“It doesn’t hurt that Wyatt and River are easy to be around.”
Aiden hummed his agreement before stopping. He bent down and picked a wild flower growing along the edge of the forest. Its delicate purple petals seemed to almost glow in the moonlight. “Rafe and Philippe stop by often. Your brother is still warming up to the wolves, but Bel has gotten sharper in his teasing of Rafe.”
There was a heavy weight in the silence that fell between them. Aiden had carefully worked his way through all the Varik brothers except for Winter. He was the aloof brother. The secretive brother. The brother who managed to be both distant and close at the same time.
“I’m fine, Aiden,” Winter said a bit testy.
“Bel knows something of your secret,” Aiden replied. “He hasn’t said anything to me yet, but I can see the wheels turning when he looks at you.”
Winter bit the inside of his mouth, thinking over Bel’s words from earlier in the night. He didn’t feel guilty about not telling his brothers about Julianna. They’d all gotten more time with her, even if it was strained and nerve-wracking at moments.
But Aiden didn’t. They were together for less than two full years when she’d been a human. After he turned her, he couldn’t be near her again for fear of risking the lives of her children. She’d lived nearly two hundred more years, and Aiden was never able to see her again. He couldn’t hold her. Couldn’t even say good-bye.
Was it wrong of Winter to deny his father that chance now? He could at least tell him about the ghost. Give him the option.
Winter sighed heavily. “He…he saw Julianna that night. When I used my gift on him.”
Aiden was quiet for a long time, his eyes locked on the flower he slowly spun by its stem between two fingers.
“It’s not really her, Father,” Winter pressed on. Panic rose in his chest. His father had already suffered so much for his love of the woman, and Winter didn’t want to cause him another second of pain. “She doesn’t talk. Most of the time I only see her standing in Marcus’s foyer. She smiles. That’s it. She doesn’t try to interact with me or anyone in the house.”
“She—” Aiden stopped and cleared his throat, trying again. “She’s smiling? She looks happy?”
Winter nodded and blinked fiercely against a rush of tears. “She does. I think…I think she’s watching over us. Just kind of happy to see us living our lives.”
“And you think she can see all of us? She can see me?”
“Yes,” Winter said, though the word nearly became trapped behind the lump in his throat. And then he asked the one thing he swore he wouldn’t. “Would…would you like to see her?”
Aiden was silent for so long, Winter had begun to wonder if he’d actually heard his question. After nearly a full minute, Aiden slowly shook his head. “It’s better if I don’t. I will always love her, but she’s gone. I said my good-byes. My focus needs to be on the children she blessed me with. If she can see me, she can see I’m happy and loved by her sons. That’s enough.”
Winter grabbed Aiden and hugged him tightly, roughly wiping tears on the man’s shoulder. “You are loved,” he whispered in a choked voice.
Aiden held him. “I know. My sons have always made me feel loved.”
When Winter stepped back, reluctantly releasing Aiden, the smile was a little steadier on Aiden’s lips. “And because of that love, I feel confident in saying that you should tell your brothers…everything.”
Winter groaned and turned toward the house. It was an old argument Winter had spent one hundred and seventy-seven years dodging. “Now is not the time. We’ve got other things to occupy us.”
“There’s always a new excuse, but I know it comes down to fear. You’re scared of how your brothers are going to react. Scared they will look at you with fear or pity.”
“Yes!” Winter snapped, throwing his arms up. “Of course I am. After all we went through with Mother, I don’t want them looking at me like I’m a fucking ticking time bomb. Even after all these years.”
“I don’t think they will.”
“Well, now is definitely not the time to get into it.” At least with the threat of Damon and the witch, he felt on firmer ground with his evasion. He started to walk toward Marcus’s house, and Aiden fell into step beside him.
His father didn’t say anything, but Winter knew he was right. He’d put it off with the excuse that they had to put all their energy into protecting Julianna and their family. Now it was about protecting the clan from Damon and his pack of assholes. There would always be a new excuse. He’d spent almost his entire human and vampire lives hiding things from his brothers, and it was getting old. The weight pressed heavy on his chest.