Ryker shrugged. “But at least you’d have a home base near us. We’d see you when you competed locally.”
Jacob pointedly ignored the pain in his brother’s voice. He wasn’t bringing up the argument that had changed their lives forever. And maybe that was for the best. Neither one of them were innocent when it came to how things had turned out. Ryker likely felt more guilt because that was just who he was. Out of the two of them, he was the good one.
Well, he could assuage his guilt by knowing he stopped by to check on his baby brother. He did his due diligence. And then he could leave and everything would return to what it was.
As if against his will, Jacob wandered toward the table and took a seat. His brother met his eyes briefly before reaching for another puzzle piece. For the next hour, they sat in silence and put the puzzle together.
And for that hour, it felt like they could be brothers again.
Unfortunately, it wouldn’t last.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Hallie wasn’t avoidingthe house.
At least that was what she told herself as she drove around town aimlessly. She stopped by the antique shop and chatted with Wendy and Serenity, but she avoided all topics related to Jacob.
At least at first.
But then Faith showed up around lunch time. She’d always been better at recognizing when someone needed to talk about something and the second she saw Hallie’s face, she paused. “What did he do?”
It was then that Serenity and Wendy exchanged glances.
This was probably something Hallie should have discussed with Sammie. Caleb wasn’t close to Jacob. He wouldn’t spill anything if he overheard the conversation.
But Faith was with Brent, and he’d gotten closer to Jacob while he’d been competing last year. Not only that, but Faith was Tate and Jason’s younger sister. There was no way that she would keep gossip about Jacob to herself.
Hallie shook her head and looked away as she leaned against the shop counter. “Nothing. Just the usual dumb stuff. He’s dealing with a lot right now.”
“Yes,” Faith drawled, “but this is something else. I can tell. What happened? He didn’t yell at you, did he?”
Technically there had been raised voices on more than one occasion and neither one of them were innocent. She’d been frustrated with him plenty and she’d made it known.
“It’s fine, Faith. I’m just trying to figure out the best way to help him.” Hallie scrambled for something, anything to say that would get her friends off her back. “I turned on the television and a competition was on. Before I could change the channel, he heard the commentators suggest that he wasn’t going to be back in the saddle any time soon.”
All the women present exchanged empathetic glances. “That makes sense, though, right? He’s got a neck fracture, for heaven’s sake,” Wendy reminded them, not that Hallie needed it.
“Not necessarily,” Faith murmured. “If it’s not severe, then he could heal just fine and get back out there. He just has to be careful and not overdo it. Knowing Jacob, I bet he has one of the best physical therapists out there and they’re going to do everything they can for him.”
Hallie nodded. “Yeah, that’s what the doctor seemed to believe. But Jacob isn’t willing to get optimistic about any of it. I think he wants to prepare for the worst so he doesn’t have to be disappointed.”
Their little group went quiet, deep in their own thoughts for a good minute or so. Then Faith nudged her. “Okay, but that’s not what’s bothering you.”
Hallie’s mouth dropped open. “What?”
“I might not know you as well as some, but I can tell whatever it is—it’s bigger. Bigger than the disappointment of hearing people in his field comment on his recovery time. What’s going on withyou?”
“It has nothing to do with me,” Hallie insisted. She chewed on her lower lip and glanced away. There was no avoiding this conversation. And maybe it wasn’t even that big of a deal. Just because she didn’t know that Jacob had a sibling didn’t mean it was some great big secret. What if she’d simply not been paying attention when he talked about his past? She cleared her throat. “Did you guys know that Jacob has a brother?”
Based on the blank expressions on her friends’ faces, they hadn’t known. No, they weren’t shocked. Okay, there was some surprise in Faith’s eyes but that was it.
“I know, I know. I’m the one who should have known about it. He showed up today. I had no clue and he was just… there.”
Faith frowned. “Some people like to keep their personal lives out of the news. Maybe he just didn’t want people to know…”
“But I’m his friend, Faith. Maybe even his best friend. And he didn’t tell me. That’s weird, isn’t it?”
“What’s his name?” Faith seemed to be thinking something that she wasn’t prepared to share with all of them.
