Page 126 of Come Break My Heart Again

I glance at it, parked fifteen feet away along the curb. “Uh, okay.”

Keira heads back inside. Tucker falls into step beside me. We head down the front walk silently.

“Phew. We made it.” I exhale a dramatic sigh of relief when we reach my convertible, digging my keys out of my purse.

Tucker doesn’t crack a smile, still uncharacteristically serious. He presses a hand against the driver’s door, preventing me from opening it.

“When I was fourteen, this guy moved into the trailer five down from mine. I was always aware of where I lived. Not embarrassed exactly, but I couldn’t forget about it. Most of thekids who lived around me were into stuff I wasn’t. They snuck beer, and they got into fights. And I felt like I didn’t fit in with them. Definitely didn’t fit in with the rich kids either. Then, this new kid arrived. He was just … cool. He didn’t smoke—often.” Tucker grins briefly. “Didn’t get into fights or care about any of the stuff the other kids did. But everyone just … paid attention when he was around. Never messed with him, like the way they made fun of me. They cared what he thought and what he did. And I felt like I’d won the lottery when he wanted to hang out with me.” Another smile, one lost in memories as he stares into space. Then, Tucker glances at me. “Ryder didn’t care about anything … except I kept catching him looking at this one girl. Every damn chance he got. Whenever I teased him about it, he’d act like he had no idea what I was talking about. But then I’d look over a minute later, and he’d be staring at her again.”

I swallow, my throat too thick.

“I don’t know the full story. Ryder keeps most shit to himself, and maybe I’m overstepping and making everything worse. Tell me if I am. But, Elle … I know Ryder. He’s like a brother to me. He’s a good man. And he loves you. He’s loved you for a long, long time. Whatever he’s done or said, however he’s hurt you, he thought he was doing the right thing. I promise you that.”

I’m an overflowing glass. Tucker’s pouring more in, and I have no place to hold it.

The rough edge of a key digs into my palm as I blink rapidly. “He didn’t let me visit him. For seven years, he shut me out.”

Tucker nods. “I know.”

“He told you?”

“I assumed.”

“Assumed?”

“You really thought he’d let you see him like that? Locked away with no life? Wearing a jumpsuit and getting an hour of sun a day?”

The key digs deeper. I’ve done a good job of avoiding thinking about what Ryder’s life in prison was like, and Tucker is painting too vivid of a picture.

“I thought he’d want to see me, yes.”

Tucker shakes his head. “Ryder would have rather never seen you again than have you step a foot in that place, Elle. He put your interests above his happiness.That’slove.” His hand falls away from my door. “Drive safe, okay?”

He walks away without saying anything else, which is good. I’m not sure my heart could have handled another word.

“So, this is where the dog disappeared to.”

I glance over my left shoulder at the house. My dad is walking toward the table on the patio where I’m sitting. It’s Saturday, and he’s wearing slacks and a button-down that lacks a single wrinkle. Some things never change, I guess.

“You were obviously keeping a close eye on him,” I reply.

There was no sign of my parents when I got home from Keira’s, so I headed out into the backyard with Scout.

“Dogs need to roam,” he tells me, taking his usual seat at the head of the table.

“Which you know from all your years of pet ownership?”

My dad has always been too busy with work. And my mom holds too much affection for her white couch. She closes the drawing room off entirely every time I bring Scout over here.

“I did some research,” he tells me.

“Really?”

He hums, glancing at Scout sniffing around the hydrangea bushes. “There are only so many law articles one can read, as I’m sure you’ve realized.”

I blink at him. My dad jokes so rarely that I’m never sure if he is. “Yeah.”

I wait for him to ask how studying for the bar is going. Whether I’ve recently spoken to anyone at Gray & Ellington, the firm that hired me.

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