Page 66 of Always a Roommate
“Feel like swinging by the Hut?”
Johnny shrugged. “It’s Monday evening. Not like I have anything else to do.”
Funny, last Monday night he’d told me he was working, whatever that entailed.
One brother issue at a time.
The sun had set by the time we got to the Hut, and I was surprised to see how much work hadn’t been done. By now, repairs should be under way with Tanner overseeing them.
Instead, it just seemed… empty.
A dog barked before running out of the Hut, and I recognized him immediately. Cane went sprinting down the beach, his tongue hanging out, before turning and running back to the square concrete building.
Trevor appeared in the doorway to call him. He waved when he saw us.
Johnny and I shared a look. He probably didn’t know who the kid was. Me, I was just wondering what he was doing here.
“Trevor,” I said as I neared him. “Everything okay?”
“Oh, yes.” He nodded. “The owner of this place is just letting me crash here as long as I disinfect the area I’m sleeping in. I did that last night.”
I pushed by him, walking down aisles until I reached the storeroom, where a handful of blankets were piled up.
I turned, suddenly angry at Trevor’s entire situation. “You,” I pointed at him, “get that dog and get in my truck.”
“What? Did I do something wrong, Mr. Kelly?”
“No.” I rubbed my eyes. “But a couch is better than this place. You said the owner knows you’re here… Where is he?”
“He went walking down the beach a few minutes ago. He does that a lot. Rae knows him, so I thought he couldn’t be all bad. He wouldn’t hurt me for crashing here.”
“No, he wouldn’t.” I waved at Johnny. “Trevor, this is my brother, Johnny. You can trust him too.” Turning to my brother, I said, “I’m going to find Tanner. Can you make sure Trevor doesn’t try to leave?”
Johnny looked like he had a million questions, but he held them back and nodded.
I took off down the beach, where I could spot Tanner standing at the edge of the water, his hands stuffed deep in his pockets. A breeze lifted his unruly hair as he stared into the darkening horizon.
Whatever he and Rae had been hiding, I knew it had to be important. No man ever looked so forlorn without big things on his mind.
“What do you want, Shane?” Tanner didn’t turn when I approached.
“What’s wrong with you?”
“Excuse me?” He shot me a scathing look over his shoulder.
“Whatever is going on, we’re here. Do you realize that? You can’t lie anymore and say you’re okay. Something isn’t right. You haven’t begun repairs on the Hut. We barely hear from you. I know there’s something you’re not telling us, but Johnny and I, we’re your brothers. Whatever it is, we can figure it out together.”
When Tanner finally turned, his lips quirked up. “That’s quite the speech coming from the silent Kelly.”
“Yeah, well, I’ve been making a lot of them recently.”
His smirk fell. “Seems I’m not the only one keeping things to myself. Who else are you making speeches to?”
“It’s not important.” Especially because it hadn’t been the speech I needed to make. “This isn’t about me right now.”
“It’s about us.” I hadn’t seen Johnny walk up, and for a moment, I wondered where Trevor was. As if sensing my question, Johnny looked at me. “He promised he’d stay at the Hut.” Turning back to Tanner, he crossed his arms. “Whatever is wrong with you that’s turning you into… not Tanner, it’s about all of us.”
He was right. Along with Finley, we’d always operated as a unit. When one of us had a problem, we all did. It was a connection that went beyond that of most siblings.
