Shelter (Heroes of Big Sky 2)

She’s likely back in bed.

It’s true that I have to be up early to help out at the ranch. I could have just gotten up early here and driven out at the butt crack of dawn, though.

But if I stayed, it would have been way too hard to keep my hands to myself. And I’ll be damned if I’ll lose the bet after only twenty-four hours.

Saturday is a different story. I might be willing to beg by then and fuck the bet.

The drive home is uneventful, given the time of night. When I get inside the house, I crash on the bed, clothes and all.

I need to take advantage of the next four hours of sleep.

“Why can’t I live with you?” Troy, my youngest brother says as I open boxes of pizza and pull out paper plates. All three of my sibs, Josh’s kids—Kim and Mike—and even Layla, Ty and Lauren’s daughter, are here.

Ty and Lauren have been my parents’ friends for as long as I can remember, and Layla is the same age as the twins. She’s practically another sister.

“Because you have a house to live in,” I remind Troy as I dish up some pepperoni and slide it to him. “With Mom and Dad.”

“They’re no fun,” Troy says and frowns down at his pizza, then shrugs and stuffs half of it into his mouth. “They won’t even let me ride the snowmobiles by myself.”

“It’s September,” I remind him blandly. “There’s no snow to ride on yet.”

“Well, even when there is, they won’t let me. They said so. I’m almost thirteen. I know you were riding by yourself by then.”

“Not alone,” I reply. “I had to take someone with me.”

“So dumb,” he mutters.

I glance into the living room and see the five older teens in a deep discussion about something, if the look on Sarah’s face is any clue.

“You need to just ask him,” Layla says, trying to keep her voice hushed. “He’ll tell you. Seth doesn’t keep secrets.”

“Ask me what?” I ask and walk in to join them. I set a box of pizza on the coffee table. “What’s going on?”

“It’s nothing,” Sarah says quickly and gives Layla a dirty look.

“Doesn’t look like nothing,” I reply.

Miles won’t look up at me. Even Mike is quiet, and he’s never quiet.

“Okay, you’re all creeping me out,” I declare and look at each of them. “Someone tell me what’s going on.”

“You’re not our brother,” Miles says, and I can hear tears in his voice. They’re shining in his eyes as he finally stares up at me.

“Given that I held you mere minutes after you were born and named Sarah myself, I can guarantee you that I am, in fact, your brother.”

But a knot has set up residence in my stomach.

“Not by blood,” Sarah says, and her lip quivers. “You’re not our real brother.”

Six pairs of eyes turn to me, wide and full of questions.

“Where are you getting this information?” I ask in confusion.

“I have to do a family tree for school,” Sarah says. “And when I was doing it, I found out that you’re not my brother.”

“Okay, let’s settle this right here. Right now. I am your real brother. Dad is my biological dad.”

“But Mom isn’t,” Miles adds.

“She didn’t give birth to me, no,” I confirm. I want to deny it all and tell them that whatever source Sarah used is wrong. I don’t want to tell them about the shitty mother who birthed me, or the horrible way I ended up living at the ranch.

But I don’t lie to these guys. Not ever. I want to be a person they can trust and feel safe with, so lying about this isn’t an option either.

I rub my hand down my face and sit on the edge of a couch cushion. I sigh, brace my elbows on my knees, and look them all in the eyes.

“Our mom, Jillian, didn’t give birth to me,” I begin slowly. I cringe when Sarah’s eyes fill with tears. “Dad married a girl just after high school. Her name was Kensie. And she was pregnant with me.”

I tell them as much as I can without going into the gory details of the abuse and neglect that I went through. They don’t need to hear it, and I don’t want to relive it.

“And, one day, she told me to pack my shit because she was going to bring me to Montana. She didn’t want to be saddled with me anymore because she wanted to have a life with her boyfriend. And I was ecstatic to come here, where I felt safe and loved. And when Dad got home from the Army, we figured things out between us. And then he married Mom and had all of you guys. We’re a family. I’m your brother.”

“Why didn’t anyone tell us before?” Miles asks. “This is kind of a big deal.”