Austin Heat: The ONE...Who Is Mine (Austin Heat Series Book 4) by Amari Nylix

Author:Amari Nylix [Nylix, Amari]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Temair Media
Published: 2024-08-29T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Six

I watched the muscle in my dad’s jaw twitch, straining to keep his expression soft as he said, “I’m so, so sorry,” to Rakell. I knew he was concealing shock, just as I was. He caught a glimpse of my troubled face but kept his focus on Rakell.

Her words had hit my ears, but my brain was taking its time to understand what she’d actually said: Her dad is dead. Was that it? “Wait, what? What did you say Rae-kale?” I threw it out there, unable to hold back. My tone was concerned, yet the spike in my voice was pinched with accusation.

I saw her eyes skitter around the table nervously before I noticed my dad looking at me in an earnest way as he briefly rubbed her shoulder. Her eyes had grown into huge saucers as she nodded politely at my dad, but I knew her well enough to see that she was teetering on the brink of an internal collapse. Watching her, I kept thinking that if he continued pouring into her with his fatherly emotions, she’d unravel. Dad, she’s not used to this. As if suddenly alarmed, he looked to my mom, who clearly sensed that Rakell was overwhelmed. She nudged Melissa, unspoken communication passing between mother and daughter. How do women always know this stuff? Why can men be in the same room, witness the exact same situation, but not pick up on the taut emotional strings about to break, and, more importantly, not know just how to save someone, to help get them out of it? Even my dad, a master of calmness when things exploded, didn’t register what was happening inside Rakell. I knew because I had witnessed it before. I’d seen firsthand that point when Rakell’s strength evaporated, leaving behind a puddle of panic.

Melissa jumped to her feet, picking up her plate. “Rakell, can you help me clear the dishes?” she asked, the cheeriness in her voice an obvious façade.

Rakell nodded her head almost too vigorously, as if grateful for Melissa’s invitation to exit this scene. Avoiding my stare, she answered, “Yes, yes, of course,” mimicking my sister’s upbeat tone.

“Wait!” I demanded, sounding harsher than I’d intended. She flinched, finally flicking her eyes to me, immediately looking away again. She had the same trapped look on her face I’d seen when confronting her about being an escort.

“No, I want to help,” Rakell shot back as she grabbed my plate. I huffed, almost snatching it back as she reached around me for my cousin’s plate. She shuffled her feet, making her way down the side of the table, manically lifting dishes off the tables as Melissa cleared them on the opposite side.

My eyes skittered from my mom to my dad, my dad’s features shifting from concern to stern as my hard-jawed expression landed on him. He gestured for me to slide down the bench closer to him and Mom. Lines sprang around his deep blue eyes, mirrors of my own, as he fixed a stare on me.

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