“Right. Um . . . about that.”
Griffin’s nostrils flared.
“I see that Talia called you yesterday,” I muttered, my gaze flicking to Knox.
“It was Lyla,” he said. “Would have been nice to hear from you.”
I winced. “In my defense, I called both Winn and Memphis earlier. Neither of them answered.”
My strategy for breaking this news was to tell the easy people first. Hopefully earn a couple of allies. So I’d called their wives, breathing a huge sigh of relief this morning when neither had answered.
“You called at five o’clock this morning,” Knox said. “Memphis was asleep since she spent most of the night up with the baby.”
“And you called Winn’s personal phone,” Griffin clipped.
I knew that Memphis didn’t sleep with her phone in their bedroom, and Knox had been taking the early morning shift with the boys. And Winn always had her work phone close by in case the police station needed to get ahold of her. But I’d counted on her personal phone being out of battery or lost, like normal.
“I’m sorry.” I clasped my hands in front of me, a silent prayer for forgiveness. “I’m really, really sorry. But given you’re standing in my living room, it’s not like you’ve been in the dark for long. And I was going to tell you today. I swear.”
A muscle in Griffin’s jaw flexed. The scary muscle.
“I’m sorry.”
My apologies weren’t helping. Because we all knew I shouldn’t have waited. I should have talked to everyone yesterday. But the dread had been crippling. So instead of dealing with it last night, I’d escaped reality by sleeping in Jasper’s bed.
No more escaping.
It was time to face the consequences of my actions. And so far, this was playing out exactly as expected. They were mad, rightly so. And worse, they were disappointed.
“Do Mom and Dad know?” My breath lodged in my chest as I waited for Griff’s answer.
Griffin gave me a single nod.
My arms wrapped around my stomach. The regret swallowed me whole. I sucked as a daughter. “How mad are they?”
Knox scoffed. “Guess.”
Mad. Super mad.
“What the actual fuck were you thinking?” Griffin uncrossed his arms, planting his fists on his hips. “You got married. When? Where? Why the hell didn’t you tell your fucking family, Eloise?”
“See? This was why I wanted to talk to Winn first.” I shied away from that furious glare. “Because I knew you were going to yell at me.”
“You married a stranger. In secret. And you hid it from us. I’m going to fucking yell.”
“Griff—”
A strong arm wrapped around my shoulders, stopping another lame apology.
Jasper hauled me backward, flush against his chest. “That’s enough.”
Griffin’s gaze leveled on Jasper. “This is a private conversation.”
“You’re yelling at my wife.”
My jaw dropped.
It took a brave man to stand up to my brothers. That calm and collected I dreamed of? Jasper had it. Maybe he’d teach me.
Knox blinked. Then he dropped his chin, lifting a hand to rub over his mouth. Almost like he was surprised.
I stared up at Griffin, expecting to see that murderous glare he’d inherited from Dad. Except his scowl was gone. He looked . . . shocked. Intrigued? What the hell was happening?
“Sorry,” Griff muttered.
Jasper just kept staring at Griffin, his gaze as hard as I’d ever seen. Goose bumps broke out on my forearms as I stood between them, my head whipping back and forth, waiting for someone to speak or make a move.
But they were locked in this strange staring contest. Was this a good thing? A bad? Why were men so complicated?
We needed to go back to the yelling because then at least I knew what was going on.
Griffin was the first to break. His arms fell relaxed to his sides. He dropped his attention, his blue eyes finding mine. “You need to call Mom.” His voice was so gentle it hurt.
“I will.”
“Now. Not later today. Now. I know you’re avoiding this because it’s going to be hard. But she’s hurt.”
Ouch. “Okay.”
“Better add Talia and Lyla to your list.” Knox gave me a sad smile.
Griffin sighed, shaking his head. “Do you need help hauling stuff out of here? I can go home and bring in a horse trailer.”
My chin began to quiver. Tears welled. They might be mad, disappointed, but they were still my big brothers. And they’d help me move.
“Rain check?” I asked.
Griffin nodded, touched the tip of my nose, then without another word, turned and walked out of the house.
Knox jerked up his chin to Jasper, then followed.
It wasn’t until the rumble of Griffin’s truck vanished down the block that I relaxed, sagging into Jasper’s hold. “Sorry.”
“It’s not your fault.” He let me go, then stepped around me, taking the suitcase I’d hauled out, carrying it to the Yukon.
I walked toward the door, watching as he loaded it inside.
Well, that had gone . . . it had gone.
“Stupid Eloise,” I muttered.
Not only had I hurt my family but Jasper hadn’t deserved that ambush from my brothers. The person at fault here was me.
And I had more apologies to make.
So I squared my shoulders and headed for the kitchen, to where I’d left my phone earlier.
By the time I was done making phone calls, Jasper had taken the SUV to the A-frame and unloaded the boxes. When he came back to pick me up, I’d already cried three times.
Once, while talking to Mom. Again, while talking to Dad. The third time, after I’d left a message for Lyla.
I’d called Talia after my parents, and she’d warned me that Lyla might not want to talk.
It was heavy. Carrying around the weight of this kind of mistake was heavy. Maybe Jasper felt it too because when we got back to the cabin, he changed clothes and left for a run.
I spent the rest of the day unpacking, claiming the small closet in the tiny office for myself. Dinner was quiet. Afterward, Jasper built a fire and read a book while I continued to unpack. And after darkness fell, he retreated to the loft.
“You coming up?” he asked from the top of the stairs.
“In a bit.”
He gave me a sad smile, then turned off the light.
This was going to end in a disaster, wasn’t it? We were doomed.
Instead of climbing the stairs, I found a blanket and pillow.
And fell asleep on the couch.
CHAPTER TEN
JASPER
The moment I opened the front door and stepped inside the A-frame, the acrid scent of burnt food slapped me in the face. Smoke hazed the kitchen, clouding the air as the early evening light shined through the windows.
“What the fuck?” I set my backpack on the island and hurried to the stove, yanking the door open. It was empty. And off. But something had clearly died in there today.
“Eloise?” I called.
No answer.
No surprise.
She’d been avoiding me all week, ever since that encounter with her brothers at her rental.
Over the past six days, the reality of our situation had crept in, bitter and harsh, just like the scent in the cabin. We were strangers. And we were acting like it.