Page 118 of Ten Hammers

“I can’t believe the two of you signed on to do that show while you were dating me. And making me believe you were whole-heartedly in it, too,” she says, her voice laced with betrayal. “While I was driving home, it made me question everything. Doubting everything all of you have said to me, done with me. For a split second, I wondered if any of you were taking it seriously. If any of you saw me as an endgame. And I realized… for those of you who haven’t broken my trust, I still trust you completely. I will cherish every moment we’ve had together.” She looks around at all of us, her eyes shining with unshed tears. “But I would be foolish to think you haven’t all been thinking what comes next for you, if you weren’t the one I chose. If you weren’t, you should’ve been. So I can’t blame Max or Mason for that. And I don’t want any of you to, either. But we were all supposed to be open and honest with each other. And I am so disappointed in you both for doing the exact opposite of that.”

Max gets up. “Winnie.”

She shakes her head. “We’ll be okay, Max. You’ll always be one of my best friends. Part of my family. But I need some time alone. I’m not running away from anyone. This is just a loss for me and I need time to grieve it alone.”

“Winnie,” Max says again. He goes to her and I’m surprised when she lets him hug her. She visibly tenses, but she lets him hug her. When they pull apart, bro is fighting an impending ugly cry so hard it’s almost unbearable to watch. “Break up with me. I deserve it. But I pressured Mason into signing on. Don’t punish him. And definitely don’t punish any of the others.”

“I’m not punishing anyone, Max,” she says, softly. “I’m doing what’s best for you all. Please nobody follow me. I’ll be fine. I just need time.”

We all watch in silence as she walks out.

As soon as she’s out of earshot, Jack says, “Before everyone dog-piles on Max and Mason, I’d like us to all agree that we need to focus on the solution, not the problem. They were dumbasses, obviously, but can any of us say we haven’t had the same fears?” he asks. Then he answers his own question before any of us can, “No, we cannot. We need to figure out how to get her back on board.”

“Were you not listening to her?” I ask him. “She said she won’t ever be able to choose.”

“So,” Jack says. “Maybe we need to take a page out of Axel’s playbook.”

“You mean tell her she doesn’t have to rush to make her decision?” Gav asks. “I don’t think she’ll go for that. She seemed pretty adamant about it, actually.”

“Yeah, I know,” Jack says.

“So…?” Gunnar prompts.

I think I know what Jack is thinking so I’m the one who says it. “So we get her on board by showing her she doesn’t ever have to choose.”

Chapter 41

Winnie

I hate sleeping alone, but no one knocked at my door and asked to come in. Deep down, I wanted them to, but I’m glad they have respected my wishes. Besides, cuddling all night would’ve only made everything harder. The guys must’ve taken me seriously. Gunnar didn’t even serenade me through the wall, something he’d been doing every night, whether I had company or not.

I tell myself it was the right thing to do, but when I woke up, my pillow was still damp from the previous night’s tears. This hurts worse than I could have ever imagined.

Still, I get up and I get dressed. There’s a reno to finish and I know I’m supposed to stay away so the boys can surprise me with their secret projects, but I just want to get it done and over with.

What I told Max is true. We will be alright. Each of those Hammer boys is going to be my friend and found family, forever. They can’t lose me that easily. But I need distance to get over them, if that’s possible. Lord knows I can’t do it while we’re in Gram’s house, where I’m sure her and Dad’s ghosts are laughing their asses off at me from the beyond.

The Hammer home is still and quiet as I creep down the stairs. The sun is barely up. Surely they can’t have all left already to get to work. Maybe they’re still asleep?

When I open the front door, I gasp at my first glimpse of Gram’s house across the street. They must all be asleep because they were clearly working all night long. After I’d had enough of silence, hating the lack of Gunnar’s nighttime serenades, I’d put in my earbuds. Otherwise I definitely would’ve heard some of the noise they had to have made. The scaffolding and tarps are down, revealing that the formerly neglected and rundown exterior now appears brand new, ready for a fresh beginning. The roof has been repaired, the windows have all been replaced. Sad, barely hanging on shutters gone. A brilliant coat of fresh paint.

It’s actually lovely. Growing up, I spent so much time dreading going in that front door, I didn’t notice what potential it had.

I smile despite everything. That house is going to make a nice little family very, very happy.

I let myself in, and when I see what they’ve done, all I can do is blink. The walls are finished, all of them, and primed to be painted. But that’s not what makes me gasp.

My first assumption is that the place has been vandalized.

Someone has scrawled graffiti all over the fucking walls in the living room. My first inclination is to run back to the Hammer home to get the guys, because what if whoever did that is still in here? Goldie and I once took a self-defense class together but I’m not sure how much I remember, to be honest.

When I step closer, I see the words My Dearest Winnie at the top of a block of text.

I take another step closer, and another. When I’m staring at the ruined wall head on, then come the waterworks.

This isn’t graffiti.

There was no vandal.

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