I know. Hi. Quincey. Again.”
So bad.
I should’ve taken an Uber home.
Samantha tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, her eyes trailing behind my shoulders. “In full disclosure, Mason didn’t want to do this. So I will take full responsibility for this, and I hope we’re not going to be too much for you.”
“We?” I squeaked. “Who’s we?”
She hesitated, cursing under her breath. “Everyone. Like, yeah. Everyone. I’m so sorry. I’m now thinking about it from your point of view, and I’m really sorry. You…” She looked me up and down. “You look ready to bolt.”
I was somewhere between wanting to gush at meeting her, dying inside at the same time, and a trickle of fear was starting to spread at exactly what ‘everyone’ meant. “How many people are in that room back there?”
“Um. There’s me. Heather. Channing. Grace. Matteo, whom you’ve met. Logan. Taylor. Mason, just for tonight because he played on Thursday. And then we invited your brother…” Her voice trailed off when she saw the fear taking me over. “Oh, no.”
I was speculating that Nate hadn’t shared how my night went with my family.
“I thought things were good there?”
Okay.
Adult time.
This was it. Enough was enough.
I couldn’t bolt. I literally had an Olympian here. She’d catch me.
I put on a smile and thought of puppies. Babies. Nova. I thought of Nova, and instantly, I relaxed. I used that genuineness to help sell it. “No, no, no. I had a moment, but I’m good. And I’m super excited—” Another squeak from me on the super word. “—to meet everyone. Matteo was talking about Channing just tonight, too.”
“He was?” she whispered. She took my hands and squeezed them. “It was supposed to be a surprise baby shower for Nate, except adult-wise. We flew to Fallen Crest. The kids are all staying together at my dad’s. Then we all flew up here. Mason chartered a flight from California. Matteo was here, and Mason can do a night, so we thought we needed to capitalize and officially welcome Nate into adulthood. And we wanted to meet you and Nova. Oh my gosh, we cannot wait to meet Nova.”
This was going to happen. Nate had his people, and I needed to assimilate.
I could do that. I would do that.
“Awesome. Let’s go meet everyone.”
* * *
Okay.
They were a lot, but after hanging out for three hours now, I was pretty sure I had everyone down. Maybe. I might’ve been making up names at this point, but here I went:
Samantha was Mason’s wife. Taylor was Logan’s girlfriend. There was a seriously sexy blonde named Heather. Who was with a fully tatted-out hottie named Channing. I wasn’t going to attempt at recalling the last names. Then there was Matteo and Grace. I was pretty sure Grace and Matteo were together together. I wasn’t totally sure, but they acted more than friends at times, and there were looks. Lots of looks.
I didn't need to worry about my own family because they only invited Graham, and he came alone. Not that I didn’t mind seeing Britney, but she was so connected to Calihan, and there was so much water running over that bridge—enough to cover it completely at this moment.
“Monson is protective of you,” Graham announced, sliding into the chair beside me. He had a pink drink in hand, kicking out a chair in front and lounging back. He threw a leg up and took a good swallow from the pink stuff.
“What are you drinking?”
“No clue.” He didn’t take his eyes off the group just across the room.
We’d eaten. Drank. There were lots of stories, lots of laughter. Gifts had piled up in the corner of the room, but we were back to the stories. I had met everyone, and everyone had been kind. So seriously kind, but an undercurrent was running through the room.
One I didn’t really know what to do with.
That undercurrent: I didn’t belong. I was the outsider.
Even Graham, he belonged more than I did. The guys treated him like he was a long-lost member of their clan.
“How are you holding up?” Graham was frowning at me.
I couldn’t help it. I looked at his pink drink. “Wishing I’d had a few of those tonight.”
He grimaced. “Did someone--”
I shook my head. “I’m fine. Everyone’s been nice. It’s just…” They were all laughing. They were all so comfortable with each other.
“I get it.”
I looked over, hearing his words. “You get it?”
“I get it.” That’s all he said.
Graham’s eyes darkened, and I turned, but I could still feel his scrutiny.
Okay then.
A beat of silence passed between us. I didn’t know what to say.
He leaned forward in his chair. His eyes were troubled.
There was a slight glaze over them.
My brother was buzzed.
Maybe more than buzzed.
I raised an eyebrow. “What?”
“Hmm?” He snapped back to attention, focusing on me. “Right! I wanted to talk to you about something. I don’t know if this is the right place, but I never see you, so whatever. Look, it wasn’t right what Cali did, but she feels you’re only coming into the family now because you need us.” He lifted a shoulder. “And I get that. I mean, if my dad was your dad, I’d need all the help I could get, but she’s feeling used. And she’s protective of Mom.”
That stung.
“Mom?” I asked.
