Only I’ll be dying a little bit on the inside.

Damn it!

I’d just escaped from under the covers when the familiar sound of my muffled ringtone sounded from somewhere in the apartment. I chanced a quick glance at the alarm clock on Rowan’s nightstand and saw it was only a little after seven AM. That explained why he was still sawing logs. He was barely able to drag himself from bed at 8:15 like a normal human being. Deciding I had enough time to take the call without waking him, I snatched his white button-down shirt from the floor and slid it on, not wanting to deal with the hassle of my gown until I absolutely had to. Quickly fastening the three middle buttons, I shuffled on silent feet from the room, following the sound of my ringing phone to where my purse lay on the table I’d dropped it on the night before.

The display lit up with a picture of Carson making a weird face at Willow, and I couldn’t help but laugh at the memory of taking it the last time I was home. That had been a great day.

“Hey,” I answered with a smile, conscious to keep my voice down so as not to wake Rowan.

“Hey there, little bit!”

My nose burned and my eyes flooded with tears at the use of his heartwarming nickname for me. God, I missed him. I missed all of my family back in Texas.

“A little early for you to be so chipper, don’t you think?” I teased.

“I’ve been up since four. Cass’s got Restless Leg Syndrome, or whatever the hell the doc called it. Kicked the shit outta me all night long. Couldn’t sleep worth a damn.”

“Aw.” I giggled as I made my way into the living room and folded onto the couch, knees to chest with my free arm wrapped around my legs. “Pregnancy giving her trouble?”

“You’d think, but the woman’s tough as all hell.”

“Don’t I know it. So, what warranted the early morning call?”

“Well,” he started before trailing off, intentionally keeping me in suspense. The jerk.

“Spill it, Carson.”

His chuckle resonated through the line, flooding my chest with warmth. “How do you feel about having a couple houseguests in two weeks?”

“Are you kidding?” I squealed excitedly before remembering to keep quiet. A quick glance over my shoulder showed an empty hall so I continued, softly. “Are you kidding? You’re really coming?”

“We’re really coming, little bit.”

“I can’t tell you how happy that makes me,” I whispered, more than a little teary-eyed. “You’re the best brother I never had,” I told him, using the words we’d made up for each other years ago to let him know exactly how much he meant to me.

“And you’re the best sister I never had,” he followed accordingly.

Talking to Carson was a reminder of how much I missed everyone at Willow Ranch. That, combined with the somberness of my situation with Rowan, sent a wave of sadness through me. “God, I miss you, Carson. You have no idea.”

I should have known he’d read my tone perfectly. The man had been in tune with my emotions since I met him when I was only eleven years old. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” I lied, making sure to put a smile in my voice to reassure him even though I wasn’t feeling it.

“You sure? You wouldn’t lie to me, would you?”

“I swear, Carson. Everything’s good. It’s just early. I’m not properly caffeinated yet.”

He remained silent for a few seconds. “If you say so,” he spoke skeptically. “But if something’s ever wrong, I’m only a phone call away, little bit. I’m always here for you, no matter what. Cass, too. Hell, every damn one of us at the ranch.”

I giggled again, feeling just a bit lighter. “I know.”

“I love you, you know that?”

“I do know, Carson. And I love you, too.” I smiled again, and that time it was genuine.

“Me and Cass will see you in a couple weeks, yeah?”

“I can’t wait,” I answered honestly.

“Talk soon, little bit. Have a good day.”

I had just enough time to reply with a, “You, too,” before the line disconnected.

I stared at the black screen of my phone for a few seconds when a throat cleared from behind me, giving me a start as I spun around on the couch. “Good Lord, Rowan.” I laughed. “You scared the hell out of me.”

“Who’s Carson?” His stony tone wiped the smile off my face and I took in his frigid demeanor as he rested his shoulder against the doorway, arms crossed over his bare chest. If it hadn’t been for the fury radiating off him, I might have had a chance to appreciate the way he looked in nothing but a pair of gray sweats, but that wasn’t in the cards for me.

“What?”

“I asked,” he ground out slowly as he pushed from the door and came toward the couch, “who the fuck is Carson? And don’t lie to me. I heard you tell that asshole you loved him and missed him.”

Whereas any sane person would have cowered down in fright at Rowan’s murderous glare, I had a different reaction… mainly because he’d just referred to Carson as an asshole.

“He’s my brother!” I clipped as I shoved from the couch and came nose to nose with him, the best I could. Just as always, he had me flipping from cold to hot in a heartbeat, and my anger was enough to match his as we stared each other down. “And don’t you call him an asshole, you dick!”

“I told you not to lie to me,” he responded in a low, warning growl.

“I didn’t lie!”

That seemed to give him pause… for a nanosecond. “You said you grew up in foster care. You never said shit about having a brother.”

“Maybe because you never asked!” I shouted. “And, not that it’s any of your damn business, but he’s my foster brother. He basically raised me since I was eleven.”

A sarcastic snort worked its way from Rowan’s throat. “And you actually expect me to believe nothing’s happened between you two? Give me a break, Navie. I’m not an idiot.”

I wanted to slap him. No, I wanted to punch him, really hard.

Instead, I lifted my phone up and hit a few buttons, accessing my photo album. “Here.” I shoved the phone in his face for him to see. “That’s from last Christmas. That’s Carson, his wife, Cassidy, and their daughter, Willow.” He looked from the screen to me with a furrowed brow. “Keep scrolling,” I said sarcastically. “You’ll see more pictures of the three of them. I’m in some of them. Cassidy’s Aunt Milly and Uncle Kal are also in some, too. Oh!” I snatched the phone away and scrolled to one of my most recent pics. “And that’s a picture Cassidy texted me last week of her pregnant belly. Now, you wanna keep accusing me of stupid shit when it’s obvious I have a good relationship with Carson’s wife, or are you ready to pull your head out of your ass?” I finished on a shout.

“I—” he started, but I didn’t give him a chance to continue.

I snatched my cell phone from his hand. “Yeah, that’s what I thought. Just a warning. The next time you want to call my brother names, you better be prepared to have the ever-loving shit kicked out of you. There aren’t many people in my life I love, but the few I do, I love fiercely. I got thrown into the system when I was four and bounced around all alone until I met Carson. He protected me, took care of me. And when my most recent foster family kicked me out the day I turned eighteen, he took me in. He worked two jobs, saving up as much money as he could so that when I came to New York, I didn’t have to struggle.

“And when he met Cassidy and her family, none of them hesitated to welcome us into the fold with open arms. I’d die for each and every one of those people, so I better never hear you talk shit about any of them ever again. You understand me?”

“I’m sorry.”

“And I—wait, what?”

He stepped into me and ran his fingers through my hair, locking them together at the base of my neck. “I said I’m sorry. I didn’t know. I just heard you talking to some guy, telling him you loved him, and I got pissed. I should have asked you first, and I didn’t. I jumped to conclusions, and for that, I’m sorry. Oh, and I’m also sorry for calling your brother an asshole. I’m sure he’s a great guy.”