Page 164 of The Risk Taker
I nod, unable to speak as he opens his arms and wraps me inside them. The shaking of his chest melts into mine and we fall apart together. In the place where we lost one another, we hold one another up.
We keep the other standing.
“I love you, Sull.”
He holds the back of my head, turning his cheek into mine.
“Love you too, Risk Taker,” he says in my ear. “Always.”
We break apart as footsteps approach.
Sinclair stares at us, her arm connected with Uncle Mal’s as they walk closer.
“This a private party, or can anyone join in?”
She glances between us and then to Uncle Mal. His face is gaunt. He’s lost weight and looks paler each time I see him. But we’re refusing to let him deal with this alone, like he keeps insisting he should. The more he tries to push us away, the more we all band around him—making him leave the house each day, making him come to work meetings. Making sure he doesn’t miss a moment of Molly or Mattison.
He needs to be a part of those times to make him strong again—when our family is all together.Sticking together.
It’s the only thing we know. It’s what keeps us all going.
“You ready for today?” Uncle Mal asks, looking at me.
“Never been readier.”
His eyes slide to the empty space beside the jetty where my father’s yacht once belonged. “She’d have loved Jude. She always said you needed a woman who embraced your crazy antics instead of trying to change them.”
“She’d have probably asked her if she was sure about what she was doing, marrying into our family,” I say.
His mouth softens into the closest thing to a smile I’ve seen on him in weeks. “Yeah, she would have. She’d be proud of you all.” His brow furrows. “So damn proud,” he whispers.
“Uncle?”
He turns to me, and my gut twists at the mix of grief and regret in his eyes. I search them, hoping to see what I need to—that it’s less than yesterday, and the day before. Even just a fraction. Because we’ll keep going, day by day, until the timecomes where we’re all able to breathe without it burning us inside again.
I find what I’m searching for, a tiny sliver of light, and I clap a hand on his shoulder and squeeze.
“Areyouready for today?” I ask.
“Are any of us ready?” he jokes.
Sinclair wipes her eyes, giggling. “Probably one of the crazier things we’ve all done together.”
Sullivan huffs. “Can’t believe you talked me into it.”
“If I recall, you didn’t need much persuading.” Sinclair tuts.
“Tate liked the idea,” he grumbles, but his lips quirk as he says it.
“You just couldn’t wait any longer, admit it. It’s okay to be wrapped around your woman’s finger, you know?” Sinclair says.
“That how Denver sees it?”
We all turn at my father’s chuckled words.
“Denver’s a very happy boy.” Sinclair smirks. “And if he wasn’t, then we’d blame you, Dad. You were the one who made us spend all that time together.”
“You needed a bodyguard,” my father replies, innocently.
