Page 25 of Red Mountain Burning
“What do you think about Adriana?” Mary asked. “You think they’ll last?”
Brooks wished so badly he’d turned off the monitor, but it was too late now. He wanted to hear Abby’s answer. Holding one of the soapy, stemless glasses in his hand, he shut off the water and listened in.
Abby answered in a whisper. “I don’t know. She’s really nice, but I’m not sure she loves it here. That whole thing with her ex really messed things up.”
“I know,” Mary said. “How can anyone recover from that?”
Wyatt let out a cry. Brooks stood frozen at the sink with a glass in one hand and a hot, sudsy washcloth in the other.
“Brooks really loves her, though,” Abby said. “That’s what matters.”
“Yeah, but that’s the thing, Abby. I don’t know that she feels the same way about him. Honestly, I don’t see her sticking around.”
Brooks felt his teeth grinding. Was this what it was like to have family? The ones who supposedly loved you talking about you behind your back?
“I think she likes him,” Abby said. “She stayed here for him.”
Mary whispered, “Let’s face it. There are not many women like you around here, Abby. Shay’s a lucky guy.”
Need Brooks remind his mother that Abby had cheated on him? Nope, now that Abby had given Mary a grandson, Abby pretty much hung the moon.
“I give Adriana a year, max,” Mary said. “I just don’t think she’s the perfect fit for him.”
Brooks’s hand tightened. The glass cracked. “Oh, shit!” he yelled, looking at blood.
“What happened?” someone asked.
Brooks turned to see Adriana racing toward him with a stack of dishes in her hand. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine.”
There was a lot of blood, but that was the least of his concerns. As he reached for a paper towel and wrapped it around his hand, he wondered how long she’d been standing there.
Adriana set the dishes down. “Let me see.”
Then Abby was speaking again through the monitor. “Brooks will find someone,” Abby promised. “One day. Don’t worry, Mary.”
Even though Mary was on the other side of the house, her sigh filled the kitchen. “He’s just been through so much. Not with you. That’s not what I mean. Just in life. He deserves to findthe one.”
Brooks glanced at Adriana and then noticed Shay standing in the doorway.
Shay crossed the kitchen, picked up the monitor, and twisted the knob until the green light went away. “They’re just talking. Ignore it.”
Adriana gently unfolded the bloody paper towel, exposing the wound on Brooks’s palm. “Let’s get you to the urgent care. You need stitches.”
“Nah, I’m fine.”
“You need stitches, Brooks.” He could hear the agitation in her voice, and it had nothing to do with his cut.
“Shay’s right,” Brooks said. “Just ignore my mom.”
Shaking her head, Adriana brushed by Shay on the way to the porch. “It’s time to go. I’m getting Zack.”
“Yeah, okay,” Brooks said, locking eyes with his brother.
This is it,Brooks thought. If he couldn’t get his family behind the relationship, he had no hope of convincing her to stay. And why would she want to? For that matter, why wouldhewant to? Being surrounded by family wasn’t always all it was cracked up to be.
“That sucked,” Shay said. “Mom likes her, you know. She’s just looking out for you.”
