Lost the Handle (Nashville Assassins: Next Generation #8)

Chapter 2

Chapter

Two

Emery

“This is your fault.”

My brow furrows as I cut my gaze to my siblings, the accusation coming from one of my older brothers. Not sure which since I’m in a state of shock. This is not what I expected to come home to. I should have called. Let someone know I was coming, but that isn’t my style.

I like the element of surprise, yet I’m the one shook.

Each of my siblings stands with their arms crossed, their noses scrunched up, and visible distress on their faces. We all mirror one another, dark features, bright gray eyes, and a balanced mixture of our parents. Most of the time, I love my siblings, but then there are moments when they put all the blame on me, and I find them utterly annoying.

Aiden snuck out? It’s because Emery left the door open. God forbid he closed the damn door and stayed home! Stella lost her favorite pair of shoes? Emery stole them. Or maybe, they’re under all the clothes on Stella’s floor. Asher’s computer crashed? Emery downloaded a virus. Yup, it wasn’t the loads of porn he had all over his hard drive.

Jackasses.

It’s always me.

Joys of being the baby of the Brooks family.

“How in the hell is Mom and Dad selling the house my fault?” My voice is full of venom and anger.

Stella sets me with a glare. “If you hadn’t moved to California, they wouldn’t have sold it.”

I gawk at her. “All three of you moved out before I did.”

“But you’re the one who was supposed to stay until you found someone who isn’t scared of you murdering them in their sleep,” Asher throws at me, his eyes in slits. “Now our family home has been sold.”

“All because you couldn’t just stay home. It’s selfish, really,” Aiden muses, shaking his head. “Way to go, Emery.”

The audacity.

“Or it’s the fact that all three of you got married and are now reproducing, leaving our parents alone with each other, thinking they don’t need a space so big?”

“I’m not reproducing,” Stella says with a blissful exhale. “I’m enjoying married life.”

“Stella,” Aiden warns. “I don’t want to kick Wes’s ass.”

“For what? Doing married stuff? Bruh, that ship has sailed. We do all that—and more.”

Asher gags. “Ew.”

“Because Alexis came from a stork.”

A sneaky grin pulls at my brother’s lips at the mention of his sweet daughter. “Nope, that was all me.” He winks. “Strong swimmers.”

“Exactly.” Stella rolls her eyes. “But our marital lives have nothing to do with the fact that our family home has been sold.”

A silence falls over us as we stare up at our home. Over the years, the colors of the shutters and front door have changed. Along with the roof, which is now made of black tin that Dad loves when it rains. The house is large—three stories—and stunning. This home holds so many memories. Other than Aiden, each of us was brought here from the hospital. Birthday parties, anniversary parties, Stanley Cup celebrations… But most of all, we were loved by two of the greatest people here.

Lucas and Fallon Brooks.

When the second-chance romance trope was invented, it was because of my parents and their love story.

Though, now, I guess I’m trying to write my own epic story.

With the guy I left behind.

Not that I can dwell on that at the moment.

I know I shouldn’t say anything, but it’s hard for me to keep my mouth shut. “But our life changes are the reason they sold the house.” My brothers and sister once more shoot me a glare. “What? It’s true. If we’d stayed little forever, we wouldn’t be standing here mourning the loss of our home.”

Aiden is ready to argue, but before he can, Mom wraps an arm around his and Asher’s middles, and Dad does the same to Stella and me. I close my eyes as my father’s lips press to my temple, and when I look up, he is grinning down at me. Even at the age I know he is, he doesn’t look a day over forty. Bright gray eyes, dark hair with a dusting of silver along the sides. Laugh lines pull at his mouth and eyes, but he’s fitter than a fiddle. And even though I threw up in my mouth when my mom called him her silver fox, she isn’t wrong. Dad still turns the heads of all the puck bunnies.

Not mine.

Gross.

Also, I’m not a puck bunny. More a computer sloth.

He gives me a soft smile. “The fact that we sold the house is no one’s fault.”

“Dad is right.” I glance over to where my mom is lovingly looking at our family home. She has aged like the fine wine she sells. She is all curves, and her hair is long, dark, and as luscious as it was when I was younger. My gorgeous mom doesn’t need Botox. Though, I think she went to a party over at the Adlers’ house the other day, which is why her face looks a little tight. Not that I’d ever call her out on it. My parents are pillars. Two beautiful souls who built one hell of a family. “We have all this house but no one to live in it. We want something smaller since we don’t have y’all anymore.”

Asher pouts. “But we are giving you grandchildren. They could fill the home.”

Mom beams. “Which is why we are building a home that can accommodate everyone, but also is just Dad’s and mine.”

