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“Cyprus.”
I blink and look at the girl as she gets up from the table and rushes to her big brother. My heart nearly stops at the sight of him grinning at her as he scoops her into his arms.
“Hey, Punk, you have a good day at school?”
“I’m not a punk,” Bride giggles. “That word is for losers.”
“No, it’s not. Punk goes with punk rock, so it’s cool,” Cyprus says, setting her on her feet. “You get your schoolwork done?”
“Yeah, and you owe me pizza again.” Bride plants her hands on her hips and cocks a hip in only a way a sassy girl can do.
The women sitting around me giggle at the way she stands up to her big brother, and she’s no more than eight and cute as can be. Plus the way she takes on her brother is funny. Though I wouldn’t say that outloud.
“Why’s that?” Cyprus asks, cocking a brow.
“Because I got my report card and made the principal list!” Bride runs back over to the table and grabs her paper to hand back to him. “Does this mean I also get ice cream too?”
Cyprus chuckles, takes the paper from her, looks at it, and kneels in front of her. “This is awesome and worth you getting pizza and ice cream, chickadee.”
“Yay!” the little girl squeals and throws her arms around Cyprus’s shoulders.
Cyprus’s gaze finds mine, and I have a hard time swallowing at the sight of him with the child. God knows he’s always been amazing but seeing him with her, he’s even more so. And that right there scares the ever-loving hell out of me.It also makes my heart hurt even more for the bond I used to share with my own brother.
Then a thought occurs to me. One of dread and anguish. One where if something happened to Cyprus because of me being here, she’d lose the brother who adores her, and again, it would be my fault. Just as Noah’s death is on me.
And I know I can’t let that happen. The first chance I get, I’ll run . . . leave before anything can happen to any of those here. They’re all good people and don’t deserve to deal with my problems. They’re mine and mine alone. I’ve been living with them for years now, and I’ll keep doing just that to keep others from getting dragged in the middle.
CHAPTER9
CYPRUS
Seeing the look in Noelle’s eyes, I know her mind is turning, and from the look on her face, it’s not good. She’s always had a telling face and makes a shit liar. It’s another thing I could kick myself for because I should’ve known that she would never do anything to hurt someone.
I clear my throat and look to my sister. “Bride, before we go, I’ve got someone I want you to meet,” I tell her and nod in Noelle’s direction.
“Who?” Bride asks, looking skeptical. She’s not one for being around new people. Thanks to our mom being a bitch, it takes time for Bride to warm up to anyone. Well, that is anyone not a part of the club. She took to the ol’ ladies around here easily, but they made it easy for her to do so.
I hold my hand out for Bride and turn her to face the ol’ ladies. “Noelle.” She apprehensively gets to her feet and steps forward, her doe eyes watchful. “Bride, this is Noelle. She’s going to be your nanny.”
“My nanny?”
“What?” Bride and Noelle say at the same time.
“Yeah, she’s goin’ to be staying with us and helpin’ out when I’m not home.”
“But . . .”
I give Noelle a look stopping her from protesting. “You’re not leavin’, Noelle, and if I have to make you Bride’s nanny to make sure that happens, then so fuckin’ be it.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I take note of Bride dropping my hand and stepping away from me, her eyes darting back and forth between Noelle and me. But I don’t take my eyes off Noelle. There’s no way I’m letting her think I’ll back down. I intend for her to tell me the hell she’s been through. I read that last entry in her diary, and it broke a part of me knowing I failed in keeping that promise to Noah. I left, and in leaving, I left her behind, but I’d been pissed and blamed her for the fact we lost him. Now, I know the truth.
With the truth revealed, I intend to make things right.
Noelle finally drops her eyes down to meet Bride’s gaze and gives her a tentative smile. “Hey, Bride, it’s nice to meet you.”
Bride cocks her head to the side as if taking Noelle in, sizing her up and giving her a once over. Just like the ol’ ladies I’m sure have been known to do. The little girl surprises the hell out of me when she looks at the other women, seeing that Noelle had been sitting with them and then back to Noelle. “Nice to meet you too. Do you like pizza? Ice cream? What’s your favorite? Oh, and are you my brother’s ol’ lady?”
Noelle lifts her eyes to meet mine for the briefest second before answering Bride. “I love pizza. My favorite is salami and pineapple, but I haven’t had it in years. As for ice cream, who doesn’t love it? Picking a fave would be too hard, but if I had to choose, I’d say butter pecan.”
