Page 83 of All Autumn
Dylan grimaced. “Ouch.” His radio crackled to life, and he reached down, turning it off. “I’ll step outside to answer so you two can talk.”
I took his place, leaning back against the counter so I could rest my foot without the damn crutches. “How did you do it? Get over Savannah?”
My brother lowered his gaze and stared at his work boots. “I haven’t.” He raised his eyes to me. “So I can’t answer that.”
Although it was the last thing I wanted to hear, I’d long suspected that he was still in love with her. “This really sucks.” I met Adam’s gaze. “I really thought I was immune to falling in love thanks to you.”
“I don’t know what to say, other than—”
Dylan stepped back inside. “I have to head out. About tomorrow night. Jenny and Autumn are flying to New York in the morning to visit Savannah. Thought you two might want to come over. Beer and steaks are on me.”
Adam jerked his gaze to Dylan. “Savannah okay?”
“Far as I know. They just got it in their heads to go see her.”
Until a few days ago Autumn would have told me her plans. Everything was so mixed up inside me that I didn’t know what I was feeling. Angry? Hurt? Sad? All of those things?
“Gotta go,” Dylan said. “We on for tomorrow night?”
“Sure,” Adam and I said together.
After Dylan left, Adam touched my arm. “Stand by a sec. Let me get my crew started on the living room floors.”
The kitchen had a large window over the sink with an amazing view of the valley below, but I wasn’t seeing it. I’d heard it said that being in love turned colors brighter, made your heart feel like it was going to burst with happiness. It wasn’t true. Colors were duller, and it felt like something had its claws dug deep into my heart. It hurt.
I hadn’t even realized I was in love with her until she was gone. Why was that? Shouldn’t I have known something like that, and would it have made a difference if I’d told her how I felt?
Adam returned, dragging a beat-up wooden stool behind him. “Sit. Get off that foot.”
“Thanks.” I gratefully sat, stretching my leg out in front of me, resting it on my heel. The medical boot I had to wear wasn’t so bad. It was the crutches I hated.
“You need a game plan,” Adam said.
“For what?”
“Autumn. I told you a few days ago that she was running scared.”
“I still don’t understand how you know that.”
He leaned back against the counter and crossed his arms. “If you’d think about it, you would, too. What’s she afraid of?”
“Being hurt again.”
“The minute she realized you could hurt her, she panicked.”
Hope tugged at my heart. “What makes you so sure that’s the problem?”
“Christ, Connor, stop being so dense. Because she figuratively did run. That’s not Autumn. If you were still just a fling to her, she’d still be around, or if she’d decided the fling was over, she would have told you to your face. If you don’t know that, then you don’t know her.”
He was right, and I really was being dense.
“Give me your phone.” Puzzled, I handed it to him. He typed something, then handed it back to me. “Send it.”
I read the text to Autumn.
Lost: Heart belonging to Connor Hunter. Last seen in the vicinity of Autumn Archer. If found, please treat with care.
“I don’t know if that’s a good idea.” Yet, I wanted her to know that she’d hurt me.
