Nothing had changed.

I was still the awkward geeky girl I’d always been. No number of patents, successful IPOs, or dollars in the bank would ever make me normal. Rhett was still the stoic one who didn’t need to speak for you to know what he was thinking.

The priest made the sign of the cross, signaling the end of the service, and the Hennessy boys stepped forward one at a time to shake his hand. Rock kept hold of his mother’s arm, and Rhett turned around to face my brother. He’d been best friends with Heath since they could walk, had gotten into trouble together for their first two decades, and hadn’t surprised a soul when they’d both gone to the police academy to follow in their fathers’ footsteps.

The younger me would have inched closer to eavesdrop on what they said, but I was older now. More sophisticated. Okay, that was a lie, but at least I’d learned the art of subtlety.

When my dad shuffled on his feet beside me, I turned to him. “You okay, Dad? Need to sit down?”

Crippling arthritis that my father had never once mentioned—not in all the phone calls we’d had, nor during his trips out to California to see me—had hit him so hard, he could no longer hide the pain or physical changes.

“I’m fine.” His response was gruff, probably because he was annoyed he couldn’t find his old uniform to wear to the funeral. Part of me was glad he didn’t find it—there wasn’t a single uniform in sight.

“We’ll be going soon. We’re almost done here.”

He harrumphed and looked away.

Well, okay then. This day hadn’t been easy for any of us.

My brother spoke to all the Hennessys, shaking their hands and kissing Rebecca’s cheek before stepping aside for another group.

Rhett never once looked in my direction. Never saw me.

Because he never does.

I wanted to kick myself for that thought. We were at his father’s funeral, and this wasn’t about me. Nothing that had to do with Rhett Hennessy would ever be about me.

As Heath returned to offer his arm to my father, I took a deep breath and gave myself a quick pep talk.

You can do this. You will not stutter. You will not hiccup. You will be cool, collected, and the badass CEO you are.

“I’ll be right back.” I turned and took a single step toward the family to offer my condolences as they broke away from the crowd and moved en masse down the cracked sidewalk to a limousine waiting beyond the gates of the cemetery.

I squeezed my eyes shut and spun around again. Great. Now I’m a crap funeral attendee too. It was no surprise I couldn’t manage to get it right. Being awkward was my jam. Designer clothes and fancy shoes would never change that.

“Let’s go,” my brother said, tearing my attention away from the Hennessys. “I want to drop Dad off at my place, and then I’m tracking down Rhett and getting him hammered. No one should have to face a night alone after this fucked-up day.”

3

Rhett

“Mom, you sure you don’t need anything else from Aunt Linda’s before we go?” Rock asked.

Part of me wanted to protest her decision to go back to Vail with him, but it was useless. She’d made up her mind.

“No, we said our good-byes already. She’s keeping everything I don’t take.”

Mom’s suitcase was already packed and on the limo floor in front of her. She didn’t have much left thanks to the explosion, so only one bag was required.

Both Rome and I had offered Rock money to cover her expenses, but he wouldn’t take it. Said he could take care of her just fine. Considering I’d been sending extra funds to Mom every month since I left, I didn’t argue with Rock about that either. Rome told him to shut the hell up and spend the money that would show up in his account in a few days on her. Neither Rock nor I wanted to know where the cash was coming from. Rome’s mercenary lifestyle wasn’t a topic of discussion for today.

“Why don’t you take the limo to the airport then?” I said to Rock. “Rome and I can jump out at the hotel.” We’d all stayed at Aunt Linda’s last night, on the floor in her living room like we had when we were kids sleeping over. One night was enough of that. I’d checked into a hotel before the service for a few minutes alone to pull myself together.

Rome shook his head. “I’m going to the airport too. Got a flight out in a few hours.”

My attention cut to my little brother. “You’re leaving already?” I didn’t know why I was surprised. The fact that he’d showed up at all was a shock.

“You need me to stick around? You got plans?” Rome asked.

Mom’s gaze locked on me. “He doesn’t have any plans, do you, Rhett? You’re going to let the police sort this out, right? It’s time for you to let go and move on.”

I knew what she meant. I’d been living in limbo the last year, drowning my bitterness in whiskey. I told myself that was normal after you lost everything.

“Mom—”

Her expression hardened and she considered each of us. I didn’t know if it was a habit left over from childhood, but we each straightened as she did it.

“This family has been through hell. First Robin, then . . . all of this.” She couldn’t even bring herself to say it, and I didn’t blame her. “We’re Hennessys. We’re strong, we’re resilient, and we won’t let this break us. My life is not ending with your father’s. I refuse to let it.”

She stared directly at me. “Rhett, you’ve spent a year wasting your potential. Wasting your life. Turning in that badge wasn’t the end of the line. If you ask me, it was the best thing you’ve ever done, but instead of finding a new purpose, you’re shutting everyone out. Life is passing you by while you sit on the sidelines. You’re better than that. Figure out what you want and go after it. That’s what I’m going to do. No more of this wallowing nonsense.”

Then she moved on to each of my brothers, giving them their own tough-love speech, but instead of listening to what she thought they were doing wrong, I replayed her words to me in my head.

I was surprised she thought turning in my badge was the best thing I’d ever done. But then again, she’d buried a husband and a son because they’d been cops.

Figure out what you want and go after it. That’s the part that stuck with me. But what the hell did I want?