“Jacob?” Hallie asked quietly. “He says he’s your brother.” She sounded almost sad, betrayed even. Well, he didn’t owe her anything. There was a reason he didn’t share this side of himself with anyone. He and his brother weren’t on good terms. If he had to guess, Ryker was only here because he’d heard about the accident. He didn’t care about their relationship.
“You need to leave,” Jacob ground out.
“Fat chance of that happening,” Ryker shot back. “It’s been years, Jake. You wouldn’t pick up my calls. You wouldn’t message me back. Mackenzie?—”
“Don’t bring her into this,” Jacob snapped.
“Umm… I think I’m going to leave and let you two?—”
For the first time since Ryker had arrived, Jacob swung his gaze to Hallie. “You’re not going anywhere.”
A flash of anger marred her pretty face, and she lifted her chin in defiance. “Have fun catching up with your brother, Jacob. I’ll be back later.” With that, she reached for her keys then strode out the front door.
Jacob watched her go, his heart hammering harder than it should. It wasn’t that Hallie was upset that bothered him. It was the fact that he was being forced to speak with the one person in his life he’d thought he’d never see again.
“Is that your girlfriend?” Ryker finally asked when the sound of Hallie’s car engine faded completely.
Jacob snorted. “No. She’s just a friend.”
Ryker arched a brow. Neither one of them had to say anything. They knew what the other was thinking. Jacob’s opinion on how women ruin things was what put them at odds with one another.
His brother moved farther into the house and glanced around. “Nice place. I never thought you’d be interested in settling down?—”
“Owning a house is hardly settling down. I live in my trailer more than I do here. Well, at least I did.”
“Were you even going to tell me what happened? I had to read about it in the news—like we’re nothing to each other.”
“That’s because we are.”
The scowl on his brother’s face darkened. “I came here to check on you, Jacob.”
“Well, you’ve come. You’ve checked. Clearly, I’m alive. So you can leave and report back to your wife that all’s well.”
“You know that’s not why I came,” Ryker muttered with bitterness. “You’re my brother. My only family.”
Jacob scoffed. “You started your own family so that’s hardly true.”
Ryker pinched the bridge of his nose and heaved a sigh. They stood in silence for long moments as Jacob considered calling the sheriff to have his brother forcibly removed from his home. But then his brother spoke. “You really scared me, Jacob.” He lifted his gaze to meet Jacob’s and it almost looked like he was about to cry. “When you didn’t pick up your phone, I feared the worst. I called the hospital and they wouldn’t give me anyinformation. I couldn’t leave because Sawyer got really sick and Mackenzie needed help.”
“Is she okay?” Jacob grunted, but there was less venom in his voice. Something about the tremble in his brother’s voice had him softening toward him. Ryker had two little girls, and it would be a lie if Jacob had said he didn’t keep up on how they were doing through his social media. Kennedy was the firecracker who always ended up getting scratches and broken bones. But Sawyer was the quiet, reserved one who sometimes seemed breakable. He’d never met either of them in person and now he was regretting that.
“Better than you,” Ryker said with a pointed look at Jacob’s neck brace. “It was a bad bacterial infection and she was in the hospital for a couple days to figure things out. But she’s home now.”
“And you’re here? Jeez, man, you should be there with your kid.”
Ryker’s irritation returned and he shook his head. “You’re my brother, Jake. I had to make sure you were okay. Mackenzie understands.”
Jacob rolled his eyes. “Well, I’m fine. So you can go. And maybe I’ll message you back next time.”
The look his brother gave him made it apparent he held little faith in Jacob’s statement and with good reason. Instead of doing as he was told, he motioned toward the table where the puzzle remained. “Looks like you’re staying busy.”
Snorting, Jacob shook his head. “Hallie’s forcing me to find things to keep myself busy. She thinks I’m boring.”
Ryker’s laughter filled the space and Jacob’s mouth twitched with his own amusement. He’d missed his brother’s laugh. Once upon a time, they’d been incredibly close. Now, things… were different.
Without asking permission, Ryker headed for the table and took Hallie’s place. He picked up a piece and snapped it into place. “We miss you,” he said softly, not looking up as he placed another piece. “It’s not been the same without you.”
“I travel so much I would have hardly been around.”
