Griffin cleared his throat. “I know how that is. It can be a sucker punch to the gut.” I nodded, remembering that he’d lost people close to him also. “But the good stuff can pop up, too. Can’t have one without the other.”

I gripped Brody’s hand harder. “You’re right.” I didn’t do enough remembering the good. It was too easy to push it all down for fear of something sending me into a spiral of fear and panic. “My mom would’ve been right with Ford and Hunter on the redecorating train. She always went all out for every holiday. I swear she even made a little display for Flag Day.”

Caelyn reached over and squeezed my knee. “I’m really sorry you lost them.”

I swallowed against the emotions trying to crawl up my throat. “Thank you. I am, too.” My heart hammered in my ears as if the organ lived there. “It was my brother. He killed them.” The group went completely silent. The only sounds were the crackles and pops of the fire. “He tried to kill me, too. It’s why…” I searched for the right words to explain without having to reopen every wound. “It’s why I try to keep a low profile.”

“He’s not in jail?” Griffin asked, his voice hard.

“He was only eleven when it happened. He got out a few months ago.”

Caelyn gasped. “Shay. I’m so sorry. I can’t imagine.”

I took a sip of my soda. “He’s very sick. But good at pretending he’s not.”

Bell leaned forward, her blond hair glowing in the light of the fire. “What can we do?”

My eyes burned. I pretended it was from the smoke of the fire. But deep down, I knew the truth. They burned from the tenderness of the offer. And because I was the one who had kept myself from this kind of support for so many years. By keeping my distance from every single person who had offered friendship.

Brody seemed to sense the battle within me, the way he sensed everything and pulled me closer against him. “You’re not shutting people out now.”

I nodded and met Bell’s gaze. “He doesn’t know where I am. But if someone ever asks about me in town…” My blood chilled at the thought. “Let me know.”

“Of course,” she said.

Ford wrapped an arm around Bell’s shoulders. “We’ve got your back. Whatever you need, just let us know.”

Caelyn patted my knee. “Anything. Just say the word.”

Hunter nodded. “No one’s going to hurt you here. We look out for our own.”

And I was one of theirs. A member of this pieced-together family. One that wasn’t linked together by blood but by choice. And wasn’t that the greatest gift of all?