Page 75 of Because You Loved Me

As he let the sobs work through his body, for the first time, Asher accepted the truth, in all its certainty. His father was gone and he wasn’t coming back. He’d never again preside over their chaotic family dinners. He would never sit in on another board meeting and give his opinions on their annual projections. And he would never, ever have the chance to finally tell Asher that he was proud of him.

He gave himself another few minutes to let his emotions flow through him before he straightened up and pulled his shoulders back. He cleared his throat and used the back of his sleeve to wipe his face.

His sisters were always telling him how much better he’d feel if he let himself cry and feel some emotions. But it was evident that they were full of shit, because the only thing Asher felt was exhausted. And happy that no one had been there to witness his emotional outburst.

He stacked the remaining wood and stored his axe, opting to leave the pieces of firewood he’d flung into the woods for another day.

The sun was starting to sink low in the sky when he made his way around to the front of the cabin.

A familiar truck was parked in the drive, and for a moment, Asher considered turning around to chop more wood. But his visitor spotted him before he had the chance.

“Hey there, brother.”

* * *

“We’re going to need to talk about this sooner or later, Noa.” Ryan sat hard on the bed, causing her to bounce a bit on the mattress.

Noa pulled her pillow up over her unwashed hair and ignored him, just the way she’d been doing for the last few days.

After Ryan discovered her in their hotel suite, he’d known enough to give her the space she needed to process. The irony that this man knew her better than anyone else and cared enough not to push her while she processed whatever it was she’d had with a man who’d rejected her wasn’t lost on her.

“Noa?”

She shook her head and grunted in response.

He chuckled a little and a moment later, the pillow was pulled from her hands. “You can’t ignore this forever. We need to talk. If only to give your parents some sort of explanation. They know you’re back.”

“How?” Her voice was muffled by the bed.

“I told them.”

“You what?” She flung herself over onto her back. “How could you?—”

His grin stopped her and despite herself, she smiled. “Ryan…I’m…” The smile dissolved as tears once again took over.

“Oh shit. You’re crying? Dammit.”

Noa didn’t resist as Ryan reached down and gently lifted her from the tangle of sheets and blankets and pulled her into his arms. He held her and stroked her dirty, greasy hair while she sobbed like a baby. It was as if once she opened the faucet of her emotions, she had no way to turn it off again. In all the years of their friendship, Noa didn’t think she’d ever let herself cry like this in front of Ryan. Not even when their siblings died.

The very few tears she had shed during that dark time, she’d done in the privacy of a hot shower. But this was different. In ways she couldn’t even explain, not to herself, not to anyone. Least of all, Ryan.

Everything she was feeling was so, so different than anything that had ever come before.

“I’ve made a mess of everything.” Noa finally pulled herself together enough to sit up and talk. “You must hate me.”

“You know that’s not true.” He chuckled a little and sat back on the bed to give her space. “I could never hate you, Noa. You know that.”

She did.

“But I’ve never left you at the altar for another man before.”

“Ah ha.” He pointed at her. “So this is about a guy.”

She dropped her head into her hands and groaned. “This is weird enough talking to you about all this without details.”

“Oh no. Trust me, I’m not looking for any of the dirty details. But I do have to say, Noa, I’ve never known you to get so broken up about a guy before. So, he must be?—”

“He’s an asshole.”

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