AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I forced myself to return my attention to Dallas. It wasn’t until the sheriff and the animal control officer left that my brother showed the first sign of cracking. Neither Nolan nor I managed to reach Dallas before he dropped to his knees in the snow.
“Dallas,” Nolan called in a panic as he grabbed my brother’s face.
My brother’s eyes were just dead space.
“Let’s get him inside,” I said. I put my arm around Dallas’s waist and hauled him to his feet, then practically dragged him to the truck.
“Is he okay?” Isaac asked, his voice ripe with fear.
“Follow us to the house,” I said.
I didn’t know why, but I knew it wasn’t time to say goodbye to the pair just yet. I held Isaac’s gaze until he nodded because I wanted him to understand that I hadn’t been asking, I’d been telling.
I got Dallas settled in the front seat as Nolan got behind the wheel.
“Get in,” Nolan said as he motioned to the back seat. I felt my body instantly break out into a cold sweat and my throat threatened to close up.
“No, I’ll meet you at the house.”
Fortunately, Nolan didn’t seem to be interested in questioning my decision to take the footpath to the house. I quickly shut the door and hurried across the expansive property. I got to the house just seconds after the cars did.
I was pleased to see that Isaac had done what I’d said.
I reached Dallas’s side of the truck before Nolan and helped my brother out of the vehicle. He stumbled against me, but luckily, he didn’t fall. Nolan went around to his other side and put his arm around Dallas’s waist.
“Just a little longer, Dallas,” I said softly as Nolan and I worked to maneuver Dallas’s big body toward the front door. “Just a little longer and then you can lie down, okay, buddy?”
“We’ll get Loki back, baby,” Nolan said. As we got Dallas up to the bedroom, Nolan continued to talk to him, but my brother didn’t really react. I knew it was likely the mix of stress, exhaustion, and pain pills he was probably on that were causing him to zone out.
Once Dallas was sitting on the edge of the bed and Nolan began working his coat off, I turned to leave.
“Can you ask Isaac to stick around for a bit?” Nolan asked. I turned to look at him. He was focused on Dallas but kept shooting me glances. “Tell him to make himself at home.”
I nodded. I wasn’t at all surprised he wasn’t extending the same offer to me. I certainly didn’t deserve it. I spared my brother another glance, then left the room, pulling the door closed behind me.
I returned downstairs and found Isaac and Newt sitting at the small kitchen table, their coats still on. Newt was swinging his legs back and forth beneath the table as he and his brother played some kind of game with their hands. I almost smiled when I realized what it was.
“One, two, three, four, I declare a thumb war,” Isaac said. As soon as he said the last word, the pair began dueling it out with their thumbs. Neither of them noticed me, so I was free to watch their interaction. A smile split Isaac’s mouth as Newt managed to pin his thumb down.
“Oh no!” Isaac cried in mock fear.
“I’ve got you,” Newt declared. I nearly laughed because Newt was holding onto Isaac’s thumb with both his hands, a clear violation of the rules.
Both of them dissolved into a fit of giggles after Isaac declared Newt the winner. They were about to start another round when Isaac looked up and spotted me. The amusement slipped from his expression and was replaced with one of wariness and uncertainty.
I tried to tell myself that was a good thing, but I didn’t like the little twinge of guilt that landed in my belly.
Isaac climbed to his feet and subtly placed himself between me and Newt. I wanted to laugh at that. One, because what exactly did he think I was going to do? And two, if I had wanted to do something, a scrawny teenager wasn’t going to be able to stop me.
“Is he all right?” Isaac asked.
“He’s fine,” I said as I stalked toward them.
The kid paled a little and stepped back but didn’t move away from the little boy. If anything, he moved closer.
I practically towered over him. I guessed I had at least five inches on him and outweighed him by a good fifty pounds. “Nolan wants you to stay.”
Isaac swallowed hard and nodded but didn’t say anything. Up close, I could see his eyes were a startling shade of dark blue with what looked like flecks of gold and green in them.
Makeup aside, they were… pretty. And actually, the heavy liner surrounding his eyes kind of made them even more intense.
