Page 59 of If All Else Sails
“I’m sorry,” Wyatt says.
“This isn’t your fault. I don’t think Jacob had any intention of taking a trip this summer. He just used it as an excuse to get me to do what he wanted.”
I can’t quite keep the bitterness from my voice. Or the little tremble at the end.
Because yeah—I’m going to get a down payment for a houseout of it. I should focus on that. Not the fact that my brother basically tricked then ghosted me.
But I got excited about taking a trip with him. Nervous too, as I always feel when I travel or dip a toe into the water outside my comfort zone. I miss my brother. And it feels a little like I got stood up. I should be mad, but instead I’m just a little sad about it.
That’s the thing with family—they’re like a bunch of stubborn splinters. Really difficult to remove, even if you sometimes want to.
“Josie.” Wyatt’s voice is soft. Briefly, he shifts his hand, brushing his fingertips over my knuckles and letting them rest there. “I really am sorry you’re stuck with me.”
Hearing him say it—even if I’vethoughtit—makes me feel protective of him. And angry all over again with my brother.
“I’m not stuck with you. Even if Jacob got me here using false pretenses, I’mchoosingto stay.”
“For money,” he clarifies.
I hesitate. “In part.”
The reality is...I’m staying for more than the money. Maybe I didn’t realize it until he said it, but I’m here for Wyatt now. I’m unexpectedly invested in his recovery. And if someone had told me I’d feel this way three days ago, I’d have laughed while calling them a liar.
Honestly, I’ve barely thought about the money. As excited as I was at the idea of a down payment, I haven’t looked once at the real estate sites bookmarked on my laptop and phone. Sure, I haven’t had much time, but I’ve hadenough. At home I sometimes scroll the sites a few times a day just to see new listings or what’s gone under contract.
Looking for a house just hasn’t been on my mind. Or...something.
Taking Wyatt’s hand again, I start back in on the splinters.
“Jacob aside, do you usually travel or take trips with friends during the summer?”
Friend, my brain silently corrects. Sad as it is, Toni is my only real friend. I have lots of acquaintances, but my friendship standards are high, I guess. Plus, no one tells you how hard it is to make friends once you’re out of college and in the real world, the working world.
“No.”
“Really? All summer off and no vacation? Nothing foryou?”
It does sound sad when he puts it like that. But I wouldn’t expect a man with a multimillion-dollar hockey contract to get it.
“I usually tutor during the summers.” I can hear the defensiveness in my voice. “Just to pick up a little extra income.”
“You don’t usually— Ow!”
Wyatt yanks his hand to the side because maybe I wasn’t as gentle as I should have been just now. The splinter breaks into two tiny pieces. An almost microscopic bit remains between the points of my tweezers, but most is still lodged in his hand, which he’s now clutching to his chest like an injured paw.
“Maybe we should leave them. They’ll eventually absorb into me, right?”
“That’s not a thing. They’ll drive you nuts until I remove them,” I tell him. “Hand?”
I hold out my own, palm up, trying to meet his gaze without blinding him with the headlamp again. With a sigh, he drops his big hand onto my smaller one. But he continues flinching every time I come at him with the tweezers. I wish I had a roll of duct tape or a horse tranquilizer.
“You are a terrible patient,” I tell Wyatt as he tries to jerk his hand away from me. Again. “And that’s saying something considering my usual patients are under ten years old. Begood.”
“If I’m good, will I get a trophy?” he asks.
“No.”
“A medal?”
