Page 77 of Tide Over

I give his hand a gentle squeeze. “Sounds like it.”

He stays quiet for a moment, and when he speaks again, his voice is soft and fragile. “That’s why I can’t go back home. He was my brother, and his parents are mine too…” He pauses, shaking his head. “To go back there, without him… and tell them…” he draws a shaky breath in. “It’s why I’m here. I couldn’t stay in Alberta, and I couldn’t go home. I just kept driving, hoping something would take me away, and end this pain…” He turns his head to look at me. “Then I found you.”

I lift my hand to his face and gently brush away a tear. As grateful as I am that we found each other, I wish more than anything that his pain wasn’t what brought him here. “I’m glad you’re here,” I say softly.

Liam nods, and I swear I feel something deep inside him release. His pain isn’t gone, but for now, at least we have each other.

“Same.”

TWENTY-NINE

“Mitch,”I call out behind me, waving him up to the wheelhouse as I steer the boat towards shore. He joins me, and I raise my voice over the hum of the engine. “I’m heading back to the marina first. Drop me off there, then take the haul to the buyer’s station.”

His brows draw together as he observes me for a moment. “Where you going?”

“I have something I need to do,” I say, eyes fixed ahead as the shoreline comes into view. “You good to do that?”

“Yeah, man. Whatever you need,” he says with a firm nod.

“Thanks,” I reply, bringing my focus back to the wheel, guiding the boat towards the marina.

Once we reach the dock, I hop off and let Mitch take over so the crew can head to the buyer’s station. I feel bad that I rushed the crew a bit this morning to make sure we finished at a good time, but luckily, they didn’t ask why.

Because it’s true. I have something I need to do.

I slip into my truck, successfully dodging Sheila so she doesn’t stop me to question why I’m here early without my boat or crew. And as I pull away from the marina, my thoughts drift to Liam, like they have been all morning. After he fell asleep lastnight, I stayed awake, unable to take my eyes off him. And I had an idea.

I pull into Donnie Rankin’s property, and park by the old barn he’s clearing out. I was working here the other day, and my eye caught something when he was showing me around. And he said I could take it.

I pull the steel rods out of the barn and load them into the bed of my truck. They’re in good shape, and Donnie has no use for them. But I do.

It’s still early afternoon when I pull into my driveway, and I really hope I find Liam taking it easy after the day he had yesterday. It was hard leaving him this morning, and for the first time in years, I considered calling the day off to stay home with him. But he woke up before I could do that, and told me to go. He said he would be fine…

I hope he is.

I step inside the house and kick off my boots by the door, anxiously listening for any sign of him. When I enter the kitchen, I see him sitting on the couch with Miss Bobber in the living room.

“Hey,” I say softly, walking over to sit beside him.

His brows draw together as he eyes me. “You’re home early…”

I nod, reaching down to pat Miss Bobber’s belly as she rolls onto her back, her little paws in the air as she tries to grab my fingers.

“Yeah,” I say quietly as I take him in. His eyes are dull, and a darkness clings to him. “I have something I need to work on,” I continue. “And I need your help.”

His gaze meets mine, and I smile, tilting my head towards the door. “Come on.”

We leave Miss Bobber to play with the tassels on a blanket as Liam follows me outside to my truck. I open the tailgate to showhim the steel rods, and he looks at me with questions swirling in his eyes.

I pull one out, resting it on the edge of the truck bed. “The sunroom needs a coffee table.”

He looks between the rod and me, and I gesture with my chin to the workshop where we’ve stored his welder. “Time to get to work.”

A light flickers in his eyes, pushing his darkness away, just a little bit.

I step closer to him, sliding my hand onto his waist. “I told you I planned to use that room for morning coffee… when I could.”

He nods, and I lean in to brush my lips over his. “I think we both need that,” I murmur against his mouth. “And I want it with you.”

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