Page 9

Chapter 9

Brodie

I wasn’t sure that I did the right thing by giving Liam a shred of hope to cling to, but I knew what it was to live without any. The fact that he’d spent the entire day sitting on Kieran’s front steps softened me toward him.

He’d had a wife. It was obvious to me that he’d cared about her. He cared about her still. Fondness was etched into his features when he talked about her. It was hard to stay mad at him when it was clear that his actions had made him just as miserable as they’d made me.

Was I going to forgive him? Probably. But not yet. Not until I was certain that my heart would be safe if I gave it back to him.

“So that’s the guy, huh?” Kieran sat on the couch, one of his arms thrown around Clay, tucked in next to him.

“Yeah. That’s the guy.”

“Is he gone for good?”

It was cute when Kieran tried to get all protective and big brothery with me. We were more like friends than brothers. It wasn’t often he pulled the same overprotective thing Shane did. When Shane did it, I could get prickly. But for some reason, when Kieran acted like that, it made me feel safe and happy. I’d never admit that to him, though. Or Shane. Shane would be mortally wounded. Some things were best left un-confessed.

“He’s gone for now. I think he’s sticking around for a while.” Until I decide what I want. Until I either send him away for good… or keep him. Seeing as how I wasn’t ready to do either, he’d likely linger until I made up my mind. Today was proof that Liam wasn’t going to give up so easily.

“If he messes—” Kieran’s voice cut off when Clay’s hand clamped over his mouth.

“Stop. It’s cute and romantic and harmless. He sat on the step all day, which yeah, that’s a bit stalkery, but he was polite and quiet. And I think if Brodie had asked him to leave, he’d have done so.”

Clay yanked his hand away from Kieran’s mouth with a grimace. “Did you just lick me?”

“All is fair in love and war. You’re supposed to be on my side.” Kieran teased, pulling Clay closer, seemingly unbothered by Clay taking Liam’s side.

Clay rolled his eyes. “Yes, because I’m totally going to be the one to say no one deserves a second chance.”

I pushed myself away from the door even though my body screamed at me to go back outside and chase Liam down. The pull was hard to ignore. There’d always been a magnetic attraction between him and me. Right from that start. The cloudburst I’d escaped from had nothing on the windstorm of attraction that spun my insides when I saw Liam for the first time.

He looked expensive. Well-trimmed hair. Perfect teeth. A watch that cost more than most people’s mortgage payments. Probably more than some people’s cars. I wasn’t well versed in how much luxury items cost, but I knew quality when I saw it and his watch was definitely not some kind of cheap Walmart special.

His gaze was sharp as glass and when our eyes met, it was like lightning struck. And that feeling never went away. Every time I looked at him, there was this abundant feeling of right and perfect and mine that made it hard to breathe around him. Impossible to think. So I hadn’t. I’d thrown myself into some kind of whirlwind love affair.

I had no way of knowing he’d been running from a ghost.

“What are we ordering tonight” I asked Kieran. He’d always preferred to leave the cooking to other people.

“Chinese okay? Or do you want burgers and fries. I could get Shane to deliver.”

“I could kill a burger. Get me a mushroom burger with mozza. And I want gravy with my fries. I’m going to shower.”

Kieran gave me the thumbs up and I went to my room to gather a set of fresh clothes. Liam had looked amazing. Even as miserable as he was, he still made my mouth water. And I’d gone out and talked to him still in a pair of boxers and a threadbare shirt that was two sizes too large. At least I’d tamed my porcupine hair. The picture of him in the suit at the grand opening of that cancer ward haunted me.

It was Liam, but it wasn’t.

It was Liam, but haunted and sad. Drawn and gaunt. Liam in body, but not in spirit. It helped to see that he’d clearly not ran off for a fun reason. But he’d still run off. He’d still let me leave. The bruises from that emotional battering hadn’t started to fade yet.

The hot water from the shower revitalized me like it washed away a layer of my sadness. Or maybe I’d shed it like a snake skin. Meeting my eyes in the mirror after was easier than it had been in days. At first I’d been so red-eyed that I hated looking at them. After that, I didn’t look because of how hollowed out I felt. I feared looking in the mirror and seeing nothing at all staring back at me. Like my body would be visible, but there’d be nothing left inside me. No light in my eyes.

Dramatic? Me? Never.

