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“The Navy SEAL?” Remi asked.
Gretchen had talked quite a lot about her brother when she’d first arrived in Gracemont, because it was the easiest way to talk about her past without talking about herself.
Shaw glanced back at Remi. “Yes. The Navy SEAL.”
Remi grinned. “Awesome! Well, we’ll give you two a chance to catch up. See you inside.” Her use of the word we’ll reminded Gretchen that the other girls were still standing there, a few feet behind her. Remi walked past Gretchen, linking arms with Mila and Nora…who were seriously checking out her brother.
Gretchen might have laughed at their awed expressions—and the way Nora mouthed the words holy fuck. She knew her brother was hot. Was well aware of how many women’s heads he turned. And not just women his age but even mothers and grandmothers. He cut an impressive figure, and God had graced him with a drop-dead gorgeous face. The years hadn’t diminished those looks either. If anything, he’d gotten even more handsome as he lost every trace of boyishness, now all man.
Turning back to Shaw, she wiped her cheeks, a fruitless endeavor as the tears continued to flow.
The two of them stared at each other for a moment before he held out his arms.
Gretchen sprang forward, racing into his arms as he wrapped her in his embrace. It was as warm and safe and comforting as Theo’s, something that only made her cry harder.
“Hey, hey,” Shaw soothed. “It’s okay, Gretchen. It’s okay. I’m here, sweet pea.”
His kindness led to more sobbing, and soon she was a panting, hiccupping mess.
“I’m sorry,” she gasped. “I’m so, so sorry, Shaw!”
“What? Sorry? Why?”
She turned her face toward his chest, the soft cotton of his henley wet from her tears. “For the last time we talked,” she said, trying to catch her breath. “For what I said. I was so mean.”
Shaw’s hold on her relaxed, and she braced herself for his anger. She was surprised when he cupped her cheeks, forcing her to look him in the eye.
“Those weren’t your words. They were Briggs’s. I knew that.”
“I still said them.”
“It’s okay, Gretchen. I know you didn’t mean it. None of it. I’ve been worried about you. Really worried. I’ve tried to call you countless times,” Shaw said.
“I blocked your number after our last conversation,” she was forced to confess. “I don’t know how to explain…”
“I called Briggs once, after my calls went unanswered again. He said it was better for you if I stayed away, if I basically showed myself to the door. He said I was a bad reminder of a painful past.”
Gretchen’s tears turned hot with anger. “He said that?!”
“It didn’t stop me from trying to call or email,” Shaw said.
“I didn’t get any emails.” She was pretty sure she knew why. Briggs had most likely gone into her account and deleted them. She rarely checked email because no one ever wrote her, and she didn’t bother using it to talk to anyone because she knew Briggs monitored it.
Gretchen swiped her nose with the back of her hand, wishing she had a tissue. She was a blubbering mess.
“It doesn’t matter, Gretchen. I never listened to anything that man said.” Shaw also had never bothered to hide his disdain for Briggs.
“I’m still sorry. I’ve wanted to call you for months, but I was so ashamed of myself. I was in a really dark place when I said those things. I don’t blame you if you’re angry or if,” she swallowed hard, “if you hate me.”
“I could never hate you, sweet pea. It’s you and me. It’s always been you and me. Us against the world, remember?”
He used to say that to her whenever Mom said something cruel to her, and then in the residential home, whenever she had a nightmare or Marci picked on her.
She’d been devastated when Shaw left for the Navy, even though she understood why he had to go.
“Us against the world,” she repeated. “Wait. How did you know where I was?”
“Theo Storm called me.”