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I WOKE UP the same way I’d fallen asleep.
By Jethro making love to me.
We’d remained wrapped in each other’s arms for a few vacant hours of sleep. I didn’t dream. I didn’t fret. I just slept and recharged after such a long emotional day.
Jethro roused me with kisses and touches, bringing me to a soft release before carrying me into the shower to wash.
After the bonfire, the sun had already risen on a new day.
The day.
The day we said goodbye to Kestrel.
I feared I’d be tired as Jethro and I dressed quickly, slipping into jeans and jackets and boots. I feared I’d be muddled with sleep deprivation as we ate a quick lunch in the kitchen and strode over the gardens to the stables.
But I didn’t need to fear.
The time with Jethro had recharged me better than sleep.
During the bonfire, I couldn’t think about my mother without wanting to howl at the moon and demand her explanation. I wanted to kick and punch my father for holding such a terrible secret my entire life. And I wanted to hold Vaughn because it wasn’t just me this news affected.
We’d been raised as each other’s everything. Twins. Best friends. Confidants.
To find out we were actually only two-thirds of a complete sibling set—it hurt.
Jacqueline.
Tex said he would continue to track down the adoptive family. He hadn’t been strong enough until now to find the truth.
Then again, maybe strength kept him away.
I was third born.
I should never have had to pay the debt.
But I had, and I’d ended it.
Jacqueline owed her life to my parents for saving her. But her future children owed me their safety.
Jethro took my gloved hand as we stepped from the sun’s glare into the musky world of the stables. “Are you ready?”
Cobblestones and hay welcomed along with memories of Jethro tenderly cutting my hair, putting me back together again with the same implement that’d destroyed me. Stable hands bustled about, gathering saddles and bridles, tending to the horses.
My heart leapt as I noticed Moth.
Kes’s horse.
My horse.
The bridge between us I’d always cherish.
Squeezing his fingers, I nodded.
His lips smiled, but his eyes fought tears.
Today would be hard for him. But I would be there. I would always be there.
He sucked in a deep breath. “Okay, then.”
Together, we prepared to say goodbye to Kestrel Hawk.
