Page 90 of Deal Breaker
Becca leans in a little, dropping her voice. “Something’s weird around here today. The vibes are off.”
I arch a brow. “Weird? How so?”
“Ford didn’t come in. No one’s seen him. And even stranger…nobody seems to know where he is.”
My chest clenches, but I keep my expression neutral. “Work has really ramped up at the new site, maybe he’s dealing with things out there,” I offer.
Becca gives me a look like,sure, girl, but she doesn’t push. Before I can say anything else, Jesse’s voice calls from behind me. “Landyn, you got a sec?”
I turn to find him standing in the break room doorway, hands stuffed into the pockets of his Cove zip up. His usual easy charm is dimmed today, softer around the edges.
“Sure,” I nod, following him inside. The break room is empty, quiet. Jesse leans against the counter and for a long moment, he just watches me. It makes me wonder how much he knows.
“How’s your mom, really?” he asks gently.
“She’s okay, but worried. We all are. They don’t know what it is yet.” I hesitate. “Thanks for asking.”
He nods, then exhales slowly. “I hope it’s okay that I know. Ford couldn’t hide it.”
My stomach turns. “He told you?”
“Not exactly. But when he couldn’t get a hold of you yesterday, he… panicked. I’ve never seen him like that.” Jesse crosses his arms. “He tried to keep it together at the site, but we all saw it.”
I look down at the floor. “I didn’t mean for any of this to get messy.”
“Life’s messy,” Jesse says. “But you should know he sent me a message this morning.”
My heart stops. “What kind of message?”
He offers a small smile. “An order, more like. I was instructed to tell you to take the rest of the week off. Be with your mom. No debate.”
I blink. “Seriously?”
“Seriously,” he says. “And between us? I think he’d be there himself if something wasn’t tearing him up.”
I nod, throat tight. So, Ford didn’t tell his brother. “It’s complicated, Jesse.”
He steps closer, voice soft. “Whatever’s going on between you two… he’s still that guy. The one who’d do anything for you.”
I don’t say anything, because I’m not so sure that’s true anymore. Not after the way he looked at me outside that hospital.
Jesse pushes off the counter. “I meant it when I said take the week. Ford will have my head if you aren’t at the hospital with your mom.”
I clear my throat. “Okay. Thanks. Really.”
He gives me a quick, reassuring smile. “Go be with your mom. You only get one.”
As I walk out of the break room, I can feel the weight of everything that’s waiting for me. The grief I’ve been holding at bay, the guilt I can’t shake, the fallout I’m still bracing for, and somewhere beneath all of that…the aching hope that maybe, just maybe, Ford can find a way to forgive me.
I gather my things from my desk and slip my phone into my bag, grateful to Ford for knowing that I need to be with my mom. Right now, my mind is anywhere but Cove.
Becca catches my eye as I pass her desk. She doesn’t say anything, but there’s concern written all over her face. She doesn’t know the whole story, but she knows enough. Enough to see the exhaustion in my eyes, the cracks I’m doing a poor job of hiding.
Outside, I wince against the bright glare of the sun. The air has a crisp bite, and I pull my sweater around myself as I head to my car, wishing I had put on something warmer this morning. Or maybe I’m just cold from the inside out.
The moment I close the car door, the silence swallows me whole. No voices. No questions. Just me and the ache I can’t shake.
I drive on autopilot, familiar streets blurring past the window. I should be thinking about my mom and what the doctors might say, about the way my dad hovered around her yesterday like she might disappear if he blinked.
