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"I know you didn't leave. That was the wrong word. I'm sorry! For so long I didn't know why you were gone... I actually thought you died for a while there. I—" Tate chokes. "You didn't say goodbye, Ry. I didn't know why I couldn't say your name anymore. Or why I didn't have my best friend to hang out with. Ry... You were just gone. You left me with Mother and Father. They—"
My baby brothershatters.
ChapterTwenty-Seven
LEO
Ican't be the only one that feels completely lost.
From the moment we pulled into Rylee's driveway, I've been confused, protective, and downright misplaced. It's a strange word to use to name a feeling. I just feel like we are intruding on something really fucking big. At the same time, though, there is no way in hell we are leaving our girls with this stranger.
Brother or not, they’re ours.
Plus, this asshole made her cry. Enough said.
As the boy, Tate, curls over his knees in agony, I wonder if I should take the little one somewhere else. This seems way too deep for tiny ears. Even though I really want to hear what goes down out here, Layla comes first.
"Rylee," I say, hoping to get her attention. Her wide, pleading eyes meet mine, making me feel a little better that I'm not the only one feeling shaken. "Should I take Layla somewhere else?" I really don't want to step on her toes and make decisions about her kid.
"Um. Yeah. Thank y—"
Before Rylee can complete her whispered request, Layla shimmies her way off the couch and deposits her juice pouch on Jackson's lap. He looks like she just gave him a damn gift.
I'm so focused on my amusement at Jackson's reaction to the little girl’s trash that I completely miss where she's headed.
"Nugget," Jude's stern voice doesn't faze her. He doesn't grab her, nor does he say anything else, clearly on the same page with respecting Rylee's choices as mom.
Rylee's brows are pulled together, and tears waver on her eyelashes. Yet she doesn't make Layla stop.
With a teeny arm outstretched, Layla bridges the gap between her and her uncle. "Uncle Tate?"
Tate's shocked choke is immediate when her palm touches his cheek. His head shoots up in wonder, but anguish is still clear to see. I swear his soul is bleeding out of his eyes at this point. I have never felt so much pain radiating from another human being before. Except for Rylee. She just knows how to hide it better than her little brother.
"Hi," he whispers. Layla seems to have him wrapped around her finger already. Just like the rest of us. If Rylee allows any of us poor assholes to be in their lives, her daughter is going to be spoiled rotten.
Layla lets her hand drop, but she doesn't step away from him once she has his attention. Honestly, I'm a little jealous. Both girls were so standoffish when we first met.
What does Layla see in this guy?
I feel ridiculous. Thinking back on the time she saw Leo again at the restaurant, she immediately took to him because he looks like he could be her dad. The resemblance between the five-year-old and her uncle is uncanny, honestly. It makes me wonder if copper is Rylee's real hair color.
"You didn't make Mommy sad on purpose?"
Tate shakes his head vehemently. "No! I didn't, I promise. If I had known I had a niece, I would have been with you. No matter what. For always, darling. I'm so sorry."
Layla nods like it makes perfect sense, even without knowing the details. "Okay. You stay now? For always?"
A sniffle sounds from Rylee, where she's wrapped in Jude's strong arms. Tate looks at her, then back to the little blonde hanging onto his every word. "I have a family of my own that can't wait to meet you. No matter where I am, I will love you and always be here for you. For always."
Layla grips his offered pinky in a binding promise between niece and uncle.
"Layla, baby. Can you go color or play in your room while we have a boring adult conversation?" Rylee kneels and keeps Jude's hand in her own. "I'll come get you so you can hang out with our guys in a bit, okay?"
A round of gasps and chokes sound through the room.
"Did you just claim us, baby girl?" Leave it to Jude to call it like he sees it.
Rylee blushes a hot shade of red while Layla beams at all of us before giving Tate a little hug. She makes him promise one more time that he won’t leave her, then goes through the group, giving us mini hugs. I watch as she bounds up the stairs, a bright smile in place the whole time.
