Page 106 of Begin Again
“Nick, this whole ordeal has been hard on the whole family, but especially your brother. He took your absence extremely hard, and it’s led to some tension between him and Nina.”
“Obviously. They’ve been trying to hide it but they’re not very good at it.”
“Well, they got into a pretty big fight not long ago.”
Alex and Nina got into a fight? That seems out of character for both of them.
Pop shrugs. “You’d have to ask one of them about it, but I don’t think either of ’em will tell you the truth. Neither one has said anything since it happened a few days ago. But if I had to guess, it probably has something to do with the sheriff. Alex struggled with how much time Nina spent with Sheriff Turner during all of this. He’s convinced she slept with him.”
“She did.”
Pop’s brow raises at my confession.
Shit, I don’t know why I told him that.
“She did?” he asks.
With a softmhmmin response, I stare down at my feet. “A few months ago.”
“And how do you feel about that?”
“I was mad. No, I was angry. At her. At him. At the situation.”
“You still angry?”
“No.” I shrug. “I don’t know, maybe. Or maybe I’m upset and hurt. But how can I be, when I did the same thing?”
“You did?” Pop seems even more surprised than he did about Nina and Beau.
“Joseph’s daughter, Charlie…We weren’t close, but we were friendly. She liked me, and I guess, I became more open to the idea as more time passed.” I shake my head, looking back up atthe sky. “I should’ve never let it happen, I knew better, but she kissed me one night and I let it go further than I should’ve.”
“You sleep with her?” Pop asks, but I shake my head. “Nick, I say this with all the love in my heart, but you’re being a fucking hypocrite.”
“I know.” A bitter laugh I can taste on my tongue rises out of my chest. “I fucking know, Pop. And for some reason, I still can’t get past it. The thought of him touching her, knowing her the way I do…it makes me sick.”
“Nick, listen to me.” Pop grips my shoulders and turns me to face him. “Nina thought you were gone. No, she thought you weredead. Even when they told her there was no use looking…She did it anyway. And do you know who was by her side the entire time?”
Beau.
“Beau Turner. He didn’t leave her side or let her go out there alone because he wouldn’t let whatever happened to you, happen to her. When she refused to sit on the sidelines, he made sure she came home every night, he made sure she ate when she forgot, and he made sure she had what she needed to keep going. While the rest of us were too busy worrying about ourselves, he was worried about her. You should be thankful for Beau Turner. Without him, I don’t know if Nina would even be remotely as close to normal as she is today.”
His words sink like a boulder in my stomach.
“You want to be upset? Fine. Give yourself five minutes and then get over it. Do you honestly believe that your wife—that Davina Villa—would have doneanythinglike that had she thought you were still alive? Had she known you were out there somewhere in need of rescue?”
“No,” I whisper.
“No,” Pop confirms. “She would have burned the whole world down until she brought you home. And that’s what she did until she couldn’t anymore.”
His words are only confirmation of what I already know.
“You were dead. Did you expect her to stay miserable and alone for the rest of her life?”
“No,” I say again. I would never want that for her. I’d want her to find happiness again. I’d want her to find someone who could take care of her and Elena and would love them both.
“It’s not like they were dating, Nick. So, what if they—”
“I think she’s in love with him,” I say.
