Page 15 of Griffin (Stone Brothers #5)

FOURTEEN

SHAY

I 'd kissed him. I started it, and I didn't have one ounce of regret. I was ready to do it again. I was ready for him to take me to some quiet place, strip me naked and give me all the things I craved now that we'd kissed.

After the kiss, we fell awkwardly silent.

The kiss had started something, but it was something complicated.

We sat down on the dry sand and stared out at the relentless tide.

It never stopped. It rolled in continuously, and the ocean looked incredibly vast in the dark, as if you could sail off and never find land again.

"What about family?" Griffin asked. "Surely you have someone you can turn to, a place to go to get free of him."

"My mom died of lung cancer when I was seventeen.

She loved ballet, and she was there with me for every practice, every recital.

" I chuckled. "She was a real stage mom but less annoying than the ones you see on television.

She didn't tell me how sick she was until a few months before her death.

I didn't have time to prepare. I came home from school one day, and she was in bed and that was it. She never got back out."

"Lung cancer, that's rough. Was she a smoker?"

"No, my dad smoked—heavily. Three packs a day.

I don't remember him without a cigarette hanging out of his mouth.

He was a trucker too. That's how I met Tate.

He took Tate under his wing, so to speak.

Showed him the trucker life and Tate fell in love with life on the road.

My dad wasn't abusive, just uncaring. When he was home, he spent his time watching television or playing pool at the local bar.

Mom and I just moved around him, avoiding contact.

Having him home was not much different than him being on the road.

He died three years ago of a blood clot.

I felt bad that I never cried about his death, but he just wasn't worth the tears.

" I looked over at Griffin. His green eyes nearly glowed in the moonlight.

"So that's my long way of telling you, no, there's no one.

My grandparents were gone before I was old enough to know what a grandparent was.

My parents were both older when they had me. "

"Sorry about your mom. That must have been tough. Do you think if she'd?—"

"If she'd lived that I would have avoided this disastrous marriage?

" I dug my still bare feet back and forth in the sand.

It felt good. "I'm not sure. There was a time when I actually loved, well, maybe liked is a better word, Tate.

He was different during our first years together.

I'm not sure what happened. He sort of snapped, suddenly everything made him angry.

His temper got shorter. I asked him to talk to someone, but that only made him angrier. "

"Fin," a frantic voice said from behind. We both turned back. Jules' expression caused Griffin to jump instantly to his feet.

"What's wrong?"

I got to my feet.

"That creepy guy who Stella told to bug off just showed up with a few buddies, all on motorcycles, and none of them too friendly looking. You need to come."

The three of us ran back to the house. Griffin was ahead with his long, fast strides. Waves of tension rolled off of his broad shoulders as he headed across the sand. Jules pulled up next to me.

"You're an incredible dancer, by the way."

"Thanks."

We reached the scene out front of the beach house.

A massive guy who was unmistakably handsome like Griffin was standing with his giant arms crossed and his chin set defiantly.

He was flanked on one side by Crusoe and on the other by a tall, athletic looking guy with long, dark blond hair and a smaller guy with thick, dark brown hair and a short beard.

The family resemblance between all of them was undeniable.

Griffin slowed his pace and walked up to join his cousins. They were a formidable group, and they were staring down some formidable opponents, opponents who were now outnumbered and out muscled.

Adrenaline thrummed through me. There was no one more accustomed to seeing an outburst of angry testosterone than me, unfortunately.

I stayed close to Jules. She looked worried but not as worried as I would expect given that her family members were close to a heavy-fisted brawl.

Griffin's arrival seemed to have short-circuited the bravado on the opposite side of the invisible battle line.

The man standing out front pushed up his sleeves in agitation. "Told you, Stone, I just came to see Stella. Thought we might join the party."

"You're not getting anywhere near Stella," Jaxon said. His sister was still inside the house, and I was sure she had no intention of coming out. "She told you she wasn't interested. Now take that as a big no, and be on your way."

The guy moved a few steps closer, and every Stone moved closer too. The evening had been so lovely. I hated the idea of it ending with thrown fists and bloody noses.

I leaned my head toward Jules. "Are they really going to fight?"

"Only if the other side throws the first punch, which, unless they're suicidal, won't happen."

Her words eased some of the anxiety rising in my gut.

Griffin stepped closer. "Look, you guys are outnumbered, and even if there were twice as many of you, you'd still get your asses kicked.

Just ride off and spare yourself the shred of dignity you have left.

Stella isn't interested, and nothing you do here tonight will change that.

Seriously, bro, just go. It's over. This is over. "

A few silent minutes of hostile tension twisted the air around us. Then the guy shook his head. "Fuck all of you Stones." He turned away, and he and his friends got on their bikes and rode off.

