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Alexis’s giggle pulled me out of the stupor Holton had left me in. “Well, Mom, I think that answers your earlier question of when your son was going to pull his head out of his ass.” Then she lifted her wine glass at me. “Welcome to the crazy, babe.”
Just like that, my nerves melted away and my head fell back on a belly laugh.
Mary finished preparing dinner, and once it was close to being done, Alexis and I started to set the large family table in the dining room.
“You know, I think I owe you a thank you,” Alexis stated as we worked in tandem, circling the table and setting plates and flatware in front of each chair.
I looked over to her, my forehead pinched in confusion. “Thank me? For what?”
“For bringing Holt back. The past months have been really hard on him, and I worried after what happened, he’d never get back to his normal self. He puts so much pressure on himself to be perfect all the time. I was afraid he’d never fully come back from it.”
I shook my head, trying to understand what she was saying. “I’m sorry, Alexis, but I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
The fork in her hand paused halfway to the table as she looked at me like a deer caught in the headlights. “He—he didn’t tell you about his old case?”
What old case was she talking about? “No. Honestly, he doesn’t tell me much about his job.” I swallowed, my throat suddenly feeling dry. “Did something bad happen?”
She rushed around the table, stopping in front of me and taking both my hands in hers. “God, I’m such an idiot. I shouldn’t have said anything.”
“Alexis,” I started with a hint of panic.
She squeezed my hands reassuringly. “It’s fine, I swear. I have a big mouth, and sometimes it gets away from me. It’s his story to share, not mine. I’m sorry I mentioned it. But you shouldn’t worry. It’s something that happened at work. All I’m going to say is that you don’t need to worry about Holton because I’m telling you, he’s back to his normal, pain in the ass self. And that’s all because of you.”
I wanted to argue, to push and ask her what the hell she was talking about, but I was willing to bet she was just as stubborn as her brother. So as difficult as it was, I let it go. After all, who was I to push Holton to share all of his secrets when I was keeping a few of my own?
He’d share when he was ready. And so would I. Because I knew if I wanted this relationship to last, it couldn’t be built on secrets.
* * *
Holton
I’d been walkingaround with a sense of pride swelling deep in my chest all damn day, and it was all because of her. She’d fit in with my family exactly how I’d expected, even better, actually. My folks loved her, she and my sister were becoming fast friends—which made me a little nervous, I’d admit. Hell, even my nephew had tried making a move on her. And as the evening progressed, my little niece had taken more and more of a shine to her, eventually crawling up into her lap after dessert while we were all still sitting around the table, enjoying a cup of coffee and talking.
Ava had conked out a few minutes ago, but if Lyric noticed, she didn’t seem to care. She simply held on to the little girl, sliding her hand down her hair and back without thought as she held a conversation with the rest of my crazy family. And I would have been lying if I said seeing her with my niece in her lap didn’t hit me somewhere deep inside.
Luke was in the chair beside hers, entertaining himself with a toy truck he was driving across the table, but still close enough to reach out and touch her or play with her hair, something he did frequently. Caleb and Alexis were going to have one hell of a time once he was old enough to date.
“Lyric, dear, tell us a little about yourself,” my mother prompted as she placed a fresh pot of coffee in the center of the table. “Did you always want to be a librarian?”
My arm was draped over the back of her chair, my fingertips coasting along her shoulder every now and then when the desire to touch her grew too intense to ignore. With one arm still holding Ava to her, she mindlessly traced the rim of her coffee cup with her other hand as she answered. “I’ve always loved books, and growing up, the library in our town was my favorite place in the whole world. I spent hours and hours there as a kid. As I got older, all I knew was that I wanted a job where I’d be surrounded by books on a regular basis. I toyed with the idea of getting into publishing, but I hate the thought of being the person who tossed out manuscripts that people poured their souls into. Being a librarian was the right fit for me. It’s my dream job.”
“Well, I love that. Speaking of your hometown library, where is it you grew up? I don’t think I’ve heard you say.”
I could have sworn I saw her tense a little bit, but as she spoke she seemed totally fine. “Oh, just some small town in Colorado. In the middle of nowhere, really. Smaller than Redemption.”
My father took a gulp of coffee before asking, “Do you still have family up that way?”
I knew I wasn’t imagining things when I felt her lock up at that question, and my gut sank at the possible reason. “Um, no. No family,” she answered, her voice much quieter that time.
“What about siblings? Do you have any brothers or sisters?”
My back went straight, a lead ball forming in my gut. I should have prepared better for this. I should have found a way to avoid the wholegetting-to-know-yougig to spare Lyric from having to talk about something so painful.
“Jeez, Mom. Enough with the twenty questions already.”
My mother’s eyes widened at the harsh tone of my voice, and I could feel the scrutiny of everyone else at the table as well. But it was Lyric’s touch that calmed me. She placed a gentle hand on my thigh beneath the table and offered me a small smile.
“It’s okay, Holt. I’m good.”
