Page 24 of Always Salty

So here I was.

Not that I was complaining or anything. I adored being needed.

I just wished I wasn’t needed at the prison, two hours away.

Though, it did get me out of a board meeting for a bit, which I liked.

What I didn’t like were all the creepy people here to visit their imprisoned family that might as well be in prison themselves.

“Hey, do you hear me talking to you, sweet thing?” the same man asked for a second time.

If he came over here, I was going to stab him with the knife in my back pocket.

“She heard you,” I heard my brother’s deep, dark voice. “But she didn’t respond because she doesn’t want anything to fuckin’ do with you.”

I whipped my head around and…

“Copper!” I cried out.

Copper dropped his stuff onto the concrete, uncaring that some of it might’ve been breakable, and opened his arms just in time for me to throw myself into them.

I sobbed the moment my body made contact with his.

Big, hulking sobs that shook my body.

Snot was running out of my nose, tears were all over both of us, and goddammit, my brother was free!

“What are you doing here?” I wailed.

I was officially losing it.

“I’m out.” He sounded gruff. “Pardoned by the governor.”

I squeezed him tighter, likely cutting off his air supply. Though, he didn’t seem to care.

“Fuck, but it feels good to hold you without chains around me,” he growled. “I’ve missed you too much, Tequila.”

The rumble of his voice in his chest was like music to my ears.

“I’m so happy right now, Copper Clayborne.” I paused and narrowed my eyes. “But don’t ever call me that again.”

I hated, with a passion, my actual name.

Tequila.

My brothers’ names had been bad, sure. All of them cowboy names that were clearly named exactly that because of my mother’s dislike of my father. But my name?

I hated it with every beat of my heart, and would never embrace it, no matter how ‘cool’ everyone thought it was.

Not after all the crap that I’d gotten for it growing up, from both school and my dad.

“You have no idea, baby sister,” he said, not apologizing for using the name that I hated.

I pulled away from him, and he let me go.

I brought both of my hands up to his cheeks and squeezed. “Gosh, I’ve missed the hell out of you, Copper.”

His eyes were a bit wet when he responded, “I’m so happy I could fuckin’ cry.”

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