Page 30 of Ever After All

I nodded. “She died from complications after Brent was born.”

Wyatt’s eyes widened slightly, with sadness and understanding flickering in his gaze. He had lost his father during his childhood. McKenna was one of the few friends when we were little who seemed to understand the kind of psychological blow it was to lose a parent.

“That must’ve been really hard,” Wyatt offered carefully.

A familiar tightness clutched around my heart. I took a slow breath and swallowed through the thick feeling in my throat. “It was. I think you probably understand maybe more than most.”

“I know it was really hard when our dad died.”

“I’m sure it was. My dad did his best after my mom died, but he worked a lot. I helped out as much as I could with my brother. Brent left for college, and then he dropped out. Since he came home, he hasn’t talked to me about it. I think he would like me not to worry about him so much.”

Wyatt studied me, his gaze considering. “I don’t think that has any…” He paused. “Let me clarify. I know what it’s like to have older siblings. I have plenty of them, so I get it. Rhys was kind of a father to all of us. We dealt with some bullshit growing up.”

“I know it wasn’t easy.”

“Although Jake was the oldest, he was a mess. Rhys was the one who was there for us. When I was a teenager, the last thing I wanted was advice from any of my older siblings. It’s kind of normal when you’re in high school, even earlier than that maybe. But still, I look up to every older sibling I have. It’s just you and your brother. Even if it feels like Brent wants to shrug you off, he looks up to you. I don’t doubt it for a minute. At the same time, he’s probably going to be annoyed with anything you worry about. Give him a few more years, maybe sooner or maybe a little later, and he’ll get past it. None of that has anything to do with you. He didn’t have a mom. That’s normal for that situation too. It’s not easy.”

I blinked away the tears stinging my eyes. I experienced a mixture of sadness and deep appreciation that Wyatt grasped something that so many people didn’t. When you lost a parent, it changed the entire dynamic in your family.

“I’m definitely not the oldest child in my family, but I have two younger siblings. I sort of understand the worry you deal with,” he commented.

“So you’re older than Griffin?” I couldn’t help but ask.

Wyatt’s lips curled in a small smile as he shrugged. “About fifteen minutes older. Being a twin is kind of weird. I suppose you’re protective of each other no matter what. Griffin and I are protective of McKenna, so I can imagine just how protective you feel about your brother.”

I pressed my lips together, twisting them to the side as I let out a little sigh. “I worry all the time. I worry that he parties too much. I worry that he’s going to do something stupid. I worry that he drives too fast. I worry about all of it. It’s breaking my dad’s heart that Brent didn’t want to help with the hardware store. My dad’s slowing down a lot. He has people to help at the store, but still. When I went to get my nursing degree, my dad was going strong. I didn’t think about what to do when he got older.”

“You know, one way or another, it’ll work out. Maybe your brother wants to handle the hardware store, or maybe he doesn’t. You’re doing enough. I certainly don’t think you need to feel like it’s on you to take over the hardware store.”

I blinked back my tears. “I’m really relieved Brent picked up that job with Kenan. It seems like a good fit for him.”

Wyatt chuckled. “It does. For someone who likes to stay busy and can roll with doing something different practically every day, it’s nearly perfect.”

Wyatt’s cell phone vibrated, and he glanced at it where it sat on the counter. “Speaking of work, I’m gonna have to roll out in a few minutes.”

My heart tightened a little in my chest. I wanted to ignore the feeling, but I’d already gone and told Wyatt I’d loved him. I couldn’t believe it. I was going to miss him. It was just a day. He was going to work, I was going to work, and I was going to miss him.

“You okay?” he prompted.

I met his eyes and managed a smile. “I am.”

I felt too sheepish and vulnerable to share how I felt just now. I suppose my emotions were heightened because we had just talked about my mom and all my worries about my brother. I carried those worries mostly alone. I knew my dad understood, but I tried not to burden him. Not only did he worry about my brother, but he worried about me worrying about my brother. He had enough going on, in addition to his health issues, without me piling on more.

A few minutes later, we left my house together. He stopped me between our cars and looked down at me, the intensity in his gaze burning into me. “Tell me when you want this to be something more than just between us.”

“My brother already knows,” I pointed out. I knew my brother wouldn’t gossip. That was definitely not his style.

“I know, but I mean more than that.”

My belly shimmied. Wyatt lifted a hand, smoothing it over the furrow forming in my brow. “You’re worrying,” he said softly before pressing a kiss there.

I bit my lip as I smiled up at him. “I do that.”

“Think about it,” he whispered before giving me a quick, fierce kiss on the lips.

Chapter Sixteen

Wyatt

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