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"You didn't miss it," Seth whispered, stroking his cheek. His eyes were dark and tender. "I did my best to make sure you never knew."
"That was stupid," Aiden grouched, but he kissed him to take the sting out of it. He couldn't maintain the serious conversation for long without cracking a joke, so he added, "Imagine if I wasn't here and you had to deal with the hair crisis on your own. You'd probably tell her to put a plastic bag on it. You need my genius."
"What are you planning?" Seth asked suspiciously.
"I'm not a magician," Aiden said with a shrug, "but if there's one thing I know, it's making an absolute spectacle of myself. Tess will look great by comparison."
"Don't do anything you'll regret," Seth cautioned, but Aiden just gripped his face in both hands and planted a loud peck on his lips.
"Trust me," he said brightly. "It'll be a blast. I've always wanted to do this. I just hope there's enough of that dye left."
When Riley Jensen knocked on the door an hour later, he was greeted by an exasperated Seth juggling a food plate in one hand and keeping a wildly laughing cowboy with red clown stripes all over his head at bay with the other.
"Whoa!" Riley exclaimed, taking a quick step back and nearly falling off the snow-covered porch.
"Evening, Riley!" Aiden chortled around a massive bite of pot roast. He wiped the savory juices off his lips with the back of his hand and waved the kid inside. "Come in and join the party!"
Riley remained frozen, mouth agape, staring in horror at the disaster that was Aiden's hair. Nothing but his eyes moved as he shifted a questioning glance toward Seth, who nodded. With that invitation, Riley stomped the snow off his boots and stepped cautiously across the threshold.
"What happened to you?" he asked. "Did you lose a bet?"
"Maybe," Aiden said with an unconcerned shrug. He ran a hand through his newly dyed curls, shaking them so the red squiggles were on full display. From the corner of his eye, he caught Tessa coming down the stairs wearing jeans and a pink sweater. Her hair was slicked back in a tight bun that obscured the greenish tint. Her eyes were still red-rimmed, but her makeup was flawless, and she lit up like a Christmas tree as soon as she locked eyes with Riley. Aiden pitched his voice louder so she could hear. "Who cares if it came out wrong? It's just hair, right?"
"Whatever you say, man," Riley agreed distractedly. He couldn't take his eyes off Tessa. "I don't really give a shit about hair."
Aiden gave him a Cheshire cat smile. "I figured."
"You look great," Riley blurted, reaching for Tessa as soon as she hit the landing. He held her gently by the hand, and his cheeks slowly began to flush an endearing shade of red.
Tessa grinned up at him, looking radiant and only slightly self-conscious. She lifted a hand toward her hair and then hesitated. "I…I joined Aiden's hair challenge. Does it look…"
"It looks beautiful," Riley gushed, but he didn't even glance toward her green tendrils. His eyes were locked unwaveringly on her glowing face. Aiden didn't bother asking them what movie they were going to see; he was pretty sure Riley wasn't going to remember a damn thing from it.
"Back by midnight," Seth warned. He'd set down his plate and was waiting at the door like an imposing sentinel. His arms were crossed so his biceps popped and his shoulders looked as broad as an NFL linebacker’s.
"Ha," Tessa scoffed, wiggling into the winter coat Riley held open for her. "That hasn't worked in years. How about you not waiting up?"
Seth's eyes narrowed, his teasing expression vanishing in an instant, but he didn't reprimand his little sister. He only stared at Riley. Hard.
The kid's complexion drained of color. "Midnight," he agreed, wiping his sweaty palms on his jeans.
"But it's such a long drive; we'll barely have time to eat after the movie!" Tessa complained, outraged.
"Shh." Riley flung a scarf around her neck, muffling her complaints, and ushered her outside. He kept one wary eye on Seth the whole time. Aiden leaned against the door frame, watching with great amusement as the kid refused to turn his back on Seth until he was almost to the truck.
"Midnight!" Seth called with steel in his voice.
"Yes, sir!" Riley shouted back, settling Tessa in the passenger seat before diving behind the wheel like wolves were nipping at his heels.
Seth stood at the door, oblivious to the cold draft swirling through the house. He watched unblinkingly until the truck's taillights disappeared in the distance. Even then, he seemed unwilling to move. He reminded Aiden of a livestock dog, bristling at some distant threat only he seemed to sense. Seth always tried to protect everyone around him, whether they wanted it or not, but Tessa wasn't a little kid anymore. Aiden didn't think she'd take his meddling with good humor for long.
"I know you raised her," Aiden said affectionately, slinging an arm around Seth's waist and drawing him back into the house. "But you've got to let her live her own life."
"I let her go, didn't I?" Seth growled.
"You couldn't have stopped her," Aiden said with a laugh, and then he laughed harder when he caught Seth's glower. "Look on the bright side," he coaxed. "The Jensen kid is scared spitless of you, so you know he's going to treat Tess like she's made of spun glass."
"That's true," Seth acknowledged, looking pleased.
