Page 174 of Beneath the Mountain Sky

He releases a little huff. Doesn’t want to hear me say those words to him again, but until he finally relaxes, until he finally accepts that this is really over, I will keep reminding him.

One day, he might believe it.

Liam snort-laughs from his place on the couch, wearing a mix of concern and amusement at watching his brother meltdown with the baby in his arms. “For what it’s worth, I agree with Willow.”

Raven smirks from her spot in Killian’s recliner and raises her hand. “Ditto.”

I grin at them, hoping the other voices backing me up help Killian see it. “I appreciate the support.”

Liam tilts his beer in my direction before he takes a sip. “Anytime.”

His gaze lands on his nephew as Killian adjusts him in his arms to get the bottle into his mouth. Niall latches on and settles against his father’s chest again, completely content, just like I promised Killian he would be.

I drag my lips across the healing wound from Earl’s bullet on Killian’s bicep and move over to the couch and settle next to Liam, who I’m more worried about than our baby.

He’s been quiet.

Reclusive.

Hasn’t spoken a word to any of us about what we discovered on that mountain a few days ago.

The shocking truth of where he came from and who his parents are has left him reeling.

Lost.

Of all the McBride brothers, he was always the most sure of himself and his role in this world.

The most comfortable with people and opening up.

And the man who always manages to find the bright side in everything, who always goes out of his way to cheer people up and make sure they’re okay.

But for days, he has locked himself away in his cabin or his workshop.

And neither Killian nor I dare bring up the topic if he’s not ready to talk about it.

We’ve both been on the other side of that, and forcing anyone to open up when they need time to process typically doesn’t end well.

Raven exchanges a knowing look with me.

All the fallout of what we discovered on the mountain has left the reporter in her jonesing for more information. To learn whatever she can so the residents of our small town can understand what happened instead of relying on supposition and rumors.

That includes desperately wanting to talk with Liam about how he feels about the entire situation.

But she’s handcuffed—both by her conscience and her loyalty to me.

Because I told her the McBrides are off limits for the community news page…unless I approve it first.

And I won’t when it comes to Liam. His gaze remains glued on his brother and nephew, unblinking, with an almost trancelike quality to how he watches them together.

I have to imagine he’s picturing himself at this age—and the man whose arms he would have been in.

Reaching out, I squeeze his hand.

He looks over at me and raises a brow. “What?”

“You doing okay?”

His eyes darken slightly, and he averts his gaze down to the beer in his hand. “I…” He shakes his head. “I don’t know. I guess I’m not sure how I’m supposed to feel about any of this.”