AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Come on, fellas.” Maverick leans forward in his lawn chair, resting his elbows on his knees. “You expect me to believe it was that hard?”
“Not every moment,” Sterling tells him. “But, yeah, it was tough.”
“Because you were blind,” Merrick quips.
“Possibly.” Sterling bobs his head. “I didn’t want to lose her, and I was the dumb ass who pushed it all down. I was so caught up in losing Alyssa as a part of my life, I missed the signs. I wasted so much damn time.”
“See.” Dad points toward the twins. “You two can learn a lot from your brothers.”
“Things that you think are obstacles aren’t,” Deacon speaks up. “I was stuck on the fact that Ramsey is ten years younger than me, but at the end of the day, no one else could love her the way I do.”
I smile at Deacon. He’s never been one to shy away from being real, and one thing he will shout from the rooftops is how much he loves Ramsey. Hell, none of us are shy about it. Maybe we have Deacon to thank for that. He and Ramsey were together before any of the rest of us. He fell in love with our little cousin, and he had zero apologies for loving her.
That’s loving harder.
Like we’ve always said, his last name might not be Kincaid, but he might as well be. He works hard and loves harder, just like we do, and I couldn’t think of anyone better suited for my cousin.
“Come on.” Orrin stands and tosses his beer can in the bucket we’re using to collect trash. “Let’s go for a swim.”
Everyone stands except for me, Brooks, and Dad. “You not coming?” Declan asks.
“Nah, I’m going to stay where I know I get reception.” Brooks holds up his phone. “Just in case.”
“There’s reception,” Rushton assures him. “I made sure of it. We all want them to be able to reach us, bro. Come on.”
Brooks nods and stands, following along behind our brothers. “Ry?” Declan asks.
“Nah, man. Jordyn is supposed to call, and I don’t know when she can get away. I’ll come down once I talk to her.”
“Pops?”
“I’ll keep this one company.” Dad points his bottle of beer toward me.
“All right, you know where we’ll be if you change your mind.” Declan grabs a beer from the cooler and jogs off to catch up with the others.
“How are you doing, son?” Dad asks.
I blow out a breath and tilt my head back, staring up at the star-filled sky. “I’m doing.”
“Any news from the PI?”
“Nothing. So far, both of Jordyn’s parents are squeaky clean. He tells me that these things take time, and that secrets can be buried deep. I want to stay hopeful, but it’s hard when I miss the hell out of her.”
“Ryder, you’re in a position that none of us have ever been in. Your path is different from ours, so you’re going to have to speak up when you need help. You know we like to meddle.” He laughs. “But if it’s more than that, you’re going to have to tell us what you need.”
“I just need her,” I tell him honestly. “She’s struggling. She’s still stressed about how she left, and she’s worried about everyone hating her for it.”
“We don’t hate her.”
“I know that. How do I convince her?”
“Actions. Our actions will speak louder than your words or even ours. We’ll show her.”
“And until then? Hell, I barely see her.”
“Until then, you stay present in her life, even from a distance. Show her that this fight is one she’s not fighting alone. When it’s time for us to step up, we will.”
I can’t help it, I chuckle. “I pretty much told her the same thing. That I needed her to stay present and let the past go. It was out of her control, and she thought she was protecting us.”
“She was protecting us.”
There’s conviction in his voice, and I swallow the lump that suddenly appears in the back of my throat. My family, they always have my back, and it’s something you get used to, but at times like this, it means the world to me.
“We’ve got you, Ry. You and Jordyn. When it’s time, we’ll all rally and love her harder. She’s the love of your life, so it will be easy. If you’re happy, we’re happy. It’s that simple.”
“Love you, old man,” I say, not bothering to hide the quiver in my voice.
“Love you too, Ry,” he says as my phone rings. “I’ll give you some space.” He grabs another beer and heads toward the trail that leads to the lake where my brothers are.
“Hey, sweets,” I answer.
“Hi, handsome. Am I interrupting?”
“Never, Jordyn.”
“Everything okay?”
“Everything is perfect. I was just having a little one-on-one chat with my dad.”
“Oh, I can let you go.”
“Nah, he went down to the lake with the others. It’s just me here sitting around the fire.”
