I waited, giving him time. I knew my brother well enough to recognize when he was struggling to find the right words. Zeke was a man of action, not conversation. When he had something difficult to say, he needed a moment to work up to it.
But after a full minute of silence, I couldn’t take it anymore.
“Out with it,” I mumbled, my voice cutting through the stillness. “Just talk to me.”
He let out a long breath, his shoulders sagging slightly. “Where have you been?”
“At the diner.”
His head turned toward me, and even in the dim light, I could see the look in his eyes. It wasn’t anger. It was something softer. Something that looked almost like hurt. “Don’t lie to me, Hope,” he said, his voice low and steady. “We’ve never lied to each other before. Don’t start now.”
My chest tightened. He was right. Zeke and I had always been honest with each other, even when the truth was hard. Even when it hurt. We had been through too much together to start hiding things now.
But this was different.
This was Chapman.
“I know you’ve been meeting up with someone,” Zeke continued when I didn’t respond. His gaze was steady, searching. “Who is it?”
I looked away, staring out at the dark expanse of the farm. The greenhouse was a shadowy outline in the distance, andbeyond it, I could just make out the faint glimmer of the pond under the moonlight.
The pond where everything had started.
“Are you asking as my brother,” I asked carefully, “or as a Diamondback officer?”
Zeke flinched. I saw it. The way his jaw tightened, the way his hands clenched briefly before relaxing again. The question had hit its mark.
“Depends on who the hell it is,” he said after a moment, his voice rougher now. “Is he a club brother?”
I turned to look at him, looking into his eyes. “No. He’s not one of your club brothers.”
The tension in Zeke’s shoulders eased immediately. He let out a breath, and some of the hardness in his expression softened. “Good.”
“Zeke,” I said, my voice firmer now. “You realize I’m a grown-ass woman, right? I can spend time with whoever I want. I don’t need your permission.”
“I know,” he grumbled, rubbing a hand over his face. “But it’s different when it comes to the club.”
“I said he wasn’t a Diamondback.”
“Then who is he?”
I held his gaze, my heart pounding. “Does it really matter?”
Zeke groaned, tipping his head back to stare at the porch ceiling. “Fuck no. Gonna hate whoever he is.”
Despite everything, despite the tension and the secrets and the weight of what I was hiding, I felt a smile tug at my lips. I leaned over and rested my head on his shoulder, the way I used to when we were kids and the world felt too big and too scary.
“I know,” I said softly. “And I love you for that. It means a lot to me that you care so much.”
Zeke’s arm came around me, pulling me closer. His hand rested on my shoulder, warm and steady. “I know it’s not easyhaving four sisters, Zeke,” I continued. “You and Balthazar deserve a medal for sure. But you can’t stop the inevitable. Charity’s already married. Soon Joy will be going off to college. And Faith already has an admirer.”
Zeke’s body went rigid beside me. “I’m not worried about Faith. She keeps Whisper at arm’s length.”
I couldn’t help the smirk that spread across my face. “For now. Something tells me Whisper is in it for the long haul. He’s patient, and that’s what Faith needs.”
“No,” Zeke muttered, shaking his head. “Faith needs to tell him to get fucking lost.”
“She won’t do that. She enjoys his company.”
