Alex cursed under his breath. “What the fuck has he gone back there for?”
Jesse tilted his head toward me. “Our baby brother is hopelessly in love with her and she lives there, but evidently, he didn’t tell her he was flying to Arizona and she didn’t tell him she was coming to Chicago, so here we are. Oh, and he’s going to hash things out with her brother while he’s there. And also, he’s moving there. To be with her. He tried to leave her, but he can’t. He loves her.”
Alex just stared at him for a long moment, then slowly turned toward me. He didn’t say anything, though, just staring at me as I practically saw the pieces clicking together in his mind. Finally, he nodded, strong jaw tightening.
“Oh.” He turned away from me and looked at each of his brothers in turn. “Nate. Zach. Jesse. With me.”
Without another word, he spun and marched out of the room, the others following after him until they disappeared into the depths of the house. My head spun, nausea rising up from deep within.
I had a feeling that this was the Westwood version of complete chaos, and I knew I was responsible for it. At least partially. But on the other hand, Theo was in Arizona talking to Avery—and the Thompson version of chaos wasn’t nearly as polite as the Westwoods’.
CHAPTER 43
THEO
Avery and I faced off in the mostly empty parking lot as the last rays of sunshine disappeared. Colin had wisely disappeared the moment Avery had climbed out of his truck, his self-preservation instincts kicking in, I was sure.
Or maybe he just wanted to give me some space so I could do this alone. Either way, I didn’t have backup, but neither did Avery. It was just the two of us—and probably Frieda spying through a window somewhere.
It didn’t really matter, though.
By tomorrow, the whole town would know I was back anyway, and depending on what happened here tonight between Avery and me, they would also know that I either had a Thompson target on my back or they’d speculate over how he and I made up.
Any way I sliced it,Iwould be the topic of conversation being churned through the town’s gossip mill this week.Fantastic start to my new life, huh?
“What are you doing here, Theo?” Avery asked, his tone making it clear that he was hoping I wouldn’t be staying long. “I thought you’d run back to Chicago.”
I slid my hands into the pockets of my jeans, biting back the first dozen retorts that shot into my mind. I hadn’t come all the way out here to aggravate the situation, and if I had any hope of actually achieving the goal I did have in mind, then I couldn’t reflect his aggression back at him.
“You and I were friends,” I started slowly.
He scoffed. “Yeah, that’s what I thought too.”
“No, we were,” I said. “When I first got here, you were the person who made me feel like I could be part of this town. You loaned me that pressure washer, volunteered to help me at the motel, and then invited me out for drinks after. You took me camping. You gave me beer. We were friends, man.”
He narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. “Yeah, well, you think you know a guy.”
“You do know me, Avery. I think you also know that I didn’t offer to help because I was trying to be condescending or whatever other reasons you’ve cooked up in your head. I wanted to help because you’re my friend.”
“And to get into my sister’s pants.”
“Don’t talk about her like that. She doesn’t deserve it and neither do I.” I held his gaze steadily, the edge in my tone sharp enough that his eyebrows swept up, but I wasn’t done yet. “Even if Raquel hadn’t been in the picture, I still would have offered to help you. It didn’t only have to do with her, man. I wanted to do it for you and for your old man.”
“Leave him out of this,” Avery snapped. “Don’t?—”
“Just shut up and listen,” I said. “You and I went looking for lost gold in a creek together at midnight and I was right there when Raquel told you Clyde’s diagnosis. I’m not going to sit around and pretend I’m okay knowing you guys are going through this. Especially not when I can actually help.”
His chin came up. “I don’t want your help.”
“Yeah, you’ve made that abundantly clear, but whether or not you want it, you do need it. Your dad is sick, Avery. There’s no way around that and I like Clyde. I respect him.”
His shoulders stiffened. “If you respected him, you wouldn’t be trying to interfere in his business.”
“It’s because I respect him that I am,” I said firmly. “You’re still trying to save the shop, Raquel is trying to hold everything together with nothing more than determination and grit, and from what I hear, the added strain is making your dad’s condition worse.”
Avery looked away, but he didn’t have a comeback or argument this time, so I laid my final cards on the table. “I care about all of you, but I love Raquel. I’m in love with her and I can’t let her go. I tried, but I just can’t do it, so I’m back in town and I’m here to stay this time.”
He closed his eyes briefly, and when he opened them again, some of the fight had definitely left him. “I know you love her.”
