Page 6 of Forever Mine

I look in the mirror next to the door and instantly realize it’s no use. My eyes are puffy, my hair standing up all over my head. There’s no time to fix it. I pull open the door and force a smile to my face. “Hey, Huddy!”

He smiles broadly at me. “Natalie, hey there. How’s it going?”

I lean against the half-opened door instead of opening it further. “It’s good. I’m glad you’re home, and I know Beau is too.”

He looks at the door and then at me. “Is Beau here? When I heard he skipped out on work today, I thought I’d come by and see what he was up to.”

I clench my hand on the door. Obviously, Beau hasn’t told his brothers anything about us. “Well, he’s here… but he’s not here.” I roll my eyes and suck in a breath, trying not to cry again. “He moved into the pool house.”

“What? He moved into the pool house?”

I nod and suck in a deep breath. “Yeah, he’s out at the pool house.”

He’s looking at me with curiosity, but I don’t give him time to put voice to the question I know he wants to ask. I’m a fool, and the tears I’ve worked so hard to hold back start to flow. “I’m sorry,” I tell him as I wipe at my cheeks. “Shoot, you don’t need to see me fall apart. I’m fine. But yeah, if you want to go out back, I’m sure Beau would love to see you. I’ll talk to you soon, Huddy. I’m glad you’re home.”

I close the door before I completely fall apart. It’s only when I’m by myself again that I let myself give in to the tears. I told Jilly I was going to give myself tonight, and that’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to cry until I can’t cry anymore, and then tomorrow, I'm going to get my life together.

Chapter5

Beau

There’s a knock at the door, and for an instant, I wonder if it’s Natalie. I close my laptop and take the three steps from the couch to open it.

When I swing open the door, I lean against it. I don’t even try to hide my disappointment. “Oh, it’s you.”

Huddy is my older brother by two years, and he’s spent the last twenty years in the military. He’s only recently come home, and I’m glad to have him back even if I don’t seem like it right now.

Huddy pushes past me through the door. “Yeah, it’s me. What the fuck is going on, Beau?”

I don’t act like I don’t know what he’s talking about because I’m sure he had to have seen Natalie to know I’m out here in my fuckin’ pool house. I sit down on the couch and lean my arms onto my knees. “I’m getting a divorce. That’s what is going on.”

He nods and sits down across from me. Even though we’ve been apart for as long as we have, I know that look he’s giving me. He’s going to try and fix all this, and he doesn’t understand that my marriage is not fixable. He claps his hands together. “Okay, so let’s talk about it.”

I blurt out a laugh. “Yeah, I’d rather not.”

Huddy moves even further to the end of his seat. I’m almost afraid he’s going to fall to the floor, he’s so close to the edge. He clasps his hands together in front of him. “Well, fuck that, because we’re talking about it. Are you okay?”

I give him a look like I can’t believe he just asked me that. “Really? That’s what you’re asking me? My wife is divorcing me. How do you think I am?”

Huddy stands up and starts to pace back and forth in the small living area. “Okay, so look, I’m just wondering because I’m an outsider looking in, but I’m wondering if this isn’t for the best.”

I jump up from my seat. “This is for the best? Are you listening to yourself? This is my marriage you’re talking about.”

He crosses his arms over his chest. “I know that, but I also know that since I got back into town, you’re not the same. I had to carry your drunk ass home the other night.”

I nod my head because the truth is, I’m still feeling the effects from the other night. As the owner of a distillery, you would think I could handle my liquor a little better but obviously not. “Yeah, I knew then that something was up with Nat. She’s been distancing herself for a while. I thought I could numb it all with some drinks, but you saw how that worked out.”

“Okaaay, so hear me out. Natalie hasn’t been to any of Ollie’s soccer games. She doesn’t come for family dinners, she doesn’t want anything to do with your family. She—”

I cut him off. “She came to Granny’s funeral… she insisted.”

He walks over to the window and looks out at the pool. “What do you mean, she insisted?”

I open my mouth to answer and then close it quickly. How do I explain all this?

When I don’t answer, he turns around. “Beau? What do you mean she insisted?”

I move into the kitchenette area and open the fridge. “Do you want a drink, Huddy? There’s probably something in here. Maybe a water.”

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