Page 71 of Forbidden King (Magnolia Falls)

I cleared my throat. I knew I needed to do it. The last thing I wanted was for my brother to worry about me going to see my father and his family, but I knew Kingston wasn’t joking when he said he’d tell him if I didn’t.

“If I tell you, can you just trust me on this?”

“If you’re going anywhere near Barry, I am going to lose my shit.”

“I have not seen Barry at all. Mom came to the book signing, and it was nice to see her. She looks good. And losing your shit has never helped anything.”

“Tell me.”

“I’m going to see Dad and Constance and meet our half-siblings. He invited me for lunch. And before you freak out, I told King that I was going, and he insisted on coming with me. He takes his babysitting job very seriously,” I said, making no effort to hide the sarcasm in my voice.

I wasn’t even slightly annoyed that Kingston was coming with me, but my brother didn’t need to know that.

“I’m glad he’s going with you. I’m surprised he didn’t tell me about it when I spoke to him yesterday.”

“He told me that if I didn’t tell you by the time we got on the road, he’d be calling you.”

“Ride or die. That’s the way we roll. Of course, he’ll drop everything and make sure you’re all right. That’s my brother right there. But I don’t understand why you make such an effort for a man who hasn’t been there for you. An entire family who hasn’t been there for you.”

A lump formed in my throat at his words.

“Everything is not black and white, Hayes. Dad made mistakes—I’m more than aware. But I don’t give up on people. We have half-siblings that I would at least like to meet. They didn’t do anything to us. Can you not give me a hard time about this? It’s just something I want to do.”

“Yeah.” He yawned. “I can do that. All I care about is you being okay. I know I’m a closed-minded prick sometimes, Saylor. But you’ve just always been so good to the core, and I guess I just want to protect you from the big, bad world. I don’t want to see him hurt you again. That’s all it is. I don’t hate his other kids because I don’t know them. I don’t like him because he left our mother and us and had an affair and started a new life with a new family—without giving one fuck about us. He made no effort to know us. He chose them.” I heard the frustration in my brother’s voice, and it hurt me, too. “And damn, Say, I was busy trying to be the man of the house after he left. Mom couldn’t handle jack shit at the time.”

A tear ran down my cheek, and I tried to compose my voice. “I know. And I want you to know that you have been more than a brother to me, Hayes. You’ve been my protector, my best friend, and the only solid parent I’ve ever really had. And I’m grateful for that. Having you for a brother is the best thing that’s ever happened to me. But you have to trust me to make decisions for myself, okay?”

“Yeah. I can do that. Just let me know how it goes. I’m glad you’ll have King with you. That dude can make the worst situations seem like a party.”

“Yes. He will definitely lighten the mood. As much as I was pissed off that you basically forced him to babysit me, I’m happy he’s coming with me.”

“Me, too. Be smart and be safe, okay? You got your necklace on?” he asked, his voice not hiding his concern. The necklace was an inside joke, as he’d always told me he’d protect me from all the evil out in the world, and when he wasn’t with me, I’d have my evil eye necklace to do it for me.

“Of course, I do. I only take it off when I sleep. And I’ve got this. You’re the one heading into a blazing forest fire. Let’s worry about you being safe.” I tried to keep my tone light. “I love you, Hayes.”

“I love you, too. Don’t ever forget it.”

“Well, don’t say it that way. That makes me think you’re going into this fire and not coming out.” I shook my head.

He chuckled and covered it with a cough. “Fine. I love you. I’ll call you later.”

We ended the call, and I just sat there, worried about my brother and nervous about what I was walking into today.

“Hey, hey! Are you ready for a road trip? I’ve got the snacks in the car already.” Kingston filled the doorway as he leaned against the frame, looking sexy as hell in his dark jeans and white tee. His navy baseball cap was turned backward, which just worked for him, and he held his gold aviators in his hand.

“I told you I’d bring the snacks.” I pushed to my feet and walked toward him.

“I told him that you bought the snacks already, too!” Ruby shouted from the kitchen.

“I’m more than aware that you were bringing your version of road trip food. But I don’t want fruit-flavored water and sliced oranges. I want an ice-cold fountain drink full of sugar, beef jerky, spicy potato chips, and red licorice.”

“That’ll give you a stomachache.” I walked past him toward the kitchen, where I’d packed up the healthy treats for our drive.

“You seem edgy. Are you nervous about today, Dandelion?” He asked.

Iwasactually worried, but not for the reasons he thought.

Because being alone in the car with a man I was painfully attracted to was going to be a hell of a lot harder than seeing my father after all these years.

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