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I look to the other brothers who all have some variation of a smile on their face and ask, “What? What’s going on?”
“Boone’s about to get his ass handed to him is what,” Jedd says quietly.
“What?” I start to stand.
“Nah, you better stay here. Let those two work this out,” Finch says with a smirk.
“Work what out?” I ask. But I bet I can guess.
Boone’s been away from home and distant in communication for a while now. If I was his older brother, I’d be hurt and looking for answers as to why. Why hasn’t Boone come home? Why is he so distant? Why doesn’t he call? Why don’t they know anything about his life in a town that’s two hours away?
I stand and set our drinks down on the table and follow my boyfriend and his pissed-off brother into what looks like an honest to God barn at the back of the yard.
I’d want answers to all of those questions too, and while I understand the warning from Finch to let the two work it out, I’ll be damned if I let him do it alone.
Boone’s already gone through so much alone. I’m not going to let him go through this by himself too.
13
BOONE
I knew this was coming. Har hasn’t been quiet in his irritation about the fact that I’ve rarely been home and that I call home about as often.
The door to the old barn creaks, and the smell of hay still faintly lingers in the air even after not having any in it for years.
Right about the time we all started going through puberty, Dad cleared the barn out for us to use. It was a hangout spot for us growing up. And one of the only things that hasn’t ever changed is the fact that when there’s a disagreement between brothers, we handle it out here.
Harlan is in front of me, and not wanting to let my guard drop only to get a fist in the face—it’s happened before—I keep my eyes on him and kick the big-ass door shut behind us.
“Har.” I try to reason with him again. I don’t know if he’s going to punch me or just yell at me based on his body language, but I need to start talking if I want to get a word in edgewise.
He whips around to face me, his hand slashing through the air. “Don’t Har me, Boone. It’s been years since you’ve been home. Months since you called any of us. Weeks since you did more than just react to our text messages in the group text. Then you show up here with a fucking girlfriend in tow and expect us to forget about all of that?”
“No, I—” I start to defend myself, but he cuts me off.
“Dad’s drowning at the station. Working fourteen-hour days because he doesn’t have enough bodies. When he asks you to come home and give him a hand, what did you do? You didn’t even respond to his message. So unless you have a really good fucking reason for pretty much ghosting your entire family, I don’t want to hear it.”
The sound of a creak behind us has us both turning toward the door. Jem’s head pokes out from behind the door. Harlan’s breathing hard after his tirade, and guilt has me in a choke hold.
I expected something like this when I finally came home, but I didn’t realize the resentment ran that deep, or that the situation at Dad’s station was so dire.
“Hey guys. I…um…kinda overheard.”
Harlan shoots me a glare. Out of all of us, he’s usually the most even-tempered, but like all of us, he does have a temper and once you get it going there’s no turning back.
“Sorry,” Harlan says to Jem.
She comes all the way into the barn and tries to shut the door behind her, but it’s heavy and ends up getting stuck.
“It’s fine. Sounds like some big feelings in here.” She waves a hand like she’s royalty, giving permission for us to continue, and smiles softly at me.
“What are you doing in here, Buttercup?” I ask with a smile in my voice.
“Oh. Um. Nothing. Just being here…” and then quietly she murmurs, “for you.”
Emotions for the woman hit me square in the chest. If I wasn’t already starting the slippery slope to a fall for her, I would be now.
“Just ignore me. Sounds like this is a conversation you should have with your brother, but I’m here,” she says after a minute, the unspoken meaning behind her words clear.
