Page 43 of Homecoming Heartbreaker

“I don’t think we did that properly, Mol. I think we might have to do that again.” She heard Mack’s laughter in his words, felt the curve of his lips against her temple. “And again, until we get it right.”

The problem was that she thought it might take the rest of their lives to get itexactlyright. And, even more scary, she was game to try.

Nine

Mack stared at the spreadsheet he’d spent the past few weeks working on, the numbers dancing in front of his eyes. He pushed his thumb and index finger into his eyeballs, hoping to ease the burn.

Dropping his hands, he stared at the total at the bottom on his column and cursed violently, the words bouncing off the walls of the office. The total was still the same and he knew it would never change.

Before he could second-guess himself, he opened his browser and did a large file transfer, sending a copious amount of scanned documents and spreadsheets to Grey’s email address, hoping his brother would find a reasonable explanation for what he’d discovered.

Mack spun around in his chair and stared out the window behind his desk, into the dark shadows of Moonlight Ridge’s extensive gardens below. In the distance he could see the yellow lights of one occupied cottage on the edge of the lake but otherwise, the grounds were in darkness.

Mack looked at his watch, saw that it was nearly eleven and thought of Molly, curled up in his bed in the guesthouse, hopefully fast asleep. They’d been sleeping together for the past six weeks and, strangely, he still hadn’t tired of her. Usually, by this point in a relationship he’d be looking for an easy exit, concocting a strategy to slide out of his lover’s life.

Truthfully, he couldn’t remember when, if ever, he had a fling that lasted this long. Ironic that his two longest relationships were with the same woman.

Mack turned back to his screen and frowned, wishing he could avoid having to tell her what had taken him weeks to discover. With her history, Molly would take it personally, would blame herself for what had happened.

She needed to know as quickly as possible, but before he told her, he needed to tell his brothers so Mack picked up his phone and shot off a text to them, asking if they were able to talk.

Grey replied immediately, saying he was free but Travis’s message went unanswered for a couple of minutes. When he did reply, he said that he was in the middle of service and couldn’t talk right now.

After telling Travis to call him when he was free, Mack started a video call to Grey and within a minute his brother’s face appeared on his monitor, blue eyes wary. God, he was so sick of seeing the distance, the cool composure on his siblings’ faces.

He wanted his brothers back. They needed to talk, to discuss that night so long ago, to, if they could, put it behind them. He missed them, intensely. Horribly. Being back in Asheville, living and breathing the air and atmosphere of Moonlight Ridge, made him realize that they’d wasted so much damn time.

He wanted his family back...

Grey’s question broke into his thoughts. “Mack, what’s up?”

It wasn’t the time or the place for a heal-the-past type of conversation; he’d prefer to speak to his brothers in person, to apologize to their faces and not to a screen. And he would apologize and ask for their forgiveness. He hoped, prayed, he got it.

“Mack?”

Mack met his brother’s eyes. “Hey, thanks for taking my call.” So formal, so stiff. That had to change. And soon, dammit. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything important.”

The corners of Grey’s mouth lifted, somehow knowing that Mack was referring to a date or sex. “I’m in my office, at my desk, working.”

“Busy?” Mack asked, hoping Grey wouldn’t shut him down.

“Yeah, always,” Grey replied, looking a little surprised at his question. He didn’t blame him since they only ever discussed Moonlight Ridge or Jameson.

Mack rubbed the back of his neck, wanting to delay telling Grey the bad news. Instead, he decided to broach an idea he’d been considering. “Do you remember the old barn at the bottom of the property?” It was a stupid question; of course Grey would remember the barn. It had only stood there all their lives.

“Sure,” Grey replied.

“I spoke to Jameson and I’m thinking about repurposing it, establishing one of my breweries there. What do you think?”

Grey thought for a minute before smiling. “I think it’s a great idea. It needs to be used, to be lived in again.”

“It’s a great space but it needs to be reworked.” Mack sucked in a deep breath, annoyed to realize that he was nervous. “I need an architect. You interested?”

Grey’s eyes widened, and astonishment jumped into them and fluttered across his face. “You want me to bid for the job?”

“No, I wantyouto design my new brewery. I don’t care what you charge. I just want my brother to work on this project with me.”

Grey’s astonishment didn’t fade. “It’s been a while since you’ve called me your brother, Mack,” he quietly stated, sounding bemused.

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