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Ezra runs his big hand down ain

“Get out,” I mumble

“Fine” He stands and pulls on his sweats, but he only gets thehs when footsteps thump down the stairs and my bedroom door slides open I use the term “bedroom” loosely because it’s actually the basement of our parents’ old clapboard house It’s dark and freezing, and thedoor West installed for “my privacy” doesn’t have a lock, but unless I wanted to share with one ofin the damn yard

“Asher, you have to—” West’s voice cuts off when he sees Ezra pulling up his godda his green eyes that match mine

“Knock much?” I snap

I don’t even knohere my hostility cos The top of the list would be losing our father and stepup s He said he needed help and didn’t want to hire a nanny, that he didn’t want to uproot the kids’ livesour parents West gave me the choice, of course, but it didn’t feel liketo leave them in the sole hands of Westly Dalton Yeah, there’s a part of ation to stay If West can give up his career in the NHL for them, I can postpone mine

Maybe Buffalo will still want e, and maybe they won’t, but by then hts to Buffalo will be over, and I can try ent

Until then, er just mine but also West’s, Zoe’s, Rhys’s, Hazel’s, Bennett’s, and Emmett’s

Okay, maybe I do know the source of

Acknowledging I’ one It’s iiven up trying

West folds his ar at otten what you wanted, you can go back to Boston” Then he turns in my direction “You need to take Hazel, Bennett, and Emmett to hockey practice” He spins on his heel and leaves the room

That’s it? That’s all I get for screwing his ex-teammate? I don’t knohether to be pissed off or scared

When West is angry, he yells Our screarivalry But ever since Dad died, he doesn’t give a shit about fighting Either that or he’s holding it all inside and will one day explode

I turn to Ezra “What did he ot what you wanted?”