Page 115 of Hades

Then she looked like she regretted them.

I reached across the table and covered her hand with mine.

Lettie froze.

Not because she didn’t want the touch.

Because she didn’t know what to do with it.

That hurt more than I expected.

“You deserve softness too,” I said.

Her eyes filled instantly.

She tried to blink it away.

Failed.

“I have softness,” she whispered.

“Do you?”

She looked toward the garden. Toward the house. Toward wherever her mother was tucked away inside, waiting to be served by the daughter she’d convinced herself existed only to meet her needs.

Then she looked back at me.

“I’m learning.”

Brock.

The answer was Brock, whether she said it or not.

Good.

My son in everything but blood had chosen well.

And maybe, somehow, so had Lettie.

“Don’t let the club scare you,” I said.

That startled a laugh out of her. “Rhea, have you met them?”

“I raised half of them.”

“Then you know why I said it.”

I squeezed her hand. “They’re loud. Messy. Violent. Ridiculous. Occasionally stupid.”

“That’s generous.”

“They’re also loyal in ways most people will never understand. Once they love you, they don’t always do it gently. But they do it completely.”

Her throat worked.

“And Brock?”

I held her gaze.