Page 81 of Sterling Stone

“Vale has lived here since Hudson was born. But essentially, she’s lived here all her life, other than going away for college, just like me.”

“Sounds like a story,” Taxi teases.

I round the island and grab a bottle of wine, holding it up for Taxi’s inspection.

“Yes, please.” She smiles wide, curling those lush lips and exposing beautiful teeth. I want to lean over the island and kiss her again. Skip the wine and dinner and conversation. But it’s been a long time since I’ve entertained a woman, made her a meal, so I want to do this right with her.

I want to do it for me as well.

“I was born and raised here, just like all my siblings.” I uncork the wine and pour each of us a glass, then hand Taxi hers. I tap my rim to hers and take a sip before continuing. “Went away to college on a football scholarship and had a chance at the pros.”

“You were a professional athlete?” Taxi runs her gaze over my shoulders and down my chest.

I chuckle and spread my hands to lean against the kitchen island between us. “Not exactly. I could have been, but I wasn’t.”

Taxi takes a sip of her wine but keeps her eyes on me. “Sounds like more story,” she says, encouraging me to continue.

“My mom died when I was twelve.” I lower my gaze. “Pre-eclampsia.” I glance up and around the kitchen as if it happened in this room. “Happened in my parents’ bedroom. Clay found her. He was only eleven.”

Taxi sets down her glass, eyes wide and focused on me. “I’m so sorry, Stone.”

I shrug. I miss my mom, but it was a long time ago. “They were able to save Vale.”

Swallowing thickly, I remember when Dad came home, stone-faced and worn. Exhaustion like I’d never seen before. He took Vale out of the car, left her in her car seat in the living room, and headed straight for the cabinet above the fridge where he kept the booze.

Everything changed.

“My dad shut down after my mom died. He didn’t know how to raise a baby, although he had six sons from twelve to two.”

Taxi whistles and gives a compassionate smile.

“Yeah.” I chuckle. “My parents really liked each other.” I laugh a little harder. “I have no doubt my dad loved my mom with everything he had. He gave her the children she wanted and the business she desired, and then . . . he just didn’t know how to function without her.”

I hang my head again, staring at the red wine in my glass. “I’ll spare you the details of his behavior. Let’s just say he changed toward each of us, going from bad to worse the younger down the line my siblings ran.”

Taxi taps a dark nail on the island surface, signaling she wants my attention, and I lift my head, focusing on her face to finish my tale.

“I loved my dad, but I didn’t know him by the time I left for college. He wasn’t the same man he was when I was younger.”

Taxi’s head bobs as she says, “I totally understand that. I loved Mama something fierce, but with age came perspective. I couldn’t make her have a relationship with me if she didn’t want one.”

Taxi and I have both had parents who walked away from parenting. Even if my dad was present, he wasn’t involved with any of us. Taxi already told me how her mother shut her out. We both lost our mothers too young.

“Anyway, to explain why I was not a professional athlete, my dad died just before I graduated from college. I’d already been drafted, and intended for Tennessee along with my best friend, Cort.” My mouth twists at the memory. Cort and me on the same team again. Always there for each other. Quarterback and receiver. We shared everything until . . ..

“But, when Dad died, Knox, Ford, Sebastian, and Vale were all still under eighteen.”

“Stone,” Taxi whispers, knowing where this story leads.

“And I couldn’t let them be separated.” I scoff lightly. “Trudy even offered to take them in.”

Trudy had always been good to our family. As best she could be, keeping her distance from Dad and his growing wrath toward the world. She’d offered to take in my younger siblings, but she was nearing the end of raising her nieces and nephews and foster kids, and I couldn’t do that to her.

I couldn’t part with my brothers and Vale.

I shrug. “I came home. Gave up my contract. Worked at Sylver Seed & Soil and did what I needed to do to become a sheriff.”

The training was straightforward and easy enough, as Sterling Falls is the hub of Milton County.