But that was where the similarities ended.

Jared looked like his mother. Chocolate brown hair, now buzzed close to the scalp on the back and sides and cropped short on the top for the military. Deep brown eyes. Coloring similar to my own. He was slightly shorter than Jax, maybe an inch, but his build was just as big. He’d put on a lot of muscle since the last time I saw him.

I’d never seen pictures of their father or Jax’s mother, so I didn’t know who Jax took after, but I did know that Jax was part Native American, which accounted for his darker skin and hair.

And in personality, they were very different. Both were volatile. Both could be angry. But whereas Jared raged, Jax waited. Where Jared charged, Jax assessed. Very different.

I couldn’t help wondering about the man who fathered them both.

Everyone sat or stood in the living room—Tate by the fireplace, Madoc and Fallon curled up on the couch, and Jared and Jax standing in the middle.

And me, trying to melt into the carpet, feeling intimidated all of a sudden.

Jared always treated me somewhat decent, but he also looked at me as if I were the five-year-old at the big kids’ table. Better seen than heard.

And as I stood there, trying to find a comfortable place to rest my eyes and wondering what the hell to do with my hands, I realized that I was not my mother’s daughter anymore. I was not the hair in the soup, the fly in the ointment, or the stain on the sheets. I might not be Jared Trent’s favorite person, but he certainly wasn’t mine, either. It was past time that I stopped wondering if I was good enough for others and started wondering if they were good enough for me.

I dropped my hands and stepped up next to Jax.

He immediately looked down at me, smiled, and put his arm around my shoulder, tucking me in.

Jared stopped talking. As he glanced between Jax and me, his deep brown eyes narrowed, and I saw the wheels start to turn. Jax and I were silent as Jared’s eyes went from confused to sudden realization.

“Trust me,” I shot out before he had a chance to speak. “I’ve got his back. I promise.”

Jared looked stunned, his eyebrows shooting up, and then he finally just shook his head, blinking. “Okay, then.”

And that was it. Jax squeezed me tighter, and Jared went back to Tate, where their hands were all over each other.

“Okay, shower up!” Madoc urged, looking at Jared. “Pizza. I’m hungry.”

But Jared shook his head. “No way.”

“Huh?” Madoc asked.

Jared dropped his arms from Tate and started unbuttoning his camouflage utility jacket. “Look, everyone.” He spoke to all of us. “I love you, but you have to go.”

Everyone just stood or sat there.

“I haven’t seen Tate in weeks. We need alone time. Sorry.” Jared tossed his jacket on the chair, leaving him in his camo pants and T-shirt.

“Jared?” Tate complained, blushing with embarrassment.

But he shot her a warning look. “It’s been weeks, babe.”

She straightened, and I almost laughed as her expression changed. “Yeah, okay.” She clapped her hands, ushering everyone to the front door. “Everyone out. We need to be alone.”

“For how long?” Madoc protested, standing up with Fallon.

“Like three days,” Jared said.

“Three days!” Madoc shot back.

Fallon pulled him toward the door. “Let’s go, Madoc.”

He grumbled, and I laughed to myself as Jax took my hand, leading me out. The door slammed behind us, and the four of us filtered down the steps toward the cars.

“Seriously?” Madoc was practically whining now. “You guys are coming, right?”

Jax patted his pant legs. “Shit,” he cursed, turning back around. “I left my phone on the coffee table.”

“I’ll get it.” I held my hand up to stop him. “I forgot my purse, too.”

I darted back up the stairs and quietly slipped back through the front door, hoping to God they weren’t already naked.

The foyer was empty, and I crept on tiptoe into the living room to grab my bag off the couch and Jax’s phone off the coffee table.

I heard Jared’s deep but muffled voice. “I missed you like crazy. God, baby. I love you.”

Kisses, shuffling, moans … yeah. I slipped my bag over my head and prepared to make a quick exit.

“Me, too.” Tate was crying. “I hate this so much, Jared. How are we going to be okay for months with you away if it’s like this after only a few weeks?”

I stopped, knowing they were in the kitchen, just on the other side of the door, and my eyes teared up for her. As much of a pain in the ass as Jared was, I knew he adored Tate. He’d invade hell for her. And yet with all of my own ups and downs, I hadn’t noticed that she was unhappy. I’d never thought they wouldn’t be okay, and I’d been so buried under my own bullshit that I wasn’t there for her.

I heard a thud and more groans. “It’s thundering,” Jared said to her.

I heard her sniffle, then laugh. “You thinking what I’m thinking?”

“Chaise longue?” His voice turned cocky. “Backyard? Just like our first time.”

And then I bit my bottom lip to stifle a laugh as she squealed and they opened and closed the back door, gone in a flash.

Poor Tate. Well, not poor Tate. She was titanium. But she was missing him. Terribly.

I walked for the door but stopped, hearing an unfamiliar voice.