Page 83 of Three Stepbrothers Save Christmas

“They only know about Verity and Travis. He managed to stay calm enough to realise that throwing the fact we were all with her was bad timing for Verity. He didn’t give a shit about upsetting the parents, just her. He ended the call and found her standing on the stairs holding her doll in floods of tears. She’s been a mess since.”

“Fuck,” I curse as I rub my face. There was never going to be a good time for them to find out, as they were never going to take it well. But why now? After we have been working so hard to pick Verity up from the damage they did in the twelve hours, they were here.

“I’m going in. Whatever happens, we face it together, and don’t let her think for one moment that we give a shit about what they think.”

Ethan nods as I take a deep breath and walk into the house, gearing myself up for whatever is happening inside.

From the moment I open the door, I can feel the tension in the air. The warm, happy feeling that enveloped this house when I left two hours ago has gone, and all I can hear is the soft whispering coming from the lounge.

I find Verity curled up on Travis’s lap, her doll in her arms, as he holds her and whispers into her hair.

“Hey, Little Kitten. I hear you’ve had a rough afternoon.”

Verity looks at me as I sit beside her and Travis on the sofa. Her eyes are bloodshot again, and she looks as if she’s about to cry. I hold out my arms, and she leaves Travis to come and sit on my lap. She curls up so small as if protecting herself from everything out to hurt her.

“Is there anything I can do?”

Verity shakes her head as she leans it against my chest.

“Dad said that if any of you are still here when he gets back in the new year, he will kick you out and stop me from seeing any of you again,” she says quietly as I run a hand over her head.

“Well, good luck with that. We won’t be going anywhere without you,” I reassure her.

“We won’t be here when he comes back anyway. There’s no way I plan on seeing either of them, especially when they are going out of their way to make you miserable, Sweetheart.” Travis stands from the sofa and walks from the room to try and calm down.

“He’s angry about the way they both called me a slut and a whore,” Verity says, looking up at me.

“They did what?” I yell, quickly reminding myself to keep my cool. The last thing my girl needs is for me to lose my shit. “You know they are out of order, don’t you, Kitten? You are far from either of those things.”

“That’s what the others keep telling me, too. But it’s hard to ignore when your own father calls you one.”

What I wouldn’t give to have five minutes with that man so I could tell him a few home truths. But it just feels like we are constantly going over old ground when it comes to him.

“Baby Girl, how do you fancy getting out for a few hours? We could go for a walk while Ryan gets washed up, and then all go out for dinner somewhere.” I turn to Ethan and nod.

“A change of scenery might do you a world of good,” I agree, smiling at Verity, who looks a little brighter at the idea of getting out of the house.

“I would like that,” she answers, sitting up. “And you do need a shower. You stink,” she smirks at me.

“What do you expect when I spent the morning beating up Maximus,” I laugh as I start to tickle her, glad to see a smile on her face.

“Bear, stop!” she squeals as I continue. “Help!” she screams as Ethan pulls her away from me.

“Go and get sorted; we will leave as soon as you are ready,” he laughs, pinching her ass as she passes him.

“I’m going, jeez, keep your hat on,” she sighs, grabbing his baseball cap from his head and rushing towards the stairs, laughing at the top of her lungs.

“Oh, little girl, you better run because me and you are about to fall out,” he yells, chasing after her. He throws a wink my way as he takes the stairs three at a time. I know he may be the best one for her at the moment. Travis is in protective mode and unable to look past her upset; I need to know more about what was said so I can help come up with a plan. But Ethan is there with his humour and ability to make her smile when she needs it the most.

I laugh, watching them disappear from view. Heading towards the kitchen, I hear rustling coming from the office. I head in there wondering what Travis could be up to.

“She sounds happier,” he says as I walk into the room.

“Ethan is taking her out for a couple of hours. We figured a change of scenery would help, and it seems we were right.”

Travis nods, not looking up from the papers he is flicking through.

“You looking for anything in particular? Or just being a nosey bastard?” I ask as I look at the papers lying all over the desk.

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