Theirs Read Free

watching
her. She drew her gaze to Riley, whose back was to her as he worked at the
stove. It was clear he was unaware they were standing there. He turned around,
his blond hair cut close to his scalp. His thin glasses made him seem scholarly
and intellectual, both of which were true.
    She
couldn’t stop her smile at seeing him again after so long.
    He
grabbed some ingredients off the counter, his gaze momentarily flickering to
her and then back down. His head snapped up a second later, the emotion on his
face clear as he stared at her.
    “Lilly,”
he said her name softly, his voice deep.
    She
smiled and looked between the two men she loved so much, her chest seizing when
memory after memory tore through her. It was just like old times, except
Christian wasn’t sitting at the table with a beer in his hand telling his corny
jokes. That was all it took for her emotions to strangle her—finally seeing
their faces, being back in Burkett, and not caring if they saw her breakdown.
    She
couldn’t hold back any longer, not as she glanced between them and then at the
empty table, wishing Christian was there, smiling at her. She hunched over, the
pain coursing through her, stealing everything from her. The tears spilled over
as she finally let the grief she felt for Christian wash through her.
    Riley
and Tallin were by her in the next instant, wrapping
their arms around her and saying soft things, but she couldn’t hear them,
didn’t understand their words over the beating of her heart and the pain that
encompassed every part of her.
    Strong,
heavy sobs wracked her, and if it weren’t for them holding her up, she would
have fallen to her knees, let her feelings take her down.
    “Sweetheart.
Please don’t cry, Lilly. It breaks my heart,” Riley whispered against her hair.
    She
let them lead her out to the living room and onto the couch. Tallin handed her a box of tissues as he sat down next to
her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her in close to his big,
hard body. She wiped her tears away. Riley moved beside her and sat down next
to her.
    Lilly
had wiped her tears, but she continued to cry, a torrent, a physical show of
her emotions.
    “It’s
okay, sweetheart,” Riley said, rubbing her hand that rested on her thigh. “Let
it out.” He sounded in pain, and when she looked at him she saw the worry on
his face as he watched her.
      Her chest heaved as she squeezed her eyes shut
and tried to calm herself in front of the two most important men in her life.
    “It’s
okay to cry, Lilly. We’re here and not going anywhere,” Tallin said, his hand on her back, big, steady, warm.
    She nodded, but didn’t want to
break down in front of them. She looked down at where Riley’s hand rested on
hers. She brought her gaze back to his face, his brows drawn together with
concern and sadness. She looked into those amber-colored irises and saw love
and kindness reflected back, understanding and compassion. She turned and
looked at Tallin , his jaw set tight as he tried not
to show his emotions.
    “I’m
going to miss him so much.” She lowered her head to stare at the ground for a
second before squeezing her eyes shut again. Hot tears tracked down her cheeks.
    “We
all will, sweetheart. We have to get through this. Christian wouldn’t have
wanted us to cry over him. He would have wanted us to stick together, to keep
each other strong.”
    She
nodded more to herself than at what Riley had said. She knew he spoke the
truth, but she didn’t know if she would be able to let her grief pass.
    “Let
her get it out, Riley,” Tallin said and started
rubbing her back.
    “I
didn’t even get to see him before he passed away.” She choked up on the last
few words. She clenched her hands into fists, curling her fingers into her
palms. She was so angry with herself for not being able to hold it together,
especially in front of Riley and Tallin .
    “Don’t
beat yourself up, Lilly,” Riley said and grabbed her hand in