Page 13 of Mended Hearts

Quirking a brow, I asked, “But Auntie Leighton doesn’t?”

She wrinkled her nose before her voice came out rapid-fire, “My sailor’s-daughter vocabulary alone would make me andSteveincompatible. I was always more of aBuckygirl.”

“Winter Soldier?!” Mattie gasped in disbelief.

Poor kids had watched the entire Marvel catalog on a loop.

Side effect of having a single dad who wasn’t sure what the hell else to do with them.

“I have a feeling Leigh read the comics, baby,” I speculated, watching her for a reaction.

Sure enough, she shot me a playful smirk-glare combination that made me burst out laughing.

“Bucky was a lot cooler in the comics.”

“Yeah,” Leighton emphasized. “And he andBlack Widowwere in love.”

“What?!” Mattie barked at the same time Beau said, “Eww!”

A comic book girl.

That was deeply satisfying.

Why didn’t comic book girls look likethatwhen I was in high school?

Not that I should fucking care.

Not that Idid.

Because that would be wildly inappropriate.

Only once Leighton had gone on to explain theBlack Widowrelationship did Mattie finally sigh and say, “Okay, so a Marvel theme would let the whole family join in. Uncle Grey and Aunt Alice and Auntie Emmaline.”

I ground my teeth, finding my feet.

Over my dead body was this about to become a whole family affair.

Not after... well... everything.

“We’ll order tomorrow,” I said, forcing a smile as I held out my hand for the iPad.

With an irritated huff, Mattie flipped the tablet into my palm and slid Beau off her lap.

“But I think that was a good start.”

Like a backpack full of stones, I shouldered the weight of Leighton’s eyes on me as I turned to leave the room.

She didn’t know everything about that damn ‘car accident.’

Just what Greyson had decided they could tell her.

Her mind had filled in the gaps, and nobody had corrected her.

The reality was, it wasmy brother—who had always been my go-to, my ride-or-die, the one person I could trust—who placed that bullseye on our family.

3

A Little Liquid Courage, and One of Many Bad Decisions

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