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Thinking about the things he did out of anger made me shiver with horror and worry for this beautiful boy cowering againstsecond, the boy blinked and seeaze Slowly, his hand fell from my lips We continued to stare at each other as the search party co spot Minutes drifted by and still, neither of us lanced away as if to ensure our safety But his gaze tracked right back to ly perplexed by the notion

Oh, crap I was supposed to screa of htened aze darted around my face, confusion and maybe a little awe in his eyes I think he realized then, just as I did, that maybe eren’t cohtened to his feet and backed a step away, see almost leery of me When he turned to leave, I panicked, not ready for hio

"Hey" I leapt up after him, only to cause oose egg

He paused A second passed, then two Finally, he glanced back "What?"

"Did you really do that to rin that had ht nod later, he answered, "And I’e one of his daughter’s dirty diapers"

I exhaled a breath I’d been holding, a little iainst Garrett, against anyone in my family, and even warmer in the belly that he felt so protective of his sister I wondered if either of my brothers would seek that kind of justice for me if I’d landed in the same situation But what I said was, "I can’t believe you broke into " He took a step toward me, then another

I didn’t move away, but I did hold h me

Slowly, he lifted his hand When I still refused to back away froers lifted halfway between us Then he gave in to whatever had been holding hi frolanced fro to his face Then I shook my head "You still vandalized ht"

His eyes narrowed "It’s a lot less wrong than what he did to my sister"

"I don’t" When he lifted his eyebroaiting for me to continue, I took a quick breath "I mean, I don’t think Garrettyou knowI don’t think he’s the father"

With a sniff of dislanced away "Of course you’d say that"

"No, really I’m serious I know my brother I know he’s not perfect And he’s definitely capable of doing so likethis He can lie and deny the truth to your face only to turn around and brag about it to his friends But I’ve heard hi to his buddies about this, and he still denies it to them"

"Well, I’ve seen the baby," the Parker boy countered This ti froer "And she looks exactly like you"

My breath caught "WellI-I’h and smiled Wow, I liked his sht white teeth and a smiles?

But then the smile dipped into an irritated scowl, as if he’d just rees His fingers jerked fro red hair Eyes so blue they’re almost turquoise and only about two freckles on her entire face Kind of pretty, actually"

I tried not to react, except h my entire system, and every breath I took made me more exhilarated than the last

Until he had to add, "For a Bainbridge"

Spinning away, he hurried off and disappeared around a tree

I stood there, gaping at the place he’d just been Even though he’d tried to end our encounter with criticism, my chest expanded and filled armth and an exuberance I couldn’t contain because it leaked outlike an idiot

Hefro froet back It was as if he’d sucked out everything dis with nothing but a giddy radiance