“Don’t you know how to fuckin’ knock?” West demands, doing his best to cover me by wrapping his arms around my body.
Micah takes in the two of us, me barely clothed and sitting on West’s lap. His scowl deepens even more. “What the fu—hell are you doing with my naked sister?”
This has got to be the weirdest morning in the history of mornings. “Where did you get a baby? And turn around so I can put some clothes on.”
He does as I instructed. “Someone left her on my doorstep. I don’t know anything more than that. And how fuckin’ long has this been going on?”
“Why the fuck are you here?” West grinds out.
I move to the kitchen island and grab my robe. But the material is sheer, so I’m still exposed. West shrugs out of his button-down and passes it to me, leaving him in a short-sleeved white t-shirt. It perfectly clings to his biceps, showcasing his strong muscles. “That doesn’t answer anything. Is she yours? When did you—how do you have a daughter?”
“I don’t know anything about her yet.” Frustration and defeat bleed into Micah’s tone. “All I know is she was there one morning and now I have to figure out how to help her.”
“So, I have a niece?” In the middle of all the chaos, this thought registers and fills me with happiness. I always hoped that Micah would start a family one day. He’s too serious, too in control. He needs a wife and kids to bring him joy and give him reasons to smile. Just like West does for me.
Micah ignores my question and talks to West instead, “Ledger called me this morning to tell me that you screwed up payroll. He’s trying to calm the employees. But it’s Christmas and they’re counting on this money. I came over to sort out this mess.”
“You can turn around now,” I tell him when I’m covered again. Definitely going to make sure the doors are locked in the future. I didn’t realize that the guys come and go between each other’s houses. But it makes sense. They’re all brothers and they’re all single.
He glares at West. “That’s my sister.”
“And I’m in love with her,” he says it with such absolute certainty.
“I don’t give a fu…duck!” He finally substitutes when the sleeping bundle in his arms stirs.
I creep closer and peer at her. She has his nose. “Let me hold her.”
He hesitates for a split second before he passes her to me, issuing instructions the entire time. “Support her head. Don’t startle her. Talk softly. Cradle her close. She needs warmth.”
I give him an amused smile. “She’s pretty amazing.”
Now that she’s in my arms, Micah is free to turn all of his ire on West. I hope they’re not going to come to blows over this. West wouldn’t be the one to throw the first punch, I know that much. But if he thought he was defending my honor, he wouldn’t hesitate to go to battle with my brother.
“I’m happy, Micah,” I say quietly, hoping to defuse the tension.
“It’s not about being happy,” Micah snaps. “What happens when you break up? Where the fuck are we going to go then? I have a daughter to keep safe now. We can’t go back to sleeping on park benches. Fuck, this is bad. You know what? I want both of you to forget this happened. We’ll all three forget it and nothing bad will happen.”
“I’m not breaking up with her,” West answers. His tone is soft, but I can hear the steel in his voice. This man won’t back down, not when it comes to me. “How many women have I been with? In all the time you’ve known me, who have I flirted with or taken home? No one. There’s never been anyone because it’s always been her. She’s the only woman I’ve ever wanted.”
In this moment, I finally understand just how deeply our upbringing affected both of us. My heart aches for the kids we were, the ones who had to claw and struggle and fight just to survive. “We don’t have to leave this time.”
As I say the words, West crosses the kitchen. He slides an arm around my shoulders, pulling me close and offering me the comfort of his presence. Without a word, he’s reassuring me that I’m right.
He shoves a hand through his hair, looking so much older than his twenty-eight years. “Of course, we have to leave. We always have to leave. People like us don’t get warm homes and parents who care and enough to eat. Not if we’re not good. We get kicked out.”
“Fuck,” West mutters under his breath. “Micah, listen to me. You’re not a kid anymore.”
The words seem to shake my brother and he’s quiet for a long moment.
West continues, “No one can make you or Cassie leave. You’re in the will. Did you know that? Mom and Dad state that you and Cassie and Ledger have equal shares. When they pass, we split the ranch. There’s no division or difference made between the four of us. In their eyes, you’re as much a Kringle as I am.”
Micah rubs a spot on his chest. “I’m a Kringle?”
He was never legally adopted. There was no reason to fight the system for him once he was eighteen. I’m sure Mom and Dad figured it was just a formality since he was living with them and treated as their son. But I see it through Micah’s eyes now. They adopted me and Ledger because we were still underage. West is their birth son. Micah is the only one who’s never been officially called a Kringle.
“You’re a Kringle,” West repeats.
My brother looks between West and me. “You break her heart and I’ll put you in the woodchipper out back. I’ll do it slow too.”