Page 51 of Simply Yours

Her phone buzzed again.

Matthew says hi – and to come have a beer with us. I agree, but you gotta wear something frumpy and ugly.

She grinned, eyes dancing as she responded.

Frumpy and ugly?

Yeah. What’s that green stuff girls smear on their faces on television before they go to bed? Do you wear that stuff to bed?

She snorted, shaking her head.

It’s fake – and how many beers have you had?

A pause. Then?—

Oh, thank goodness it’s fake… four.

She exhaled a laugh, rubbing a hand over her face.

I knew it.

Not drunk.

She smirked.

Sure.

Relaxed.

Rough day?

AWFUL…

Caitlin frowned as she read the message, the single word heavy with emotion. She shifted on the couch, curling her legs beneath her as she stared at the screen. Jason had never been one to throw words around lightly—especially not when it came to his feelings. The fact that he’d admitted to feeling awful meant things were really bad.

Her fingers hovered over the keyboard, debating. Calling him might be a mistake. If he wasn’t alone, he’d clam up like he used to, hiding behind silence and deflecting with sarcasm. But this—texting—was different. There was safety in the distance, a shield between them that let him open up in ways he never had in person.

Wanna tell me about it?

The dots blinked on her screen, then disappeared. She held her breath, waiting. Seconds stretched into what felt like an eternity before his reply appeared.

I found Mom’s ring – the one she lost when we were kids.

Caitlin’s breath hitched.

Oh, Jason… Are you okay?

She already knew the answer, but the question left her fingertips before she could stop it.

Nawwww, Catnip. I’m not okay.

Matthew cried.

Lookie cried.

I bawled like a freakin’ baby – which is why we are getting hammered.

Her chest tightened. Jason never cried. At least, not that she’d ever seen. He was the kind of man who carried the weight of the world on his shoulders and made jokes about it, burying his pain behind easy grins and casual shrugs. The image of him, sitting with his brothers, all of them breaking under the weight of their grief, made her ache.

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