Page 26 of Tore Up

He inspected my plate, then smirked. “I get the new additions now. It’s girl food. He’s an ornery bastard, but he’ll make sure you’re taken care of. Let’s go.”

He started for the door, and I followed behind him, realizing he had been talking about Bane. He’d ordered the healthier options for me? I found that hard to believe. But then the baby being Crosby’s must have had him thinking about its health. Not about me.

We drew closer to the voices, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to go in there.

“I don’t want to intrude and make everyone uncomfortable,” I told him.

He looked back at me over his shoulder. “Don’t judge the rest of us by Bane. He is one of a kind, I promise.”

That was a relief, but that wasn’t what I had been thinking. “Who will you tell them I am?”

“They know who you are. That’s been handled.”

There was some relief to that.

Taking a deep breath, I let it out before I walked in behind Than to the room.

“All right, guys, here she is,” Than said, and the two men on the sectional turned to look at me.

I already knew which one was which because Than’s brother was just a slightly older version of him. He had more facial hair, his eyes were hazel instead of blue, and his hair wasn’t as messy.

“That’s my brother, Ransom,” he told me.

Then, he pointed to the younger guy with almost-curly, dark blond hair, which was cut short on the sides with a little bit of length on top. His green eyes met mine, and the corner of his mouth lifted. He seemed friendlier. Ransom hadn’t been rude or anything, but there was a hard edge to him.

“And that’s Forge,” Than told me.

Forge glanced at me, then at Than. “I agree with you,” he said, then picked up his burger.

Who was he talking to? Agree with who?

Ransom cut his eyes to Forge, then back to me. “It definitely makes more sense now.”

Than groaned almost silently, then looked back at me. “Sorry. Ignore them. I promise all that shit was positive. Come sit down.”

This was what I hadn’t wanted to do. Eat in front of strangers who were judging me. And it felt like these two were doing just that.

If I was going to live here for a while, then I had to adjust and get over this. I put my milk on the coffee table, then sat on the sofa. Than took a place a few inches away from me, as if he was there for support. I appreciated it.

I turned my attention to the television to see they were watching horse racing. I’d never watched that before. I took a bite of my sandwich and hoped everyone’s attention was back on the race.

Forge let out a deep chuckle, and I glanced at him. He was grinning as he watched the race. “Why am I not surprised thekid’s horse just won that race?”

I turned my attention back to the screen.

“Because he’s a Hughes,” Ransom replied. “If the boss is gonna buy his son a horse, it is gonna be a fucking winner.”

“Why the hell did Stellan race one of his horses in this one if a Hughes horse was in it?” Forge asked.

“It’s not one they’re keeping. Sebastian said they intended to sell it, and this was just a way to showcase its potential,” Than told him.

I continued to eat while they talked about the race and Demigod, the horse that had won. Apparently, this race had happened earlier today, and Than already knew who had won, but the others hadn’t seen it yet. They seemed to know a lot about horse racing. I knew that Crosby had worked at stables that had racehorses, but I hadn’t been aware they all did. Horse racing seemed important to them.

“Stolen should have been there for this next one,” Than said beside me, sounding almost angry.

“Don’t start that,” Ransom told his brother. “Fender and Bane are grieving.”

I listened as I ate small bites of my salad. I didn’t know who Fender was, but I knew this conversation was now about Crosby’s death.

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