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"Listen, I don't need..." He begins, but I cut him off.
"No, you will listen. Jake has been my rock. When he first realized that I was here, we had lunch together and caught up on everything, but why I was here. When I needed a distraction, he was there with board games. That time turned into more, and it wasn't something we planned. I need you to know there was never any feeling for him when we were together."
Caden sighs, looking down at his hands. "I do know you, and I know that there wasn't anything between you two. This just wasn't something I wanted or even expected to walk into."
"Well, maybe if you had called your brother back..." I say with a smile on my face. He just looks at me with that look he used to give me when he hated what I said, even though when he knew I was right.
"Listen, Jake is the one person in my life who understands what I'm going through. He's been in my shoes. I just got my letter today, and I really hate to admit that I need him more than ever." I hold out the letter that is still in my hand.
Caden takes one look at it, and his eyes go wide.
"Shit." He says, handing it back to me.
"I love him, Caden. Though I haven't told him. But I love him with all my heart, and I'm not letting him go without a fight. I don't care if I have to fight him or you." I say, straightening my spine, staring at him.
"You know I want my brother to be happy. He deserves it more than anyone, but for it to be you, of all people." Since there’s a big smile on his face and his eyes are twinkling, I know he’s teasing me.
"I still have to give him shit. And we still have to talk it out. But I'm not going to stand in your way. Just don't make family get togethers awkward," he says, standing.
Happy this conversation is over, I give him a hug. "I'll do my best at family functions."
"I'm glad you're happy and that you found your person. Now I'm going to go talk to my brother."
When he opens my door, Jake is standing right there with a tray of food in his hand. He has no idea about the conversation that we just had or any idea how it went, but his eyes lock on me. He walks in and sets the food on the coffee table for me.
"Go talk to your brother. We can talk after," I tell him.
He studies my face for a moment and then nods. Both of them disappear down the hallway, and I pray that everything will work out.
Even with Caden's blessing, I still hope with everything in me that he'll come back to me.
Chapter 11
Jake
I follow my brother out into the hallway.
"Is there somewhere we can talk?" he asks.
Knowing he's going to follow me, we go to the front door.
Lexi is at the desk, and she looks at me. While she doesn't say anything, concern is written all over her face. So, I introduce her to my brother, and then we head out to the garden.
Thankfully, no one's there, and we will have privacy.
"Why are you here?" I turn around and ask him as soon as we're past the garden gate.
"I'm getting ready to deploy, and I heard your message. At first, I thought it was something about Mom, and I wanted to see her for myself. She was my first stop. She asked if I had talked to you, and when I said no, she demanded that I come straight here to see you. I'm guessing she knows?"
"Yes, after I kept getting your voicemail, I went and talked to her because I wasn't sure what to do. Kassi needs support, and the last thing I'm going to do is step away from her when she needs me the most. There is no walking away from her, just so that you know." Crossing my arms over my chest, I give him my best big brother, I'm not messing around look.
"I never should have found out the way that I did." His voice is void of all emotion.
"If you had picked up your phone or called me back, you never would have." I shoot back at him, even though I know I'm entirely to blame in this whole situation.
He shoves his hands into his pockets and starts walking down one of the paths in the garden. "Of all the people, it had to be her?"
I know exactly who he's referring to. “Well, I didn't plan it. I wasn't harboring some secret crush from all those years ago. She's a different person now, that’s the person who I fell in love with. And she is who I want to marry."
