Jasmine set the phone down, her hand shaking. Her chest squeezed tight. She forced a breath in.
“Was that the results?” Mikel asked, sitting next to her on the porch. The sun hung low in the sky. Seagulls cawed as they dove for their dinner. The salty breeze tickled her skin.
She nodded, unable to speak. Tears blurred her vision.
Her brother’s strong arm wrapped around her and pulled her close. She wiped the tears before they could fall as she turned away.
“Do they want a meeting?” Mikel asked.
Jasmine nodded.
“We’ll call the lawyer and go with you,” Bently said, taking the empty spot on her other side.
Jasmine’s gaze flicked to the beach where Zoey was happily playing with her cousins. “I got this. I made the decisions that I did. I should be the one to deal with the consequences.”
“We’re gonna come anyways. You shouldn’t do this alone,” Bently said.
“You think I’m incapable? Just because I made a lot of bad choices in the past, it doesn’t mean I can’t take care of myself now,” she snapped.
Bently turned to face her. “I don’t know where you get off thinking I believe you’re incapable of anything. Damn, woman. Have you looked in the mirror? You are raising a child by yourself. You bought a run-down house that’s old as shit and turned it into a destination on the seacoast. You work harder than anyone I know, and you still manage to be the best mother Zoey could ever ask for.”
Tears streamed down her face. Bently wiped them away with his thumbs. “You are a fucking warrior. I’m just happy to fight by your side.”
“We got your back, Jaz,” Mikel added.
She looked between her brothers, emotion bubbling up: gratitude and joy. She had a family who loved and supported her. Brothers who would be there for her no matter what. “You two are the best brothers in the world. Do you know that?”
Mikel shrugged. Bently flinched. A dark shadow passed over his face.
“What is it?” she asked.
He shook his head. “Nothing.”
“Bently—”
“I wasn’t there for you when you needed me most.” Bently’s voice was hoarse. His shoulders slumped like he’d been carrying this secret for a lifetime.
She sucked in a breath. There was no doubt in her mind what he was referring to. No. Jasmine shook her head. This conversation was long overdue. “Don’t do that. Don’t carry your father’s sins. The fault lies with your father and only him.”
“I should have seen it sooner. I should have been the one to take care of it,” Bently whispered.
Jasmine’s stomach dropped. She looked to Mikel, the confession in his dark eyes. His gaze shifted to the floor. She slapped a hand over her mouth. The brother she’d given such a hard time to for abandoning her. The one who’d struggled for so long with his addiction, only to return and have her be so hard on him. “But he died of an overdose. I thought he killed himself like Mom.”
Mikel shook his head. “I couldn’t let him touch you again, Jaz.”
Her mind was reeling. Her brother had protected her. He’d risked everything to make sure she was safe from a monster and then carried that guilt in silence. She turned to Bently. “You knew?”
He nodded darkly. “I went there to do it myself, but he’d beaten me to it.”
She wrapped one arm around each brother and pulled them close. “We might be the most fucked-up family, with literal skeletons in our closets, but you guys . . . I just can’t even express how much I fucking love you.”
“This is so fucked up,” Mikel said as she released them.
She licked her lips, pressure in her chest expanding. The words stuck in her throat. She sucked in a haggard breath, gaining courage. They needed this. But so did she. And she was strong enough to survive the telling, capturing back just a little more of her power. “It started when I was five.”
Both of them tensed by her side. “He was good at hiding it when it happened. He threatened me if I told, no one would believe me. And that he’d hurt you all. It escalated over the years. Then . . . Mom found us . . . She walked away. She left me with him and killed herself. I felt like it was my fault that she died. I never said anything because I thought I deserved it.” The words rushed out of her. Her brothers needed to hear this, if only to clear their consciences.
“I’m sorry I didn’t see it sooner,” Bently said defeatedly.
“You were a kid. You had enough to worry about. I remember how many times you stepped in to save me or Mikel from his fists. So I know there were countless times I can’t remember because I was so young. You kept me safe when I needed it most. You saved me. Both of you.”
Bently wiped a tear from his eye, sniffling. Mikel cleared his throat and pinched his nose.
“Do you regret it?” Jasmine asked Mikel.
“Not for one second.”
“We made it through a horrible situation. We all survived the way we could. And we beat the system. We broke the cycle. We won’t be anything like them. We’ll make sure our kids have the best lives, filled with love and laughter. You both inspire me,” she said.
“You too, sis.” Mikel kissed her forehead.
“To the reconstruction of us. We broke the cycle so our kids don’t have to,” Bently agreed.
“I’m sorry I took so much of my anger out on you.” She shifted to face Mikel.
He shook his head. “I should have told you all what was going on with me.”
“We all should have talked more instead of bottling it up and pretending we were okay,” Bently added.
“Let’s make a promise that we’ll be honest with each other from here on in. When one of us is struggling, we can reach out,” Jasmine proposed.
“Okay,” Mikel agreed.
Bently hesitated and sighed. “I’ll try.”
She smiled, her broken, tattered heart stuttering to life.
“When are we leaving for New York?” Bently asked.
“Tuesday.”
“Let’s go up Monday, rent some rooms, take the kids to a museum or something,” Mikel suggested.
“You’d do that?” Jasmine asked.
“We got your back. Always. I know you want to go in alone, but we’ll be outside waiting,” Bently said.
The well of gratitude in her rib cage overflowed. “I don’t know what I did to deserve such a great family.”
“You’re you. That’s more than enough. Don’t ever doubt yourself, Jaz,” Mikel said.
“What do you hope will happen with Oliver?” Bently asked.
Jasmine ran a hand through her hair. “I want Zoey to have a father in her life who loves her and treats her right. If he isn’t willing to do that, I just want him to leave us alone. He didn’t seem anything like Atlas. The way he spoke to me and looked at me.” She shivered.
“You could still get some financial support,” Bently suggested.
She shook her head. “If he doesn’t want to be a dad, I don’t want anything from him.”
“No matter what you decide or what happens in there, we got your back,” Bently promised.
“Thank you. I love you guys so much.” She stood, reaching out a hand to each brother. They took them and got to their feet. Jasmine wrapped them both in a group hug.
Two men who’d loved her since birth, even though she only shared half their DNA. Two brothers who’d risked everything to protect her. Two men who’d walked through hell with her, and showed her what it was to be a man, a husband, and a father. She wouldn’t settle for any less for herself or Zoey.
Jasmine was going to face her fears and do it with the confidence that she’d fought so hard to gain. Bently was right; she was a fucking warrior. And it was time she believed it too.