Page 99 of The Summer that Changed Everything

“Where are you going?” Houston asked, his voice filled with surprise.

“Where do you think?” Ford replied as he grabbed his shaving kit from the bathroom.

Houston leaned against the lintel. “Looks like you’re moving out.”

“I am. I’m going over to the Smoot cottage with Lucy.” He tried to pass his brother, but Houston stepped in front of him.

“You’re not going to talk to me?”

“No. Why would I? I don’t even know what you’re doing here.”

“I came to hang out with you, make sure you didn’t do anything stupid. It’s painful to go through a divorce. Mom and I didn’t realize how bad you were feeling until you bugged out of town. Now I hear you’re getting back with Lucy. Are you kidding me, dude? Her dad’s amurderer. Who knows what runs in her genes?”

It was difficult for Ford not to slug him. “Don’t ever say anything like that again,” he said, his hands curling into fists.

The menace in his voice caused Houston to straighten. “What the fuck? I’m just trying to look out for you.”

Since when had he needed Houston’s help to run his life—or anything else? If Houston really wanted to give him some support, why had he left Ford to figure out what to do with the company all by himself? To navigate every challenge and clear every hurdle with the business while providing for him? They’d both worked at Wagner Business Solutions for years, but the learning curve—once full responsibility became truly his—had still proved to be incredibly steep. “I appreciate the concern, bro. But Mom didn’t need to send you. I’ve got everything under control.”

“Everything but your personal life. Seems to be in shambles, you ask me.”

Ford shook his head. “Well, ifthatisn’t the pot calling the kettle black!”

“I have more room for error,” Houston said with a laugh. “No one expects much of me—and I’ve never been married.”

Someone who eschewed responsibility as much as Houston did probably never would get married. Ford would feel sorry for any wife of his; he couldn’t be trusted to so much as pay a water bill on time.

“Now you have a baby on the way, too,” Houston was saying. “When you first said you’d be spending the summer here, I thought it might be wise for you to escape, take some time to decompress. But I don’t think diving into an old mystery—that’s already been solved—and rekindling a romance with someone you haven’t seen in fifteen years is going to get you where you want to go.”

Determined that his family wouldn’t get in the way of his relationships ever again, Ford clenched his jaw. “I care about Lucy.”

Houston studied him carefully. “Are you saying you’re in love with her?”

Ford didn’t answer. It was none of Houston’s business. Houston had plenty of his own problems to worry about.

“Or is Lucy just an escape, Ford?” he continued. “That has to be what’s going on. You’re escaping an unhappy marriage, and unlimited sex on the beach seems like the perfect way to make yourself feel better. But it’s an illusion. You two have nothing in common. You haven’t even seen each other in fifteen years!”

“I never quit caring about her,” Ford insisted and shouldered his way past his brother.

“Ford!” Houston followed him out. “Have you ever considered that she might be using you?”

Ford whipped around to face him again. “Really? You’re going there? Saying she’s after me for my money?”

“Kevin Claxton claims you’re paying a fortune for the investigator who’s trying to get her father out of prison. Is that true? Because I can’t imagineshehas the resources to do that.”

“We’re not trying to get her father out of prison. We’re trying to find the truth. Hopefully, if we can get that far, everything else will take care of itself.”

Houston caught the door as Ford tried to shut it and followed him into the yard. “Slow down. I’m just pointing out that you’re on the rebound. It’s a thing, you know? Arealthing. And it means you might not be seeing the situation very accurately.”

Ford shoved his bag in the backseat of his SUV before whirling around to confront his brother once again. “You, Mom and anyone else who might try to influence me right now had better back off. I’ve been making my own decisions for a long time—and I’ll continue to do so.”

He climbed behind the wheel, clicked on his seat belt and backed out of the drive, leaving his brother standing in the yard, gaping after him.

Lucy knew her relationship with Ford would end with the summer, when they each went back to their regular lives. But having Houston show up seemed to have ruined their idyllic interlude. At best, Ford would feel divided while his brother was in town. At worst, he’d distance himself from her all over again.

It was better to accept the loss now, before she got even more invested in the relationship, she told herself. And yet she kept checking her phone and going to the window, hoping Ford wouldn’t abandon her as quickly and easily as he had before.

“What does it matter? He has to go eventually.” She spoke the words aloud, determined to convince herself.

---