I hadn't realized I'd released a big sigh until Jules put her arm around my shoulders and gave me a squeeze.

"I thought it might end that way. I was worried.

Not going to lie. I've witnessed more than my share of fights and held an ice pack on Fin's face more times than I want to count, but those guys were no match for Fin and my cousins and they knew it.

I just hope Vincent leaves Stella alone. "

The temperature was dropping fast. The warm glow inside the house lured us that direction. We walked slowly, with our arms wrapped together. I couldn't believe how instantly I felt comfortable with Griffin and his family. "How long were they together?" I asked.

Jules chuckled. "That's the really stupid part. They only went out on two dates, and LaLa ended it right away. She knew he wasn't a match for her."

"Two dates. That makes him seem a bit off balance. I mean your cousin is gorgeous, and I have no doubt she's amazing in every way, but that still sounds fast."

"LaLa is the best. We're the only two girls in the family, so we're close.

I always followed her around when we were little, and she never told me to bug off.

She was protective of me, just like the boys are of both of us.

Her twin, Jaxon, you might have noticed the grizzly-sized Stone in the middle?—"

"He's hard to miss."

"He loses his shit when someone even looks wrong at his sister."

We reached the screen door. Stella was standing in the kitchen with a woman with shiny black hair and blue sapphire eyes.

Stella looked shaken by what'd happened.

Jules walked right over to give her a hug.

The two held each other a long time, and my heart ached to have a sister, a friend like they had.

The beautiful woman with black hair left them alone and walked over to meet me.

"Hello, I'm Bridget, Jaxon's girlfriend, and I wanted to say that your dance down on the sand, well, you are really talented. Are you part of the ballet group in Oceanview? If you're not, you should be. They do shows across the state."

"I'm Shay. I'm working for Colt Stone. I'm not part of any dance company at the moment, but I would love to get back into it."

Jules was filling a glass of water for her cousin. "You should try out," she said over her shoulder. She handed Stella the glass. "As much as we hate Oceanview on this side of the tracks, I have to admit their ballet group is fantastic."

I looked to Bridget for an explanation about the hating Oceanview remark.

Bridget had a million-dollar smile to go with the rest of her.

"Oceanview is where the snooty people live, people like my dad, but he's living in much reduced circumstances after an unfortunate business venture.

Instead of a ten thousand square foot mansion, he's living in a measly five-thousand.

But really, their dance company is great, and they'd be thrilled to find someone like you. "

"Not too sure. I haven't danced in a few years."

"Then you need to try Miss Pearl's School of Ballet.

It's a few miles inland. I used to take lessons from Miss Pearl when I was young," Jules said.

"Fin had a huge crush on Miss Pearl. She's one of those women …

how do I describe it? She's like the human form of cotton candy.

Light and airy and pretty. She once danced for the New York Ballet, but an injury shortened her career. "

Jaxon came in to see how Stella was. She hugged him and then smacked him and said something about not wanting to be lectured. They stood together in the kitchen nibbling marshmallows and sipping beers.

"Fin did confess to me that he had a thing for ballerinas," I said. "I thought he was just teasing."

Jules shook her head. "Nope. He'd come with my mom to watch rehearsal. I mean seriously, can you imagine him sitting through ballet rehearsal because of his interest in classical music and dance?"

"That is so cute," Bridget said.

"It was funny as heck. Anyway, my ballet career was shortened by a complete and utter lack of talent. I half expected Fin to pull on a pair of tights and sign up for class himself."

"I heard my name," Griffin said as he stepped into the kitchen. He glanced at all of us, me the longest. "What did I miss?"

"Jules was just telling Gidge and Shay about your embarrassing crush on Miss Pearl, the ballet teacher, and how you pulled on tights and joined the class," Jaxon said.

Jules picked up a marshmallow from the counter and threw it at Jaxon. "I did say almost . You always add your own Jax spin to shit to make it sound worse," Jules said.

Griffin shook his head at all of them and took my hand. "Want to get out of here?"

I hesitated for only a second. "Sure. It was nice meeting all of you," I said as Griffin hurried me out.

"You too and good luck with your ballet," Bridget called to me.

"Where are we going?" I asked him as he pulled me through the crowd gathered in the front room.

"The Shack and, trust me, it's way worse than it sounds, but I've got a box of microwave popcorn in the cupboard, and while the house is mostly a crumbling pile of wood, the television is top quality. Thought we could binge-watch something stupid and meaningless and revisit that whole kiss thing."

I held his hand tightly. "No girl would turn down that offer. Buttered popcorn, right?"

"Of course, what kind of a heathen do you take me for?"