“Because you treat her like shit, you know? Mom gets hurt by that. You don’t even see it. You just, I don’t know what you see, but if my mom was my mom, I’d spend as much time with her as possible.” He frowned, his eyebrows pinching together. “Wait. You know what I mean.”
I didn’t, but I did.
You treat her like shit...
Did I?
Was that what he really thought?
Everything was churning inside me.
“Hey, don’t sweat it. I’m drunk. Whatever nonsense I’m saying, don’t listen to me. You know me, I ramble when I’m like this.”
I didn’t know him when he was like this.
I didn’t know anyone when they were drunk, because I didn’t drink.
I didn’t drink with others.
I didn’t do anything with others.
Because of him.
Because of—suddenly, I felt alone and exposed and vulnerable. And I hated it.
Then I remembered what Graham said when he first came over. Monson is protective of you.
“What you said when you first sat down. About Nate being protective. Why’d you say that?”
He frowned, some of the glaze disappearing. He shrugged both his shoulders. “Because he is. Haven’t you noticed?”
Tonight? Not really.
I gestured to them, a half-hearted motion. “He’s with his family.”
�
��Yeah, but it’s more. He’s constantly looking for you. Like right now, he’s probably watching us.” He rolled his head around. “Yep. Look at him. He’s over there, sitting with his peeps, but he really wants to be over here.”
“Don’t say peeps.”
“His people. Whatevs.”
“Don’t say whatevs either. You’re not a teenager.”
Graham grinned, lifting his drink again. “I was an awesome teenager. Too bad Duke kept you away from us all. I was uber popular.”
I was cringing at the “uber,” too, but Graham was going to say what Graham was going to say.
“You know, Val died, and I miss the fuck out of her.” He leaned forward, suddenly looking sober. His eyes were dark. “But there’s been one thing good that came out of losing my little sister.” He motioned to me with his glass. “I got my other little sister back. I hate that she’s gone, but I thank her every fucking night for you. We’re not the bad guys your dad made you think we were. And we love you. All of us.”
My throat was full.
A lump was blocking me from swallowing.
He was right… about everything.
I whispered, “I really miss Val right now.”
“Me, too.”
33
Nate
“You haven’t told her a thing, have you?”
I was outside on the deck when Logan broached the topic. It’d been the elephant in the room, and the accusation I was hearing from him was on point. Everyone knew what was going on, and no one was telling her. They were walking on eggshells around her, a feat that our group usually never did.
Mason was on my other side. “Jesus, Logan. It’s not your kid.”
“I’m her lawyer.”
“You’re my lawyer, and I’ll tell her. He’s mind-fucked her all her life. This is not the easiest topic to broach.”
“You said you talked to her, told her it was an option. She said she knew he would go at her.”
“But talking about it and actually knowing he’s doing it are two separate things. He’s got all her past therapists on his side.”
Logan snorted, rocking back on his heels. “It’s cold out here. Why’d we come out here?”
“I thought we were out here to have this conversation.”
“Aren’t we all staying at Nate’s?”
“Where she’ll be staying, too.”
“Right.”
I let the two brothers squash everything for me.
I rubbed at my forehead. “Why am I missing the days when we could’ve just lit his house on fire?”
Logan snorted this time. “We could sneak on his estate and slash all the tires to his vehicles.”
Mason grinned. “Pretty sure he’s got video surveillance.”
“We can get around that.”
“This conversation is pointless. No one is going to sneak onto his estate to knife his tires. That’s a headache for him, that’s all. Hell, a headache for his staff. He won’t even be fazed,” Mason points out.
“We know criminals.” Logan shot a look at Channing, who was just coming outside to join us.
Channing frowned. “I’m not a criminal.”
“You know criminals.”
Channing shook his head. “My sister is not a criminal either. I don’t know why you keep going there.”
“I’m not talking about your sister.”
Mason growled. “Let it go. This is your point of attack? Nate, you’re fucked.”
Logan stifled a laugh. “I’m just messing around.” He was quiet for a second. “But seriously, Channing, aren’t you tight with that motorcycle club?”
“You’ve been on my ass all night about them. No, I’m not.”
“That’s disappointing.”
“How about you tell us what you have done?” If that was Logan’s actual plan, I agreed with Mason. I was fucked.
“It’s fine. We have people doing their job, and everyone he brings to the case, we’ll discredit them. We’ll bring our people, and he’ll be discredited. It’ll all work out in the end. Right now, it looks like he’s trying to buy his granddaughter, but Quincey needs to be clued in. Now. I’ve been talking to her lawyer, so he knows what’s going on, but she needs to be in on it. I need her permission to approach her family, too. I know Graham will, but the rest will testify against him?”
“Yes. They hate him. I’ll talk to her tomorrow.”
