Page 56 of Waiting to Love You

I nod my head, grabbing my keys off the hook beside the door. “Thanks, man. I don’t think I would have been able to pull any of this off without your help.”

“No thanks needed. Just remember, you owe me.” He winks in my direction, then opens the door and heads down the stairs.

As I pull our front door shut and lock it, my mind runs down a list of everything that has changed in the last week. Not only have Bristol and I gotten even closer, but I’m finally ready to tell her how I feel. I’ve been in love with her since I first saw her over a year ago, and my feelings have only grown since having her back in my life. I’ve told her I love her before, but tonight, I’m going to make sure she really hears it.

“Are you sure you want to do this tonight?” Brady questions, opening the passenger side of my truck and climbing in.

I roll my eyes at him as I open my door. “Yes, I’m sure. More time won’t change how I feel about Bristol. I need her to know that I’m here for the long haul. Showing her my place and telling her how I really feel is the first step in that direction.”

I slam my door shut a little more forcefully than intended, then turn my truck on and pull out of the driveway. I rub the spot over my chest at the thought of things not working out between Bristol and me. We’ve had a rocky start and many obstacles in the way of us being together, but buying this house should make things a lot easier. I’m putting down roots, showing her with my actions that I’m not going anywhere. My life in the military is over, and now I can spend the rest of my life making her happy. I’ve told her a million times, but now is my chance to show her. Words can only get me so far. I need to show her with my actions that I am serious about the two of us.

“But you can only do this once, man. You said yourself that she’s been holding something back from you. What happens if it’s something bigger than you can imagine?”

My grip on the steering wheel tightens as his words play over in my head. Brady has a point. I’ve always known that Bristol was hiding something from me, and I hope that once I tell her how I feel, she will know that nothing could scare me away from her. That she no longer has to hold herself back from me because I’m someone she can depend on.

“I know, man, but I need to do this. For both our sakes,” I say with conviction.

No matter what she’s keeping from me, I know I love Bristol with my entire being. Everything else is just background noise. If we can find our way back to each other with everything life has put in our way since our first meeting, we can overcome anything. Even Bristol’s secret.

“All right, man. Whatever you need, I’m here for you,” he replies, before turning his attention toward the window. “I didn’t mean to let my shit rain on your parade.”

Ever since our run-in with Emersyn at Crawdaddy’s when I first got back into town, Brady has been more like me than himself, which says a lot about what is going on in his head, but he has yet to tell me what’s going on.

“I’ve been so wrapped up in my own shit, I haven’t been there for you,” I say as I turn onto Vance and Selina’s street.

Their house is a little further out from town, being closer to the river, but it’s worth the drive. Most people are knocking these older houses down to make room for cookie-cutter housing developments, but these two had a different idea. Vance and Connor renovated this entire house, turning it into the home of Selina’s dreams.

“I wish I had it all figured out like you.” Brady sighs. “Everything has changed since I came home. Everyone moved on with their lives, like my being gone meant nothing. Everyone except her.”

I remain silent, giving him the time to sort through his thoughts.

“It seems like Emersyn has spent the last year of her life waiting for me to come back, but everything is different. I’m different.”

Brady hasn’t told me much about his relationship with Emersyn since I met her for the first time at Crawdaddy’s, but I know enough. Beckett is one of Brady’s oldest friends, but he happens to also be Emersyn’s half-brother and her biggest protector. At some point during their friendship, Brady began to see her as something more than his best friend’s baby sister. And Emersyn felt the same way about him. It all came to a head at his going away party for deployment when Beckett saw them kissing in the backyard and threatened to beat Brady’s ass if he came near his sister again. Whatever he said convinced Brady to stay away from her, no matter how much she wrote to him. He had hoped she’d move on to someone else, but that wasn’t the case.

At first, I was hurt that he didn’t share any of this with me, but after thinking about it, I wouldn’t have been any help. I was so wrapped up in what was or wasn’t going on between Bristol and me that I didn’t have the capacity to help with his problems. Now I can be there for my friend, the same way he was for me when we were deployed.

“You’re still the same person you were before we went over to the sandbox. The same person she fell in love with. But something’s holding you back.”

Brady scoffs. “I never said she was in love with me.”

“A girl doesn’t look at a man the way she did that night if they aren’t in love with them.”

Brady chuckles humorously. “She’s barely lived life yet. She’s not old enough to know about anything, especially love.”

“Any woman who’s still waiting around for your ass after this long is in love with you,” I respond sternly. “Besides, her age has nothing to do with this, and you know it.”

I pull into Vance and Selina’s driveway, shut off my truck, and turn toward my friend. Brady’s shoulders slump forward in defeat, as if his dream has been shattered into a million pieces.

He says nothing as he opens the door and climbs out. I watch him as he walks around the front of the truck, his shoulders rolled forward as if he’s carrying the weight of the world. I hate seeing my friend like this, but he isn’t ready yet.

I throw my door open and step out, and Brady smiles and wraps his arm around my shoulder.

“What is it you said to me about Bristol?” I tap my chin, pretending to think. “Everyone knows that girl loves you. Now you just need to prove to her you’re worthy of her love.”

Brady’s eyes widen in surprise, a plethora of emotions rolling across his face as he processes what I just said to him. I could keep poking at him, trying to convince him to fight for whatever this is between him and Emersyn, but I won’t. Brady has his own demons to fight—just like I did—before he’s able to be the man Emersyn deserves, and he knows that. Hopefully, our conversation gives him the courage to do so.

“Enough about me. It’s time for you to go claim your girl.”

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