Page 56 of Jett in Jeopardy

“You can pretend the age thing doesn’t matter, but it’s a factor. I’m older, set in my ways. I’m happy living in The Square, running my bar. Jett is bright and full of life.” It was that brilliance, that wild, devil-may-care way about him, that had drawn my attention until I couldn’t look away. “He deserves better, more than I can give him.”

Daniel shoved his hands through his hair, leaving the thick, light-brown strands standing up at strange angles. “You’re such an idiot! Don’t you think it should be up to Jett to decide what he deserves?”

I glared at Daniel. Why couldn’t he just let this go? Walking away from Jett was hard enough, but in the end, I knew it was the right decision for both of us. The last thing I needed was a lecture from Daniel or to have to justify my decision to him.

“Why are you so fucking invested in this?” I snapped. “Jett’s not the first guy I’ve been with since Ryan. I don’t remember you standing in my office for not calling any of those other guys again.”

“Jett may not be the first guy you fucked since Ryan, but he’s the first one youcaredabout, and I don’t want to see you sabotage what could be a good thing for you because you’re afraid.”

His words caught me like a punch, and if I hadn’t already been sitting, my legs might have given out from under me. I was afraid because I knew what losing the person I loved most felt like, as if someone had reached into my chest, ripped out my heart and crushed it in their fist, just like I remembered the cold, hollowed out feeling I’d lived with for months and even years later. I knew I couldn’t go through that again.

“He could have died,” I said, my voice barely more than a whisper. “That guy could have killed Jett, beat him to death in a parking lot, and I wasn’t there to stop it, to protect him.”

“You can’t protect him from everything,” Daniel said, gently. “Any more than anyone else. What happened to Jett wasn’t your fault, and it wasn’t his.”

Fine words, except Daniel didn’t know everything. “Jett didn’t tell me he was meeting the man who had been stalking him for months because I’d been hot and cold with him, and Jett didn’t feel like he could.”

“That still doesn’t mean that some psycho beating the shit out of him in a parking lot because he caught him alone and saw an opportunity was your fault. Just like Ryan hitting black ice and losing control of his car wasn’t your fault. Sometimes bad shit happens, and there’s nothing anyone can do to stop it.”

My throat squeezed tight, and I could barely swallow, let alone speak, but it didn’t matter. Daniel wasn’t quite done having his say.

“Brody, I know you care about Jett, and it scares the shit out of you. I’m not making light of what it felt like for you when you lost Ryan. Believe me, I understand what it feels like to lose someone you love. Not all of us get a second chance, so it makes me so frustrated to see you just turn your back on it like it’s nothing.”

I knew that Daniel had loved someone before I came on the scene. Ryan had told me a very condensed version of events. I also knew Daniel rarely dated. He always said he was too busy with work, but it sounded like bullshit even to me.

Ages ago, I wondered if Daniel had a bit of a thing for Alistair, but of course, he would never have acted on it, being Alistair’s boss. So when he brought up missed second chances, did he mean not pursuing something with Alistair or the man who broke his heart?

“Isn’t finding that you could truly love two men in your lifetime just being greedy and asking for too much? Asking for someone or something to take it away?”

A faint, almost sad smile pulled at his mouth. “I don’t think it works that way. Bad shit happens, and there’s nothing you can do about it. That’s why when good shit happens, you have to grab on to it with both hands and hold on for as long as you can.”

“But if I let myself love him, and I lose him…”

“There’s always going to be a risk, but I’m telling you now, I would riskeverythingfor a second chance. Don’t let go of yours because you’re afraid.”

I nodded and swallowed hard. Again, my voice had deserted me.

“Besides,” Daniel grinned suddenly, “you’re twelve years older than him, and I’ve never seen anyone older than a toddler avoid eating vegetables the way you do. Jett’s probably going to outlive you anyway, so it’s a moot point.”

I smirked. “You’re an asshole. You know that, right?”

“That may be, but you know I’m right.”

I sighed and scrubbed both hands down my face before meeting Daniel’s gaze. “Yeah, maybe you are.”

Chapter Twenty-Five

Jett

BythetimeIwoke up, it was dark outside. I reached for my phone on the side table and checked the time. Just past six. Not as late as I first thought.

Carefully, I hauled myself out of my bed. Every part of me ached. The painkillers I’d taken this morning had worn off while I’d been asleep, and I could feel every bruise on my body throbbing as if they each had a pulse of their own.

“Shit,” I whispered, making my way to the bag I’d brought home from the hospital. I dug out the drugs I’d been prescribed and washed them down with water from the bathroom, then shuffled downstairs. My stomach was grumbling, and I knew I needed to eat something or the meds on an empty stomach would make me nauseous.

The house was quiet, and if it wasn’t for what sounded like cartoons on the television, I would have thought no one was home. I hobbled downstairs to find the house empty except for Alistair and Will, Finn’s young son, sitting on the floor with crayons, coloring books and pads of paper spread out around them.

“How are you feeling?” Alistair asked, as I limped into the living room. My leg where Simon had kicked me had stiffened up while I’d slept, and putting weight on it hurt like a bitch.

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