“No, he’s right,” Grant snapped. “It slows the hell out of me when I’m working, lifting, out for a fucking run. I can’t even get up to take a piss at night without grabbing a pair of crutches. I appreciate you being respectful, Jock, but I’m so damn sick of people pussyfooting around my leg. It’s not going to grow back. We might as well talk about the damn thing.”
“Is that what’s got you so pissed off? Or is there something more?” Archer looked at him cautiously. “You were ready to take me to the death in the ring.”
Grant’s body tensed. “You don’t want to know.”
Archer and Jock exchanged a worried glance.
“We’re your friends. We want to know,” Jock said.
“Spit it out, Silver,” Archer barked.
“I’m fucking up left and right lately, okay? First with your sister, then with my parents, and I can’t make heads or tails of any of it.” He pushed both his hands into his hair and threw his head back, gritting out, “Fuck.”
Archer glared at him. “Which sister? And how about you clarify fucking up where she’s concerned.”
Grant clenched his teeth, knowing he was about to open a can of worms that might change everything between him and his buddies, but he needed to get the truth out before he exploded even worse than he had in the ring. Holding Archer’s stare, he said, “Jules. She fucking got under my skin with all her happiness, which should drive me up the wall, but it has the opposite effect. I fucking love it, and that goddamn smile of hers knocks me off my feet. She gets me, man, and she’s all I can think about. She’s sweet and good and so fucking smart. She sees and hears things nobody else does. And you’re looking at me like you want to kill me, and I get that, too.”
“Damn right I’m going to kill you. She’s a kid!” Archer seethed, closing the distance between them and bumping chests with Grant.
Grant stood his ground. “She’s not a fucking kid. She’s a grown woman. A gorgeous, smart, sexy woman who can make up her own mind about the men in her life.”
“You lay one hand on her—”
“And what? You’re going to come at me? Go ahead. Bring it the fuck on, because I’m in this, Archer, and you can’t stop it.” Grant fumed, shocked by his own words. But he was already in the thick of it with Jules, and he was done fighting it.
Archer’s nostrils flared, and Jock pushed between them. “Back the hell up, Archer.”
Archer growled, “He’s got no business going near Jules.”
“Don’t you think I know I should back off? Not because of her age, but because I don’t know what my future holds or where I’ll be next week, much less next month, and she is the last person I want to hurt.”
Archer’s eyes caught fire. “Then stay away from her.”
“It doesn’t work that way,” Grant fumed. “I’ve been trying to fight these feelings with everything I’ve got, but they’re bigger than me. Hell, Archer, half the reason I came here was to see if you could beat that shit out of me.”
“Oh, I’ll beat it out of you, all right. Fuck the ring and the gloves. Let’s hit the backyard,” Archer fumed.
“We’re not going out back,” Jock snapped. “Archer, give him some space.”
“Fucking space,” Archer mumbled as he walked a few feet away.
“Grant, I get what you are saying. I’ve got that with Daphne, and I fought like hell not to give in to my feelings for her, but it was like swimming against the tide in a tsunami.”
“That’s exactly what it’s like. I’m so glad you get it, because this is all messing with my head.”
“I definitely get it, and you’re right about Jules,” Jock said. “She’s an adult, and it’s her decision who she’s with, but man, just be sure you’re really in before you get too close. She’s all heart, Grant.”
“You think I don’t know that? I’m in, Jock. I didn’t realize how deep until now, but saying it out loud is a huge fucking relief.”
Jock clapped a hand on his shoulder. “I know the feeling.”
“Are you two going to kiss now or what?” Archer snapped.
Jock glared at him. “Don’t be an asshole.”
“Look, Archer, I respect where you’re coming from, but I don’t want to keep fighting my feelings for Jules, or turn my back on the one person who makes me feel alive. I’ve never met anyone like her. She is fucking remarkable. I want to spend time with her, to get to know her better as an adult, not as your younger sister, and I get that no matter what, she’s still your younger sister, and I know this is hard to hear. I’d probably feel the same way if you went after Bellamy. But if you can trust anyone to keep her safe and treat her well, it’s me. I fucked up once by trying to protect her, to protect both of us, because this connection we have is so damn strong it threw me for a loop. I told her to stop coming around, and that hurt both of us. Knowing I hurt her just about killed me. I will never do that again.”
“Every asshole’s last words,” Archer challenged.
“Not this asshole. I don’t even know if she’ll want to be with me at this point, but you need to know that I will do whatever it takes to win back her trust.”
“I won’t stand in your way,” Jock said with an approving nod.
Archer glowered at Jock. “He just told us that he doesn’t know where he’ll be in a week or a month. He could leave the island. You’re really going to turn the other cheek while he has his way with our sister, then leaves her behind?”
“Jesus fuck, Archer. Really?” Grant snapped. “That’s not what I want. You know me better than that.”
“Then what do you want?” Archer challenged.
“A chance to explore whatever this is between me and Jules without you breathing down our backs.”
Archer crossed his arms, looking at Jock and Grant with a pained expression. “It’s Jules, man. What do you want me to say?”
“Say you trust me. Say you trust her.”
“I trust you both, but if you leave this island, then what? My sister, the sweetest, happiest girl on this planet, is left heartbroken. I can’t condone that, and she’s never going to leave Silver Island, so don’t get any thoughts in your head about that. Her roots run deeper than the sea.”
“You think I don’t know that?” Grant seethed. “I’m not looking to upend her life. I may not know what my future looks like, but I know that being with Jules feels a hell of a lot better than being without her, and if Jules and I turn into something, she and I will deal with decisions about my future when the time comes.” He threw his shoulders back. “And you know what? I don’t need your approval. You do what you have to, and I’ll do what I have to.”
GRANT PULLED DOWN his road feeling better than he had in days. Fitz’s car was parked at the bottom of his driveway. What now? He drove up to the house and found Fitz sitting on the porch steps. His brother pushed to his feet as Grant got out of his truck. He was still wearing a suit and must have come straight from work. There was no trying to read Fitz’s expression. If he wasn’t dicking around, he was calm, cool, and collected. Grant could count on one hand the number of times he’d seen Fitz get in anyone’s face or raise his voice. He only had one nervous habit, but it was a hell of a habit. He mimicked a host of their father’s mannerisms when he was nervous. The funny thing was, where most people might mimic their parents’ mannerisms in their daily lives, Fitz only did it when he was uncomfortable.