By the time I was out of the shower and dressed in a more respectable pair of lounge pants and a shirt of a proper size, dinner had arrived, and with it Shane and Archer. Everyone was spread out in the living room, already picking at their food. I wasn’t sure what they were talking about, but it wasn’t me so I sent up a silent thank you and took the footstool and the only unopened takeout container and sat down.

I dug into my meal, my appetite whet by that slice of pizza outside. I was halfway through the burger in three bites when my brain finally tuned into their conversation. Shane was telling Kieran he needed a tattoo. Kieran was disagreeing. Archer and Clay were exchanging glances, but staying out of the brother’s little spat.

“You’re so bossy.” I said, looking directly at Shane.

Shane threw a fry at me. It hit my chest, bounced off, and landed on the floor. I wasn’t going to employ use of the five second rule so I left it there.

“I’m sorry. I take it back,” I said. “You’re a bossy toddler.”

“Are you sticking around town or are you already sick of us?” Shane asked. He always had to know what people were doing. What their plans were. How he could help. It was as endearing as it was frustrating.

“Yeah, I think I’ll stick around.”

Shane nodded. “If you need help with anything, let me know, okay?”

Archer glanced at Shane and sent him a soft smile like he was proud of him for acting like a normal person. Although it made me feel like Shane was a pod person. Like he was the same on the outside, but filled with an imposter.

“Who are you and what did you do to my brother? The Shane Taggart I know would never miss an opportunity to insert himself into someone else’s business.”

He tried to throw another fry, but Archer snatched it out of his hand and popped it in his mouth before Shane could launch it.

“My boss says I have to behave.” Shane tilted his head toward Archer, who grinned at me while he munched on the fry he stole from Shane.

“I want Brodie to like me, and the best way for that to happen is if I make Shane act like a civilized person and not an ogre.” Archer gave me a winsome smile.

It was clear there was still tension between Clay and Archer, who barely looked at one another, but if they were meant to be friends, I’m sure they’d find a way to patch things up. It wasn’t lost on me that, arguably, Archer had been far more wronged by Clay than I had been by Liam, and Archer was able to sit in the same room as Clay now.

“I’m not an ogre,” Shane protested.

“If the swamp fits.” Archer answered with a shrug.

“Those are fighting words.”

“Please save your weird foreplay for later, when you’re alone.” I cracked the lid off my container of gravy and dumped it on my fries.

“So, little traveler, tell us about one of your adventures.” Shane reached over and dunked one of his fries in my gravy.

“What do you want to hear?”

All the memories that came to mind were ones that Liam was tangled up in. My brain was convinced that I had no memories prior to meeting Liam. That he was the reset button or something.

“I don’t know. You’ve been all over the planet. I figured you’d have something to say.”

“Wait here.” I stood and went to my room. Well, not my room, but my room until I found a place to live. On the top of the dresser was a box of postcards that I’d sent here for myself. Kieran had not only kept them safe for me, but he’d stacked them in the box in the order they were received. After a quick flip through the most recent ones to pull out any that mentioned Liam, even though some were still en route, I took the box out to the living room.

“Wipe your greasy paws off before you touch them.” I set the box down in the center of the coffee table.

“What’s that?” Archer asked. Shane was already wiping his hands with a napkin.

“I sent myself a postcard every day that I was gone. I tried to get as many from the places I was as I could, but there’s some generic ones in there too.”

Shane dug out the first postcard. “Beautiful British Columbia. I forgot you started your world tour in Canada. How was it?”

“Friendly and maple syrup-scented.”

Shane rolled his eyes. “So glad you’re back.”

The next hour or so was spent with Shane and Kieran taking turns asking me about the postcards. Some of the days were more memorable than others. There were a couple of mentions of storms and rain and other bad weather. That sort of weather would always make me think of Liam now and how we’d met.

I knew it was supposed to rain, but rain never bothered me. I wasn’t anticipating a microburst to dump on me the way it had. It rained so hard that day it was like an entire lake had been upended overtop of me.

The rain was warm, luckily, and not icy needles. But it came down with a force that made my skin sting. Ducking into the hotel lobby had been a matter of self-preservation. It was the luckiest rainstorm I’d ever been caught in.

At least I used to think so.

I wasn’t sure if I should forgive him. I wanted to. But I’d also wanted to dive into his arms and kiss him stupid. Clearly my judgement couldn’t be trusted right now. It did please me, however, that he was staying in town. Just knowing where exactly in the world he was made going to sleep that night a lot easier.