Fall Guy (A Youngblood Book) by Reinhardt, Liz (knowledgeable books to read TXT) 📕

"I can't go in there with them, Winch. This whole day has been a mess. I want...I want it to work between us, and that isn't possible if I screw this all up."

She checks the mirror and her mouth flattens. She lets out a strangled gasp and wipes at the smeared makeup under her eyes. I put a hand out and touch the delicate bone at her wrist, slide my fingers against her skin, and rub slow circles I hope help calm her down.

"I can help. Trust me?" It's a lot to ask her, after everything I dragged her through.

"I do," she says, her voice soft.

I take her by the hand and lead her around the back of the house to the French doors outside a patio with a koi pond, fountain, and little stone benches. I rap my knuckles on the glass and Benelli's face peeks through one pane. She yanks the door open, brow furrowed.

"Winch? What happened? Lala said there was a fight. Are you okay? Is Remy?" My sister's blue eyes flick over Evan and she frowns, but doesn't ask a single question about her.

"Remy got in deep with the Murrays--"

"Holy Mother of God, what is he thinking?" Benelli makes a fist and shakes it, her lips pulled back in a snarl. "He's going too far. We have to tell Pop..." Her voice trails off and she clears her throat gently, making a point to not look at Evan. "Winchester, I need to speak with you in private."

"Not now." I narrow my eyes and shake my head at my sister's attempt to argue. "Not. Now. Mama is setting up for dinner and Evan is coming. But she was at the fight and she's not exactly dinner ready."

Benelli crosses her slim arms and tosses her shiny hair over her shoulder. "Wait a minute. You--" She pauses and jabs a finger at my chest, "took her to a fight? A fight with the Murrays? Have you lost your damn mind?"

"We were on a date when he got the call--" Evan begins to explain, but my sister throws a palm in her face and shushes her.

Rage burns dangerously hot through me, and I do what I never do. I snap at Benelli.

"Don't you dare disrespect her." Benelli was all wound up to deliver some tough-girl, shoulder-swaying, hip-shaking speech, but her mouth falls open and she's standing totally still, perfectly mute. "Evan is our guest." I look over and Evan is breathing hard through her nostrils, fists balled at her sides. "And my girlfriend. I need your help, Bene. Do this for me, please."

At the word 'girlfriend,' Evan's fingers unfurled.

At the same word, my sister's mouth snapped shut in indignation. "Girlfriend?" she barks out.

Before she can say anything else, Evan cuts in. "It's time for me to leave."

"No offense, Winchester, but you should listen to your girlfriend. Dinner with Mama? After a big fight? This is going to be crazy enough." She runs her eyes over Evan like she's not sure what she thinks.

Evan nods and grabs my arm. "Listen to her, Winch. I don't want to make anything harder for you right now. And I want your family to like me. Since, let's face it, the odds are stacked against me, just listen to Benelli and take me home."

Her eyes are swimmy with tears I know she's not about to shed in front of my sister. They're begging me for mercy, to release her from this catastrophic situation, and I'm ready to do what she needs. I've been beat down in too many ways to count today.

Benelli's voice cuts through our wordless conversation. "Evan?" She huffs a little, but her eyes are lowered with something that looks an awful lot like shame. "We may be a little...eccentric. But we're not monsters. There's no point in your going home. Mama always cooks enough for the whole town. And I have a dress--if you want to wear it. I'll completely understand if you want to run away from all of us. But, seriously, you have the coloring to pull this dress off and I so don't, so I'd be happy for you to have it. But I understand if you'd rather not."

My sister still sounds half-pissy and rude as hell, but it only takes Evan a few seconds to make up her mind. I can tell by the way she squares her shoulders that she isn't going to go down without a fight, and I have a sudden, weird thought: I'm glad Evan wasn't born a guy and a Murray, because I wouldn't have had a chance in hell in the ring today if she had been.

"Thank you. I would appreciate it if you could also lend me a brush and a little makeup."

Evan and my sister stare at each other like two queens from warring nations, ready to make tentative peace.

"Shoo, Winch." Benelli flicks her fingers my way, and I give Evan a look to let her know she can call uncle at any second, and I'll unwind this whole messy obligation for her.

But she pushes a limp, scraggly piece of hair out of her face and says, "You heard her. Shoo. We have an emergency make-over, and I'm going to need all the help your sister can offer me."

I feel a good, relieved clutch in my chest, but before I can kiss her or whisper anything sexy and secret against her ear, Benelli yanks Evan into the little pink-and-gold, girly sanctuary of her room and slams the French doors closed on me.

I head to my rooms and wash up, change into clothes that aren't covered in blood and grime, and clean out and bandage the worst of my injuries. Thankfully, I won't need to visit the ER. Unfortunately, I may have broken my nose, but it's still too soon to tell. Remy pops in.

"Dinner in twenty." He reads my confused face and grins. "Benelli came to the rescue, and Mom suspended the rules for once."

"She ask about your