Only the Strong, стр. 50
I had to laugh. “She’s a fourteen-year-old girl. They’re all like that.”
“I don’t remember Aisling being like that. The obnoxious part, yes. The sweet part, though? It wasn’t a thing for her.”
I snorted. “I bet your father would disagree.”
“My father is blind where Aisling is concerned. She was the one who caused all the trouble when we were kids and was never punished.”
I glanced over my shoulder, pinning him with a dubious look. “I’m not sure I believe that you never caused any trouble.”
Suddenly, he was the picture of innocence. “It’s true. Aisling was the one who caused trouble. I was an angel.”
“Uh-huh.” I turned so I could face him, sliding into his arms and holding him close. “You were what I thought about when I saw how many revenants were in there,” I whispered.
He clutched me tighter but didn’t speak.
“All I could think was that I had to get back to you. I’m not even sure how it happened because I definitely wasn’t looking for a relationship when I landed here but ... I love you so much.”
“Oh, I love you, too.” He kissed my neck. “I wonder the same thing sometimes. How did I get so lucky as to find you?”
“Maybe it was destiny.”
“It was definitely meant to be.”
I blew out a sigh and held on a moment longer before separating. “I should probably get cleaned up. Your father made a big deal about having a seafood bar tonight. I have a feeling that kid is going to scarf up all the crab legs if I’m not there to stake my claim.”
He smirked. “Knowing my father, he ordered more than enough. I don’t think you’re going to have to worry. Just in case, I’m willing to take on the kid.”
“You know she could smite you with a flick of her wrist, right?”
“That’s not who she is. You said it yourself … as did I. She has a sweet side. If she was Aisling, she would smite me.”
He didn’t see his sister clearly. Or maybe he did and simply didn’t want to admit it. They’d spent their childhood as foils, so much alike that they felt the need to constantly squabble with each other. Despite those early strains on their relationship, they had bonded over shared grief once the thing wearing their mother’s face died, and no matter how bold his words, I knew Braden would die a million times over for his sister. That was simply who he was.
“It’s going to be okay,” I reassured him out of nowhere. “We’re strong when we’re together. We’ll figure out how to handle this.”
He cocked his head. “How did you know what I was thinking?”
“I know you.”
“Yeah, you do.” He nipped in for a kiss and grinned. “I guess that goes back to that destiny thing.”
“I guess it does.”
AN HOUR LATER, WE MADE OUR WAY back downstairs. The bulk of the Grimlock family was gathered in the parlor, but Redmond and Aidan appeared to be showing Sami how to play a new game in the foyer. They all had their heads together and seemed to be admiring what looked like an actual hockey puck.
“You’d better be careful,” Braden warned as we passed. “If you break something with that, Dad’s going to ground you.”
“That shows what you know,” Aidan fired back. “Sami is his current favorite. She can get away with anything.”
“That doesn’t mean you can.”
“No, but in an effort to make sure she’s not upset, he’ll refrain from yelling at us. We’ve got it all figured out.”
Braden tilted his head, intrigued, and all I could do was sigh when he slid his eyes to me.
“Do what you want,” I offered. “Just keep in mind, I’m not going to get involved if your father loses his cool.”
“It’ll be fine,” he reassured me, patting my arm. “I won’t play long. Twenty minutes tops.”
Redmond rolled his eyes.
“Okay, thirty minutes tops,” Braden corrected. “You have nothing to worry about. We’ve got everything under control.”
I’d heard that before. I was too tired to argue, though. Instead, I made my way into the parlor and found the usual suspects scattered around couches. Cormack had Lily, who happily sucked on a pacifier, and Griffin and Aisling were sprawled on one of the couches with drinks.
“You look better,” Cormack noted as he took the time to look me up and down. “I was a little worried you were going to lock yourself upstairs for the night.”
“Why were you worried about that?” I was legitimately curious as I accepted the drink Jerry delivered to me. “I’m fine.”
“I know. I just ... Zoe explained that you were alone with the revenants for a time. It’s okay if you’re shaken up.” He was a compassionate man. Unfortunately, it was completely wasted in this instance.
“Sami fixed me,” I reassured him. “I’m not shaken as much as ... curious. I mean, why were the revenants all waiting in that cave like that? Were they expecting someone else? Were they getting ready to cross? I have a lot of questions.”
“We all have a lot of questions,” Cormack agreed.
“And I bet Bob can answer some of them, but won’t,” Zoe muttered as she rested her feet in Aric’s lap. He seemed perfectly content to rub them and listen, which made me smile. They’d been married for fifteen years. They’d been together for another seven or so on top of that. They were clearly still in love. To me, they were relationship goals, and I loved watching them interact.
“Where is our resident god?” Aisling queried, lifting her head. “He was here not too long ago.”
“I believe he went upstairs to get cleaned up,” Cormack replied. “He didn’t say as much, but I could read the worry on his face when he took a step back from the group. He’s good at