Page 19 of Gone Away Home

I swear Dustin’s cheeks turn a little pink as he ducks his head slightly. “Thank you, Janice.” He gives my hand a squeeze as we’re ushered inside. Thad is there, his eyes are shrewd and intent as he takes us in but then narrow when he notices our hands. “Dad,” there’s a warning in Dustin’s tone, “it’s good to see you.”

Thad wraps his arms around Dustin and it’s like he takes a moment just enjoying having his son safe and sound for a beat. The smile he gives me is soft after releasing his son and turningtoward me. He hugs me as well and I swear he tries to tug me away from Dustin’s side and separate our joined hands.

Not going to happen.

Not when I need Dustin’s strength and surety. I’ll drown in fear if I let go, and we’ve made a vow to each other that fear isn’t going to rule our lives. Not anymore.

“Come in,” Mom gushes and gives me a pointed look, “I could use some help in the kitchen if you guys want to go and watch the game.”

“I’ll be happy to help in the kitchen, Janice,” Dustin interjects immediately.

Janice blinks at him a few times, her tone confused as hell, “You cook now?”

Dustin chuckles and nods while giving Mom a gentle smile. “I had to learn or else there were times when I wouldn’t eat if I couldn’t cook. I didn’t ever have a nice kitchen to work with like you do Janice, but I do okay.”

“He’s being modest,” the words slip past my lips without really thinking about them, “he’s a great cook. Everything I’ve tried has been delicious.”

When what I’ve said sinks in, I want to slap a hand over my mouth or pluck each word out of the air and swallow it back down, but that’s impossible. When I look up at Dustin he’s smirking at me with amusement dancing in his eyes. Damn it, I love it when he looks at me like this; it turns me on something fierce and now is the worst time to become a horny puddle of need.

Talk about inappropriate.

“How would you know, Zayla?” Thad’s voice is suspicious as hell and bordering on rude which has Dustin bristling beside me.

Before either man can say anything else, Mom pipes up, directing her words to Thad, “Oh, I’m sure it was all innocent, honey. Maybe they ran into each other in town and have been getting caught up,” there’s so much hope in her voice that I almost hate to dash it.

Almost.

Dustin stands at his full height and shakes his head slowly. “No, that’s not what happened, Janice.” He sighs and rubs his hand across his jaw and draws my attention to the stubble there. It’s not helping how much I need him at all. “I’m going to say this once, but I want to start with letting you know it’s not up for debate and we won’t stand for judgement or hate.”

“What are you talking about?” Thad sounds exasperated and on the edge of losing his shit as he keeps glancing down at our joined hands.

“I was really hoping we’d get past the foyer before this came up, but it’s okay,” he mumbles before shaking his head and flashing me a small smile.

Can’t say I wasn’t hoping for the same thing, but here we are.

“Zayla is the reason I decided to be discharged after putting in my time and not serving for another tour.” Mom’s eyes go wide while Thad’s harden. “She’s the only reason I came home.”

“What are you talking about?” Mom looks between us like she’s trying to piece together a puzzle with 1,200 pieces.

Dustin sighs and nods toward the living room. “How about we have a seat?”

Mom rushes into the room, but Thad eyes us for a moment before he follows her. We enter the room last to find them sitting on the couch together which leaves two chairs for us. Dustin doesn’t even break his stride as he heads toward a chair, sits, and pulls me down on his lap.

I shoot him a look that screams ‘what the fuck are you thinking?’, but he simple shrugs and winks at me, not giving a single shit about anyone’s reaction to us being together.

Thad booms, “What is the meaning of this?” He waves as if to encompass both of us. “You’re brother and sister.”

“No,” there’s no room for argument in Dustin’s voice, “we’re not. At most, we’re step siblings, but we were both older when you got married. We are not siblings, and we have never felt sibling feelings toward each other.”

Thad sneers, disgust written all over his face and Mom pales. “You don’t mean,” she starts and shakes her head as if trying to get herself under control before trying again and it’s clear the words are hard for her to get out, “did something happen back when you were both in high school?”

“No, Mom,” I assure her, “nothing happened back then.”

Dustin looks Mom in the eye, not sparing a glance at his father. “I have loved your daughter since the moment I saw her. It was the first day of her freshman year and all it took was one look. I was hooked, but I also wanted to give her a little time to get used to the new school and feel settled. While I was only a year older than her, I knew it wasn’t a good idea to sweep in before she had time to spread her wings a little.”

A few tears slip down Mom’s cheeks, but she’s not looking at us with disgust. No, that’s all Thad.

“I had a plan,” Dustin’s voice turns sad before he shakes his head and explains, “and all I was waiting for was for her to be a sophomore. But it didn’t happen because you took us to Millie’s out of nowhere and told us you were together and getting married.”

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