Page 91 of Just Let Go

“It was my brother, Benji. It was something we used to do together. We skied. A lot. And it was a competition between us at first, but then...” How much of this did he want to tell her? “It just became this thing I had to do for him—because he couldn’t do it for himself.”

“Is he still skiing?”

Grady closed his eyes, aware that this pleasant conversation could be interrupted at any moment by an unwanted visitor who was doing who knows what inside his house. “No. He’s not.”

“Maybe you should talk to him?”

“Listen, Quinn, there’s something I need to tell you—”

But naturally, before he could get the words out—words that might’ve exonerated him from this horrible scene—the front door opened and Ashley walked onto the porch.

Grady’s eyes found the floor as he let out the subtlest sigh.

“Oh. My...” Quinn’s voice was barely audible.

“Hey, Quinn. Did you bring our boy some lunch?” Ashley asked.

“Why didn’t you say something?” Quinn whispered as she stood.

“It’s not what you think, Quinn.” Grady stood too.

“Oh, don’t try to explain. I don’t care about any of this.” She waved her hands back and forth between Grady and Ashley. “My dad made me bring you lunch. Thought you might not have much in the fridge, and most places around here are closed on Sundays. At least during the off season.”

“It was real sweet of your dad to think of Grady like that.” Ashley smiled as if she belonged here, on his porch, in his house.

Quinn smoothed her hands over her jeans, avoiding his eyes. “I have to get back to the shop.”

And as he stood there, feet away from Ashley, one thing was clear: the only person who belonged there with him was hightailing it in the other direction.

CHAPTER

22

I’M SUCH AN IDIOT!

Quinn could count on one hand the number of times she’d done something impulsive, and she didn’t even need all her fingers to do it. She hadn’t completely lied—her dad did encourage her to bring Grady something to eat, but only after she’d said she wanted to visit him. Quietly in the kitchen, so nobody else could hear.

“I kind of want to tell him Judge said he could go up north. I think that’s going to be a big deal for him. And after those Facebook videos, he might need some good news.”

“Then you should go over there,” her dad said. “Bring him lunch.”

“Yeah, that’s a good idea,” Quinn had said. Because it had sounded like a good idea.

When really it was the most horrible, terrible, awful idea she’d ever had.

Ashley Perkins?Seriously?

Her groan filled the car, and she followed it up with three slams on her steering wheel accompanied by “Stupid, stupid, stupid!”

She took a breath. “It’s fine. It’s not like I liked him or something. That was pity food. A pity visit. It’s good to know he doesn’t need my help. It’s great that he’s got afriendhere in Harbor Pointe.” She said the words aloud, but she could hear the lie in her voice.

This man! He was theworstkind of man. He was far too experienced for someone like her, someone whose only real relationship had been practically platonic and beyond that had only ever casually dated anyone her whole entire life. That meant she was... well... not experienced. And she valued that. It meant something to her.

It meant nothing to Grady. That was a big difference. Plus, he was an athlete. Well-traveled. Well-off. She was none of those things. They were nothing alike. And perhaps most important, she was sure they didn’t share the same faith. Just look at the way he lived his life. His choices told her all she needed to know.

And yet her heart was tender toward him. Why?

She pulled into her parking space behind the flower shop and let her forehead rest on the steering wheel. “What is wrong with you, Quinn? Pull yourself together.”

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