Page 143 of Winning Brynn

My eyes burn as I look up at my brother. The person who gave up everything to look after me after our parents’ death, the one who dedicated his life to preventing me from ever feeling pain like that again. I owe him more than he’ll ever know.

“Alex, I—”

“I’m not done.” He swallows around a lump in his throat, his own eyes watery with emotion. “I know I took the protective shit too far before, but I want you to know that I’ll never stop looking out for you. I will always be here. I’ll always be ready to fight any battle you need me to, or to send gifts to people on your behalf when you forget, or to let a strange woman stay in my apartment when your fiancé’s baby momma unexpectedly comes to town.”

I laugh at that, then freeze. “Wait. Fiancé?”

His eyes widen. “What? Who said that?”

“You did.”

“No.” He shakes his head rapidly with an expression of pure panic. “I definitely didn’t. Anyway, back to what I was saying… I know I was an asshole when I first found out about you and Leo, but the truth is, I wasn’t ready to let you go yet. It was always just me and you. But I’m so happy now, Brynn. I’m so so happy that you have someone who would go to the same lengths I would just to make you smile. Further, even. I mean, he adopted you a kid, for fuck’s sake.”

I giggle, my heart warming as I think about Ivy, about Salem, and Leo, and how he has made all my dreams come true.

Alex pulls me into his arms and wraps me in a hug. We might be twenty years older now, but his hugs feel just as safe and warm as they did when we lived in the children’s home.

“I’m so proud of you, Brynn Bear,” he whispers into the top of my head. “And I know that if Mom and Dad could see you now, they’d be so proud of you too.”

Tears fall freely down my cheeks now as I bury my head in his chest. “They’d be proud of you too,” I sniffle, stepping out of his hold to look at him again.

He dips his head and shrugs. “Well, I don’t know about that.”

“I do.”

He smiles, and it’s so genuine and bright, despite the tears pooling in his own eyes. “I think I’ve kept you long enough. It’s time for you to go inside now.”

I put my keys in the door, and unlock it, looking at him over my shoulder with a small frown of confusion. He’s already turned away to start heading back toward the elevator. “Are you not coming inside?”

The six-year-old girl inside of me is stretching out her arms to her big brother, knowing that something huge is about to happen and wanting him to be there with her when it does.

He shakes his head. “This is something you have to do without me.”

The weight of his words washes over me, the gravity of them feeling like I’m being pulled through the floor. He was right before. It has always been just us two, but it isn’t anymore. Maybe there’s a small part of me that isn’t ready to give that up either.

As if reading my thoughts, he steps back toward me and kisses the top of my head. “I’ll always be your big brother. I’m not going anywhere.”

It’s the reassurance I need to push open the front door. Looking at him over my shoulder, I whisper, “Thank you.”

“Always.”

“I love you, Alex.”

“I love you too, Brynn Bear.”

The hallway is empty when I step inside, save for a line of scattered rose petals leading from the front door to the archway that opens into the living space. I follow them with a thudding heart, emotion still clogging my throat.

Quietly, I can hear the twinkle of guitar strings, the sound growing louder with every step I take. There’s a soft high-pitched giggle, followed closely by a loud shushing that could only be coming from my strong-willed, stormy-eyed six-year-old.

Rounding the corner, I freeze.

My two daughters grin brilliantly from the center of the space. Ivy jumps up and down with excitement, her dark hair bouncing with the movement. Salem stands beside her, steady now on her little legs, as she claps her hands together.

“Mama!”

At once, they launch themselves toward me. Ivy reaches me first, having four more years of experience with running than her younger sister, throwing herself into my arms. “Missed you, Mommy.”

I close my eyes and bury my nose in her hair. “I missed you too, baby girl.”

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