Page 12 of Wish I Didn't Want You Back

Finn raised an eyebrow. “You sure? You’ve been generous enough to let her stay here.”

“Finn, stop being rude.” Molly smacked her husband on the arm. “If he wants to help, let him help.”

He gazed down at his wife. “Don’t get snippy with me. Maybe if she didn’t burn every damn bridge she crossed, she’d have more people willing to help her.”

I knew my actions had consequences, but knowing how much Finn hated me, hit ten times harder.In spite of that, I still respected him. I always would.

“All right. I think that’s enough for today.” Brooks shocked me by stepping up to my side. “I appreciate your concern, Finn, but I’m a big boy; I can take it from here.”

Finn held his hands up and started heading toward the door. “Fine. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Brooks crossed his arms and let out a frustrated sigh.

Molly gave me a tight smile as she pulled me into her arms. “I’m sorry. I’ll talk to him. I promise.”

I squeezed her hand. “Don’t worry about it. I don’t want to cause any more problems with your marriage. I appreciate the clothes. I’ll call later, after I get settled.”

Once she was gone, Brooks handed me a coffee mug. “Don’t take it personally. Give him a bit of time. He’ll come around.”

I laughed weakly. “Now, do you see why Molly brought me here? Could you imagine how he would be if I were under his roof instead of yours?”

His eyes thinned into slits. “You hurt a lot of people, Harlow. You can’t expect everyone in this town to forgive and forget so easily.” He turned to walk away. “I’m going to get dressed. Be ready to leave in thirty.”

I sighed once he was gone. If there was one thing I’d learned since I’ve been back, it is that running away all those years ago didn’t solve anything. It only made things much worse, and after yesterday, I was officially done running.

The secondwe pulled up to the lake house, I got out of Brooks’ truck and breathed in the crisp morning air. A sense of peace washed over me.

But that peace didn’t last.

Brooks was already walking to the front door when he stopped in his tracks. His gaze dropped to something on the porch.

“Uh, we have a problem.”

“What’s that?” I asked, hurrying to catch up to him.

He pointed to the ground, where a puddle of water was seeping out under the door.

He placed his hands on his hips and glanced around. “I think your pipes burst.”

I shook my head, fighting the urge to cry. “Please tell me you’re joking.”

He pointed to a puddle of water. “I’m dead serious.”

My stomach dropped. This couldn’t be happening.

“This isn’t good, is it?” I asked, defeat creeping into my voice. Everything that could possibly go wrong had gone wrong. I must have pissed somebody off in my former life.

Without uttering a word, he moved to the door and pulled out a paperclip and a small screwdriver.

I started pacing back and forth. I only needed one thing to go right. Just one thing.

After a few minutes, I heard the click, and the lock gave way. Brooks swung the door open. I clamped a hand over my mouth and took in the damage.

This was worse than I imagined.

Our feet sank into what was probably an inch of water, but it still felt like a swamp.

“Oh, my God.”

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