Page 6

Why was this happening? Why couldn’t I catch a damn break?

“You, okay?” Brooks asked, gently touching my elbow.

I blinked and looked up to see him watching me.

“This was all I had left of my mom.” My voice broke, and I hated how vulnerable I sounded. “Now, look at it.”

He stepped closer, his expression softening. “I know how much this house means to you. I’ll get my construction crew out first thing this week.”

I wiped at my eyes, willing myself to keep it together. “You have your own construction crew?”

“Yeah.” He stepped back and ran a hand along the back of his neck. “Pops recently retired, transferring all the work over to Hayes and me. And you know how Hayes doesn’t like to get his hands dirty, so that leaves me in charge of all the hard labor.”

“That’s great.”

He has always wanted to take over the family business. My heart swelled with pride for him.

“Hayes is our lead architect and handles the designs while I focus on the bidding and the job sites.”

“Oh, my God. How old is he now?”

“Twenty-six, but he still acts like a little shit.”

For the first time since I got here, I laughed. The Dawson brothers were always tight. Tuck was the oldest, Brooks was the middle child, and Hayes was the youngest. I was about to ask about the rest of his family when Tuck stepped through the door wearing a pair of rubber boots.

“Well, I’ll be damned. Harlow Bennett is back in Marcellus Falls. I heard you’ve made quite a splash already.”

Tuck Dawson was an older version of his brother.

They both had the same dark eyes, sharp jaw, and build.

Tuck’s laugh lines around his eyes were deeper and a bit more pronounced, like he’d seen his fair share of late nights.

He was also wearing a badge on his chest that wasn’t there the last time I saw him.

His smile was easy as I walked into his open arms. “I heard there was a new sheriff in town.”

“You got that right, sweetheart, so you better behave.” He folded me to his side and shot his brother a grin.

I patted his chest. “Same goes for you, buddy. So, don’t even think about writing me any tickets, or I’ll tell your mom.”

He snorted and squeezed me tight. “Speaking of telling, there is a rumor going around that you’re shacking up with my little brother.”

I shook my head. I should have known he would bring that up. “He was gracious enough to let me stay in his guest room.”

“I bet he was.” He smirked. “I know the options are limited around here, so if you need someplace else to crash, I’ll leave my door unlocked.”

Brooks’ jaw tightened as he stared at his brother’s hand on my shoulder. “Can we skip this little flirt session and get to the reason why I called you?”

He stared down at me with a raised brow. “I was hoping he would be in a good mood after playing host to you last night.”

Brooks scowled. “Tuck, I swear to God…”

Tuck raised his hand in surrender. “All right, let’s focus on the plumbing and see what we’re dealing with here.”

At least someone in this town, other than Molly, didn’t despise me. I shouldn’t have been surprised because Tuck was a good guy, but I wasn’t expecting him to welcome me back with a hug and a smile.

They both crouched down to inspect the damage. Tuck looked back at me. “You think this is your ex?”

I wrung my hands in front of me. “I don’t know who else it could be. He’s probably pretty upset about what happened, so I wouldn’t put anything past him.”

While it was hard to imagine him taking his anger that far, I couldn’t dismiss the possibility.

Marcellus Falls was only a little over four hours from the city when driving the speed limit, so it wouldn’t have been impossible for him to make it up here last night, cut the hoses, and make it back to Manhattan before anyone noticed.

He pulled out a notepad and jotted down a few notes. “There doesn’t appear to be any forced entry, but that doesn’t mean they couldn’t find a way to get in. I can check with a few neighbors and ask to look at their security cameras.”

“What about dusting for prints?” Brooks asked.

Tuck rubbed his jaw. “I can call Chief and see what he wants to do. We don’t have an available team, but the state police might be able to send their technicians out. Every agency handles things differently.”

“Okay,” I said. “We won’t touch anything.”

“I’ll get started on the report. I’d suggest calling your insurance company to assess the damage and file a claim.”

