Page 53 of Punish Me

Ambrose squeezes as his nostrils flare, his lips become pinched, and those fiery gold eyes flash at me. It’s then that I give him what he’s demanding of me. It’s then that I know thatthere’s no going back because, despite what happened between my brother and us earlier, Ambrose is staking his claim and won’t let go.

***

“Hey, Mak. How are my babies?” I ask when my sister’s face pops up on FaceTime.

“They’re doing just fine. Wanna see them?” she asks, pulling one baby into the screen and then the next.

“Chrissy! Maddy!” I exclaim, seeing the twins.

They wave their chubby little hands around and smile, drooling as they look at me. Maddy starts talking instantly, making her little baby gibberish while Chrissy presses a chubby fist to her mouth.

“She’s always hungry,” Mak says about Chrissy.

I laugh and talk with them some more before she sets both babies in their playpen.

“Where’s my little guy?” I ask, referencing Caleb.

“With Shep. They’re having a boys’ day out.”

“How cute is that,” I say.

“Girl, I never thought that I would miss those two so much. Caleb keeps his little sisters busy, and I can see the difference now that he isn’t here,” Mak says.

“Well, Mommy, this is the life that you asked for.”

She laughs. “It is.”

“So, what’s up? I know you didn’t call to hear me gush over my nieces and nephew.”

“Not exactly, but it’s always good seeing your face, and I know they appreciate seeing their Ti-Ti Bryn’s face. But you’re right; that’s not the reason for my call.”

“I’m guessing you spoke with Bray?” I say, dropping onto my couch and muting the TV.

I pull my spoon from the pint of chocolate pecan ice cream and scoop some onto my tongue.

“Yes, I did, and he wasn’t too happy. What’s this about you and Ro being involved?”

I sigh and say, “Well, I have no idea what Brayden said, but I can tell you that, yes, Ro and I are involved.”

“How long?”

“The first time was more than a decade ago. During college. Lately, it’s been for the last few weeks.”

“Shit! I thought he was lying or overreacting or something.”

“No, it’s true,” I say and tell her everything that happened from the beginning to the end, eating my ice cream as I go.

“Why’d you guys keep it a secret?”

“I’ll give you one guess. You already know how Brayden feels about his friends and me.”

“Try how he feels about you period, Bryn. He’s always been protective over you as though he were your guardian. He took his big brother role seriously.”

“Right! And when Mommy and Daddy moved back to South Carolina it made him even worse. He’s so damn obnoxious with it, Mak.”

“I will agree with that, but perhaps you could have handled this differently?”

“I could have, but he doesn’t make shit easy. He’s not the easiest person to talk to, you know. Bray thinks he knows everything.”

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