“I know.”
“You know?” Disbelieving that innocent reply, he threw another look her way.
Her shoulder lifted. “I’m not dense. I know that was a family matter.”
Yet it hadn’t slowed her down at all.
“In my defense, I could tell that seeing the two of you spat upset your mother.”
Jesus. “I don’t spat.” He was a professional MMA fighter with rapidly growing popularity, razor-sharp elbows, a solid ground game, and a record filled with knockouts and submissions. Spat. How dumb.
Half turning in the seat to face him, Vanity drew up her knees and got as cozy as the seat belt allowed. “I’m guessing you and your sister have a history of blowups.”
Spot on.
“You’re both alike, but also very, very different.”
Curious about her perceptions, he said, “You’re dying to tell me, so let’s hear it.”
Instead of pretending she didn’t understand, she rested the side of her face on the seat back and smiled. “You’re both headstrong, confident in your mother’s love and comfortably affectionate with each other. Neither of you lets disagreements cause a rift.”
“Close,” he admitted. “But we did have a rift that lasted over six weeks.”
Thoughtful, she said, “So your mom getting hurt is what ended it?”
“Yes.” Only...was it ended? Fucking Phil was still in the picture. How did anyone expect him to tolerate that?
“And the rift?” she pressed. “That was because of something Phil did?”
“He’s a prick.” New annoyance surfaced, tightening the muscles in the back of his neck, roiling in his guts. “You should have stayed away from him like I told you.”
“That’s not fair. In the waiting room there wasn’t any way to avoid him completely. But I did ignore him.”
“And you listened in. On everything.” Meaning she’d just seen him at his worst.
Hell, he had spat with Tabby. He felt ten again, needling his sixteen-year-old sister.
“Should I have put my fingers in my ears?”
Without thinking it through, he reacted to her joking with uncensored candor. “You should have stayed behind like I asked.”
The second the words left his mouth, he regretted them. Tiredness dragged at him. The insurmountable issue of his sister married to a lying creep while infringing on his mother wormed through his brain.
But he didn’t usually lie to himself—as he just had.
Having Vanity along had been a balm against the rest of the night. She’d handled his sister, tended his mother, ignored fucking Phil, and all he’d done was bitch.
The seat squeaked with Vanity’s movement. She retreated, straightening to look forward through the windshield, arms folded around herself.
“Shit.” Drawing a breath, Stack reached for her hand. “I’m sorry. Again.”
Without acknowledging his outstretched hand, she shook her head. Her long blond hair half hid her face from him, but by her voice alone he could imagine her dejected expression. “No need. I’m the one who needs to apologize.”
“No, you don’t.”
She ducked her face even more. “We had an agreement, and I keep overstepping it.”
“Screw the agreement, okay?” He caught her forearm, then gently tugged until she loosened her grip and freed her arm, allowing him to slide his fingers down to lace with hers. He moved her hand to his thigh and kept it there. “I’m glad you’re here.”
“Because I’ll watch the dogs?”
Laughing, he squeezed her hand. “I’ll watch them, and, no, it has nothing to do with that. But thank you for offering.”
“We’re going there first, right? To get them?”
The groan struggled to be free, but he manfully repressed it. “Guess so.” If he didn’t, the two German Shepherds would feel abandoned. They were softhearted beasts, overly protective, and deserved better than his sister gave them.
Not that she was bad to them. But she didn’t have enough time for two energetic dogs, and he wouldn’t trust Phil with a snake, much less a dog.
“By the time we pick up food and get them settled, it’s going to be morning.”
“Yeah.”
“Are you going into the rec center?”
Sensing questions she didn’t ask, Stack shrugged. “Sure. Havoc and Simon are coming in to work with us. I’m not going to miss that.” Cannon, his friend and the owner of the rec center, had recently made a big name for himself. Gage and Denver were fast becoming fan favorites, and Stack was right on their heels.