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CHAPTER FIVE

brOOKS

D irt and gravel flew in the wind beneath my truck as I hauled ass out of my driveway. I had to get out of my house. I just dropped Harlow off after a quick trip into town to grab a few essentials, because all she had was a bag of borrowed clothes.

What the hell was I thinking, offering her a place to stay?

I should have told her no from the jump.

Let her figure it out on her own. My reaction to seeing her standing there, looking lost and defeated, scratched at something inside me.

I reacted on instinct, and now I was questioning every single decision I’d made over the last twenty-four hours.

Harlow Bennett would be living in my house. Sleeping right down the hall, sharing my space like some twisted version of a future that could have been.

I pulled up to the Lakehouse Pub and followed a couple of guys in suits into the bar. It was right in the center of town, serving both townies and tourists. The place was known for cheap drinks and good food.

I sat at the bar and rested my hands on the wood countertop. My buddy, Ryan, who I went to high school with, slid a bottle of Labatt’s Blue Light my way. There was a ghost of a smile on his lips as he watched me closely.

I adjusted myself on the worn stool. “Whatever it is you want to say, go ahead and spit it out.”

“I didn’t expect to see you in here tonight.”

I ignored his smirk. “Why is that?”

He cocked his hip against the bar and ran a hand through his dark, blond, curly hair. “Heard you were shacking up with your ex.”

Tuck had a big mouth.

I took a swig of my beer as the jukebox in the corner played some sad country song that kind of fit my mood. “Rumors, in this small town, sure do travel fast.”

“People in this town are already talking.”

Of course they were. Nothing stayed quiet.

“What was I supposed to do, Ry? Slam the door in her face?”

She had nowhere else to go. And no matter how many times I told myself I didn’t care anymore, I couldn’t leave her stranded.

Even if it felt like I just threw a lit match at a can of gasoline that held the rest of my sanity.

He exhaled sharply. “I don’t know, dude, but you better make damn sure you know what you’re doing.”

I didn’t reply because we both knew that there wasn’t a single part of me that had ever truly moved on from her.

I’ve dated over the years, but nothing ever stuck.I compared every smile, every laugh, to hers. The truth was, when you had that type of connection, you could spend your entire life trying to find it again with someone else, but you never would.

“She’s only staying with me until the renovations are done.”

He leaned both hands on the bar and stared at me like I was dense. “Do you really believe you can keep your distance?”

I scrubbed a hand down my face. “Yes, because it’s only temporary.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Someone really flooded her house?”

“If I were a gambling man, I’d say it was the ex.”

He whistled. “Damn.”

Yeah. Damn was right.

It was hard to wrap my head around that she almost married a guy who would do something so extreme.

It was clear this was personal the second I stepped inside the laundry room.

Whoever did this wanted to make sure she had no place to go.

Ryan dragged a rag over the counter. “You think he knew she would run back here?”

I took a slow sip of my drink. “That would be my guess.”

He shook his head and rolled up his sleeves. “That’s a whole new level of crazy.”

He wasn’t wrong. I was starting to wonder if it was more of a warning than an act of revenge.

I hadn’t seen the guy since Molly’s graduation party. But I remembered the look on his face like it was yesterday. Smug and cocky. He cozied up to her dad like he knew he had already won.

And I guess he had because she chose him over me.

But now, she was back at my house, and I wasn’t sure how to handle that.

Ryan crossed his arms. “Maybe Tuck can find some evidence of who did it.”

I set my beer down a little harder than I intended. “That would be nice, but I’m not getting my hopes up.”

The guy had money and influence. He might have been a jackass, but he wasn’t stupid.

Ryan wiped his hands off on the rag and pointed to my beer. “Do you want something stronger than that?”

“It’s probably best if I stick to beer.”

He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the counter. “How long is Harlow in town for?”

That was a damn good question.

“No clue.” I shrugged.

“Seems like there are a lot of things about your ex that you don’t know.”

My eyes narrowed. “Where exactly are you going with this?”

Ryan exhaled. “Brother, you’ve been in love with the girl forever.

I know you’ve always had a soft spot for her, but after skipping town and leaving you in the dust and now magically showing up out of the blue…

” His eyes softened. “I’m worried about you.

And it’s nothing personal against Harlow, but it’s been five years.

People change. You know nothing about what her life has been like since she left. ”

Ryan was just being a good friend. He was worried about me and what this would do to me mentally. After Harlow left, I shut down. It took me a long time to pick up the pieces and move on. He didn’t want to see me go down that road again. Hell, I didn’t want to either.

Was there a small part of me that wanted to know every little detail about her life? Of course, there was. But another part was afraid to let her get too close to me. I spent years trying to get those wounds to heal.I wasn’t interested in having them ripped open.

“I’m not the same guy I was back then, either.”

He looked like he didn’t believe me. I meant what I said.

I wasn’t the same inexperienced kid who felt love was all that mattered.

I’d been through enough and seen enough to not believe in that fairy tale anymore.

But that didn’t mean I wasn’t curious and wondered what might have happened if she had stayed?

He leaned forward, lowering his voice, when two older ladies took a seat next to mine. “Come on, Brooks. Are you going to sit there and tell me you don’t still have a thing for her?”

I shook my head and took a sip of my beer. “Don’t start, okay. What we had was a long time ago.”

“If you don’t still care about her, why is she sleeping under your roof?”

I stared at my beer bottle. “Because I’m a decent human being.”

“Really? Is that all?”

“Yes. She didn’t have anywhere else to go.”

I can’t believe I actually came here to unwind.

“Maybe.” He shrugged. “But based on how moody you are, it seems there is more going on here than you’re letting on.”

Of course, I still cared about her. How could I not? Harlow wasn’t just anyone. She was the girl I planned on marrying someday, until she walked away and decided she wanted to marry someone else instead.

“Her staying with me doesn’t mean anything.”

Ryan snorted. “Right. Keep telling yourself that.”

I shot him a glare, but he just laughed it off and moved down the bar to take care of another customer.

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. I hated how much she still got under my skin. How, after five years, she still had the ability to stir up old feelings that I thought I had moved on from.

No matter how tempted I was, I would not let myself go there again.

I wanted to pretend that her being back in Marcellus Falls didn’t matter, but the truth was, it mattered way too much. Having her in my house, in my space, would make it a hell of a lot harder to keep those feelings locked down.

I finished my beer and signaled for another. If I were to survive the next few weeks, possibly months, I would need more than a cold beer. I was going to need a damn miracle.