“So, I take it Wyatt is one hundred percent clear on the fact that we are sleeping with each other?” she asked, looking up at him.

A muscle in his face twitched. “Yes, he knows,” Gabe said. “Now, I didn’t put it quite like that. Because I like my extremities where they are, thank you.”

“Well, I would hope not,” she said. “What did he say to you?”

“We have his blessing. Kind of.”

“Can I cut in?”

She looked behind Gabe’s shoulder and saw Wyatt standing there. She wasn’t sure it looked like they had Wyatt’s blessing. But he wasn’t punching Gabe, so that was something.

“By all means,” Gabe said, stepping away.

Wyatt took hold of her hand, his hold keeping her at a distance, but still moving in time with the music.

“You’re dancing,” she pointed out.

“So are you,” he replied.

“You’re not mad?”

Wyatt shook his head. “No. I was never going to be mad at you, Jamie. I worry about you. Do you know that? Do you know that I worry about you?”

“Yeah,” Jamie said.

“No, I mean really. Not that overprotective stuff. That’s for me. It’s to make me not feel so...guilty.”

Her heart twisted. “Why do you feel guilty?”

“Because I left. I left when you were a little kid. Because for a while I had a hard time dealing with our family, and with the situation. Because I let my relationship with Dad, and the mistakes I made there, affect everything else. And because for a moment... For a moment I did resent you. This red, screaming thing that was left behind after...”

“After your mom died,” Jamie said softly. Her throat tightened. “I know. I mean, I know that you had to have felt that way. I don’t know why you wouldn’t have.”

“That went away, though,” Wyatt said. “And you were...the brightest sunshine that we had. I think if it weren’t for you, Dad would have lost himself completely.”

“Yeah, but the thing that I always struggle with is that if it weren’t for me you wouldn’t have lost her at all.”

“I can’t think of it that way,” Wyatt said. “It wasn’t a trade. And you know what? Life is just random sometimes. There’s no explaining it. It could have easily been a car accident, a blood clot caused by...anything else. Or nothing at all. No one can guarantee what would have happened. In the end, it doesn’t matter. The way that things went... We lost her. We have you. I’m so damn thankful for you, Jamie. But I also didn’t do the best by you.”

“That’s not true,” Jamie said.

“No. It is. Because you acted tough, so I treated you like you were tough.” He cleared his throat. “And so did Dad. So did we all.”

Her heart suddenly felt heavy.

“I am tough,” she said.

“Jamie, someone should’ve been there for you. To make sure that if you wanted a dress you got one. To make sure that you got makeup if you needed it. Or...whatever else.”