Page 66 of Ever With Me

“Yeah, he said your mom died when he was eighteen.”

“She did, but that’s not what I meant. Heraisedme. Like almost entirely by himself.” The coffee pot beeped, and Kayla pulled it out, then brought it toward them.

“After my dad died, my mom had to work a lot to keep us afloat. I never met my dad. The only dad I had was Brooks. He changed my diapers and took me to the playground. He got to school late every day because he insisted on walking me. Packed my lunch, too. Studied with me. Most girls go to their moms when they get their first periods, but I went to Brooks. Mom had already died. He did everything, Maddie. He raised me.”

A deep, cavernous ache went through Maddie’s heart.

My God.

She couldn’t even imagine.

And she’d made some flippant comment about her wonderful family the other night.

What a privileged little brat you are.

“Why would your mom let him do so much? He had to have been a kid himself when you were little.”

Kayla poured her coffee, then handed it to Maddie. “He was. But he grew up fast. Dad’s death really sent Mom into a downward spiral. She was always sad, depressed, I think. We didn’t have any extended family—both my parents were only children—and the only grandmother I knew died a few years after Mom. So Brooks didn’t really have a choice. It was that or leave the state to handle me.”

No wonder Brooks is the way he is.

He hadn’t come from a life of love or happiness.

How in the world had he survived? Gotten so far?

That, by itself, was a testament to something great inside him. Determination. Grit.

Maddie’s hands shook as she poured her own coffee.

I’ve been so wrong about him.

She set the coffee pot on the counter, as the warm scent was almost sickening her. “Thank you for telling me,” Maddie said softly, tears stinging her eyes.

Kayla’s face pinched, and she sipped her coffee, looking away. “He’s a jerk to the rest of the world a lot, except when he’s on stage. That’s probably where Brooks is most himself, and that’s why people fell in love with him there. Where they can see the person I’ve always seen and love. But it sounds like he let you in, too, Maddie. Just . . . don’t take advantage of that, please.”

Wow.

Maddie’s head spun. “I won’t,” she promised.

Somehow, she was sure she meant it, too.

19

BROOKS

“Brooks August Kent!”Kayla’s voice stirred Brooks from a deep slumber, and he jerked his face up.

Why does my body hurt so much?

His eyelashes felt stuck together, and he blinked one eye open, keeping the other one squeezed shut.

Fuck.

The cold tile of the bathroom floor pressed against his body.

Kayla stood in the doorway, and she flipped the lights on, making him wince.

She was furious.

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