Page 48 of Finish Line

“Merry Christmas, bitch,” she says with a broad smile.

“Merry Christmas, Cin.”

She gives me an assessing stare. “How are you doing?”

I sigh. “Better. I’m sorry for the way I act?—”

“Let me stop you right there. You have no reason to apologize, Shelby. If anything, it’s me who should apologize. I wasn’t listening to you. I figured the last time you just moved on like nothing happened. But… Cam made me understand that nothing about this was the same.”

I look over at Cam.

“You didn’t just leave Roger,” Cin continues. “He took you from us. I’m so sorry for treating you like it was the same as before. I’m glad you’re doing better, even if only a little. I miss you.”

“I miss you, too,” I say as Cin looks off to her side and smiles.

Nick’s face pops into view. “Merry Christmas, Shelby. How are things?”

This time, my smile is bigger. He is such a good brother. “Good, Nick. Thank you for keeping my secret.”

“It’s no big deal. I wish you would have come to me instead of Frank. I’m your family.” Hurt leaks into his voice.

“You are, Nick, and I’m so sorry. I wasn’t thinking straight. Everything was pushing down on me like I was drowning. Plus, I didn’t want to cause problems between you and Cin. I didn’t want you to have to lie to her. Can you forgive me?” My eyes glass over with tears.

Nick’s eyes flash with happiness. “Of course, I forgive you. Once I paused to think about it, I understood why you did what you did. Are you going to call the guys?”

I bite my lip. “I’m not sure.”

Nick goes to open his mouth but pauses. He has something he wants to say but doesn’t want to upset me.

“Go ahead,” I tell him.

“I’m worried about them, Shelby.” He rubs the back of his neck. “You remember what it was like to break the tie with that dickhead. On top of that, they’re depressed about what they did to you. Dom has spent hours in their gym beating every bag to death, Luke is more withdrawn than usual, and Mav hasn’t cracked a joke in weeks. It would do them good to hear your voice.”

“I’ll consider it,” I say sadly.

“That’s all I can ask.” Nick’s gaze turns assessing. “You look better. Whatever you’re doing, it’s working. Keep it up.”

Mom and Peter are next.

Surprisingly, Peter goes first while Mom sits next to him, smiling, but it isn’t her genuine one. “Hey, Shelby, how are you?”

“I’m doing pretty well. Being here has helped out.”

“I’m glad for that.” Peter’s shoulders relax. “I want you to be safe and happy. You deserve that and so much more. Hannah wanted me to say hello for her. She’s on the phone with her aunt, finalizing everything for her move. I want to thank you once again for what you did for her. For keeping her safe.”

He pauses a moment, his face growing serious. “But if you ever put yourself in harm’s way like that again, I’m not sure if I’ll be able to handle it.”

Worried he’s mad at me, my chest tightens.

“I can’t lose you. You’re my daughter, too, Shelby.” A small tear glistens in the corner of his eye as he clears his throat.

Tearing up myself, I wipe my face. “Thank you for everything, Peter.”

My mom subtly shifts, and I brace for her to yell at me, but she doesn’t. “Oh, Shelby, the family was sitting down to dinner when you called. But I’m happy you did. I’m sorry you felt you had to leave and thought we weren’t listening to what you were telling us. But I didn’t know how to handle everything, handle you. So, I did the best I could.”

She pauses, but when I don’t say anything, she huffs. “Well, you look better, and you got some sun. Must be a nice little vacation you’re having.”

Peter’s face turns incredulous as he looks at her, shocked by her passive-aggressive.

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