Page 46 of Ever After All

“When I asked him to give me time to tell you, the look on his face was one of actual pain,” Brent said. “I swear.”

I swallowed. “I’m sure it was.”

“That man loves you. I can tell,” Brent said.

“It’s plain as day,” my dad said bluntly. “And I speak from experience.” My dad’s eyes slid to my brother. “Not that I’m doubting you, but you’re only?—”

“Twenty-two,” my brother offered. “I might be young, but I’ve been through some shit. I know love when I see it.”

We laughed together, but my heart twisted a little. Anxiety tightened around my chest. My brother had been through some shit.

As if he could read my mind, his gaze sobered before he added, “I know that because you are a nurse and deal with addicts rolling through the ER, you’re going to worry. Just so you know, it was short-lived for me. My doctor tells me I’m lucky. I’m young, and I’m resilient. I realized I was in trouble pretty quickly and went to get help. I lucked out and got a really good counselor at the college campus, and he immediately referred me to rehab.” My brother shook his head a little. “I’m good. I’m working my ass off. I’m gonna be okay. I let Dad know when I told him last week that I do want to take over the hardware store, but not until I’m a little further into my recovery. That’s a lot of responsibility, so I don’t want to do it until I’m ready.”

I was surprised the inside of my cheeks didn’t bleed from holding back. I wanted to offer all kinds of suggestions, but I had to let this one go. I had to let my brother figure it out. I took a deep breath, letting it out in a gust. “You’ll figure it out when you’re ready. And only if that’s what you want to do, right?” I glanced at my dad.

He nodded firmly. “Absolutely. We’ll do it when you’re ready, no sooner. If you change your mind, that’s fine.”

Brent looked between us. “Thank you both for being here for me.”

“Always,” I replied.

My father’s sharp gaze arced to me. “So when do you plan to talk to Wyatt?”

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Rosie

“Oh wow, that’s a lot,” Tessa said.

McKenna sat beside me and curled her arm around my shoulders, squeezing hard before leaning back in her chair. We were having one of our get-togethers. It happened to be the evening after my brother told me everything, and I was filling them in.

So far, it was me, Tessa, McKenna, and Haven. Fiona was on her way, but she was running late. We were at Tessa’s new house, the one she’d moved into with Adam.

“Have you talked to Wyatt yet?” Haven piped up as she returned to the table, setting a stack of pizza boxes in the center.

“Thank God, this is a big table,” McKenna teased as she set the pizza boxes in a row in the center.

Tessa began passing out plates and napkins.

“No, I haven’t talked to him yet. Well, maybe my brother did. I’m not so sure they’re not talking to him every day and keeping him up to speed on my life,” I said dryly.

Haven let out a soft laugh. “Maybe. I doubt it, though.”

“Your dad, but probably not your brother,” McKenna interjected. “I adore your dad, and he can’t help but worry about you.”

I let out a small sigh. “I’ll talk to Wyatt. It’s just been a lot to deal with.”

Just then, Fiona arrived. After the brief commotion of greetings and starting to eat, the conversation circled back to me, unfortunately.

“Do we have to talk about me?” I asked as soon as Fiona mentioned she’d seen Wyatt that day at the restaurant.

Fiona’s eyes slid to mine. “Well, we don’t have to, but the poor guy looks brokenhearted. I’m serious. It’s kind of sad.”

McKenna pressed her lips together to keep from laughing.

“Is that funny?” I couldn’t help but interject, suddenly feeling protective of Wyatt.

“Oh, now it’s getting to you,” Tessa teased lightly.

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