Page 3 of Five

Sparrow’s family home is in downtown, not too far from Five’s house. It’s a sprawling mid-century modern on almost an acre of land, just a block off Mountain Avenue. The driveway is long and there’s four cars there when I pull in. For a moment, I wonder if one of them is Five’s, but then I remember that the unfamiliar BMW is the car that Sparrow got for Christmas last year. The other three belong to Rook, Ronin, and Kate.

Kate is home too.

I’m not surprised. She graduated this year and she’s waiting out the summer here at her parents’ house before she goes to grad school next fall.

But the fact that Five is here and not here is what surprises me. Where is he? If everyone left in town is over at Sparrow’s, where the hell is Five? Does he know I’m coming? Is he avoiding me? Did he bail out before I could get here?

The sick, sick feeling that’s been sitting in the bottom of my stomach like a sinkhole is back and worse than ever. If he ditched out on account of me… I will die. Shrivel up and die of heartbreak and humiliation.

“Hey!” Sparrow is standing in the open screen door on the side of the house near the driveway. “You’re here!”

“I’m here,” I call through my open window. But Five isn’t.

“Oliver and Five went out to run an errand.”

“They did?” I ask, getting out of my rental.

“I’m sure they’ll be back soon.”

“He knows I’m coming?” I ask. Almost dumbly. Definitely on the edge of desperate. Pull yourself together, Rory.

“Of course, you silly bitch. Five can’t wait to see you! He was so excited that you agreed to come home.”

I grab my pack and meet her at the door. “I’m nervous,” I say. The words that have been sitting in the back of my mind ever since that text came in finally come out. Words I couldn’t say to anyone except the people I call family here in Colorado.

“Don’t be,” she says, taking my pack from me and opening the door wide. “He’s here for you, Rory.”

Here for me. But if that’s true, why didn’t he tell me he was coming home? I’ve been waiting for that call for six years and it never came. He’s here. But that call never came.

Why?

I follow her inside and find Belle and Kate chatting at the kitchen table. When they see me, they squeal and get up, rushing over to shower me with hugs and kisses.

“You look great,” Kate says, holding me at arm’s length so she can take me in.

“Me?” I say, laughing with her and letting that horrible ache wash away in their love. “You look like a goddamned Wall Street wolf in that suit!”

Even though Kate isn’t really Ford’s daughter, she’s more like him than she is her mom—aside from looks. Kate and Ash both have small, delicate Asian features. Plump pouty lips and fair skin. And the most beautiful raven-dark hair.

But her personality is all Aston. She’s a ruthless businesswoman. She’s smart. Not weirdly smart like Ford and Five. But clever. And intuitive. And wise for her young age.

“Jesus, Rory,” Belle says. “You need to put on something sexy. What’s up with the Shrike Bikes look?”

I look down at my t-shirt. My dad made this shirt for me when I was fifteen. It’s got a few holes in it, sure. But that only makes it cooler. My shorts are frayed denim. The little white strings hang down across my tanned legs. And my boots are Frye. I look hot as fuck and I know it. Five loves this look. “What I’m wearing is fine. I was on my way to the Hamptons in this outfit. If it’s good enough for that place, it’s good enough for here.”

“Well, Five came home looking like a billionaire. I’m just saying—”

“She’s just saying,” Kate interjects, giving my sister the stink eye. “You look perfect.”

And that’s when reality hits me again. “What is going on?” I ask. “Why is he here? And why didn’t he tell me he was coming?”

“It was a surprise,” Sparrow says. “No one knew he was coming home. Not even Ford and Ashleigh. Obviously”—she snorts—“or they wouldn’t have gone to Florida for the annual Disney trip.”

I squint my eyes at her. “So no one knew he was coming?”

“Nope,” Kate says. “I didn’t either. I’m just as surprised as anyone.”

“Where is he staying?” I ask. “At home with you?”