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“Is Adam gonna send me away?”
“What? No! Never!” As I’m watching her face, I see tears silently rolling down her cheeks and I quickly wrap my arms around her. “Sweetie, did somebody say he would?” If anyone is spreading lies about him, and hurting his family, he needs to know in order to deal with it.
“I know I shouldn’t have listened, but they were talking about me.”
“Where and who?”
“This couple at the funeral. They said Adam wouldn’t want the responsibility of caring for me. That he wouldn’t know anything about raising a girl. They said I’d probably be taken away and never see my brothers again. I don’t wanna lose them, too, Ember. Please don’t let that happen,” she sobs, her arms holding me so tightly it’s like she fears someone will rip her out of mine.
“Riley, you aren’t going anywhere,” I vow. “Do you remember who they were?” I need to know because I’m tempted to find them this second and kick their asses. I may be small, but paper cuts hurt, too, and if you inflict enough of them, you’ll feel the pain for a while. Maybe even bleed out.
“No,” she replies. “I don’t think they’re from around here. I didn’t recognize them.” That’s odd. Who would’ve been there that wasn’t from Becket? Deciding that question can wait until I talk to Adam, I focus on what’s important in this moment, and that’s reassuring Riley.
“Honey, no one is going to take you. Not only will Adam never let that happen, neither would Nash, Camden, or me. You have nothing to worry about, okay? You will stay in your home, with your brothers. That won’t change. Adam is already working on making it official.”
“Promise?” She asks, the little girl in her still scared. Of course, she is. She lost her parents, overheard someone say she’ll lose her brothers next, and be taken from everything she’s ever known. I’m so pissed right now, which means I can only imagine how Adam will react.
“I promise. Is that what’s been bothering you?” When she nods, it hurts even more, knowing she’s kept this inside, trying to deal with it alone. I lean back and wipe the tears from her face. “Let’s do something fun before we finish shopping. My treat,” I tell her.
That makes her curious and she looks at me as if I can fix anything. “What do you have in mind?”
“How about a haircut? And, if they have time, a manicure and pedicure?”
“Really?” She shrieks.
“Really.” And just as I’d hoped, her mind is off and running, thinking about this new experience, feeling like a grown up, and no longer worrying about something that’s not happening, nor will it ever. I call my usual hairstylist, Amber, and yes, we joke about our names being almost identical. Thankfully, she has an opening and can fit Riley in. Amber also asks the technicians to see who has room for two mani-pedis, and we schedule those as well. “Do you need anything else before we go?”
“I want to get some dresses and skirts, okay?” I tell her it is and we take care of that, then stop at a drugstore on our way to the salon where I get her enough boxes of tampons to last her a few months. I also made sure she knows if anything ever comes up of a girly nature, she can always call or text me, and I program my number in her cell.
With that done, we head to our final destination, my trunk full of Riley’s bags, and a few of my own. Watch out, Adam.
Almost two and a half hours later, we’re done and sporting big smiles. Our fingernails match, both of us selecting a pale pink. As for our toenails, we went with a brighter shade, enjoying the contrast.
“I love your hair.” She’s always had shoulder length brown hair and I didn’t want to do too much change to where it could cause problems. Not that I think Adam will mind, but it’s best to start slowly with things like this, especially with overprotective older brothers, and three of them at that. So, after talking with Amber, Riley opted for a cut and blonde highlights , nothing major nor permanent. As I glance at Riley, I know any issues the guys may have, having to accept their little sister is getting closer every day to becoming a woman, will be worth it. She’s happy, twirling in a circle, her strands flying around, and laughing. I grab my phone from my pocket and take a couple pictures, as well as a video. It’s moments such as these that we’ll look back on and remember fondly.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you, Ember!” She squeals before giving me a big hug. “I can’t wait until my friends see it. They’re gonna be jealous.” And now she’s back to being fourteen, I think with a laugh. Her steps are lighter, her smile real, and her head higher. Those changes are proof of how heavily what she’d heard was weighing on her, and it pisses me off all over again how inconsiderate some people can be. And adults who know better on top of that.
My phone dings with a text from Adam. He’d messaged earlier, but I told him it was taking longer than we thought, not wanting to ruin the surprise about her new do. I let him know we’re done and he suggests a restaurant close to their house. After getting a thumbs up from Riley, we agree to meet there in twenty minutes.
“Your brothers were done over an hour ago, so they’ve been impatiently waiting on us,” I inform her.
“That’s because they just grab things and say they’re ready. Amateurs,” she says with a scoff. Oh man, she’s gonna be a handful when she gets older. I can’t wait to see it. They won’t know what hit them.
When we pull into the parking lot, Adam spots us and heads straight toward it. He opens my door and helps me out after I turn it off and remove the key.
“I missed you, sparky,” he says before pressing his lips to mine.
“I can tell,” I try to say between kisses.
“What did you do to your hair?” We all turn at Nash’s question.
I glare at Nash. “I think she’s beautiful,” I say pointedly as Camden joins us. Adam is glancing at Riley, then me and back at Riley. He’s speechless. That could be good.
“You cut your hair,” Camden states the obvious.
“And I got highlights,” Riley says proudly. “Ember paid for it.” And that makes three sets of eyes turn to me. Oh boy. Time to stop this before it even gets started.
“Knock it off. She looks great. She likes it and it makes her happy. That’s what matters. It’s hers and nothing that won’t grow out. Got it?”
