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"Huk, I think it's best you and Karis get on out of here. That's enough drama for one night."

"Dad, that's not fair!" Colin shouted. "Johnny started the fighting."

"And Huk and Karis ran their mouths at your mother's table. I won't stand for the disrespect."

"Nora's the one who ran her mouth first." Colin crossed his arms over his chest and glared at our sister.

But as usual, Nora's behavior was never the problem. "She made an observation. Karis chose to take offense and Huk retaliated. Which is why I'm asking them to leave."

I put a hand on Colin's shoulder before he could say anything else. As one of the youngest he'd been shielded from most of my problems with the family, including the reason I was about to silently walk away without a fight.

"It's all right little brother. I'll see you at ODX in a few days."

He spun to stare at me. "Why are you taking this?"

If he only knew how far I'd taken it once. I gave his cheek a pat. "We'll talk another time. Let this go." I gave Ollie and Ethan a nod, waved to my other siblings—minus Nora—and shuffled to Karis's car to knock on her window.

She rolled it part way down with a sniffle. "I'll follow you."

"Love you."

"Love you, too."

Then I took the walk of shame to my truck, stuck the key in the ignition, and left yet another family dinner after yet another fight.

At least this time I didn't use my fists.

Twenty-Three

Jackson

Subsisting on cheese and crackers is not a sustainable lifestyle

I didn't wantMarley to see me like this, so I went to the saloon first. As cool as I tried to play it when I was being ostracized by my family, I had more anger simmering under my skin than I knew what to do with.

Scottie slid a beer into my hands. "I know we give you shit about not coming home, but fuck. We forget how bad it gets sometimes."

Sometimes? All the time. And tonight wasn't half as bad as it could get. Tonight was a tame little scuffle. The yelling had been short to nonexistent. It all exploded so fast.

"You want to punch me? We can go at it," Travis offered. He always offered to fight me when I held back from fighting my family.

"I'm good." But the beer definitely helped mellow my anger, muting it into something I could wrap my mind around. "I'm just tired of it all."

"Why is Nora like that? She was always so stuck up as a kid and now she's a wicked witch, always chasing after people, getting them into trouble."

She was Mom's carbon copy but amplified by Dad's temper. It was a nasty combination, especially when mixed with the same simmering rage as my own. We just harnessed it in different ways. Nora spread her pain around, making as many people miserable as possible. I stuffed it all inside and ignored it.

Neither was a healthy choice.

"I shouldn't have said what I said." I knew it was a bridge too far, but after weeks of off-hand comments and generally being a pain, I snapped.

"Neither should she," Scottie grumbled. "Good for Karis saying something. And fuck your dad for asking you two to leave."

"I know we've only had front row seats toyourlife, but I swear your parents don't blame any of your other siblings for everything the way they do with you." Digger shook his head, drawing his hand down his face. "I'm close to Ollie and Ethan, even Karis because she tagged along so much as kids, and it's just different for them."

"No, it's true," Travis agreed. "They make Nora miserable because they want her to be their perfect poster child, but they don't blame her when things go down. They're too proud of Ollie for that either. Karis catches some of the flack when you're gone, but it's not the same. Eve and Logan do their own thing. They don't ignore your parents like you do, but they sure as shit avoid them. Thomas, Colin, and Minna are just getting old enough to stand on their own. Honestly, I think they have a complicated relationship with your parents because Nora is positioned as a third parent. They catch crap from Nora instead, but it's different."

"Well I think you're a great guy." Scottie mock-punched my shoulder and winked, teasing me.