I reach the shooting range in under five minutes. Before I can even tell who hit the target, Joan comes flying at me, her arms wrapping around my neck.
I stumble back, and Calvin’s there just in time to catch us before we go down.
Joan throws her fist in the air. “Get him, Yosh! Beat his arse!”
I smile. Guess this means we’re good again. When the hell did her mood swing back like that? Yesterday she ran off crying, and now she’s cheerleading. No point questioning it. I’ll take the win.
I slide an arm around her shoulders, planting a quick kiss on her cheek.
“How’s he doing?”
“They’ve had a practice round. Dad got two, Yosh none.”
“Probably for the best,” I mumble. If Jay wins his little game, he might stay civil.
It hurts. For all the ways he drives me insane, he’s still one of the most important people in my life. But Jay made it clear he’s not going to accept Yosh. Or us. And the fact that this isn’t a friendly game says everything.
“Losers of the practice round go first,” Jay says.
Yosh gives him a weak smile, stepping forward. He tucks a strand of hair behind his ear, loads a shell, locking the rifle.
As he leans forward to aim, I see Sergei tap Jay. They exchange a confused look as Yosh’s movements look a hell of a lot more professional now.
The little wanker. He let Jay win the practice round on purpose.
Yosh flicks off the safety. The disc launches from the trap. He tracks it, swings, and fires. A clean hit, dead center. The disc explodes.
Clap, clap, clap.Jay starts a slow, fake applause.
“Beginner’s luck!” Yosh laughs, shrugging as he high-fives Eli. Our eyes meet. A small, devilish smile plays at his mouth, telling me he’s about to wipe the floor with my brother and enjoy every second of it. That makes my two legs go weak and my third one hard. And even though I’m more a fan of a good old fist fight, I can’t deny Yosh holding that shotgun like a gangster looks insanely hot.
I look around.
The crowd is divided into three camps now; Joan, Calvin, and I fall in with Yosh.
Joan’s proving to be my ride-or-die again. Calvin’s probably scared Tiffy will hear about this if he takes the other side.
Alex, Eli, Finn and Luca are Switzerland; the rest of the family is standing behind Jay.
Then Effy steps onto the range, and without a second of hesitation, she walks over to Jay’s side. I tell myself it’s just agame, but picking sides feels uncomfortably close to the truth of how things really are, and my daughter is not picking me. She’s not even Switzerlanding.
Maybe I shouldn’t take this personally. Maybe she’s afraid of Jay, or she doesn’t want to upset him. I could understand that; I have to talk to her to know if she's safe at Heatherfell. If not, I need to get her and the baby out.
For now it’s best to act casual, so I raise my hand to greet her. She smiles and waves back, but my attention is abruptly drawn by Jay's shot. He misses. YES!
Jay’s hand lashes out. “The wind just shifted. Throws off the bird’s flight.”
Yosh laughs. “At this short distance? The wind’s not your problem, Jay. You just missed your swing.”
Everyone is quiet. Joan beside me is squealing “SHOTS FIRED, DAD!” she shouts through cupped hands.
Let’s be honest, as his daughter, she’s the only one who can get away with it, and she always abuses that privilege.
Jay forces a small, slanted smile. No one seems to notice the anger behind it except for Effy, who, from the other side of the line, looks at me with eyes full of warning. I can feel her telling me I need to put a stop to this before things end badly.I know that, but what on earth am I supposed to do?
Yosh hits target after target, my nerves shooting roots in the ground.
I watch Jay whisper something to Sergei. He shoots me a cold stare as he listens, then heads for the North House. A chill crawls down my spine.
