Page 69 of Protecting Little Phoebe

Joseph approached her first and she slid off Barren’s lap to hug him. They all moved in after him, one after the other, until only Paul was left.

She didn’t expect him to hug her or apologize. He’d always been stubborn. Stern.

But, to her surprise, his eyes grew wet as he drew her close. “Sorry, little sister. I think we’ve failed you horribly.”

“You haven’t. I promise. I still love you all.”

“Good. Because we love you.” When he stepped back, he drew her back with him.

Away from Barren.

“But I’m not sure I approve of whatever is going on between the two of you.”

“He seems a bit old for you, Phoebs,” Darin said as he leaned back in his chair and glared at Barren.

“Yep. What are your intentions with our sister?” Joseph asked.

“Where did you two meet?” Paul asked.

“Okay, enough!” She moved away from Paul and sat in Barren’s lap once more. He didn’t seem too upset by her brothers’ antics, more amused. “I love Barren, and he loves me and all of you have no say in who I date. I know you think I’mnaive and that I’m going to be taken advantage of, but Barren didn’t even know who I was! He’s not after me for my money.”

“I think we should have some say in who you date,” Eric muttered.

“Nope. Butt out.”

“I don’t know,” Clay drawled. “I think we should make up for being shit brothers by getting very involved in what you do from now on.”

She groaned. God give her strength.

“No one is getting involved in our relationship,” Barren said firmly. “It is no one’s business but our own. I take care of Phoebe now. She’s mine. And I will protect her. From her own family, if necessary.”

“We would never harm her,” Paul protested.

“Not on purpose, anyway,” Darin added, looking at her with sorrow.

“I would like to know about why you’ve been using a different last name and hiding from your brothers?” Barren asked.

She groaned. “After Dad died I was in a bit of a state. As you know, I went to stay with my uncle for a while, and when I came home, all Paul could talk about was selling the business.”

“None of us want to run it, Phoebe,” Paul told her, sitting in a chair. He looked tired as he ran his hand through his hair. “We all talked about it and agreed.”

“Except for me,” she said. “It feels like if we sell it we’re selling the last bit we had of Dad.”

“Aw, Phoebs, is that how you feel?” Joseph asked.

She nodded.

“You should have told me,” Joseph told her. “I thought we told each other things.”

“We do.” She’d always been closest to him. “I just… you were all so united and I felt pressured to agree and I needed some time to think. And none of you would give it to me. I couldn’t goanywhere without one of you calling me or tracking me down to get me to agree. It was too much. So I ran. I’m sorry, I know it wasn’t mature of me. I should have at least told you, Joe. But I couldn’t breathe from the pressure. It was so hard to live in that house without Dad. I needed time and you weren’t giving it to me.”

They all looked at her with shock and sorrow.

“Jesus, Phoebe, we’re sorry,” Darin said.

“Wish you’d told us, kid,” Tony added.

The others all made murmurs of agreement.

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