Page 90 of Rise Above

“Which of my wild babies is home?”

“Hey, Mama.” I placed a kiss on her cheek,

grabbing a chocolate chip cookie. “Anyone else here?”

Mom rolled her eyes at me. “You know damn well

none of them can ever be on time.” She smiled brightly at me. I’d missed her smile. Ever since Dad died, her smiles were less frequent. Then again, so were mine. Dad brought out the love and joy in all of us. It was a gaping hole in the Walker family, and one that couldn’t be filled.

“Just you and me then?” I bit into the cookie. “Yes, and good thing too. Tell me about your Aife.

And don’t act like there isn’t an Aife.” She sent a narrowed look my way.

I forced a groan down. “Ma…”

“Don’t—” She whirled to face me. “Don’t you dare

start that ‘just friends’ bullshit with me. You’ve spent every weekend with her. You’ve told your brothers about how she’s seemingly always there for you. So, don’t even start with me, Talon James.”

“Jesus. Alright, Mom.” I sighed, my hands raising

in defense. Mom knew me too well for me to try to hide anything from her. “I have feelings for her. She’s… simply amazing.”

“Well, tell me more.” Mom stirred her batter, not

bothering to look at me now that she had me talking.

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Rise Above

The door banged open. “TJ ain’t gonna say shit.

He’s too afraid to have a real relationship.” CJ shot me a look. “Right?”

My head fell into my hands. How had they even

heard us? “Y’all are assholes.”

CJ rubbed his hand into my hair. “Hey, little

brother. Seriously though, we ever gonna meet this Aife girl?”

My brothers all followed CJ into the kitchen, staring

me down as they munched on Mom’s cookies. I loved my family, but the interrogations could go too far. I didn’t want to spend my Thanksgiving answering questions about my relationship with Aife.

“How would we meet her?” DJ looked at me. “You

so in love that you brought her here?”

My heart rate picked up. Love? That wasn’t a word

I was ready to use. Aife and I were just friends. Did a huge part of me want to kiss her? Yes, but that didn’t equate to love. She was my best friend, more so than Zeke or Davis. I cared for her, but that wasn’t love. Love was deeper, built up over time.

“Dude, you’re zoning out.” CJ flicked my ear. “The

word love shouldn’t impact you that much.”