I release a shaky breath, forcing a smile at Claire so she won’t see how much Connor just shook me because I don’t want to even admit it to myself.
Over the years, I’ve seen Connor McBride angry. And lately, I’ve seen him balancing on that precarious edge. I’ve seen him covered in blood and trembling at the hospital while Liam’s life hung in the balance. But the way he looked at me today is the first time I actually physically reacted to him. The first time my body warned me of what my mind refuses to accept—that Connor is a very real threat.
Because I know what my current story is going to do to him.
What it will cost him.
What it will cost me.
What it might cost all of us.
But I still have to write it.
3
CONNOR
The moment I open the door to the McBride Timber office, Gizmo leaps from Liam's lap, barking wildly as he charges at me like the massive guard dog he seems to think he is.
I stare down the little Frenchie with the bad attitude, refusing to budge or retreat an inch from the tiny terror. After being gone a week, he seems especially annoyed at my reappearance today, flashing his teeth and emitting a low growl from deep in his chest.
A tense stare down continues for a few seconds, neither of us willing to back down. We've mastered this game over the last several months since Lucky came into our lives, bringing Gizmo with her. The dog hates just about everyone, including me, and he isn’t afraid to show it.
But he always caves eventually.
And it doesn’t take long for him to slink back toward his favorite person rather than continuing to stand in my way.
The look that Liam gives me from his chair tells me he may be as annoyed with me as the dog is, at least at the moment.
Shit.
I close the door behind me and release a sigh, already anticipating what's coming and attempting to brace myself for the inevitable impact. There was no way I was going to be able to just “reappear” and not face this look from my brothers or the questions they’ll have. But that doesn’t mean I’m mentally prepared for it…
Especially after the morning I’ve already had, I would have preferred a welcome-home hug and silence from Liam. I’m still itching from my confrontation with Raven, and getting into it with him is only going to make it worse.
Liam watches me silently as I stalk across the office and settle into my desk chair, glancing at Killian's empty one. I didn't see him out on the yard when I parked and walked into the office, which means he probably went up onto the mountain for something, perhaps to check on one of the timber sites.
At least there’s only one McBride brother to face today.
It’s far better than them teaming up on me, which undoubtedly would have happened if I had stopped on the homestead for breakfast or found both of them in here this morning. So, I guess I should count my blessings in that regard.
Of the two other McBride brothers, Liam is the lesser of two evils in many respects. He’s less aggressive, less likely to tear into me, far more likely to tread lightly, but he’s also the one who gets disappointed, which is far worse than Killian’s anger.
I scan the papers scattered on my desk to see if there's anything important rather than meet his judgmental gaze. If there were anything that couldn’t have waited, I'm sure Liam and Killian would've handled it while I was gone.
They’re always on top of everything where the business is concerned. Even when Killian was spending all his time trying to help Willow unravel what happened to her during her missing year, or when Liam pulled away after learning about his father and dealing with his own emotional baggage, the business kept running smoothly because we all stepped up to carry the extra load.
Which makes me feel like even more shit at the moment.
Killian is busy being a father and husband, and Liam now has Lucky and Gizmo. They both have lives outside this office, so I should be here. I should be the one stepping up and taking on more responsibility. I should be focused here instead of on what happened up there.
But no matter how hard I try, I can’t get a grip on those demons.
I can’t keep them at bay…
And right now, I can feel Liam's gaze from across the room. He leans back in his chair, petting Gizmo, seemingly relaxed, but I know my little brother well enough to understand how wrong that assumption would be.
He’s vibrating to say something.