“Tonight, Nate.”
“Tonight?”
“Tonight.”
Well, fuck.
Tonight, then.
34
Quincey
I knew Nate’s house was big, but I didn’t realize how big until all of the couples came to the house. Matteo and Grace slept in the pool house/my dance studio. The other three were upstairs, and when I went into my own room, I couldn’t hear a thing.
There was a weird flutter in my stomach. It might’ve been the pizza I inhaled when Logan ordered for everyone.
It wasn’t until I went into my room, with a dreamy smile on my face, that it hit me. It was me. It was Nate. It was Graham. It was Nova. It was that I was in a house full of people, and people who loved each other. I mean, I wasn’t one of them, but I was like an extended arm. Or a hand. Or I was standing on the sidelines, but I’d only ever been to a house full of people the few times I did Christmas at the Robertson’s house.
I…
I abruptly sat on my bed, like a boulder sinking to the bottom of a lake. Thump. Down I went.
I had missed so much.
I didn’t realize I was crying until a tear hit my arm. Lifting it, I looked at it a moment.
Then I touched my face. It was covered in tears.
“You okay?”
A half-gurgle, half-squeak came from me as I leaped from my bed.
It was Nate, standing in my doorway.
I gestured to Nova’s room, ignoring how my heart was racing. “Have you checked on her?”
He nodded. “She’s sleeping.” He grinned. “Penguin and Sloth are both with her.”
“Oh. Good.” I wanted to check on her, too. I’d wait, though. I mean, he just looked in on her.
Right?
Right.
What was I doing here?
“Wait. What are you doing here?”
A soft chuckle came from him. He was still dressed from dinner, but he looked a lot more relaxed, except for the tightness around his mouth.
Why I was noticing those details wasn’t beyond me.
I was having thoughts and feelings, and I was still crying.
Why was I crying?
Valerie.
I could almost hear her giggling at me.
It was for that reason that I let slip what slipped from me.
“You should’ve been with Valerie.”
Yeah. That.
I was back to that.
Why did I say that?
Nate straightened abruptly, one of his hands falling out of his pocket.
Gah. He looked so good.
All tall. Dark. Green eyes. Broad shoulders. His jaw. I loved his jaw.
“Why would you say that?”
I swallowed—right. That boulder was still there. It was permanently there. I needed to throw up a “road is blocked due to construction” sign in my own throat and make pathways around it. Deal with it. Live with it.
I shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant. “Because it’s true.” Blasphemy. That came out as a whisper, totally giving me away.
I looked away.
He didn’t need to see the sadness in me. No one did.
Who would want to deal with that?
He stepped into the room, his head inclining.
I was watching his shadow, and I held my breath, not wanting to hear what he’d say but totally waiting on the edge of my seat at the same time.
“I repeat, why would you say that?”
“Because Valerie was…” Life. “Warm.” She wasn’t cold like me. “Valerie was beautiful.”
&nbs
p; “You don’t think you’re beautiful?”
I slanted him a slight, mocking smirk. “I’m a professional dancer. I think I’m beautiful, and I think I’m dreadful at the same time. I’m not speaking for all dancers. That’s just my complex.” That wasn’t my hang up, and he hadn’t caught it. Good. I could breathe easier. “I should go to bed.”
“I need to talk to you.”
“Oh?” Of course, he did. He hadn’t come to my room once since I moved in. Of course, he’s only here because he would need to talk about something.
Nothing more.
“It can’t wait?”
He seemed to hesitate but gave his head a slight shake. “It can’t.”
My father.
I nodded to him, grabbing a sweater I had on the bed. I indicated that I’d follow him, pulling that wrap on. It was now my shield as I fell in step behind him.
Duke.
It was time
He had struck.
I felt it in my gut.
I was more surprised it’d taken him this long.
The house was mostly dark. I knew he kept a light on in the kitchen at all times, but he was leading me to the porch area, and there were a few soft lights on the table. We stepped in, and I felt the heat. I was glad it was a four-season porch.
Nate moved to sit in one of the chairs, and I took the other. I moved my feet, resettling on the chair. I pulled my knees up to my chest and rested my hand against one, looking at Nate.
“He set a motion against me, didn’t he?”
Nate jerked from the question, the ends of his mouth turning down. “How do you—how’d you know that?”
I gave him a wane smile, but I was really just trying to mask how I should’ve felt gutted but didn’t. “I told you he would go through me. What’s he trying to do? Say I’m incompetent to be Nova’s guardian?”
“He’s saying you weren’t in the right frame of mind to sign her over to me. If he takes that out, he can come straight at me then.”
I sucked in a breath because that couldn’t happen.
I’d never let Nova live with him, and horror quickly settled in after because holy shit, I’d been about to do just that.