Dad nods. “It’s time for another family to make new memories here.”

My stomach drops a bit at that. But this is our home.

Or it was.

Emotion gathers in my chest as I look from each of my parents to my siblings. So much has changed. It’s not just us anymore. I’m not saying we’re perfect—while that house holds all the loving memories, it also contains a ton of screaming matches and bloody pranks. Asher threw a TV at Aiden once, and I cut Stella’s hair more times than I can count.

What? She has always had such great hair, while mine is a tangled, curly mess.

Thanks, Dad.

Nevertheless, we’ve grown, and so has our love. We have Aiden’s wife, Shelli, who has always been family but now carries our name and gave us two incredible little boys. Then Asher’s wife—again, who has always been family—Ally, with their sweet baby girl, Alexis. While Stella took Wes’s last name, Wes McMillan is kind and loves my sister hard. I don’t know that they’ll have kids, but I’m thankful to call Wes my brother.

Then there is me.

Honestly, there aren’t enough words in the world to dissect my shit-ass choices.

While I’ve done some really great things, I’ve also done some equally dumb shit.

I’m nowhere near perfect; that’s for sure.

I exhale as I look back at the house, the sign in the front yard announcing it has been sold. I’ve been back in Tennessee for less than an hour, and already, my world has been turned upside down.

This wasn’t my plan.

I came home with the direct mission to make sure the love of my life doesn’t get married.

On top of that, now I have to do that while also finding a place to stay.

“Where are you guys staying until the new house is finished?” I find myself asking.

Dad cuddles me close, squeezing my arm with his fingers. “The Adlers’.”

Not going there since I’m pretty sure Elli Adler hates me for how things went down between her son and me. I’ll need to add getting in her good graces once again to my list. It’ll be a battle, but I’m ready to win it. “Well, okay.”

“They have the room for you,” Mom tells me, but I shake my head.

“I’m good. I was just worried about you,” I lie, sending her a grin.

She sees past my lie in an instant. “Oh yeah? Where?”

“Quinn’s,” I say simply, without thinking. “Benson moved out.”

I’ll call to confirm that, but I’m pretty sure I’m right. Stella flashes me a look. “Isn’t he living with his fiancée?”

Shit, I forgot about her. In my mind, she is nothing, but apparently she means something to Quinn.

Gag.

“No, they’re waiting till after the wedding.”

Everyone looks at me like I’m insane, but Dad just boops my nose and leans in. For only me to hear, he says, “You’re so cute when you are flying by the seat of your pants.”

I grin and wink. “Learned from the best.”

I move out of my dad’s embrace and wave at my family. “I’m off. Let me know when there’s a family dinner.”

“Hey, Em,” Aiden calls to me, and I turn back around. “You’ve already broken Quinn’s heart. Leave him be. I really don’t want any more of you two’s drama in my wife’s family.”

“Aiden,” Mom scolds, but Asher agrees.

“For real. He’s moving on.”

Stella shrugs. “You left him.”

My parents send me sympathetic looks. They won’t say anything because they know I won’t listen. I have always done things my way, and I know that can sometimes hurt a person. I have a lot of toxic traits, and one of them is that I don’t like being told what to do. I’ve been working on it, but it’s still an issue I acknowledge. It’s why I work for myself.

My siblings look at me with pointed expressions, but I don’t care what they have to say.

With a wide grin, I tell them the truth. “He’s mine.” They all gawk at me. “If I broke his heart, I’ll fix it. He’s not moving on because we belong together. Yeah, I left because I was young and scared. I made a mistake.” I shrug. “And he’s not marrying anyone but me.”

As I turn, I hear my dad mumble, “We need to find another place to stay.”

I can’t help the chuckle that escapes when my mom agrees, “Yup, Elli and Shea are gonna throw us out on our asses.”

I glance back at them. “No way. They wouldn’t do that to their future in-laws.”

Aiden glares. “They’re already their in-laws because of me.”

I wave him off. “But we all know Quinn and I are everyone’s favorites.”

With that, I get into my car. Instantly, my confidence fades. It’s easy to put on the mask of a badass, but the truth is, I’m beyond scared. I’ve come back to Tennessee with one thing on my mind, and already, I’m hitting roadblocks. I know Quinn won’t turn me away. As mad as he is that I didn’t want to be with him, no matter what, we have each other’s backs. I just need to prove that’s still the case and make him fall in love with me again. Because there is no way in hell I will watch my best friend, the love of my life, marry anyone but me.

I wasn’t ready before and I went about it the wrong way, but none of that matters.

Quinn Adler is mine.