Page 102 of Just Between Us

JP wrapped an arm around our little sister’s shoulder. “I think so too.”

Sylvie was quiet as she stared up at the huge house with its white siding and ornate awnings. Her chin wobbled and my throat went thick.

“She’s really gone.” Sylvie’s voice was barely above a whisper. I closed the gap between us and held her in my arms. She looked up at me. “Did you know? Did you know she was dead?”

I rested my chin on her head as I looked at our childhood home. “I didn’t know. I think a part of mehopedshe had just left, maybe?” I sighed. “But what’s worse? A mother who never loved us and left, or the fact that he took her from us?”

MJ’s chin lifted. “I hate him.” I watched as sweet MJ, who never spoke a bad word about anyone, looked as hard as stone.

I could hate him for that alone.

“We don’t need him,” Abel said, his booming voice commanding. “I know I sure as fuck don’t.”

MJ linked her arm with Sylvie’s and then her other with Whip’s. “We’ve got each other, right?”

He smiled at our little sister and thumped his hand on Abel’s back. “Damn right.”

I looked at JP, who had barely spoken a word since we’d gotten there. “You going to be okay?”

His jaw clenched and he nodded.

Worry rippled through me, but I tamped it down. JP was a big boy, and I had to rely on faith alone that he’d help us all out of the mess Dad had created.

I slipped my hand into the pocket of my slacks and pulled out my phone. “I’ll let Bug know the house is hers. In the meantime, let’s get Dad’s shit moved out of there.” I pointed at Abel. “That, wecanburn.”

A wry, uncharacteristic laugh slipped out of Abel. “Deal.”

The corner of my mouth lifted. Our father may be a soulless, murdering bastard, but maybe the Kings would make it out on the other side after all.

THIRTY-TWO

VEDA

You can do this.You can do this. You can do this.

My eyes flicked up to Royal as we walked side by side down the pier toward the Outtatowner lighthouse. My double scoop of tart cherry-vanilla ice cream was a poor distraction from the chaos swirling in my brain. So much had happened in the past few weeks that my detail-oriented, routine-loving mind was having a difficult time keeping up.

Justtellhim.

I gently cleared my throat and stopped walking. “Um ...”

Royal dropped my hand and turned toward me. He had gotten neon blue Superman ice cream becauseof course he had.

One look at him and I burst into a fit of laughter. He’d intentionally given himself a cobalt-blue ice-cream mustache, but he pretended he hadn’t noticed.

I barked out a laugh and gestured toward his face. “You’ve got something, uh ... there.”

He frowned but swiped his cone across his face, smearing more ice cream across the cut lines of his cheek. “Did I get it?”

Humor bubbled inside me, dissolving all the tension and unease I had been feeling only moments before.

That was his gift.

Royal could find the humor in any situation and brought a levity to my life that I never knew I needed. I dug a napkin out of my pocket and swiped it across his face.

“Yeah, you got it.” I wiped the ice-cream mess and peered into his deep-brown eyes.

Royal gave me a cheesy, foolish grin before tossing his mostly finished cone into a nearby trash can, and I did the same.

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