Page 10 of The Secrets We Built Together

"The Delaney James way," I teased. "Always doing everything at once."

"The Delaney Farrington way soon," she corrected with a proud smile. "And yes, apparently my specialty is making major life changes in convenient clusters. Which is why we’re thinking of postponing the wedding until after the baby comes. When things quieten down a bit."

I raised an eyebrow. "If you're waiting for things to quieten down with a newborn, a restaurant launch, and a booming boutique cider business, you might never get married."

Delaney laughed. "That's exactly what Trace said. But we'll figure it out. Maybe a winter wedding." She tucked her hair behind her ear. "Besides, I don't want to be shoving my enormous belly into a wedding dress and having to pee every five minutes during my vows."

"Fair point," I conceded. "I'd rather not have to hold the bouquet while you run to the bathroom halfway down the aisle."

"See? That's why you're my maid of honor." She nudged my shoulder. "Always looking out for me."

New beginnings seemed to be the theme for everyone lately. The phrase hung in the air between us as I thought about Madison's sudden appearance after all these years.

"Yeah," I said finally. "I think I could use a little renewal right about now."

I couldn't help but go over every second of conversation that I'd had with Madison. And something struck me.

If Madison had only come back from Paris yesterday then she must have gone straight to my old apartment before tracing me to Willowbrook. So what was so urgent that she'd fly back home for only two days, only to run out the door practically as soon as she'd seen me?

Something wasn't right here, and for the first time in a long time, I was scared for my sister.

Chapter 4

Xander

"You want me to do what?" Dex asked, peering out from under the car he was working on.

I should have known from the look on his face that this was a terrible idea.

"I want you to keep an eye on me. Be my intervention person if it looks like I'm going to go off the rails. Stop me before I get to the point of doing something stupid." My voice trailed off as I rubbed the back of my neck, feeling the familiar weight of vulnerability settle in my chest.

Dex slid out from under the car and stood up, throwing his wrench into the toolbox with a clatter.

"Yeah, I'm not doing that," he said softly, nodding over to the back office of the garage.

I shoved my hands into my pockets and followed him inside, fully aware that I was pouting right now.

"Sit," Dex said, pointing to a chair before he grabbed two bottles of water from a mini fridge and tossed one to me. "Notbecause I don't care about you, Xander. But because you don't need it. You need to start trusting yourself more, and the last thing you need is a crutch in your mind, thinking I'm constantly looking over your shoulder."

I cracked the lid of the water bottle and took a deep drink while I tried to stop my runaway thoughts.

It wasn't the best idea I'd ever had, I knew it wasn't. In fact, my sponsor would have kicked my ass for even suggesting it.

But it felt like I was in a free fall right now. What was so wrong about wanting to cling onto a parachute?

"Is it really that bad?" Dex asked softly.

"I don't know," I admitted. "I'm not sitting here desperate for a drink or anything. I'm just..." I sighed, stretching out my legs as I leaned back in the chair, tipping my head back to stare at the ceiling. "Do you ever feel like you can't get anything right?"

Dex barked out a laugh. "We did grow up in the same town, right?"

I grinned. This was why I'd come to Dex. When we were kids, he'd always been one bad decision away from a great time. The only time I ever felt like a kid was when I was around Dex. There were no expectations, no rules most of the time. But there was one thing we'd always had. And that was each other.

All of us Farrington boys, and yes I included Dex in that.

I hadn't felt as free as I did back then for a long time. Even with my mother constantly looking over my shoulder and all the shit going on at home.

Dex had a gift of making all that slip into the background.

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