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I could barely nod, and I tried to play it off like a joke. “Forever the third or fifth or umpteenth wheel.”

“Meems and Brody are single.” I heard no dismissal of my feelings in it. I could tell he was truly trying to understand.

Most times, I felt like I could tell him anything, yet still, I kept back the most important pieces.

“I know…I just…felt like I lost my position, I guess.”

Sorrow weaved into the admission.

Why was I even talking about this?

Intensity blazed through him, and Trevan’s dark eyes hunted around my face. “It was hard for you leaving Kai like that.”

It was pure awareness.

I had to look away to choke back the anguish that wanted to break through.

“Hey,” Trevan whispered in that raw, caring way.

Coarse fingertips brushed along my arm.

Tingles lifted in their wake, and warmth saturated into the lonely places that I didn’t want to reveal.

“You don’t have to be ashamed of whatever you’re feeling.” The rugged words scraped over me in a wash of support.

I looked back at him, and I chewed on my bottom lip to try to staunch the flood of truth that wanted to burst free. “It’s stupid.”

“It’s not.” His strong brow wrinkled. “Whatever it is, it’s not. Not if you’re feeling it.”

Tears pricked my eyes. “Why do you even care so much?”

I kind of wanted to shout it. Pound my fists on his chest to get him to open up to me. He was the one who always had his emotions locked down tight.

But this…

“Because there isn’t one person in this world that I care about more than you.”

Crap.

Why did he have to say things like that? Why did he have to make my heart race and my hope patter?

I inhaled a steadying breath, wavering before I started to whisper, “When Silas brought Kai to the house in the middle of the night, that baby was crying. Afraid. Scared.”

My voice cracked as I was taken back to the memory. “Silas placed him straight into my arms like he was terrified to hold him. I kept bouncing and shushing him. Whispering that he would be alright. It took him a couple seconds, but then he stopped and just…clung to me.”

Adoration burned through the sadness, and I stared at the rugged fortress that sat there with far too much understanding carved on his face. “I was so scared for him. Loved him in an instant. And I thought…I guess I imagined I would be the one to raise him, or that I’d be a huge part of it, at least.”

I never had imagined him calling me mom or anything like that, but I guess the vision I had was basically that position. Me in that intrinsic role in his life.

I mean, we weren’t exactly the picture of a traditional family, so I figured me stepping into the role fit.

I never imagined my brother would fall for a woman so soon after Kai had come to live with us.

Just two months after Silas had rescued him from the abusive situation he was in with our father and Kai’s biological mother.

And Brinley…she’d fallen right into that capacity.

She had become the little boy’s mommy.