Wrapped Up in You Read online

  He blew out a breath. “I didn’t know that.”

  “Of course you didn’t. Because you didn’t want to know. You know, she thinks you blame her for everything that’s ever gone wrong in our family.”

  “What? Why would she even know to think that?”

  “Because I was there when I told her.”

  Kel scrubbed a hand over his face and then slid his hands into his pockets. It was that, or kill his sister.

  “Look,” Remy said. “Mom wasn’t perfect.”

  Kel rolled his eyes. He’d heard this speech before.

  “But,” his sister went on. “She’s the only mom we’ve got. And she’s trying hard. She’s been trying hard for a decade now.”

  “You always did want to see the best in people.”

  “And why wouldn’t I? It’s not like I want to be old and grumpy like you.”

  “Ha ha,” he said.

  She flashed him a grin and unwound Harper from the sling before handing her up to Kel. “She thinks you hate her. Mom. Not Harper. Harper thinks everyone loves her.”

  He took the baby. “You need to stop meddling.”

  At his tone, Harper made a sound of distress, so he shifted her against him and stroked her back.

  Harper immediately stopped fussing and gave out a little mew of happiness that did something funny to his heart. Then she yawned wide and set her head on his shoulder in a move so sweet that his chest actually went tight. Hugging her close, he kissed her head again. “Her scent. It’s . . .”

  “Crackalicious, I know. I think they come that way on purpose so we’ll forget the hell they put us through and keep procreating.”

  Harper nestled her face into the crook of his neck.

  He could honestly say he’d never given thought to settling down and having a family of his own. It just wasn’t something he saw in his future.

  But truthfully, he hadn’t given a lot of thought to his future at all and what it might hold.

  And yet standing there cradling his soft, sweet, warm niece, something inside him actually ached. “Does it always feel like this?”

  Remy laughed. She laughed so hard she snorted, which started her laughing again, until she had tears running down her cheeks. Finally, she sniffed, swiped her face, and got herself together. “I’m tempted to say yes and then ask you to babysit, but I have this thing against lying my ass off to family.” She shook her head. “She’s just been fed and changed. This is the happiest she gets. Ever. The rest of the time, she’s either pooping, throwing up, or screaming her fury to the world.”

  Kel looked down at the little angel in his arms. She yawned again, relaxing every bone in her body for a single beat before letting out an impressive fart.

  Right into his hand.

  With a blissful sigh, she then snuggled in again while—holy shit—his eyes literally watered and he gasped for fresh air. “How could something so small and dainty smell so bad?”

  Remy grinned and snapped a pic of him with her phone and looked at it. “Aw. Hold on . . .” She thumbed on her phone for a second. “Okay, I just posted it on Instagram and tagged you, so brace yourself.” She showed him the pic with the caption: One of These Two Adorable Beings Just Farted . . .

  “Wow, seriously?”

  “Hey, I’m still your baby sister.”

  She was the only person who could make him roll his eyes so hard they nearly came out of his head. And she was now yawning too, and he took a longer look at her. She seemed beat. “Listen, that loveseat’s actually pretty comfortable. Why don’t you lie down and close your eyes for a few minutes? I’ve got this.”

  Remy gave him a small smile. “You always say that. You’ve been saying it since the day Dad died. And you meant it. You always had my back, no matter what.”

  “Because we’re family.”

  “No, it’s because you care,” she said. “You love me.” Her eyes filled and he sighed, making her give a watery laugh. “Sorry. It’s the baby hormones. They make me weepy.” She met his gaze, her own still soggy but determined, and he braced himself.

  Ah hell. “You didn’t come here to have me hold Harper for you,” he said.

  “No.”

  He braced himself. “Just get it over with, Remy, say whatever you came here to say.”

  “I know about Mom.”

  “Yes, we just had that conversation. I ran into her.” He shrugged. “Big deal.”

  She shook her head. “I mean I know about the thing she did.”

  “No, you don’t.”

  “I do.”

  Kel looked into her eyes and saw sorrow and regret, but he still didn’t believe she knew the real truth, that their mom had been cheating on their dad. No. There was no way she knew, because if she did, she wouldn’t have such a close relationship with either their mom or her husband—the guy she’d cheated on their dad with. “Remy—”

  “She told me years ago.”

  “Told you what exactly?” he asked carefully.

  “About her and Henry.”

  Kel could only shake his head. “Why would she tell you?”

  “I was turning twenty-one and I wanted a family birthday party. I always wanted a family birthday party, but it was so hard to get you and her in the same place at the same time. I knew I was missing a big piece of our puzzle. She’d always told me that I was too young to understand, but that year I refused to hear it. I told her I was a grown-up, legal, and I wanted the damn truth, even if you didn’t. So she told me.”

  Kel stared at her. She was quiet, calm, and clearly worried about him, which was crazy. No one needed to worry about him, ever. But she was also accepting. “You’re okay with it,” he breathed in shock.

  “Let’s just say I made peace with it,” she said softly. “And the reason I was able to do so was because I listened to her story, really listened, and got both sides—”

  “You don’t have dad’s side. He’s not here to tell it.”

  Remy shook her head. “You’re the one who doesn’t have both sides, Kel. You acted as judge and jury, and you know what? I get it. We were kids and she left us. But she apologized to us. Or to me anyway. You weren’t interested in talking to her about it. But it was a long time ago and I think it’s time for you to make peace with it as well.”

  “I don’t need you to tell me how to feel about this.”

  “Are you sure? Because you’re acting like you’re still ten.”

  “Look,” Kel said, unusually frazzled. “I’ll be gone soon enough, can’t we try to just enjoy the rest of my visit while I’m here?”

  “Oh my God. Seriously, if I hear one more time that you have to get back to Idaho . . .” She shook her head. “Just tell me this. What’s holding you there other than sheer stubbornness? I mean grandma’s been gone forever, and now grandpa’s gone too. And you’ve got the ranch being managed by a solid team. Are you really not going to come and live near your family just because you’re still pissed at Mom?”

  He recognized a trap when he saw one, so he kept his mouth zipped.

  “Caleb told me you’re seeing someone, a friend of his. Does she know how screwed up you are about relationships?”

  “I’m not screwed up about relationships.”

  “No?” she asked. “When was the last time you had one that worked?”

  “My job,” he said. “It’s—”

  “It’s not the job, Kel, it’s you.”

  The words were a not-so-surprising echo of what Janie had told him. But they didn’t—couldn’t—understand. They didn’t know what his mom’s early lies had done to him, how it’d been only further compounded by what had happened on the job he’d put ahead of his personal life for so long . . . “You don’t understand,” he said tightly.

  “Oh, I think I understand plenty. You’re nursing a grudge that’s two decades old. And I get it, you were burned young, and that sucks. You can’t trust your heart, and that also sucks. But have you ever tried looking for a better outcome?”

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