Page 59 of True North

From the frown on her face, I knew she probably wasn’t in a very forgiving mood, so I did my best to tamp down my smile and gave her the one thing she’d asked me for. The truth.

“I had an older sister,” I started, and with that one sentence, the frown disappeared on her face, replaced immediately with concern. That was Iris, I’d discovered. She had the biggest, most tender heart of anyone I’d ever known. “She was my best friend. I practically worshipped the ground she walked on.”

She scooted back, bumping into the stool she’d been sitting on before her dance party started, and plopped down heavily, nodding at me to keep going. “She had a boyfriend who was all kinds of bad for her. She tried her hardest to cover up the bruises so we wouldn’t see, and my parents didn’t. They didn’t like Mark, but it was more because of the vibe they got from him, not because of any definitive proof.”

“But you saw the bruises,” Iris said softly, her beautiful expression awash with understanding and pain. For me. I appreciated that there wasn’t any sympathy or pity, but I didn’t like the idea of her hurting, even if it was on my behalf.

“I saw the bruises,” I confirmed, my throat dry and scratchy. “I hated him,” I continued. It had been years since I spoke about my sister, and doing so now felt like taking a rib spreader and cracking my chest right open. But it was what she needed. What I needed. I hadn’t realized until very recently that, by keeping Cora to myself, I was doing a disservice to the memory of an incredible woman.

It was long past time I brought her back into the light. And there was no brighter light I knew than Iris Maxwell.

“I tried to convince her to leave him, but by then, he’d beaten her self-esteem down to nothing. I should have told my parents what I saw, but I was only a kid. I was scared she’d get mad at me for ratting on her and wouldn’t talk to me anymore.”

“How old were you?”

“I was sixteen when I first realized my sister was being beaten up by her boyfriend.” I lifted my eyes to hers and gave her the hardest part, speaking out loud the most difficult words I’d ever said. “I was seventeen when he killed her.”

Iris moved then, lunging off the stool and colliding with me. Her arms wrapped me in the tightest, fiercest hug her tiny body was capable of. And despite being a full head shorter than me, her hug felt like a ray of sunlight beaming down on me.

“Oh, North,” she said into my chest. “I’m so sorry.”

I wrapped my arms around her, needing her as close as possible as I continued. “He was from an affluent family. Spoiled little shithead that was used to getting his way. When Cora finally found the courage to end it, he lost his mind. She was missing for forty-two days before her body was discovered.” My top lip curled up in disgust. “Dumped in the woods like she was garbage.”

“Honey.” Iris pulled back, reaching up to cup my cheeks. “I’m so sorry. That’s too much for anyone to go through, let alone a kid. I hate that it happened to you.”

I wrapped my fingers around her wrists to hold her to me. I realized then that I needed her touch more than I could have known. One touch was all it took to ease the pain in my chest.

“What happened to him?” she asked, after a minute of silence had passed. “To Mark.”

“His mom and dad did what they always did when he got in trouble. They got him out of it. Hired some expensive, hotshot lawyer who turned the trial into a spectacle. Made my sister the bad guy. A girl from the wrong side of the tracks who tried to corrupt the poor, helpless boy.” I laughed bitterly. “Forget the fact my sister was on the dean’s list, had an impeccable GPA, and was known all over town for having a big heart. The jury bought into his bullshit and let him off.”

“It wasn’t until a couple years later that he did it again. But he’d gotten sloppy after getting away with Cora’s murder. Fucked up in a way Mommy and Daddy couldn’t cover up that time. He’s in prison now, but not for what he did to my sister. She never got the justice she deserved.”

“Oh, goddess,” she breathed, understanding washing over her. “That’s why you moved here, started at Ashland Police Department. Because your sister’s story was like Layne’s.” Her mouth dropped open in a shocked gasp. “You came here specifically to target Tolliver Brady.” Her expression scrunched up in rage, and she slammed her hands into my chest before slapping them down on her hips. “Are you crazy?” she shouted. “You can’t go head-to-head with a man like that by yourself. You’re going to get yourself killed!” Her chest was heaving by the time she finished reading me the riot act, and it took every ounce of strength I had not to look down at her perfect, round tits as they pressed against her shirt.

I caught her hands when she tried to push me again, holding them to my chest right over my heart. “I’m backing out of the election.”

Her chin jerked back in shock. “You’re what? Why?”

I pulled in a calming breath and give her the truth. “Because I’m in love with you, and I would never forgive myself.”

“Well, I love you too,” she spat at me, still in the height of her tantrum. “But that doesn’t mean I—wait . . .” Her eyes went wide, that flush I loved so goddamn much brightening the apples of her cheeks. “You’re in love with me?” The smile she gave me was her most brilliant one yet, and completely infectious.

“Yeah, Little Flower. I’m in love with you. And according to you, you love me too.”

That blush grew even deeper, making those freckles glow like a million little stars. “I do love you, North. More than I ever thought possible. And it breaks my heart what you went through. But, honey, you can’t quit the election.”

It was my turn for my jaw to drop in shock. “What? But . . . you were just yelling at me for putting myself in danger.”

She crossed her arms over her chest and gave me a stern glare. “Well, yeah. Not because of what you were doing, but how.” She closed her eyes and pulled in a calming breath before looking at me again. “North, this town needs you. I need you. The reign of the Bradys has to come to an end, and if winning this election is the start of that, you need to do it. I don’t want you to give anything up, especially something this important to you. I want to be a part of the discussion. And I don’t”—she jabbed her finger into my chest—“want you to do it alone. You have people here who care about you, North, who want to help and see you succeed.” She brought her hands up to my face again. “I want to help. Let me carry some of your burden the way you insisted on carrying some of mine.”

This woman. Christ, she undid me in every single way. I didn’t know what the hell I did to deserve her love, but I was damn sure going to do everything in my power to keep it.

“You’re the most important person in my life, you know that? I love you so goddamn much, Little Flower, and I swear, the way I treated you yesterday will never happen again.”

“Damn right it won’t. Because next time, I’m punching you in the throat for good measure. Now kiss me, then feed me. I’m positively starving.”

That I could do. In fact, there wasn’t anything she could ask me for that I wouldn’t twist myself into knots to give her.