Page 90 of Shelter from the Storm

So reaching out to her brother behind her back probably wasn’t the best way of proving that. Shaw seemed to be the one mountain Gretchen truly couldn’t scale on her own, and Theo could see how much their estrangement hurt her. Fear over losing her brother for good had left her paralyzed in a way she couldn’t seem to shake free.

He’d watched her run her fingers over that Post-it with Shaw’s number daily, but every time he suggested she dial it, she said she’d do it later.

The pain in her tone whenever the subject of Shaw came up killed Theo…so a few days ago, he’d placed the call. If she was right, and her brother didn’t want to see her, he’d never broach the subject again because he didn’t want to see her hurt. But if there was a chance to mend that fence…

He told her she needed to be brave and make the call, but in truth, he hated that this was one more difficult thing Gretchen had to face alone. He couldn’t stand by and watch her suffer if—in this one instance—he could help her.

Theo’s family was everything to him. If Gretchen could reclaim the one good part of her dysfunctional family, then he was willing to do whatever it took. Even if he risked her anger.

Because the fact was, she wasn’t alone anymore. And if she’d let him, he’d fight every single one of her battles—not for her but by her side.

“I realize I called out of the blue,” Theo began.

“You said this was about my sister. I apologize for the delay in replying, but I was on a mission when you called. Is Gretchen okay? Who are you? What’s going on?”

The panic in Shaw’s tone told Theo everything he needed to know, and he released a sigh of relief. “Gretchen is absolutely fine, I promise.” Theo had said so in the message he’d left, but if he’d received a message about one of his cousins from a strange man, he would be freaking out too. “She’s currently living in Gracemont, Virginia, and working on my family’s farm as an event coordinator.”

“Gretchen moved?” Shaw asked. “Without telling me?” The panic was now laced with hurt.

“Shaw, I know your last conversation with your sister didn’t end well, but she was going through some things. I don’t feel like it’s my place to discuss them with you. It’s just…Gretchen doesn’t feel like she has the right to reach out to you after?—”

“The right?! She’s my sister! I’ve been worried fucking sick about her, but she never answers my calls.”

Theo didn’t mention that Gretchen had blocked his number during the dark days, when she’d given up.

“Is Briggs there with her?” Shaw asked.

“No,” Theo replied darkly. “He’s not.”

Theo was starting to feel a kinship with Shaw, because he was able to read his unspoken cue, the deep, relieved sigh her brother released.

“Thank God,” Shaw muttered. “Where did you say she is?”

“Gracemont, Virginia. My family owns Stormy Weather Farm, and she works here for us,” Theo repeated.

Shaw asked for the spelling of their town, and Theo could tell he was writing down all the information. “I have leave this week for Thanksgiving.”

“You should join my family for dinner.” Theo quickly extended the invitation. “Gretchen is celebrating the holiday with us as well.”

Shaw hesitated, and Theo prayed he hadn’t made a mistake. Everything in Shaw’s responses told Theo that he still loved his sister. It gave him hope.

“I appreciate the offer. I’ll book a flight.”

He quickly informed Shaw that the farm was a fairly short drive from Dulles Airport. Shaw thanked him for the information and said he’d make plans to arrive Thanksgiving morning.

Theo started to say goodbye, but Shaw had one more question.

“What’s your relationship with my sister?”

The easy answer was to say he was her boss or her friend, but Theo wasn’t going to lie or minimize his feelings for Gretchen. “She’s mine,” Theo replied. “I’m in love with her, and I plan to spend the rest of my life with her if she’ll have me.”

A long silence followed his assertion.

Then, finally, Shaw said, “I’ll be there on Thursday to see my sister and you.” The threatening, overprotective tone was right out of the Storm playbook, and Theo couldn’t help but smile. “Don’t tell her I’m coming,” Shaw added. “I want to surprise her.”

Jesus. That would be one hell of a surprise, but Theo agreed. Because he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt, this was going to be a happy reunion, one of those tearjerker Facebook video reunions.

He and Shaw said goodbye…and Theo took a deep breath, hoping he’d done the right thing.

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