Page 145 of Burning For You

“I got lots of comfort and hugs last night.”

“From Ash?” Brenna asked, her voice gone all soft and squishy. Like two teens discussing their latest crushes.

“Yes,” she said sarcastically.

“Don’t be that way. Mom said you love Ash.”

Her nose wrinkled. “She shouldn’t have said that.”

“Come on, Skye. We’ve all seen it for weeks. I think the boys just needed to put up a token fight. No one really has a problem with it.”

“I didn’t think they did.”

Brenna pointed her finger. “You absolutely thought Corbin would. You even asked me not to say anything.”

She rolled her eyes. “That’s different.”

“No, it’s not. We are no blood relation to the boys. I know that. I know you do too.”

“It doesn’t feel it in times like this,” she said, her voice dropping along with her head as she mumbled the words.

“And remember that,” Brenna said. “For years, I’ve always thought maybe I wasn’t loved as much because I wasn’t theirs, but I realized in time that isn’t the case. They don’t treat me any differently than they do Tate and Corbin.”

Skye saw that too. She also knew all of them struggled even if they didn’t speak the words. “Do you think Corbin and Tate felt like they lost some of their parents’ attention because we came into the house?”

Brenna shrugged. “No clue. Do you want to ask them?”

“No. But maybe they resent us.”

“Now you’re being crazy. There is no resentment there. None I’ve ever seen.”

“But Holden works for the business like Corbin. Like maybe Corbin thought it’d all go to him. Or him and Tate and now Holden is there full time. Even Keegan, though we know Keegan really wants to be a full-time sheriff.”

“I don’t waste my time trying to figure out what is in other people’s minds and you shouldn’t either. I’d think you’d have enough on your plate.”

She sighed and sat on the couch, her sister following. “I do. And I’m not sure I want to talk about it because I don’t want to cry again. I feel like such a wuss. In the beginning I was like this is awesome. I’m doing my part, I’m reporting the news. I’m going to catch a bad guy.”

“You’re doing all of that.”

“But it changed. It’s not what I thought. Like I told Mom. I should have just walked away.”

“Don’t do that to yourself. You can’t change the past. None of us can and we shouldn’t even try. Embrace your present and your future.”

“I’m trying. I really am. Do you think I’m that hard to be around?”

“Are you asking as your sister? Or as a friend to know if like Ash might get sick of you?”

She picked the pillow up to chuck at her sister’s smirk, but when Brenna held the coffee cup in front of her, she put it back down.

“Got you to react. Just like you used to,” Brenna said, laughing. “You’re not hard to be around. Or I never thought so. But our lives, we have things in common that so few can say.”

“Good for them,” she said.

“I know. I feel it too. Let’s talk about Ash.”

“What about him?”

“You’re in love. We know it. Things are good?”