Page 38 of Carson

“I trust you, Mama,” I whisper.

Chapter Fifteen

Carson

Cole refuses to acknowledge my presence as I get into his truck. The only sign he notices me at all is when he puts it into gear after my door shuts.

“Dad said we need to work out whatever is going on with us,” I tell him.

He keeps his eyes on the road, remaining silent.

“Nothing is going on with me. So, what’s going on with you?” I ask, hating his silence. It doesn’t happen often, but usually I know the reason for it. This is the first time I’ve been stumped.

Finally, he speaks. “I think you have that the other way around, brother.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. You’re the one with the attitude.”

“You’re the one being careless.”

“Careless?”

His jaw works back and forth as he chooses his words carefully. “What are you thinking? First, you bring her here instead of taking her to her brother. Then you go acting like a fool when she leaves. You know …” He waves a finger at me while keeping his focus on the road. “She’s just going to leave again. I hope you’re ready for that, because mark my words, it’s going to happen.”

My mouth falls open.

He glances at me. “Oh, please. How many years has she been on the road? People like her don’t just stop all of a sudden.”

“Some of them do.”

He rolls his eyes. “She’s a runner. She’s running from her past instead of dealing with it. I’m telling you this is going to end badly.”

“That is what you really think? You think she’s trying to outrun her childhood?”

“That’s exactly what I think.”

I watch the trees pass us by, thinking about what he’s said. One thing I’m sure of is my brother’s faithfulness. He always has my back.

Have I been blinded by these new feelings I’ve had since meeting her?

I take a deep breath.

“I think she’s been living, not running. Healing, not hiding,” I say calmly.

Panic flickers across his face, his wall crumbling just enough to let me in.

“Cole, nothing is going to change,” I say, finally understanding what is happening. We’ve been through this before. When one of us makes a new friend, the other always has an acceptance period. We’ve never come across someone one of us liked but the other did not. I think it’s because we have the same moral compass.

“Everything is about to change,” he says, his voice cracking.

I reach over and place my hand on his shoulder. “Cole. I’m falling in love, not leaving you.”

“But you would … for her.”

His words make me sit back, startled by my own response.

He’s right. I would leave him for her.

Something I never thought possible.