“It’s more, though, Judge,” she said. “Even if she was intentionally meaning to hurt, I think there was honesty behind some of the things she said, and I need to reflect on that.” She lifted a single shoulder and went on, “Maybe there will be times I can continue to be the big sister, but I’ve thought it, Mi said it out loud, and the truth is, she and Matt aren’t kids anymore. They need to take responsibility for their actions and emotions. My main drive is to fix, nurture, guide. But I have to think on if that’s my job anymore. Because at this point in their lives, it might not seem like that to them. It might just seem like meddling. Or worse, judgment.”
“Yeah,” he said quietly.
“So it’s time to bite my lip and let them be who they are.”
She looked like those words caused her pain to say.
Which meant he was grinning when he repeated, “Yeah.”
“You think this is funny?”
“I think it’s amazing how deeply you care for the people you love. And how hard it is for you not to interfere in their lives so they’ll be happy.”
“Hmm,” she hummed irritably. Then she asked, “You have a stepsister?”
“You didn’t learn that in your research?” he teased.
“No,” she said bluntly.
He nodded. “Dad’s second wife, she had a daughter from a previous marriage. I’m actually not surprised you didn’t know about her. Dad’s really protective of her, keeps her under wraps.”
“Name?”
“Dru. Drusilla. It’s apparently a family name.”
“And?”
His body started shaking at Chloe’s interrogation, though it felt hella good she was determined to know all about him.
“And…I like her. She’s nine years younger than me, so twenty. Her dad is a twat, which means she thinks of mine as her real dad even if her father refused to allow Dad to officially adopt her without paying through the nose for it, something Dad agreed to do, the price just kept increasing. Eventually he and Rosalind, his wife, decided that he didn’t need it to be official for him to be Dru’s father. So they told the guy to go fuck himself, and even now, after Rosalind is gone, they’re tight. Probably because, since she was little, they were a family.”
She was studying his face closely before she asked, “Are you okay with that?”
“With what?”
“With this girl being close to your dad?”
“You trying to invent ways to look after me?” he joked.
She didn’t come close to cracking a smile.
So Judge rounded her with his arms and pulled her closer, dipping his head to hers as well as his voice. “I’m good, Chloe. I can’t say I know Dru real well, but I like her. I think she’d also like me to be more brotherly, but she lives in NYC, and I live here, and Dad and I have baggage, so that isn’t easy. Dad adores her, she calls him Dad, so that says it all about how she feels about him, and the bottom line is that every kid needs parents who adore them, blood or not.”
“Including you.”
Yup.
Inventing ways to look after him.
“That didn’t entirely work out for me and I’m okay with it,” he reminded her. “It was what it was and now my life is how I want it. So it’s all good.”
She didn’t believe him, he could tell.
“Okay, you want a problem you can sink your teeth into?” he offered. “Rosalind died too young. Dad wasn’t rocked by it, he was crushed by it. He lives his life but he’s not even close to dealing with it in a way he can move on. So someday, when you meet him, you can take him in hand.”
Her eyes lit at the prospect.
Which obviously made Judge burst out laughing.
When he quit, she was glaring at him.
“Do I amuse you?” she asked.
He bent in and touched his lips to hers.
“Constantly.”
There was a knock on his door.
Chloe twisted and Judge leaned left to see his volunteer coordinator, Alex, peering in the window.
He jerked up his chin, and she opened the door.
“Mr. Pierce is here,” she said, her eyes darting between Chloe and Judge.
Gently, Judge pushed Chloe back a step, jumped off his desk, and introduced, “Alex, this is Chloe, my girlfriend. She’s also co-chairing this project with her dad, Tom Pierce. Chloe, this is the Volunteer Coordinator of the Kids and Trails program, Alexandra Sharp.”
“Hello there,” Chloe greeted, her voice smooth and rich and just the sound of it was intimidating, add the outfit and her manner, forget about it.
Alex, smart, dedicated, passionate, but shy and introverted, was intimidated.
“Hey.”
He was looking at Alex so he didn’t see it, but he felt something coming from Chloe.
To ascertain what it was, he looked down at her to see her gaze riveted to Alex, and even in profile, he saw that gaze was calculating.
She’d noted the intimidation, and she didn’t like it.