Page 13 of Wish I Didn't Want You Back

Brooks cursed and walked deeper into the house, trying to figure out where the water was coming from. I followed him, trying not to cry as I surveyed the damage.

The wood floors were ruined. The ceiling was coated with water spots and paint blisters, and the dining room wallpaper was peeling off the wall. The area rugs looked like little floating islands.

Once we reached the top of the stairs, we could hear exactly where the water was coming from.

Brooks pushed the door to the laundry room open and rushed over to turn off the valves connected to the two cut water hoses.

“Please tell me this was some freak accident.”

He pointed to the wall. “Hoses don’t magically split apart on their own.”

“Who would do this?”

“Well, let’s start with the obvious.”

I stared at him. “You think Baz did this?”

“Unless you pissed off someone else in the past twenty-four hours, I can’t think of anyone with a stronger motive.”

I swallowed hard, my gaze darting around the room. This wasn’t just a house with four walls. This was my mother’s home. It was all I had left of her, and now it was completely destroyed. I felt like someone ripped away the last bit of peace I could have.

“Now, what?”

Brooks crouched by the steel braided hoses again, running a hand along the length where they’d been cut. “We can call Tuck and file a report.” He stood and wiped his hands on his legs. “For now, you’ll have to find someplace else to stay.”

I followed him outside, pacing the front yard while he called his brother. The back of my eyes burned with tears. I couldn’t believe someone would actually do this.

Brooks slid his phone into his back pocket. “Tuck is on his way.”

“He’s the sheriff now, huh?”

“One of them,” he clarified. “Let’s take a look around and see what we have on our hands.”

We took our shoes off and rolled our pants up as we walked through the house. I found myself getting emotional. This was the one place where I always felt at peace. This was supposed to be my safe haven.

Why was this happening? Why couldn’t I catch a damn break?

“You, okay?” Brooks asked, gently touching my elbow.

I blinked and looked up to see him watching me.

“This was all I had left of my mom.” My voice broke, and I hated how vulnerable I sounded. “Now, look at it.”

He stepped closer, his expression softening. “I know how much this house means to you. I’ll get my construction crew out first thing this week.”

I wiped at my eyes, willing myself to keep it together. “You have your own construction crew?”

“Yeah.” He stepped back and ran a hand along the back of his neck. “Pops recently retired, transferring all the work over to Hayes and me. And you know how Hayes doesn’t like to get his hands dirty, so that leaves me in charge of all the hard labor.”

“That’s great.”

He has always wanted to take over the family business. My heart swelled with pride for him.

“Hayes is our lead architect and handles the designs while I focus on the bidding and the job sites.”

“Oh, my God. How old is he now?”

“Twenty-six, but he still acts like a little shit.”

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