Page 30 of Silent Partner (Pine Falls 3)

Then I remembered he was sick. I stopped and faced him. “What are you doing up here? You should be resting.”

He tilted his head. “You think so?”

Wow. I just kept sticking my foot in my mouth. “Um . . . Well, you look tired.” I needed to face-palm myself.

“Do I now?” He grinned. “I have been working on a big case.”

“Oh.” So he wasn’t sick?

“I came up here to clear my head,” he added.

“Me too.”

“Kinsley.” He reached up as if he were going to touch my cheek but then stopped short and balled his hand into a fist before dropping it. “Please tell me what’s going on. Why are you moving?” He sounded a bit panicked.

My eyes began to well with tears. “It’s embarrassing.”

“Is it Tristan?” he asked, Tristan’s name coming out a bit strangled.

“No.”

“Carter and Giselle?” he guessed. It wasn’t a stretch. I had often complained to him about them on our runs.

I nodded. “They, uh . . . ,” my voice hitched, and the tears flowed. “They are basically forcing me out,” I reluctantly admitted. It made me sound like such a loser.

His brow furrowed. “Can they do that?”

“According to the paperwork they gave me, they can.”

“I want to see those papers.”

“It’s okay. It’s probably for the best. The chef I apprenticed for in Denver said I have a job with him anytime I want it. And I have a friend in Austin who just opened a restaurant. He also left the door open for me.” Eventually, they would probably both close those doors, as I seemed to have that effect on people, but I had to land somewhere right now. Maybe I could fix myself before they tired of me like everyone else did.

“Is that what you really want? To give up your restaurant?”

“No,” I choked out. “But if I don’t, they’re going to sue me, and I don’t have the money to fight them. And honestly, I’m tired of the fight. Anyway, you don’t need to know all this. I’m sorry for bothering you.” I took off his jacket and handed it back. “Have a good run.”

He refused to take the jacket. “I want to see those papers,” he reiterated.

“What for?”

He swallowed so hard his Adam’s apple bobbed several times. “Maybe there’s another solution. And . . . ,” he paused, “I don’t want you to move.”

I bit my lip. I’m sure he only meant that because we had been good friends once upon a time. Right? Regardless . . . “I have a cat.” Oh. My. Gosh. I was officially an imbecile.

“He must be some cat,” he laughed.

I looked up to the clear blue sky. “He is cute.”

“Kinsley,” Brant said so warmly. “Please let me help you.”

I lowered my head. I really didn’t want to go bankrupt, but . . . “I can’t pay you.”

“I would never ask you to.” He sounded hurt that I would even suggest it.

“I appreciate that, but I don’t know if there’s anything that can be done.”

“Just let me take a look,” he begged.

I twisted his jacket in my hands. I was trying not to get my hopes up that there was a way out of this. But, as always, I couldn’t help but naively wish. “Okay,” I relented.

Relief washed over his face. “Promise me one more thing.”

“What?”

“You won’t think about moving until you hear back from me.”

“I don’t know if I can wait.” Part of me kind of liked the idea of moving. I felt like everyone around me was moving on with their lives and I was stuck. Besides, as much as I wanted to keep my restaurant, I didn’t really want to stay in business with Giselle and Carter.

“Please. I’ve been trying to buy some time so that . . .”

I grabbed my heart. He really was sick. How much time did he have left? “So that you can what?”

Hesitantly, he ran a finger down my cheek, making me shiver, and not from the cold. “Make things right.” He immediately stepped back, putting a big gap between us.

I was so confused. “Make what right?”

“Everything.”

That zero percent cleared it up.

I blinked several times, trying to comprehend, but I still wasn’t getting it.

He must have recognized my deer-in-the-headlights look. “Kinsley, I can’t explain everything now, but someday soon I will. I promise. Just promise me you’ll stick around so I can,” he pleaded like his life depended on it.

Was he sick enough that his life was in danger? I wanted to ask him, but he obviously didn’t want to talk about it. “Brant, I can’t.” If life had taught me anything lately, it was that there were no promises or guarantees. Especially when it came to men. And as much as I wanted Brant to be well and to know what was going on with him, it was best for me not to entangle myself with him. I had to start making smart choices. The smartest one being no men. Especially the ones I was in love with.

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