Page 117 of All Roads Lead to You

“That’s all well and good, but this is your life, too, not only his.”

“I’m aware of that, Cale. But I’ve made my choice to stand by him no matter what he decides. I’m in this for the long haul.”

Caleb smiled softly and shook his head. “You love him. You love your stepbrother. That’s weird, man, I gotta admit, but whatever. You two aren’t blood related. I’ve never been in love, so who am I to say?”

“I do love him, and he loves me.”

Caleb poured us both one more shot. “Then here’s to love. Your road won’t be easy, Nick, but I’ll be here when you need me.”

“I can’t tell you how much your support means.”

“We’ll always be friends.”

We downed the rest of our drinks, which already made me buzzed, and then we talked about the trip and his latest summer fling.

Chapter 36

Logan

As soon as Hunter's front door opened, he stood there with red-rimmed eyes, his dark brown hair growing out. His lips trembled, and he fell into me. We were all a little raw. My eyes watered, too, but I held back the tears. This was Hunter’s time.

I didn’t know how long I held him as he sobbed on his front porch.

“I’m so sorry, Hunt. It fucking hurts.”

“God, I told you to go on this trip, but I missed the hell out of you. I’m so glad you’re here.” His voice was shaky and wet.

“I wanted to be here.” He insisted I continue on my trip, but now I regretted not ignoring him and just flying back as I’d intended.

“And you are.”

“Hunter, I’m—”

“Don’t tell me you’re sorry. I wanted you to go, and I don’t regret making you. I’m just so fucking glad you’re here. That’s all. It was good for you, I can tell.” He stepped back and eyed me up and down. “You look really good—refreshed and lighter.”

“I feel lighter.”

Hunter pulled out a pack of cigarettes and handed me a smoke. I took it, and once they were lit up, he walked off, and I followed him into the woods across the street and to the creek that belonged to just us, or so I imagined.

Maybe one day I’d take Nick there and show him all my other special places.

We didn’t rehash the trip. I already told him all about Nick and me over the phone last night and that we were together for the long haul. Hunter accepted everything, but he had some opinions about our relationship, worried about how others would look at us. I had no intention of letting anyone know Nick and I were stepbrothers except within the immediate family and close friends.

The hardest part would be the day we had to explain it to Hannah when she got older. She would only see us as brothers, whether or not Nick and I were actually related. But we had time to figure things out.

“How are your dad and Julia holding up?”

“Julia is struggling, man. She’s so little and keeps asking why Mom had to die. Dad’s doing his best to hold everything all together for us, but in private, I know he loses it. I’ve heard him letting out a choked sob a couple of times.”

Fuck, this was all so visceral, reminding me of my loss and how Dad had handled it.

We stood there, not saying anything, and finished our cigarettes, putting them out in the creek. Hunter and I were always good together in silence.

“Does it ever get easier?” he asked.

“Yeah, it does. You’ll have setbacks, but eventually, you’ll feel a little better. You won’t ever stop missing your mom, but one day it won’t sting as much.”

He nodded.

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