“I didn’t know,” Brooks said anyway. “About what happened after you left. About why Uncle James kicked you out.”
“Doesn’t matter now,” I muttered, pocketing the watch.
“It does to me.” His voice was quiet but firm. “I should have asked questions. I should’ve looked for you.”
I straightened up, frustration coursing through me. “What do you want from me, Brooks? A pat on the back for feelin’ guilty ten years too late? Forgiveness?”
“I don’t know,” he admitted. “I just... I want to try to make it right somehow.”
I laughed, the sound bitter even to my own ears. “You can’t.”
We stood there in silence, the Texas sun beating down on us, surrounded by the ruins of a house I’d never felt welcome in anyway.
“Rowan likes you,” Brooks finally said, changing tactics. “He thinks you’re just hurting.”
“Rowan doesn’t know shit about me,” I snapped, though the comment caught me off guard. Why would that redheaded vet like me after how I’d treated him?
Brooks sighed, putting his hat back on. “Well, the offer still stands. Cabin’s yours if you want it when the roof is fixed. Even if you just need somewhere to store whatever you salvage.”
“I told you, I don’t need your cabin,” I said, hefting the lockbox under my arm.
A small smile tugged at Brooks’s lips. “How’s that going?”
Something in his tone made me narrow my eyes. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing,” Brooks said, but the smile remained. “Just heard Mike’s a good man. Thought you two might get along.”
“We get along just fine,” I said, unable to keep a smirk from forming. If only Brooks knew just how well we were getting along. Or were about to get along, anyway.
Brooks nodded, still with that knowing look that irritated the hell out of me. “Good. That’s good.”
“Don’t you have animals to save or somethin’?” I asked, ready for this conversation to be over.
“Actually, I do,” he said, checking his watch. “Just wanted to check on you. Make sure you’re doing alright.”
“I’m peachy,” I said flatly. “Been taking care of myself for a long time. Why bother relyin’ on anyone else now?”
Brooks looked like he wanted to say more but thought better of it. He tipped his hat at me and turned to leave. “Call if you need anything. I mean it, Cash.” He started to go, then stopped, glancing back my way. “You know, there’s a lot of people like you and me in this town. Things have changed around here. Maybe, if you stop trying to hate everything and everyone so much, you might actually find something worth having.”
“Thanks,” I grumbled. “I’ll make sure to put that sticky note on the fridge.”
Brooks just sighed, and turned away, knowing he couldn’t change my mind. I watched him go, a confusing mix of anger and something else I couldn’t quite name churning in my gut. Why couldn’t he have cared this much when it actually mattered? When I was sixteen and scared and alone?
Pushing those thoughts aside, I continued searching through the wreckage. By midday, I’d found a few more potentially valuable items. There was an old silver flask with my grandfather’s initials, a small wooden box of collector coins, and a leather-bound journal that looked like it might have belonged to my father.
I sat on what remained of a stone wall, wiping sweat from my brow as I examined the journal. Part of me wanted to toss it into the nearest trash pile, but curiosity got the better of me. I flipped it open to a random page.
October 15, 2021
Cash would have turned twenty today. I wonder where he is, if he’s safe. I should have handled things differently. Should have?—
I slammed the journal shut, my heart pounding. Fuck that. Fuck him and his too-late regrets. I shoved the journal into my bag with the other items, not wanting to read another word ever again.
The sun was directly overhead now, beating down mercilessly. I decided I’d had enough digging for one day. Maybe I’d come back tomorrow with some tools, see if I could pry open that lockbox and check out what was buried underneath the old barn.
As I drove back toward town, my mind kept drifting to Mike. To the way his lips had parted last night, the slight gasp he’dmade when I pressed my cock against them. The way his tongue had darted out to taste me before I pulled away.
My cock stirred at the memory, and I adjusted myself in my jeans. I was going to enjoy making him squirm, making him beg for it. The thought of a man of God on his knees before me, desperate and wanting… it was almost too delicious.
