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The need to snap at him bubbles up in me. All the tension that’s been simmering between us most of our lives is still there, but I do my best to bite it back down. I’m tired. So fucking tired of this being our lives. And I want to do better, if not for me, at least for Dusty. “I had dinner with East last night. We—”
“You and Easton had dinner together?”
“Yeah, I met his dog. She’s sweet. Maybe we can…I don’t know…the three of us…do that…spend some time together, I mean.”
Christ. Asking to hang out with your own brother isn’t supposed to be this difficult.
“Maybe.” He shrugs. “I need to take a shower. You can see yourself out.”
This is how it ends every time people in my family decide to spend time together—with one of us walking away.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Dusty
It’s barely been a week, but I already love living with Morgan. We haven’t started looking at places in Santa Monica yet, but I hope we can find something that doesn’t feel too…I don’t know…city for me.
We’ve been spending our Saturday morning working on the Mustang, when my phone buzzes. I assume it’s Mom wanting to ask something about dinner tonight. She and Dad are coming over as planned, and I’m going to tell them about moving at the end of the summer. Even though it’s early and there’s still a lot of time before that happens, the sooner I tell them the better. But it’s not Mom’s name on the screen.
It’s Rhett’s.
Worry sets off a bomb inside my chest because Rhett and I haven’t spoken since I left his house a week ago, and he’s not the kind of guy to reach out first. Is it something with their dad? With East?
My pulse thuds in my ears as I swipe my finger across the screen to open my phone, while shoving to my feet.
Morgan can read me so easily that he asks, “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” I shake my head, not wanting to worry him, and open the text.
Rhett: I thought I was the workaholic?
I breathe out a sigh of relief. He must have driven by and seen my Jeep to know I’m at the shop on a day off. And just like East showing up to clean was his apology, this text from Rhett is his way of saying everything is okay between us. The weight that drops off my chest is proof of how much I really needed this.
Me: I’m working on my Mustang, so this is more for fun. Morgan is here too. Do you want to come help?
I know the answer, but it’s still important to me to ask.
“Everything okay?” Morgan asks from his place by the Mustang.
“Yeah, it’s Rhett. He messaged to call me a workaholic. I can’t believe he reached out first.”
I glance over at Morgan to see his reaction, but he just gives me a small smile. “Guess he knows you’re a good man and that anything you said is because you care about him.”
Which doesn’t come as a shock to me. I do think Rhett knows I care about him, in the only way he can understand it.
“I invited him to help,” I tell Morgan just as my phone alerts me to another message.
Rhett: I can’t. I have stuff to do. We’re good, though. Talk soon.
“Is he coming?” Morgan asks. I cock a brow in response, and he chuckles. “Stupid question.”
“Yes…we all know how stubborn the three of you can be.” I walk over to him and wrap my arms around him, the truth teasing my thoughts. “But thank you.”
“For being okay with him coming to help?”
I shake my head. “For talking to Rhett for me.” I don’t know how I know that Morgan did, but there’s not a part of me that doubts it. Maybe it’s because of his response when we talked about Rhett the other night, coupled with Rhett messaging out of the blue, but the reason I heard from Rhett today is because of the man in my arms, and that means something to me. It means everything to me.
Morgan sighs. “I wasn’t going to tell you.”
