Page 92 of Wreck Me

“Noted.”

“You love my brother?”

“Without a doubt in my mind.”

“Good. We won’t have problems then. I’ve never seen him so . . . comfortable. Or happy. He’s always the fun one, but this is different. I see the difference now and feel like an asshole for not reading the signs. I’ve always wondered but wasn’t sure. Now I am. He wasn’t fully happy before, because it’s clear he is now.”

“I’m glad you can see that, but don’t beat yourself up. The walls he had up were thick. It took a lot to break through him.”

“I fucked him up, huh?”

“He loves you more than anything, and seeing you hurt? He didn’t ever want to see it again or feel it for himself. But look at where it brought him. He’s okay.”

“You’ll take care of him?”

“We’ll take care of each other.”

“Alright.”

Sawyer shocks the shit out of me by shaking my hand and pulling me in for a hug.

“We good?”

“Yeah, we’re good.”

Later that night, Carter and I are heading to meet Trey for drinks. It’s been a lot of introductions all at once, but we’re playing catch-up after keeping our relationship a secret for so long.

“You worried he’s not gonna like you?”

“Nope.”

“You worried you’re not gonna like him?”

“Nope. I’m excited. Everything you’ve told me about him makes me respect him as much as I respect my own brothers. I’m eager to meet the only person who’s had your back all these years.”

Trey is eager as shit; he’s been at me wondering when he can meet him and I’ve been putting it off. I’m glad the time has finally come. I pull up to The Whispering Well, and Carter and I step out of my SUV. I reach for his hand on instinct, and he squeezes it back in return.

We walk into the bar, and the hostess leads us to Trey, who’s already sitting at a table on the bottom floor this time. His face brightens in a huge smile as he stands to greet us. I pull him into a quick hug and whisper, “Be nice.”

He pulls back and mocks being offended.

“So you’re the man who took my boy from me?” Trey says by way of greeting Carter.

“How about we share him? You get every other weekend?”

“I’m down for that. I’m Trey.”

“Carter. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“Same. You guys want a beer? They’ve got the best drinks, and the whiskey is damn good,” Trey says with a smirk.

“They better be serving Aspen Ridge if you’re saying that shit.”

I take a deep breath of relief. Everything is fitting together seamlessly now that we’ve closed the gorge that separated us. I should have known. Everything else has been as easy as breathing when it comes to Carter. It was all the other shit that was difficult.

“So, you knew this guy as a teenager? What was that like?”

“Back in his still-trying-to-convince-himself-he’s-straight era is what I like to refer to it as.”

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