were fighting for her child. “How could I ever put my sister in that precarious a situation?”
“You can’t. Presley deserves some happiness. And she is happy these days, isn’t she?”
“Happier than I’ve ever seen her.”
“Then that’s proof you’re doing the right thing.”
“Still, if Aaron or Dylan ever find out...” She felt heartsick at the prospect, but she couldn’t open her mouth, couldn’t risk telling because of what it could destroy.
“You have to hope they don’t,” Eve said matter-of-factly.
“What a mess.” Someday what she and Presley were doing would not end well; the thought of that terrified her. “Anyway, I’m home now. I should go.”
“Okay. You’re on tomorrow?”
Cheyenne had recently scaled back her hours so she could help with Wyatt. Neither of them were quite used to her new schedule. “Yeah.”
“Then I’ll see you in the morning.”
As they disconnected, Cheyenne tried to push her concern into the back of her mind, as she’d done so far. But when she went inside and turned to hang up her coat, she saw the hole in the wall—proof that she couldn’t tell Aaron about Wyatt. He had an anger problem. That alone suggested they’d better not second-guess the decisions made two years ago.
“What happened?” she called out to Dylan. “Don’t tell me you and Aaron got into it again.”
There was no answer.
Unhappy with the damage that had been done to her house, Cheyenne hurried into the living room. Her husband sat on the couch with the TV on pause, holding his head in his hands.
“Dylan, what is it? He didn’t hit you, did he?”
She grew even more alarmed when he glanced up at her with a hollowness in his eyes.
“No, he didn’t hit me.”
“What made him punch the wall?”
Dylan shoved a hand through his hair. “Aaron didn’t do that. I did.”
“What?” She’d never known Dylan to do such a thing. Like Aaron, he had a temper. Heaven help any worthy opponent who pushed him too far. But he’d always been able to control himself—at least since she’d come into his life. Before that, he’d had a reputation for being reckless, even dangerous, but that was understandable. He’d felt he had to do whatever he could to survive, and to make sure his brothers did, too.
“I’ll patch it,” he said in an attempt to mollify her.
“I’m not worried about that so much as I am about you .” Sitting down next to him, she rubbed his back, trying to soothe him. “What got you so upset?”
“Aaron infuriates me. You know that.”
“But you can usually cope with it. What did he say or do to set you off tonight?”
His beard growth rasped as he rubbed a hand over his jaw. “I was trying to tell him to stay away from Presley, and he got belligerent, as he always does.”
The guilt she’d been feeling burrowed a little deeper. “Don’t fight with your brother over Presley. That makes me feel I’m the one who dragged you into it, because I’m so concerned about her.”
“There’s no need for him to screw up her life. If he loved her and was willing to step up and marry her, I wouldn’t feel like this. But...he doesn’t want anything she’s got to offer. Not now. She has a kid, and that’s entirely too much responsibility for him.”
Dylan adored Wyatt, felt protective of him. “Are you sure? That Aaron’s not ready for—” the way he looked at her made her adjust what she was about to say “—for someone who might be interested in a more serious relationship?”
“Hell, no. He’s never been able to maintain a serious relationship. What makes you think he could start now? I wouldn’t want him to get involved with Presley again, anyway. That’s all we need. You know how volatile he is, how their relationship could potentially affect ours.”
But Aaron wouldn’t ask permission. No one could tell him what to do; no one could make him see reason if he didn’t want to. If Dylan tried to step in, to influence him, Aaron
R. C. Farrington, Jason Farrington