Page 43 of Legacy

“Bodhi, this is Kiera West, the drummer for Wilder, and Kiera, this is Bodhi, mine and Briar’s brother.”

Kiera smiled softly and stared at Bodhi for a moment before my brother’s jaw tightened.

“Yes, Mal and I were twins,” he bit out.

Kiera’s face paled, but she jutted out her chin.

“I know. Hard to miss. Just like it’s hard to miss the fact that I’m the one who took Mal’s place in the band. Sorry for staring. I was just thinking about how baby Maisie has your nose.”

Bodhi’s eyes widened.

“No shit?” he asked, turning to Briar.

Briar rolled her eyes. “Yes. Somehow, she has yours and Mal’s nose, and then everything else is Gabriel’s. I was part of the situation there. I went through labor. But no, Maisie is turning into the best of the Ashfords and the Wilders, and I got none of it.”

Kiera wrapped her arm around Briar’s shoulders and squeezed. “It’s okay. We’ll make sure that we don’t tell Gabriel that, though. We’ll keep teasing him that Maisie looks nothing like him.”

I snorted, though Bodhi didn’t make a sound.

“I do like doing that. He gets so growly.” Briar grinned, and I shook my head at the two of them.

“So, why are you guys here? Not that I don’t like seeing you. Because I do.”

“We had to come up to Denver for a few things for our management companies, so I figured we’d take the extra couple of hours to drive up to town to see you. I wasn’t sure what time I was going to make it, or even if it was going to work, so I didn’t warn you. And no, Maisie isn’t here. She’s at home with her father, meaning I have all the mom guilt. This is the first time I’ve been away this long, and I’m not doing okay.”

“Aw, I’m sorry. Though I do miss my baby niece.” I held out my arms again, and Briar sighed but leaned into me.

“And I do realize that I probably shouldn’t be back here, and this seems like a workplace or family vibe, so I can head out if you want,” Kiera said, pointedly not looking at Bodhi.

“No, it’s okay, we’re trying a beer. Do you like beer?” I asked, tilting my chin towards the setup.

“I love beer, so I’m in, if you don’t mind me crashing.”

“It looks like it’s going to be a bit full in here. I’ll taste it when you’re ready to figure out the label, okay?” Bodhi said as he pushed past Kiera, kissed Briar on the top of her head, and headed out of the small tasting room.

Kiera’s shoulders fell as she stared between us. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to annoy him. I mean, I enjoy annoying men most of the time because they get in my space and think I don’t know what I’m doing in my job, but I don’t think that’s what it was.”

Briar squeezed Kiera’s hand. “It’s not you. I promise.” My sister met my gaze, and I nodded tightly.

No, we both knew what was going on, and while I didn’t fault him for it, I really wished that there was something we could do.

“If you’re sure. I feel like I should go apologize.”

“Then you’d be apologizing for existing, and for all the times I’ve met you, that doesn’t seem like a you thing.”

The drummer’s lips twitched. “Very much true. Okay, show me your favorite beer.”

“I don’t know if it’s my favorite yet. It’s our first taste. It could be piss water.”

“Please, make sure that you put that on the next T-shirt,” Briar said with a laugh.

I looked past them through the glass doors, but Bodhi was long gone.

I didn’t know how to fix this, but then again, I couldn’t fix most things in my family.

After all, what did you say to a man who not only lost his wife and kids but had been blamed for it long enough for the scars to dig deeper than the burn scars that already covered his body?

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