Page 10 of Twice in a Lifetime

“Hey, back. Dinner smells fantastic.”

“It’s Detty’s Fettucine Alfredo,” she said in return.

Growing up in the trailer park, there had been an older woman who helped Gypsy take care of us. Odette, or Detty, as we’d called her, wasn’t blood, but she was more family than our own parents, and was a surrogate grandmother to all six of us Bradbury kids. We were so close with her that when Marco had bought this house, he’d chosen it because of the in-law suite in the back so Detty could leave the trailer park with us.

Gypsy had been decent enough of a cook, but once we moved in here and there was more room, Detty had decided to teach Gypsy everything she knew, and my sister had gone from good to great. We lost Detty about fourteen years ago, but her memory still lived on in so many ways, including the recipes she’d passed down to my sister.

Detty’s Fettucine Alfredo was one of my favorites.

I moved around the kitchen, greeting the rest of my family and ending at Marco, who clasped my hand and jerked me in for a quick, backslapping hug before pulling back and studying my face closely. “You good?”

My brow furrowed in confusion. I noticed everyone was watching me more intently than was normal. “Yeah, I’m great.”

Sunny’s brows climbed high on her forehead. “You sure?”

“Uh . . . what’s goin’ on guys?”

Holly, my youngest sister and the most emotional one out of the whole crew rushed me and wrapped me in a hug so tight my ribs protested. “We know about Blythe coming into your office yesterday.”

Fucking small towns.

“Jesus,” I grunted.Not this shit again,I thought as I worked to extricate myself from my tiny sister’s iron hold. “It’s all good. You guys don’t need to hover like this. I’m fine. Really.”

Raylan sauntered up, all cowboy swagger is his Wranglers and dusty boots. He handed me a non-alcoholic beer that Gypsy kept stocked in her fridge just for me and clapped me on theshoulder. “Not hoverin’, just concerned. We know seein’ her again couldn’t have been easy.”

“It’s not like we don’t know you’re still in love with her,” my youngest brother, Raleigh—Lee for short—chimed in.

Sunny looked at me, her eyes glowing with sympathy. “She’s my best friend, and you’re my brother. It still kills me that you guys didn’t work out.”

I wasn’t sure how much more of this I could take. I’d gone twenty years without much mention of Blythe from my family, but now that she was back, it was like the floodgates had opened. Lifting the beer to my lips, I drained more than half in a couple large gulps, wishing it was something stronger. There weren’t many times in my life that I’d wished for a drink, but on the rare occurrence, I simply had to remind myself why I’d made the conscious decision years ago not to touch the stuff. Our folks weren’tjustneglectful. They were drunks as well, so I made sure I’d never go down that road, because I didn’t want to be anything like them.

“Look, I appreciate you guys caring, but if it’s all the same, I’d rather change the subject.”

“We can do that,” Gypsy said, using a tone that brooked no argument. “Dinner’s ready anyway, so let’s eat.”

The rest of the evening went off without a hitch. Despite the ache in my chest that I hadn’t been able to shake since laying eyes on Blythe in Lincoln’s office yesterday, I’d managed to enjoy my time with my family. I even laughed at my nephew’s crazy antics.

By the time I said my goodbyes and headed for my truck, I was beyond tired and looking forward to face-planting in my bed and not moving until morning.

“Rhodes, wait.”

I let out a sigh at the sound of Sunny’s voice and stopped halfway down the walkway to turn and face her as she pulled thefront door closed and made her way to me, worry creasing her forehead.

She pulled her cardigan tight around herself and crossed her arms over her chest as she stopped in front of me. “What did Blythe want?”

My features went soft. “You know I can’t talk to you about that, Sun,” I said gently.

She lowered her head on a sigh and gave it a dejected shake before her glassy eyes came back to mine. “I know. I’m sorry for asking. I don’t want to put you in a tough spot. I just... I’m worried about her. She hasn’t been the same since she came back, and I don’t think it’s only about losing Elliott.” I might not have had the right to talk to Blythe over the past two decades, but she and Sunny never stopped being best friends, even from separate states.

She paused, pulling the corner of her lip between her teeth and biting down. “Can you at least tell me if she’s okay?”

I reached out, and gave her bicep a squeeze. “That’s not for me to say. Just keep doing what you’re doing. Keep showin’ her you care. As long as she’s got good people lookin’ out for her, she’ll get through this.”

Sunny’s head canted to the side, her gaze scrutinizing. “You really do still love her, don’t you?”

There was no point in lying. “I do,” I said, the confession like a knife to the heart. “I never stopped.”

The sympathy in my sister’s eyes nearly killed me. “Then maybe this is your second chance. Whatever she’s going through, maybe you’re the one who’s supposed to help her through to the other side.” I opened my mouth to argue, but she reached up and cupped my cheek, silencing me. “I’ve always believed in fate, Rhodes, and I believe there’s a reason you could never bring yourself to settle down.”

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