Breathless (Steel Brothers Saga #10)(62)

“Fine. You just take over.” He huffed again and handed me the spatula.

Then he walked toward Joe.





Chapter Forty





Bryce





“Your sister’s asking questions.”

Joe finished his second drink. “Like what?”

“She says you’re not yourself,” I said quietly. “Which means we both need to put on an act.”

“How am I not myself?”

“I don’t know. She’s your sister. She specifically mentioned the two drinks, though.”

“Oh.”

“That’s it?”

“What do you want me to say? I’ve got a lot on my mind. We both do.”

“True enough, but if we’re going to keep this to ourselves until we have more information, we’re going to have to act our parts.”

“Meaning I need to untense myself? How the fuck am I supposed to do that when I’d like to go off on that bastard Ted Morse?”

“Joe, come on,” I said. “I’m freaked too, but for all we know, this deck is bugged somehow. So ease up.”

“Fucker.”

“I know. Go talk to Ryan or something. I’m going to go inside and get a drink.”

I walked back past Marjorie, who was removing the cooked burgers from the grill. They’d no doubt be perfect. Just as well that she’d taken over. I’d have probably turned them into shoe leather. I made my way down to the bar and poured myself some of Talon’s Peach Street bourbon. Good stuff. I took a sip and let the smokiness linger on my tongue before I swallowed its warmth.

I walked back upstairs and ran into Talon, who was returning from Dale’s room.

“He’s not coming out?” I said.

“Not right now, but he’s okay. Just a little scared.”

“Why?”

“Oh, you don’t know yet, do you? He saw a man on the playground he thought he recognized from when he was in captivity.”

My heart dropped into my gut, but I took a sip of bourbon to hide my surprise. “Oh?”

“It’s probably nothing. I used to see all sorts of shit after my…experience. But he’s scared, and it’s bringing up a bunch of other stuff.”

“Like what?”

“He’s feeling like he’s not really a Steel. That he’s a bother to us.”

“Oh. Jeez.”

“I know. I reassured him that he’s a valuable part of the family and we all love him. He’s okay, but he needs his alone time, and I totally get that. I was his age when…”

He didn’t finish. He didn’t have to. We both knew what he didn’t say.

“That Peach Street?” Talon gestured to my drink.

“The one and only. You want one?”

“Yeah.”

We walked back down to the bar, and I poured Talon two fingers. “More?”

“Nope. That’ll do for starters. What are you doing in here, anyway? Didn’t I leave you in charge of the grill?”

“I turned it over to Marj. I think we’d all rather not sample my cooking.”

Talon chuckled, and we walked back upstairs and out onto the deck. Everyone had found a seat around the large table, so we joined them. I loaded up a burger with all the fixings and then wondered how I was going to choke it down.

Joe was still being quiet. Not overly odd for Joe, but he was normally a little more talkative when he was with his family. I met his gaze, mentally telling him to get a grip, when something sparked in me.

I’d seen Joe look that way before, one morning as we stood along a riverbank.

Thirty years ago.





“Daddy, can Joe and I invite a friend to go camping?”

My father raised one eyebrow. “A friend? Haven’t we always said these trips are for us?”

“You let Joe come along.”

“Joe’s your best friend. He’s like your brother. That’s what you’ve always said.”

“Yeah.”

“And now you have a new friend?”

“I have lots of friends, Daddy. Joe’s just my best friend.”

“Who do you want to invite, son?”

“Justin. He’s new at school.”

“Why do you want to invite him?”

“He got beat up by Taylor and the other bullies. Joe and I had to rescue him.”

“You know I don’t want you getting into fights.”

“We didn’t. Joe and I are the biggest kids in third grade, so we told Taylor we’d crush his skull if he ever bothered Justin again.”

My father smiled then but quickly changed to a stern expression. “Maybe Justin should fight his own battles. You and Joe won’t always be there to bail him out.”

“We weren’t there, Daddy. We found out about it later. That’s when we told Taylor to leave him alone.”

“Let me think about it, Bryce.”

“Please?” I’d already told Justin he could come along, so I had to get my father to agree.

“I said I’d think about it. I’ll let you know tomorrow.”