Page 9 of This Is Why

TY

Annabelle Carmichael flitsaround the kitchen at Carmichael Farms like she used to do when I’d come visit in high school. When Michelle offers to assist her in preparing breakfast, Annabelle takes her by the shoulders, walks her right back to the table, and helps her into a chair next to David.

“You just sit right here and take care of little Thomas.” Annabelle stops to pinch her grandson’s cheek. “This is my kitchen. You let me do all this stuff.”

“But it’s not your kitchen, Mom.” David looks at me, widening his eyes. “It’s my kitchen, since, as you might remember, you and Dad moved out a couple yearsago.”

Colton laughs into his coffee and Dean Carmichael—their dad—shakes his head. David lives in the house he grew up in at Carmichael Farms, a house his family has passed down from one generation to the next for the last century at least. His parents moved into a smaller home on the property a few years ago and Colton lives in a trailer on the outer edge of the farm, leaving the original farmhouse for David, Michelle, and their two children.

Annabelle turns, pointing a spatula at David. “This will always be my kitchen. Even long after I’mgone.”

“Some things never change.” I lift my coffee mug in a salute to Annabelle and then take a drink while she nods her approval.

The Carmichael crew goes about their morning, bickering and laughing the same way I remember from when I was a teenager. Michelle blends right in, quite obviously at home with the boisterous family, even going so far as to get up and make a new pot of coffee, much to Annabelle’s chagrin.

I’m supposed to visit my sister Paige today. She’s a brand-new mama and I can’t imagine not being there for her—in fact, she’s the only reason I’m here in Brookside—but I can’t get my mind off Lexi and Gabe. I need to see her. Need to talk to her. Knowing about my son has only intensified my obsession.

“So. Michelle.” I lean forward and give her my best smile. “If I wanted to find Lexi today, where would Ilook?”

She swipes her mug off the table. “Nope. Not going to happen. I’m not going to rat out my friend because you know how to look so sweet and innocent when you smile.”

“I knew that about you.” I nod, pointing at her with my fork. “I knew that you’d hold out on me in the name of friendship. But here’s the thing. Telling me where to find Lexi doesn’t count as ratting her out because I’m not a manipulative jerk who’s playing games. You have to understand. I can’t stop thinking about her and I deserve a chance to explain myself and let her see that I’m a good man who wants to do right by hisson.”

“Seems to me that you had your chance to explain things to her last night.” Michelle takes a drink, eyeing me over the rim of her mug. “And what did you do?” She puts her coffee back on the table. “Oh, that’s right. You turned around and walked away, leaving her alone on the sidewalk outside the reception hall. If you wanted to convince her you were a good man, that wasn’t exactly your bestplay.”

I hold out my hands. “I admit. That looks bad on the surface, but consider what you know about Lexi for a second. What would have happened if I kept pushingher?”

Michelle makes a face like she’s conceding her point. “She would have gotten stubborn and turned you down just to prove a point.” She leans forward. “But you can’t use that as your argument because in the scheme of things, you barely know her. How can you possibly know enough about her stubborn streak to claim you walked away on purpose?”

“For one, I’m a very good judge of character. For two, we spent almost twenty-four hours together that day in Key West and I committed every single second of it to memory. And for three? I’m not lying when I say I haven’t stopped thinking about her since.” And maybe my obsession skewed a little on the unhealthy side, but hey, we all have to do what we can to survive.

Michelle purses her lips. “I don’tknow…”

“Good. Because I know for you.” I smile, pleased with myself. I’ve already won this particular battle. “I only have a week to get to know her and my son…” I trail off and let the smile fall from my face. “I need to know more about him before I’m gone. What kind of kid is he? What’s he like? I need to do right by him…” And for the second time in the same twenty-four hour period, I’m speechless.

“He has a point.” David rests his elbows on the table. “He deserves to know Gabe. And I can personally vouch for his character. I can’t think of a man I respect more than Ty. Except for my dad because us Carmichaels stick together.”

Colton lifts his hands. “Hey. What about me? Your dear, sweet brother?”

David makes a face. “I stand by my original statement.”

Colton runs a hand through his hair and shakes his head. “That’s fucked up, man.”

I give my full attention to Michelle, waiting as she mulls everything over. “Fine.” She drops her hands into her lap. “Lexi works at the hospital in Grayson. She’s an ER nurse.”

I smile and stand, my chair scraping across the tile. “Perfect. Thank you. I promise, you won’t regret this. And neither will Lexi.” I head towards the door, sweeping David’s keys off the counter on my way. “I’m borrowing your car,” I say, jingling them over my shoulder as I walk out of the kitchen.

* * *

The driveinto Grayson should take a little over an hour, but I pull into the parking lot exactly thirty-nine minutes later. I stride through the sliding doors of the ER and head straight to the front desk. “I need to see Lexi Stills,” I say to the dour-faced woman staring back at me. I expect her to put up a fight, but she doesn’t. She picks up the phone and murmurs into it and a few seconds later, Lexi strolls through a set of double doors on the other side of theroom.

“Thank you,” I say to the receptionist. I knock twice on the desk and then I’m on the move, closing the distance between me andLexi.

“What are you doing here?” she asks, folding her arms across her stomach and shifting her weight back on her heel even as the corners of her lips pull up in a smile. It’s small, but it’s there, and that’s all the encouragement Ineed.

“I need to be admitted.” I put a hand to my head, feigning illness.

“Then you need to see the woman at reception. Brenda will get you taken care of.” She turns togo.

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