Page 127 of Sheltering You

But she hadn’t told the rest of the family yet, so nobody else in the room had any idea what they were talking about. He wasn’t about to spill the beans.

“I’ll get over it.” He focused on Bryan, then turned to Michael. “It’s fine.”

Neither of them said anything.

Nobody said anything. If Derrick weren’t the angry one, he’d say something. He’d let them off the hook. Fill the silence, break the tension, make everybody feel better. That was Derrick’s job, and apparently nobody else in this stupid family had a clue how to do it. They were just standing there, staring at him.

“What? I said it’s fine. Go back to your game.”

“I have no idea what’s going on,” Sam said, “but I don’t think it’s fine.”

“Yeah, well… You wouldn’t understand. You have him.” He gestured to Levi, the adoring little boy with his cute blond curls and dimples. “You have Eliza. And Grant has Summer and a kid on the way. And Daniel has Camilla and an amazing family.” Stupid emotion. Derrick tipped his head to the ceiling and shook the tears back. He shouldn’t have come down. He should’ve stayed in his room and slept.

Michael said, “Bro⁠—”

“It’s fine. It’s fine I’m alone. It was just easier when I wasn’t alone…by myself, that’s all. But you’re gonna get married, and I’m happy for you.” He looked at Bryan. “And you. You get your beautiful…” He thought of Bryan’s nickname for Sophie and blurted, “Princess bride.”

His brothers stared at him as if he’d grown a second head and three more arms. Like they didn’t know who he was. And he felt like an idiot. And then…

“Maw-wige.” The word came out in a perfect imitation of the priest in The Princess Bride. Surprising, and even more so because it came from Grant. “Maw-wige is what bwings us to-ge-tha too-day.”

Derrick gaped at his brother—the quiet one. The tough one.

Grant’s lips twitched at the corners. He shrugged. “What? It’s a classic.”

That did it for Derrick.

All of it just…hit him. His idiotic behavior. The absurdity of the moment.

He laughed.

It took a second for the rest of them to join, watching him like maybe it was a trick or something. But they couldn’t hold it in very long. Even little Levi, who couldn’t possibly understand what was so funny, giggled uncontrollably.

The whole thing was…ridiculous. And hilarious.

Derrick was so tired and so…he didn’t know what else…that when tears streamed from his eyes, he wasn’t sure if they were tears from laughing or all the other things that he’d been feeling that day, and it didn’t matter. His brothers weren’t perfect. But they were his, and if all he ever got to be was a son and a brother and an uncle, well…

It was a good life.

He’d find a way to live with it.

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

Jasmine must’ve fallen asleep.

Embarrassed, she sat up and stretched, thankful for the clean clothes Leila had brought her from home. She’d showered and changed into a fresh dress—this one dark blue—after they arrived at the island that afternoon.

Nobody seemed to mind that Jasmine had nodded off. In fact, somebody had draped an afghan over her.

The women were seated in the beautiful living room on sofas and chairs facing the fireplace. The flames from earlier were now mere flickers and glowing coals. The room still held the scent of wood smoke that was coming to smell like home.

She’d been here the weekend before, but it felt different this time. Like a fortress, a hiding place. Even though she’d suggested to Derrick that perhaps she shouldn’t come, she couldn’t imagine having been left alone in Shadow Cove, without the protection of these friends who meant so much to her.

The boat ride over had been choppy, and poor Leila had sat beside her, holding her hand with such a tight grip that, even hours later, it still ached. On Leila’s other side, Michael had held her other hand, whispering promises in her ear.

Leila feared water. Summer feared boats.

Jasmine feared Khalid. But here, on this island, she felt safe. As safe as she’d felt since before she’d gotten that email almost a week before.