He throws his head back and barks out a laugh. “It’s a mouthful when you say it like that. I guess that’s how you put it. You know Sierra’s boyfriend, Caleb? He’s the son Hailey had with my uncle Jensen, so he’s my cousin on my dad’s side.”
“Wow, lucky, I guess, for your aunt Hailey that she didn’t have a baby with him. That would have really spun a wild web.” I look out at the road. “That’s an incredible story. How did your grandparents take it? Did they want to kill Eric again?”
“My mother didn’t know who her parents were.” I squeeze his arm. “Her mother died from a drug overdose not long after she was born.”
My hand goes to my mouth. “She really overcame everything.”
“Pretty much,” he agrees. “She had some drama with Lizzie and Daisy’s grandparents, but then she had my dad in her corner. Married him and had my older brother, Carter, and then me.”
“So you’re the baby?” I rub his arm with my thumb. “What does she do?”
“She’s a social worker.”
“Did she always want to do that?” He nods his head. “I always wanted to be a nurse. But I couldn’t afford school, so I settled for the next best thing . . .” I trail off, wanting to change the subject. “Am I the first girl you’ve ever brought home?”
“No . . .” He takes a second before he says, “I was engaged.” The words hit me like a freight train crashing into a brick wall. “Two days before the wedding, she called it off.”
“What?” I’m shocked that anyone who actually knows him would give him up.
“Everything was booked,” his voice is low, “and two days before the wedding, she was waiting for me at home, sitting on the couch.” My hand falls off his arm. “Tears were running down her face. She told me she couldn’t do it. Couldn’t see herself spending the rest of her life with me, so why go through with it? She called her parents, I called mine, and we called off the wedding.”
“Do you think she was right?” My mouth is dry, so I reach over and grab the bottle of water he got for me when he stopped for gas and I was sleeping.
“They say everything happens for a reason.” His closest hand grabs mine. “I see that now.”
“Do you still . . .” My throat feels like it’s going to close up. “. . . love her?”
“Absolutely not,” he declares quickly.
“Are you saying that because of your ego or because it’s the truth?”
“If you had asked me this a year ago, when it happened, I would have said it was my ego, but now it’s the truth.”
“You were going to get married to her.” He turns down a street with some houses visible between the trees.
“I was, but that ship has sailed, and I’m not ever getting back on it.” He stops talking as he pulls into a driveway.
“Is this your parents’ house?” The big brown garage door looks like it fits two cars.
“It’s my house.” His hand reaches for the handle of his truck.
“I thought you lived in Montgavin?” He nods. “And you have this house?” The two-story house looks like it’s out of a magazine.
“Technically, I didn’t buy the house in Montgavin. It’s Caleb’s. But I also have a house near the beach. And I own a couple of houses one town over from here.”
I hold up my hand. “I’m sorry, what?”
“I turned eighteen and bought a house with my grandfather. Well, he bought the house, and he just put my name on the deed. It was a fixer-upper. I spent six months working day in and day out as much as I could. Graduated from high school and went to get my contractor’s license. Started flipping houses. Did that with another fifteen houses between now and then and reinvested the money.”
I close my eyes. “Oh my god.” I shake my head, fear seeping into me. “I shouldn’t be here.”
“Yes, you should,” he says with his teeth clenched.
“No, I don’t think you understand. I can’t be here.” My chest gets so tight, I don’t think I can breathe.
He gets out of his truck and walks around to open my door. “Let’s go.” He holds out his hand.
“No, you need to take me back.” The tears come without giving me a chance to fight them back.
