Page 48 of Relentless (The Titans of Founder's Ridge 2)

Con’s looking from the picture to Hoodrat to me. “Uh, I’ve seen pictures of her mom. They’re either doppelgängers, or you two are siblings.”

“We can’t be siblings, our birthdays aren’t even three months apart,” I say. Then it hits me: my mom had an estranged twin sister that she hadn’t spoken to for years when she died. They weren’t even talking when she met my dad. This is a lot of shit to handle in a day. I yell for my dad.

A few minutes later, he’s standing in the door, looking concerned. “Son, you okay?”

“Not even a little bit,” I take another drag of my joint. “I don’t want to talk about Ives right now though.” I point to Hoodrat, who he has yet to meet. “She just saw the picture I have hanging up of Mom and me when I was a baby. Says it looks like her mom.”

He pales when his gaze hits her and then bounces to me and swallows nervously. He walks toward her, looking like a ghost is standing in front of him. “Is your mom’s name Dana Black?”

“Dana Nelson. I don’t know what her maiden name was.”

“Was?” Dad’s eyebrows furrow. “Did she pass away, too?”

“She left us when I was a kid, might as well be dead as far as I’m concerned.”

“My wife’s name was Lana Black, and they were identical twins.” He runs a hand over his face, a habit he’s passed on to me. “They’d been estranged for years before I met Levi’s mom, so I never met Dana. I didn’t even know she had kids. You look just like them.”

My eyes meet Hoodrat’s, and I watch as emotions slam into her. Con and Griff watch all this play out with concern, but they stand quietly, letting it play out.

“I,” tears fill Lilith’s eyes cascading down her cheeks, “you,” she makes eye contact with me, “I need a minute.” She turns and walks into my bathroom.

The four of us watch her go, and no one says anything, we just look at each other in stunned silence. My mind sorts through all the feelings I’ve had since I first met her, how I never had any physical attraction to her but always felt protective, brotherly in a way. That connection I couldn’t explain and my need to protect her from the worst of Connor and FPA. It all makes sense now.

When I look at Dad, he’s still white as a ghost. “You boys shouldn’t be smoking,” he grabs the bag with the last joint, “I’m going to be down in my office if you need anything else. It’s been a long fucking day.”

“He’s going to smoke that,” I say when the door closes behind him.

“No doubt,” Con says walking toward my bathroom.

I stop him with a hand to the chest. “Let me.”

After a short battle of wills, he actually backs down and lets me.

I open the door and find her standing in my bathtub looking out the window. Looking at her now, I’m not sure how I never noticed her resemblance to my mom before. She has the same nose, the same platinum blonde hair and bright blue eyes. She’s tall, almost five-foot-eleven like my mom was.

“Penny for your thoughts, cuz?” I aim for levity. Somehow in the past half hour our roles have reversed. I’m the one offering comfort, and in all honesty, it’s nice to have something else to think about.

“I thought I didn’t have any family after Dad died. I mean, I knew I had you three and Ivy but actual family? I don’t even know how to process this.” She sobs and covers her face with her hands. “I miss my dad so much, and I’ve been living this life where I never thought the hole of family would be filled again.”

I cross the room in two strides and wrap her up in my arms. “We have each other now.” I whisper into her ear. I’ve never had any cousins, so this is new to me, too. “I always felt this weird connection with you, more than platonic but not sexual.”

“Same,” she says into my shoulder.

“Now I can hug you without Con growling at me and going all caveman,” I say for levity.

She pulls back and looks at me like I’m crazy, “Yeah, right. I’ll believe that when I see it.”

“True, I guess.” I tuck her under my arm and walk toward the door. “Let’s get fucked up and forget everything about today. Except the fact that you’re my cousin.”

“Should we take a DNA test or something?” she asks as we rejoin Con and Griff.

“I don’t need a DNA test to tell me what I know in my gut is true, but we can.”

“I already ordered one for you,” Griff says from his spot at my desk.

I pick up my joint and take another drag. “For now, let’s just enjoy each other.”

I’ll deal with my broken heart tomorrow.

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