I rubbed my hands along my jeans. “Thanks for coming out.”

He glanced down at the puddle of water and squeezed my shoulder gently. “We will get to the bottom of this.”

I’d imagined Tuck giving me the cold shoulder, maybe act a little bitter toward me for breaking his brother’s heart, but this level of kindness caught me off guard.

“I appreciate it. I’m sure you have a lot more important things to deal with.”

“Nonsense. Your safety is a priority.” He straightened. “Do you have a place to stay until the repairs are done?”

“I’ll probably book a room at the Stanford Inn until I come up with a more permanent plan. Hopefully, the repairs won’t take long.”

“How long do you plan on staying in town?” Brooks asked, angling his head to the side to study me.

I shrugged my shoulders. “I don’t have a plan. I’m figuring things out as I go along.”

There was something in his expression, something I couldn’t quite read. “But you’re going back to New York, right?”

Was he asking me simply out of curiosity, or was he hoping I would say yes?

“I don’t know what I’m doing, Brooks, but I’m not going back anytime soon.”

When he frowned, I knew I had my answer. Fixing up the house wouldn’t bring back my mom or make him hate me any less. This was all too much. “I need a minute,” I said and headed toward the stairs.

Coming back to this town was supposed to bring me contentment.

A place for me to figure out who I was and what I wanted to do next.

Instead, all I could feel was a constant ball of tension curling in my stomach.

It felt like I was being forced to face things I didn’t want to deal with.

Him. The past and every mistake I’d ever made.

I walked through the house and ran my fingertips along the walls. Every corner held a memory. This house was my mom’s pride and joy before she passed away from complications from a stroke when I was sixteen.

I walked over to the window and stared out at the backyard. The garden, which used to be so full of color, was now overgrown with weeds. She was meticulous about her garden and would spend hours out there tending to her flowers and plants. I could almost hear her humming as she worked.

This is where she would go when she needed to get away from my dad. They didn’t have the best marriage, but I think she stuck with him for my sake, because she thought it was the right thing to do. She was always happier when she was away from him. I didn’t understand it then, but I got it now.

Tears built up in my eyes, but I wiped them away quickly. The loss of life in this house was almost too much. Everything felt out of place. The things that used to make sense to me no longer did. I’d never felt as lost and alone as I did at that moment.

The creak of the floorboards made me stiffen. I didn’t need to look over my shoulder to know it was him. My body tensed, like it always did when he was near.

“Are you all right?” he asked, his voice much softer than it was earlier.

I brushed a hand across my cheek, keeping my gaze fixed on the outside. “This house is all I have left of my mom, Brooks. I came here to think. I came here for peace and quiet. Now, I feel like I have nothing.”

“Hey.” He stepped up to my back. “I understand how much this house means to you. That’s why we’re going to figure out what happened and fix it.”

I cleared my throat and looked around. “I’m going to see if I can get a room at the Stanford Inn.”

“No,” he said abruptly.

I blinked and turned to face him. “Excuse me?”

He sighed and pulled on the brim of his hat. “That place is haunted, and it just failed a fire inspection from the code enforcement officer.”

“Then what do you suggest, because there aren’t any other options in town?”

His jaw tightened. “You can stay with me.”

“What?”

Was it wrong that my heart quickened at the idea?

“You heard me. I’ve got the space, and it’s only temporary.”

I opened my mouth to argue, but he put his hand out, stopping me. “You have no other choice. So, unless you have some other brilliant idea, it’s me or nothing.”

Well, when he put it that way.

“Thank you.” I shifted on my feet. He continued to surprise me.

He grumbled, “Don’t thank me. Just don’t make me regret it.”

I would not cry in front of him. I would not cry.

As much as I resented his coldness toward me, I had no one to blame but myself. I didn’t just leave this town behind all those years ago. I left him, too.

Instead of going back and forth with him, I decided to swallow my pride and accept his offer. Like, he said, what other option did I have?