Page 6 of Captivating Mr. Second Chance

“What?”

“My brother.”

Dean kicked something out of the way to stand right in front of Ethan and knocked him in the arm. “What’s going on?”

When Ethan finally lifted his gaze to Dean, he found concern etched all over his friend’s face, and he lost it. Ethan took his glasses off, giving in to the tears that had been threatening to spill out since he’d sat down at his parents’ table.

“Hey, hey, what’s going on?” Dean asked again, this time throwing an arm around Ethan.

“It’s not ataxia or a gluten intolerance. It’s Huntington’s.”

“Huntington’s? I don’t know what that is.”

“It’s like a mix of Parkinson’s and dementia, a progressive neurological disease. It’s…” Ethan cleared his throat, moving away from Dean to wipe his eyes and put his glasses back on. “It’s going to get worse.”

Dean patted his shoulder. “That really sucks. I’m sorry to hear that. How’s he doing?”

Ethan shrugged. “He found out earlier today and texted me to meet him and Leah at Mom and Dad’s, and I…” He blew out a breath. “I freaked out. I couldn’t stay there, you know?”

Dean pursed his lips and nodded. “What can I do?”

Ethan tipped his chin at the broken pieces of the counter, a door hanging off its hinges. “You mind if I take some swings?”

Wordlessly, Dean handed over the safety goggles and sledgehammer, and Ethan went to work. He smashed his frustration and worry out on the wood, and then when Dean gestured to the yellow-tiled shower, he went after that too. He needed this destruction, to be able to throw his anger and fear at something.

After a minute, he set down the hammer and removed the goggles to run the back of his hand over his forehead and the thin sheet of sweat there.

“Feel better?” Dean asked.

“Yeah.” Ethan inhaled deeply. “Yeah. Thanks.”

“You know you cou—” Dean’s phone buzzed, interrupting him, and he grabbed it to check the screen, his brow furrowing. He answered with one hand on his hip. “Hey, what’s up?” He kicked some pieces of broken tile with the toe of his boot as he listened and then dropped his hand, his voice rising. “Hewhat?”

Ethan leaned against the wall, watching his friend tug at his hair.

“Why didn’t you call me yesterday?” Dean darted his gaze around as if looking for something. “I don’t give a shit that it was our birthday, you should have called me.” He let out an indignant laugh at the person on the other end of the phone call. “To do what? To kill him, that’s what.”

Ethan pushed off the wall, aiming to get closer and hear the other side of the conversation. There was only one person who had the same birthday as Dean, and that was his twin sister, Delaney Hargrove. Even the mere thought of her had Ethan’s pulse beating in a funny staccato.

“I could kill him,” Dean sneered. “Yes, I could—why are you laughing? Are you high right now?”

Ethan chewed on the inside of his cheek, his curiosity about this phone call off the charts. So much so that Justin was no longer in the forefront of his mind. If something happened to Laney, Ethan might kill someone too.

“You’re with Gem? Which one is she? Uh-huh.” Dean walked in a tight circle, his attention on the ceiling, his jaw tight. “Yeah, uh-huh… Of course you can… Okay, text me later. And no more edibles.” With a shake of his head, Dean pocketed his cell phone.

“What was that about?” Ethan asked as evenly as possible.

Even though there was nothing left to destroy, Dean picked up the sledgehammer and dropped it straight down on a pile of wood like Thor.

“Laney’s boyfriend cheated on her.”

Ethan’s jaw dropped, and he blinked up to the old, ugly lightbulbs above the mirror. “Laney’s boyfriend cheated? On her?”

Dean bent to toss the debris into a big black bag.

“On your sister?” Ethan asked, still confounded. “Delaney?”

“Uh-huh.”

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