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I take them and lean in for a hug. “My head is throbbing, I’ve got to go to bed, Hud. But seriously, stay if you want.”Hudson still lives at Kingston Manor with Max, Jace, our father’s final wife, Ashlyn, and the youngest Kingston sibling, Madeline. He’s never cared about moving out because the gym might as well be his home. And the manor is close to the gym.
He leans down and kisses my head the way Cade kissed Brynlee earlier. “You really forgive me, Scar?”
The words are soft.
Unsure.
Whether it’s because he knows my head hurts or he’s just scared of the answer, I couldn’t say.
I lean into him. “I do. This one time. Don’t do it again, Hudson. Dad’s dead. And I may have five brothers and two brothers-in-law, but none of you have the right to father me. Seriously, Dad barely did it, and I refuse to let anyone else step in and try.” I pull back and turn toward my room. “Night, Hud. I’m done adulting for the day.” When he makes no move to leave, I add, “Make sure you lock the door. I’m not getting back up.”
“Love ya, Scar.”
“You too, little brother.”
The next few weeks go by in a flash of late nights and crazy days in the Kings offices. We’ve all been doing double duty as we keep everything on track for the Philadelphia Kings upcoming season while discussing options and contingencies versus realities for the possible acquisition of the Revolution.
Football season and hockey season may not start at the same time, but they definitely overlap and have us working overtime.
The deal should be done soon.
And I’m not sure how I feel about it.
When Lenny knocks on my office door Friday and pops her head in, it’s with a big smile on her face. “Hey, you ready to head over to Amelia’s for girls’ night?”
I almost forgot we were doing this tonight.
Truth be told, it wasn’t that we were getting together that I forgot.
I just didn’t realize it was Friday. This entire week’s been a blur.
I’m not sure what that says about me.
A quick look at the clock tells me it’s already past six, and I have another few hours of work to get through, but it can wait until tomorrow. “Yeah. Let me just finish this email, and then I’ll be good.”
She walks in and shuts my laptop with a groan. “It can wait.”
“Eleanor Louise Kingston!” I gasp. “You don’t know what I was working on.”
“Scarlet Leigh Kingston. I said it, and I’m not wrong. It can wait. You haven’t left here before eight o’clock a single night this week. You’re going to drive yourself into the ground. You even have dark circles under your eyes.”
“What? Take that back.” I jump up from my chair and run into my private bathroom to check my reflection in the mirror, only to see she’s right.
Lenny walks up behind me and looks at me in the mirror. “You do, Scarlet.” She moves my hair off my shoulders. “And you look like you’re losing weight. I’m worried about you. When’s your next doctor’s appointment?”
“Next week.”
“Good. Want me to go with you?” The two of us have come a long way in our relationship. We’ve always been very different people, and with the six-year age gap between us, we never really found ourselves at the same place in life until two years ago.
We didn’t really like each other much at that point either.
But once she was home from college, we both made more of an effort.
It’s nice but still a little odd for me.
I’m not someone who grew up with female friends.
Most of the girls in school annoyed me.
“I appreciate the offer, but Cade is coming with me. If we’re lucky, they might be able to tell us that she’s a girl.” We both move back into my office while I pack up my laptop and grab my purse.
Lenny grabs her bag from where she dropped it earlier, and we head for the elevator. “What are you going to do if they tell you it’s a boy?”
I smile at my sister when the door dings open. “Tell them to look again.”
