Part 70 (1/2)

”You mean the world to us.”

”Bulls.h.i.+t. You treat me like a child. Do you know what it was like to keep trying and trying? Year after year I worked my b.u.t.t off trying to please Gloria and no matter what I did it wasn't enough. You all stood there, watching me fail and you never once thought to tell me why? To spare me that?”

She was right, he thought. This time when she tried to pull away, he let her.

She glared at them. ”This was not your decision to make.”

Reid shook his head. ”How do you say something like that to your only sister?”

”You find the words and if they don't come easily, you keep looking for them. And I'm not your sister.”

Cal stared at her. ”You will always be my sister. I don't give a d.a.m.n about who your father is. You're my sister.”

”Half, technically,” she told him. ”Get out.”

”What?”

She sucked in a breath. ”Just go. I don't want to talk to any of you. Go!”

The last word came out as a scream. Cal looked at his brothers, then back at her. Was it better to give her time, or should he try to get her to understand that he'd only been trying to protect her?

As soon as he thought the words, he realized that he'd screwed up trying to protect Penny all those years ago and he'd just made things even worse with Dani. It seemed as if he wasn't very good at taking care of those he loved.

”Dani,” Reid began.

She took a step back. ”Just get out of here. I don't want to see you or talk to you.”

Walker nodded. ”We'll be in touch tomorrow.”

Instead of responding, she walked out of the living room. A few seconds later, a door slammed.

”s.h.i.+t,” Cal said as he rubbed his jaw. ”What the h.e.l.l was Gloria thinking? I never thought she'd really tell Dani.”

”We should have been the ones,” Reid said.

”Ya think?”

Walker stepped between them. ”We need to give her time. Some wounds need to bleed for a while.”

Cal knew Walker was right but he didn't want to think of his sister bleeding. He didn't want her hurt ever and he hated knowing he could have helped ease this one.

”I don't think she should be alone,” Reid said.

”Penny will be home soon,” Cal told him.

Walker looked between them. ”Should we give her a heads-up?”

Cal wasn't sure how to answer. In truth, Penny already knew about Dani, so she wouldn't be surprised.

”I'll call her,” he said at last. ”She'll get here as soon as she can.”