So far, he’d commandeered Dad’s office as his own, claiming to need it in order tosave us, and just about freaked out every time Dad set foot in there, which was pretty much every day. Since it was technically still his office—and his business—and all.
“Why are you here, then?” I asked. “I don’t really have time to listen to another tirade about how you’rehanding things.”
“It’s not that either.” He came to stand in front of me, crossing his own arms to mirror my posture and not lifting the sunglasses off his eyes. “I came to tell you that I’m probably going to sell the shop. There’s finally someone who’s interested in buying it.”
“What?”
My ears were suddenly ringing, my head feeling like it was swimming. Or maybe just floating somewhere far above mybody. That shop had been like our second home since we’d been old enough to hold a wrench. I couldn’t believe that he’d just toss a grenade like that at me without any warning whatsoever.
I’d known he was trying to get an investor. We’d talked about that. Someone to buy into the place. We had not, however, discussed it being sold outright.
Avery finally slid the sunglasses off, just holding them in his hand as he glared at me. “What do you mean,what? I’ve been working on this for weeks, Raquel. You knew that.”
“Yeah.” I cleared my throat and my hands started shaking, a sick feeling sinking to the pit of my stomach. A dozen different arguments surged into my head, but my feelings didn’t matter to my brother. Not anymore. “Alright. Well, it’s up to you. You’ve made that very clear.”
His jaw flexed, his eyes narrowing as they held mine, but he didn’t argue either. Instead, he just huffed out a breath and shook his head. “Okay, then.”
Without another word, he spun on the heels of his work boots, stalked back to his truck, and drove away with a cloud of dust billowing out behind him. Meanwhile, my heart was still hammering in my ears, and despite the heat, my extremities had gone cold.
I honestly couldn’t believe he was going to sell our father’s shop just like that. It was our family legacy. Avery and I had both spent our entire lives working there, learning there, and gearing up to make it ours someday.
It didn’t matter that I was now also starting a contracting business. Hell, part of the reason I was doing it at all wasforthe damn shop. That place meant everything to our dad and it’d meant the world to our mom too.
And yet, at the first sign of trouble, rather than accepting help, Avery was selling it. My eyes slid shut as I tried to process that, but there was just no way of getting my head wrappedaround it, so instead, I went back to the van and focused on getting through one thing at a time.
All my life, Avery had been more than just my brother. He’d been one of my best friends. Now we couldn’t get through a single conversation without wanting to rip each other’s faces off. After the sale, I wasn’t even sure we’d ever talk again.
God, I just wish things could go back to normal between us. At least then, I wouldn’t have lost him too.
A few hours later, I’d made some progress with getting the van running again, but I’d also realized there was a lot more work to be done than I’d originally thought. There was no way I was getting it running today, so I finally dropped the hood and headed inside, sweaty and in desperate need of a shower.
My back was aching, my face was slightly sunburned, and my heart was still absolutely crushed. In the last couple months, I’d learned that we’d be losing my dad slowly from here on out, I’d lost the man I loved, and now, I would be losing the shop—and that was without even touching the subject of the current state of my relationship with my brother.
It was just too much.
As excited as I was about working on the motel, I also just felt drained. I hadn’t expected today’s hit to come and it’d knocked me straight off the pedestal of hope that had been keeping me going since I’d spoken to Frieda.
I stood under the warm spray of the shower for much longer than I probably should have, but at least it helped soothe my sore muscles a little bit. When I was done, I changed into an oversized shirt and a pair of shorts, then padded barefoot to the kitchen to see what I could rustle up for dinner. I was still sleeping in the Airstream, but one of my bathrooms and the kitchen in my house were fully functional now.
That helped a lot.
On my way to the fridge, I grabbed my phone off the counter and unlocked the screen, figuring that I could put on some music while I made food, but as soon as I unlocked the screen, my footsteps faltered. At some point during the afternoon, I’d missed a text from Theo.
It’d been almost a month since he’d left, and in all that time, neither of us had reached out to the other. I couldn’t count the number of times I’d been tempted, but I’d resisted the urge with everything I had.
While things in Quartz Pass definitely hadn’t been all sunshine and roses, I still couldn’t leave here. At least, not until Dad?—
Nope. I’m not even finishing that thought.
The point was that Theo still couldn’t come back to live here forever if he wanted to remain a part of his family, and I couldn’t leave while Dad was here. Even so, tears burned the backs of my eyes as I read his message.
Theo: Frieda called and told me the big news. I’m so happy for you. Hope that’s what you’re spending the money on and not bailing Avery out.
A shaky smile formed on my lips, my gaze lingering on the words he’d written. I could practically hear his voice in my head as I reread them, but before I could decide if I was going to respond, another message popped up and my stomach flipped over.
Theo: I’m sorry about everything. I really wish things could’ve been different.
My eyes slid shut as the ache I’d been carrying around for a month grew sharper behind my ribs. In the wise words of Kelly Clarkson, my life had sucked without him. These last twenty-seven days had felt like an eternity, every hour dragging and absolutely nothing feeling right.
