I’d also been old enough to know how good they were as parents. They’d been wonderful. Loving and attentive. I would’ve had just as charmed a life as my cousins if they hadn’t died. I had them in my life for a decade, and it wasn’t nearly long enough. Not by a long shot.
But the hard truth was that they had died. And instead of having my amazing mom and dad, I had money. Too bad money couldn’t hug me or tuck me in at night.
“Do you think your parents would be proud of the person you’ve become?” James asked quietly.
My anger evaporated instantly. He was absolutely right. They would’ve been embarrassed to say I was their son. Now that I thought about it, I was embarrassed, too. I stood and took a couple steps away, running my hands over my head.
“I don’t mean to hurt you, Rico,” James whispered. “But you’re a Kingston. It’s time you lived up to that name. Is this the legacy you want to leave behind for future generations? What if you have a son someday? Do you want to have to explain to him why you did the things you did in your youth?”
James held my gaze. He wouldn’t let me look away or cower.
Perry got to his feet and put his hand on my shoulder. “He’s right. We coddled you, doing anything we could to help you forget your pain for a little while.”
I thought about my childhood after my parents died. Perry and Gramps had spoiled me, buying me gifts and letting me do pretty much whatever I wanted. Grandma too. But still, it didn’t make up for not having my parents. I would’ve given back every dirt bike and video game system a thousand times over to have my parents back.
My soul felt heavy inside my chest. They were right. I wasn’t someone I would look up to. I wasn’t even living, not really. I just wanted to get by, day to day. The future was a word for other people. I didn’t expect a good future. Just more getting by.
I tried not to let my emotions show on my face when I turned back to them. They’d cut me close talking about what my parents would think of me.
Gramps’s face looked as miserable as my own. So did Perry’s. They hated knowing I was in pain. At least I knew I had them. They cared.
To my surprise, Uncle James looked just as forlorn. “I’m sorry, Rico. I’d give anything to have my brother back. He should’ve been here to raise you and love you.”
I nodded, unable to reply.
Perry cleared his throat and stepped back. “You’ve got six weeks to find a job, then keep it until the six-month mark. If you don’t follow everything we tell you, and meet all the timelines, your inheritance will go to charity.”
I hung my head. I wanted to be a man that they and my parents could be proud of, but I still wanted my inheritance, too. “Okay. I’ll do my best.”
Not that I had a choice. I tried not to feel backed in a corner, though that was where I was. My emotions bubbled up inside me. “I need a moment alone,” I said. “I want to go shift and talk this through with Valor.”
Gramps stood. “Of course. Go. We know this is a harsh ultimatum we’ve given you. Some of this is our fault. We babied you for too long. Shift and find your center.”
Ugh. Gramps was all about meditation bullshit while shifted. Valor and I agreed on that one. It was a load of horse shit.
I nodded and stuffed my hands in my pockets as I hurried out of the living room and through the kitchen. By the time I got to the woods, I’d stripped out of my clothes.
Valor took over and launched into the air, rising above the trees and taking us toward higher elevations.
They’re right. You act like a child.
Great. Now he was going to lay into me, too. I wasn’t a child. I just didn’t want a conventional life.
It would’ve been fine, living alone up in the mountains, until we found her.
He thought we were destined to be with her. I wasn’t so sure. I felt the urge, of course. The pull made me want to encourage Valor to alter course and fly straight to her house and claim her immediately.
But of course, we couldn’t. I had to be strong enough to hold him back at all times.
Right now, I needed to clear my head and figure out where I could find a job. I only had six weeks to find one in the tiny town or it was bye-bye inheritance.
One way or another, I’d be getting that job.
3
Kara
I’d been holding the flashlight for my adoptive father for nearly a decade, and I would happily do it for a decade more. I was one of the rare foster care success stories in that I’d finally been adopted at sixteen. They were still my family, even though I was nearly twenty-five, and always would be.
Not long after the adoption was finalized, my adoptive mother and father had gotten a divorce. I hadn’t wanted to leave Black Claw. My foster homes had all been in Black Claw for the last several years, and I liked the school for the most part. When I asked to stay with Ash, my adopted father, Misty, his ex, had taken off and never looked back. After that it was just me and Ash and his younger daughter, also adopted. She’d gone back and forth between the two houses, but then she’d lived with Misty longer and was far more attached to her.
For me, though, a lot of the time it had been just me and Ash.
“Hold it higher,” he said from underneath his truck. He’d
