Page 23 of Wish I Didn't Want You Back

“Talk to me,” I pleaded.

He clenched his jaw and looked away from me. “I can’t do this.”

“Brooks,” I called out, but he was already around the corner. “Wait.”

He paused for a moment when I finally caught up to him. His shoulders were rigid. “What do you want from me, Harlow?”

I swallowed thickly, wishing I had the nerve to tell him how I really felt. “Will I ever be able to fix this? Will you ever be able to forgive me?”

He raked a hand through his hair. “You can’t expect one conversation to fix everything.”

“I don’t, but I have to start somewhere, right?”

He paused for a moment and glanced back at me. He looked like he wanted to say something, but he nodded and walked away. I sat in the empty kitchen, wondering if I would ever get the chance to make things right with him.

CHAPTER EIGHT

BROOKS

Iwas staring out my kitchen window when my phone started ringing.

I picked up when I saw Tuck’s name. “Perfect timing. I was about to call you.”

“I would have called sooner, but I had to bring Marty to his doctor’s appointment.”

My chest twisted. “Any updates?”

Marty was our grandfather. He was recently diagnosed with stage-four lung cancer. The doctors gave him thirteen months. Losing him was going to be tough.

“They want to adjust his meds. Recommended some vitamin C infusions to help with his fatigue.”

I shifted the phone to my other ear. “Good. He looked wiped out when I was there the other day.”

I promised to take Marty fishing this weekend, but the forecast called for rain, so I wasn’t sure what my backup plan was going to be. My brothers and I were the only things keeping the old man going. None of us were the type to talk about our feelings, but we didn’t have to. We all knew the end was coming, and nobody in my family was ready for it.

Tuck cleared his throat. “I’m worried that the treatments aren’t doing much. He’s weaker than the last time I saw him.”

A wave of dread washed over me because the doctors told us that his life expectancy would be determined by how well his body responded to the treatments. While there were other options still left on the table, his age and overall health were working against him.

I sighed, rubbing the back of my neck. “I’ll head over tomorrow.”

“He would appreciate that.”

I walked over to the Keurig machine and dropped a pod in. “Do you have any updates on the investigation?”

He let out a sharp laugh. “I had a lovely chat with a couple of really nice men today.”

Normally, I would laugh at his sarcasm, but I was too exhausted from the lack of sleep I had last night.

Harlow Bennet has been sleeping in my guestroom. Under the same quilt my grandmother made for me when I was ten. All because some asshole decided to flood her house by cutting the water supply line to her washer.

“And? What did they have to say?” I grabbed my coffee and let Diesel outside so he could go do his business.

“Her dad was as pleasant as you would expect.”

I never liked the man, and the feeling was mutual.

“I imagine he’s not very happy with his daughter right now.”

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