Page 53 of Family Forever
The corners of Aric’s mouth twitched upward. Why suddenly did Aric look so much like Cole? Cocky and knowing. “I see.”
Dylan eyed Aric.That’s it?He was sure his brother had more to say.
Aric looked at Braden. “Did you call Dylan a crab?” His brother’s tongue-in-cheek tone irritated him.
Braden nodded.
“Do you think you should apologize?” Aric asked.
His brother’s silence let him know he didn’t think so, and he knew his brother was right, but he still shouldn’t talk to him that way. He deserved respect, he earned it.
Braden must have come to the same conclusion. “I’m sorry, Dylan.”
Why did his brother’s apology make him feel like more of a heel? All eyes were on him. “I’m sorry, too. I’m sorry I snapped at you guys the way I did and I’m sorry it’s me you’re stuck with. You guys deserve better.” He nearly choked on his last words. He looked away from his brothers so they wouldn’t see the tears in his eyes.
“I’m not sorry,” Aric stated with such conviction Dylan nearly burst into tears.
How did Aric, his cocky, smart-mouthed brother, of all people, know to say just the right thing, exactly what he needed to hear at that very moment? Relief ripped through him, knowing at least one of his brothers felt he hadn’t totally screwed things up. Yet, he still couldn’t bring himself to look back at them and the tension in the kitchen was killing him.
“I’m going to take a ride. Aric, can you please help Luke finish his valentines?”
“Yeah.”
Dylan grabbed his jacket from the hook by the door and exited the house. He slid into his truck, started the engine and drove off. He didn’t know where he was going, he just needed to go and clear his head.
Night had fallen by the time he reached town and pulled into the church parking lot. The church was dark and he supposed the doors were locked but just looking at it brought comfort to him. His heart-to-heart with God was quickly interrupted by the ringing of his cell phone. Cole’s face flashed across the screen. He didn’t want to talk to his brother now. He just wanted peace and quiet. The phone stopped ringing and he resumed his mental conversation with God. His phone rang again, and Cole’s face reappeared. One of the boys must have called him and told him what had happened. Out of guilt he answered.
“Hi.”
A couple of beats passed. “You doing okay?” his brother asked in an unusually soft tone.
“Yeah.”
“Where are you?”
“In town.”
“By Grandpa?”
Dylan had thought about going there. Though his grandfather could hardly communicate, he always found comfort when talking to him, but this time he was too embarrassed by his behavior with the boys. He couldn’t bear to look his grandfather in the eye.
“No, the church parking lot.”
“That would have been my next guess. When do you plan on going home? The boys are worried about you.”
Good Lord, making them worry was the last thing he wanted.I’m such a screwup.He leaned forward and rested his forehead on the steering wheel.
“Dylan, are you there?”
He couldn’t seem to speak.
“Dylan?” Cole’s voice raised an octave.
“Yeah, I’m here.”
“Do you need me to come home for a few days so you can get away for a bit? I can leave now, it’s not a problem.”
“No. You’ve got classes to attend and you need to focus on that. I’m fine. I’ll head home in a little bit.”
