She blindly reached to grab one of the cloth napkins from the table to dab the blood from his nose. “Let’s go. You have a game plan. You can handle this.Weare going to handle this. You did what you came here to do.”
He stood with her help, and she happened to catch Orson’s fuming gaze. Anger surged through her veins so fast and furious that it nearly blinded her.
Fuck propriety.
“You know what, Mister Riley,” Skye snapped with confidence that came from out of nowhere. “I don’t care who you think your family is, that is not acceptable. People make mistakes, and Brennan is fixing his, and he didn’t have to come here to tell you about this. If you would’ve listened for two seconds, he was going to tell you he’s planning to go to the police to deal with this on his own. He was trying to do the right thing by being candid with you about what’s going on. He’s your son. A parent is supposed to be there for their children, even when they’re adults, and even when they screw up. Your reputation isn’t more important than him feeling like he has a family who loves and supports him no matter what. Fortunately, he knows I support him, and we are going to take care of this.”
She fully expected Orson to stomp across the room and slap her face. After all, that’s how men dealt with Skye when she spoke out of turn. But as far as she was concerned, Orson had no power over either of them. She hooked her arm around Brennan’s and braced her palm on his back, leading him out of the dining room.
“Wait!” Constance yelped. “Both of you wait. Please don’t leave.Please. Come back and sit down.”
Skye paused. She and Brennan looked back at his parents.
Constance marched toward Orson and thrust her index finger into the air, pointing at the doorway to the hall. “Go collect yourself,” she barked. “Don’t come back until you’ve cooled off.”
Orson didn’t look at any of them. He adjusted his jacket and marched out of the room.
Skye nudged Brennan toward a chair. “Come sit down. You need some ice.”
“I’ll get some ice!” Constance declared in a desperate voice as she darted across the room to the drink table.
Brennan sat in a chair, and Skye stood next to him, tilting his head back and pinching the bridge of his nose. Constance held out a cloth napkin filled with ice, and Skye took it, holding it against Brennan’s nose as slight amusement crept across his gaze.
“You’re babying me,” he murmured.
“I’m not babying you.” Skye leaned closer to him, using her opposite hand to comb his hair back, and he lifted his hand to stroke her arm. “I’m taking care of you. You’ve been taking care of me this whole time. I haven’t had a chance to return the favor yet, so I don’t want to hear any whining about it.”
He smiled and lifted two fingers like he was taking an oath. “No whining. I promise.”
She lowered her forehead to his. “And no alligators.”
He chuckled lightly and tilted his chin higher to brush her lips with a light kiss.
Constance uttered a sob from behind them, and they both glanced at her.
Brennan knitted his brows as held he held out his hand. “Oh, Mama. I’m so sorry about all this. Please don’t cry.”
“Oh, darling.” She reached for his hand and held it against her cheek. “Please don’t be sorry. You did the right thing coming here and telling us. Your father just needs to calm down. And we’re going to help you.”
Brennan exhaled loudly. “Listen, Mama. I don’t know what part of I don’t need any help y’all are not understanding. I made this mess. I’m going to the police to fix it. Dad’s whole friggin’ deal just is what it is. It’s fine. I’m a grown man. I have a good job. I don’t need an allowance from you guys. I don’t need y’all holding my hand while I deal with problems I created. I came here to do the right thing by being honest about what I’ve done.”
“I do understand, Brennan. And since the purpose of this was honesty on your part, we owe you some honesty, too.” Constance sighed. “It’s your money. The money you’ve been living on this whole time is part of the inheritance your grandfather left you. In fact, it’s only a small fraction of it. He didn’t just leave you the house and your grandmother’s things, Brennan. He left you an obscene amount of money and property, even by our standards. As your father’s only son, all of it has always beenyours. Your grandfather left it up to your father to decide when you would be allowed access to it. Your father and I were simply worried about you having everything after you left the Marine Corps. You were so young and obviously so traumatized that we wanted to make sure you didn’t do something drastic and squander all of it. We decided to let you simply have the house and just gave you money as you needed it. Every time your father has cut you off, it was a result of him trying to protect you from blowing through all of it before you were able to use it in the manner your grandfather had hoped, which was to build a life that would becomeyourlegacy as you carried on the family name.”
Brennan’s face went white. “Are you friggin’ kidding me, Mama?”
“No, darling. Not in the least.”
He blinked. “Oh my God.”
“I’m sorry, sweetheart. We were honestly just trying to look out for you.”
He exhaled loud and long, and Skye rubbed his shoulders.
“You know what, Brennan? That doesn’t matter. It’s nice that it’s there, but you’re already good. Right? You’ve done the right thing. You should be proud of yourself.”
Constance wrapped her arm around Skye. “You should be, darling. I know this gambling debt is a serious problem, but I’ve never been prouder of you than I have been in the past couple of months. Your father is angry, but I know when he cools off, he’ll be proud, too.”
The sound of Orson clearing his throat caused the three of them to turn their heads. Constance stepped aside. Skye helped Brennan stand, and they both turned toward Orson. Skye stepped around Brennan to stand in front of him, defensively blocking him from his dad. She locked her eyes on Orson’s as if daring him to try something again. Orson stepped in front of her. His looming size and the expression on his face made him unspeakably intimidating, but Skye didn’t move.
