Page 70 of My Three Mountain Men

“That’s enough,” Ryder snarled, slapping his hands on the table. “Stop acting like teenagers. I already had to deal with you two at that stage, and I’m not doing that again.”

Knox and I glared at each other and resumed our meals silently, but as the days passed, the tension between us only got worse.

Ryder also retreated into himself, spending as much time alone as possible. He had always been the most solitary of the three of us, but he went out of his way to avoid us now, like we somehow reminded him of what he had lost. The entire atmosphere was morose, coupled by the fact that we still hadn’t had word from Simone.

“She sent an email and said she’s in LA,” Knox informed us.

“Let me see it,” I urged.

Knox rolled his eyes. “You can if you want, but that’s exactly what it says. ‘I’m in LA, and I’m fine. I miss you guys. Hope you’re well. Simone.’”

He said it offhandedly, but I heard the dull ache in his words, her words so lacking.

“What’s going on with the case?” Ryder asked. Immediately, he winced, as if he hadn’t meant to ask. Knox leaned forward.

“Nothing. Aimee hasn’t been arrested, as far as I can tell. Ryan’s still being investigated.”

“What?!” I demanded. “How’s that? Simone’s alive?”

Knox shrugged. “Gotta love American justice.”

I shivered. “I don’t like that she’s out there by herself with Aimee still on the loose, Ryder.”

“She made her choice. She knows where we are if she wants us,” Ryder insisted. I narrowed my eyes, wondering if he really believed she was staying away because that was what she wanted.

“She didn’t even ask how we’re doing,” Knox added sharply, his hurt tangible. “She must be getting back into her old life, Brooks. It’s better if we do the same.”

I looked at my cousins, refusing to accept that we were all better off without one another, but someone had to make the first move here. And then convince all the other stubborn asses to fall in line.

CHAPTER31

Ryder

For ten years, my mantra had always remained the same: just put one foot in front of the other, and I’ll get out of it, eventually. No matter how bad or down or rough it got, I just had to stay focused, and eventually, I would claw my way back to surer ground.

It wasn’t the world’s most elating motivational quote, but it had gotten me through. If I just kept going, things would be okay.

But in this case, it wasn’t working.

I did everything the same as I’d always done, throwing myself into work, distracting my troubled mind with excessive chores, exhausting my body until I was sure I would drop into a dreamless slumber at night. Instead, I lay awake into the wee hours, reliving every moment Simone and I had shared together, my chest constricting until I thought I was having a heart attack. It hadn’t even hurt this much with Alisa, who I’d known much longer and been sure I was going to marry.

At the beginning of the third week, morale in the cabin was lower than it had ever been, and for the first time since we’d moved there, it didn’t feel like a sanctuary. It felt like a prison in which we’d locked ourselves away.

I walked into the dining room where Brooks sat, eating a bowl of oatmeal. He looked up at me in surprise.

“Where’s Knox?” I asked.

He shrugged. “I have no idea where either of you are anymore these days.”

“Go get him.”

Doubly shocked, he scowled at me. “I just said I don’t know where he is. You have two feet and a heartbeat. You go get him. I’m eating.”

Sighing, I pivoted to find my other cousin, but Knox wasn’t in his office. It took me ten minutes to locate him in his bathroom.

“I haven’t spoken to you in two days, and now I can’t use the can in peace?” he growled. “Go away.”

“I want to talk to you,” I insisted. “Come downstairs when you’re done.”

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