Page 17 of Endlessly Yours
I was already out of the car and walking up her steps before I thought better of it. I knocked as quietly as I could, but I was a big man, and it sounded more like a pounding than anything.
Rory pulled open the door, eyes wide. “What are you doing here Brooks?”
I studied her face, the dark circles, the paleness. But her eyes weren’t puffy and her cheeks weren’t red. She hadn’t cried other than those few tears that had fallen after the first phone call. She was going to break, and I didn’t know what the hell I would do when that happened.
Wait. Why would that matter? It wasn’t as if I was going to be there when it happened. Rory wasn’t mine. I had already dealt with losing somebody before. I wasn’t going to deal with losing somebody else again. Let alone someone who was clearly dealing with things that were way too much for me.
“Here. Take these.” I held out my hand, and Rory looked down at it, confused.
“Brooks. What are you doing here? I’m exhausted, and I’m trying to figure out how to get the girls here because I don’t know how much stuff they have.”
I shook my head. “Let Ava help. You know the Wilders already have a fucking spreadsheet going.”
She blinked. “What?” Then she realized I was standing in her doorway and gestured me inside. “Come inside. I don’t need my neighbors to hear everything. What are you saying?”
“Let Ava help when she calls you. Or hell, when she comes over. Just let her help.”
“Brooks. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You know your best friend. She’s going to want to help. They’ve got plans. You be there for the girls. Now take these.” I held out my fist again, and she still frowned.
“What are they?”
“Keys.” I dropped them in her open palm, her eyes wide.
“Keys for what?”
“I own five homes. I built them and I rent them out. I live in one of them, and the one next door is open right now. It’s a four-bedroom, meaning the girls can either share or have their own, I don’t know what the hell girls their ages do. But you can have your own room, and there can be a guest room or an office or whatever you need. I know the area well, and Ava and the others can help you. But just don’t think too hard. You’re not going to be able to fit the girls in here. Take my keys.”
I stood there, heart in my throat, wondering what the hell I was doing. I hadn’t even spoken in complete sentences and was now asking the person I tried to stay away from to move next door to me.
“But, no, we’ll be fine here.” Her cheeks pinked in a pretty blush, and I shoved that thought away. “And I don’t need your charity.”
“You can pay rent. I don’t fucking care. But what I do care about is the fact that I have the space, and you need it. Just let someone help you for once.”
Her eyes narrowed, finally an emotion other than bleakness filling that gaze. “You know what? That’s rich, Brooks.”
“Just move in. The others will help you with it. I’m leaving tomorrow because I need to set up the expansion. I’ll be over an hour away for the next few weeks.” I hadn’t really wanted to leave tomorrow, but frankly, I needed to get out of here. I needed to breathe and focus on something else.
Not the fact that I had just asked my worst and best fantasy to live next door to me.
Not to mention, an anniversary I didn’t want to think about was coming up, and I would rather be away from my family for that than have to deal with any pitying or worrying looks.
“You can’t just give me a house.”
“I can. We can talk about paperwork and whatever you need later. But those girls are going to need a place to sleep. And you don’t need to stress about other things out of your control. Just take it.”
“Brooks. I don’t know what to say.”
I reached out without conscious thought, my fingers sliding along her jaw. She froze and leaned into the touch. I stood there, feeling her soft skin against my rough calluses, and sighed.
“I’m so damn sorry, Rory.”
“Me too. Me too.” She let out a deep breath, then finally rolled her shoulders back, so I let my hand drop. “Okay. I guess we do need the space. Thank you, Brooks.”
I just shook my head and wondered what the hell I was doing.
I’d needed to help her. Every part of me needed that. I couldn’t give her anything else, but I could give her space. At least for the girls. Because now I would be their landlord. Their neighbor.
