Starlight and the Christmas Dare by Michelle Major

Author:Michelle Major
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2022-09-11T21:02:48+00:00

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Chase spent hours trying to fall asleep as Madison’s words rang through his head like the most annoying holiday song he’d ever heard.

The image of Stella with tears running down her face caused his stomach to churn with guilt.

His sister had made another mistake, this one nearly catastrophic. He could hold her responsible, but it wasn’t fair to blame her for not admitting it to him outright.

Since she’d come to live with him, he’d given her no reason to trust his reaction to anything.

He might not like her friends, but her explanation for why those were the people she chose to hang out with broke his heart. Things had changed for them both since arriving in Starlight.

As angry as he was about what she’d done, he didn’t want to lose the gains he’d made in their relationship.

How in the hell was Madison so damn wise when it came to him and Stella?

He’d also been brutish to Madison, and she deserved an apology from him. They both did. At two in the morning, he climbed out of bed, grabbed his crutches after throwing on a sweatshirt and made his way through the quiet house.

Madison had left the Christmas tree on in the front window, the lights giving the darkened space a hopeful glow.

He wanted to believe it was a sign, but by the time he’d made it to the second floor, silently scooting up the steps one at a time so as not to wake his sister, he was achy, sweating and annoyed. His strength was improving, his recovery progressing at the pace the doctor wanted. Still, his physical weakness was another irritation in what felt like an avalanche of frustrations trying to bury him.

He had to try to make it better. Chase might not be perfect, but he had to try.

Of course, he wouldn’t have expected Madison to come to him tonight with how they’d left things. But the stubborn, abandoned boy inside of him wanted her to. He wanted her to give him the unconditional support she expected him to offer Stella.

As he limped down the hallway, he tried not to consider what it said about him that he was sneaking up to Madison’s bedroom in the wee hours. The sad boy inside him would have to wait his damn turn.

He paused outside the door to the office that served as Stella’s bedroom during their stay. When she’d first come to live with him, he looked in on his sister almost every night to watch her sleeping, the way a parent of a small child would.

He’d needed reassurance that she was safe in her bed and had still been somewhat unable to believe he had responsibility for her.

Martin Kent had spent Chase’s whole life making him feel not good enough. Why would he have put him in charge of the girl Chase knew Martin considered his precious daughter in every way that counted?

As he peered into the room, it felt like a throwback to those early nights. Except Stella’s bed was empty.

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