I froze. Juliette. She was the one who’d betrayed us. I knew she wasn’t my biggest fan, but I couldn’t imagine why she would hate me this much.
“Objection,” Keisha said, rising.
“Withdrawn,” Paisley retorted before the judge could rule.
But it didn’t matter. The accusation was out there, and there was nothing we could do about it.
34
Mason
I lockedeverything down as we headed out of the courthouse. I’d barely heard Keisha’s assurances that this wasn’t a death blow to our case. That it made the opposition look desperate and as if they were grasping at straws. None of that calmed the raging storm inside me.
My sister. The one person I had thought would always have my back had been the one to stick a knife in it. I knew she’d been upset, unable to see Anna clearly, but I’d never thought she’d go this far.
“Mason.” Anna’s fingers curled around my forearm, bringing me to a stop. “Take a breath before you get behind the wheel.”
She sounded so calm. As if my sister hadn’t just almost ruined everything for us. I sucked in air through gritted teeth. “Did you not hear Paisley?”
“Of course, I did. But I don’t want you to do something you’ll regret right now or drive us when your mind is a million miles away.”
I pulled Anna into my arms. I let the feel of her body pressed against mine, the scent of that which had somehow come to mean home, ease me a fraction. Enough that the pulsing heat behind my eyes abated. “I can’t believe she did something like this.”
Anna’s hand slipped under my suit jacket and traced an infinity symbol on my lower back. “I’m so sorry.”
“I’m the one who should be apologizing to you. This could’ve been so much worse. If she’d had any sort of information that would blow us sky-high, she would’ve used it.”
Anna tipped her head back so she could meet my gaze. “Why? What’s making her so angry? I get not liking me or thinking I’m using you, but this is extreme.”
I brushed the hair away from her face. “After our parents died, we went to live with our aunt and uncle. But they had three kids of their own. Our aunt looked after Jules while I was at school, but she was my responsibility as soon as I got home. And once Juliette was old enough to be left to her own devices, we were completely on our own. She doesn’t know the full story of your family.
“I think part of me didn’t want to bring up bad memories for her. I’m so used to protecting Juliette, it’s second nature at this point. I should’ve pushed, made sure she understood what was at stake. But we had so much going on, and every encounter with her ended in drama.”
Anna’s hand fisted in my shirt. “She thinks Justin and Lyla are better off with my parents.”
“That’s part of it.” I let my hand slide beneath the fall of her hair. “Honestly, I think she’s being triggered in a lot of ways. I’ve always been her person. And for the first time, I’m building a family beyond her.”
“I’d never ask you to choose between us.”
“I know that. But fear like this is subconscious.” That didn’t excuse her actions, though. Nothing would. I pulled out my phone. Jules and I had always left the tracking apps enabled, just in case. “She’s still at the resort.”
Anna’s lips pressed into a firm line. “Are you sure you want to talk to her right now? Maybe you should cool off for a while first.”
I leaned back, taking her shoulder in my hands. “Why are you defending her?”
Anna’s eyes shifted to the side. “I don’t want you to end up resenting me because I hurt your relationship with your sister. And I understand what it’s like to feel like you have no one. I don’t want that for her.”
“Anna.” I took her face in my hands. “None of this is on you. It’s on Juliette. And maybe me for not making sure she understood what was at stake.”
“There wouldn’t be this hurt between you if it wasn’t for me.”
“And I’d be half the man I am right now if you left. I didn’t realize just how lonely I was before you showed up. My house was just that: sterile and empty. You and Justin and Lyla brought life to its walls. You’ve made me feel understood in a way I never have. And, God, you guys have brought me so much fun. I wouldn’t give that up for anything. Not one single thing.”
Her fingers curled around my wrists. “I love the home we’re building. I don’t want to lose it.”
“We’re not going to. But I have to talk to my sister.”
“Okay,” she whispered.
