Page 70 of A Lot Like Forever
Chapter 16
“What the hell’s wrong with you?” Ryder asked as he caught up with Nate, his little girls riding on his shoulders and hanging on to him by his hair.
Nate wasn’t in the mood for talking, but he checked his attitude when Rose smiled down at him. When he glanced at Ryder he made a face.
“Shit. Your eyes looked like all the blood from your head spilled into them.”
“Language around the little lady,” Nate growled, reaching out and linking fingers with Rose. She squeezed back before going back to holding on to her dad.
“So what happened last night?” Ryder asked.
“I just went to Joe’s for a few drinks.”
“And came home instead of going to the apartment with any . . .”--Ryder grinned and his eyebrows shot up--“company?”
Nate glowered at him. He wasn’t in the mood to talk shit. “I saw Faith.”
“Ah,” Ryder said, as if that was all the answer he needed. “Hence the bear with the thorn attitude.”
“You’re lucky you’ve got Rose with you,” Nate grumbled.
“Why? What the hell did I do?” Ryder asked, chuckling. “Faith’s the one who broke your heart.”
“She did not break my heart, idiot.”
“Hey, Nate, no swear-wing,” Rose said, one hand on her hip.
She at least made him laugh with her cute little lisp. “It’s not swearing to call your dad an idiot, because he is one.”
Ryder punched him in the arm and he was only saved by the little person on his shoulders; otherwise Nate would have loved to smack him straight back and blow off some steam.
“The reason I can tease you is because I felt the same way with Chloe,” Ryder continued, hands on his daughter’s legs to hold her in place on his shoulders as he walked beside Nate. “When I thought I’d lost her, it was a pretty dark place.”
“How much do you remember about Mom?” Nate asked, voice gruff. “I mean, do you still remember how bad it hurt losing her, or were you too young?”
The smile fell from Ryder’s face like Nate had flicked a switch. “You think you’re the only one who doesn’t want to hurt like that again?”
Nate stopped walking, leaned on the fence they were passing, and stared out into the distance. “You honestly felt like that? I mean, before Chloe?”
“Man, I still feel like it,” Ryder admitted, taking Rose down and setting her on the wooden fence so she could be in between them. “I was damn scared of opening up to Chloe, and then when she told me she was pregnant? Hell,that was rough. I might have been younger than you, but I remember Mom and every emotion that came with losing her.”
“I can’t believe I’m getting love advice from my little brother.”
Ryder chuckled. “Yeah, but it’s the only advice you’ll ever need from me. You’ve always been the one there for us, from the day Mom died until now. You probably don’t have a clue how much we appreciate you, Nate, but you’re one hell of a big brother.”
He smiled, slinging his arm around little Rose and giving her a hug. “So what do you reckon I should do?” He hated being so honest about how he felt, but Ryder was his brother. If he couldn’t talk to him, who the hell could he talk to, and keeping it to himself was driving him crazy.
“Do you love her?” Ryder asked.
Nate hung his head, shut his eyes, and immediately saw Faith in his mind. He’d be lying if he didn’t say yes; every part of him screamed yes, except that little part of him that didn’t want to admit to any sign of weakness.
“Maybe,” he muttered.
“Don’t give me that crap; it’s a simple yes or no question.”
“Yes, goddamn it!” Nate cursed, turning to stare at his brother. “I love her. Is that what you wanted to hear?”
Ryder smiled, but his grin was genuine, not taking the piss. “Then we need to figure out what you’re going to do about that.”
