Page 105 of Break the Barrier

“Did you?” I ask suddenly, “Come to your senses, I mean.”

Did my mother have some boyfriend I didn’t know about?

“No.” Mom’s eyes grow sad, and I frown for her, wishing there was something I could do to change that answer, even though I know there isn’t, and I can’t. “Sadly, that time has come and gone, and there’s nothing I can do about it except live with the consequences.”

I feel bad for my mom. Really bad. She deserves all the happiness in the world.

“When were you with this person?” I was eight when Stetson was born, and if this guy was around after that, I would have thought I met him at some point.

“Oh, I guess Stetson was about two then. You were ten, and Jax and Mitch had started getting into all sorts of mischief. It was a chaotic time in my life, no real room for a love life.”

“You didn’t want to bring him around your kids,” I state, wondering if that’s something I fucked up too.

Mom knows exactly where my brain goes and points apainted fingernail at me, her mom eyes on point. “Don’t you dare go there, son. I know you want to find another reason to make yourself feel bad, but this isn’t it. Thea was nothing but good for that girl of ours, regardless of how this ends.”

“She broke our hearts.”

Mom’s eyes stay glued to mine. “And she broke hers, too. Give her a chance, we don’t all get it right the first, second, or even third time.”

“I don’t know how to handle this.” I rub my hand over my head, wanting to start pulling my hair out. I should shave it off. I only kept it this long because Thea tended to run her fingers through it.

Fuck, I miss her. I don’t want to admit it, but I can’t deny it to myself.

The front door slams shut, and heavy footsteps come stomping down the hallway. I glance up to see my little brother Mitch standing in the doorway. His eyes hit mine, and I don’t know how I know, but something is wrong.

“What is it?” I ask, my feet already under me as I stand from my chair.

“There’s a fire down at the bar.”

My heart drops into my stomach, and I’m already moving. “A fire? How do you know?”

“Police scanner,” he answers, and I frown at him. He does nothing but shrug at me.

I move around, grabbing my hat when I remember Lue is upstairs. I look at my mom who waves me on, a worried look on her face. “I’ve got her, go take care of Thea.”

I don’t need more encouragement than that to bust out the front door. I’m surprised when my brother jumps in the passenger side of my truck, and then we’re flying into town.

39

logan

My mind is racingwith everything that could go wrong, and when I pull onto Main Street and see the fire trucks, the ambulance, and the police crowded around Bottle Grounds main entrance, the erratic beat of my heart increases tenfold.

I was only just here a few hours ago. On my way to pick up Lue from school, I had a tendency to drive past the bar, even if it was out of the way, just to see if I could get a glimpse of Thea.

Whether or not I liked it, she was still buried beneath my skin, stuck in my heart, and even though things were bad right now, I knew that we weren’t over.

I’d even gotten lucky and saw Thea taking out a too-heavy bag of trash. I almost got out to help her but forced myself to stay put and just watched on as she moved.

My fists had clenched at my sides, watching as she walked back to the bar’s doors and wrapped her sweater around her tighter to hide from the chill.

I missed the hell out of her.

I park haphazardly and jump out, my booted feet pounding on the pavement as I make my way to the front, pushing past the emergency services people, most of them I’ve known my entire life.

I scan the ambulance and see a couple of people sitting at the back, one of them being the chef. Maybe something had gone wrong in the kitchen? The guess doesn’t settle my mind, and I know in my gut that’s not what happened.

My blood runs cold at the coincidence of events.