Page 47 of Breached

“I appreciate the support.”

“Always.” He hit my fist with his as Cole and Savi were now in hearing range.

“Hey, Brandon,” Cole called, “have you seen Liv?”

“She’s at the stable, sir.” He pointed toward the barn.

“Thanks.” Cole looked at me. “You and Keith are both on truck duty today—First run.”

“Copy that.” I nodded.

“Okay, I’m headed up to the stable, then.” Cole kissed Savi. “See you later.”

Cole left to go speak to his daughter, and Brandon reached over to give Savi a hug. She laughed and plugged her nose.

“Oh, gosh, I’m sorry.” He looked embarrassed. “I’m gonna go clean up.”

“Don’t be sorry, sweetheart. Shows you work hard.” She smiled and he grinned and then hurried off.

She stood and studied me a moment as if in thought, and when she didn’t say anything, I decided to let her in on what Brandon had told me.

“In case you don’t know, Liv and Brandon both know Chase is my son.” I twisted up my mouth. “Seems we have some observant, smart youth growing up around us.”

Her brows raised. “I had no idea. Liv never mentioned a word.”

“It’s fine. It was only a matter of time, anyway.”

She looked down at the log and the path we’d worn in the snow from our workout. “Are you finished here?” I nodded. “Want some company walking back to the house?”

I grabbed my cap from the log and brushed off some of the wet snow. “Is this you wanting to talk to me about Nicole?”

“Maybe.”

“Look, the truth is I screwed up. I had so many chances to tell her, and I didn’t. I’d hate me, too. I waited so long, it just got harder and harder.” I shook my head. “I’ve gotten advice from so many different people, it confused me even more. I’m spinning out on what to do.”

She waited for me to start walking then joined me. Our boots sank into what was left of the snow until we reached brown grass that had soaked up the warmth of the sun. She didn’t speak as we walked. The water that dripped from the tree branches made dozens of puddles all over the property. I dodged one of them.

“Easton calls them nature’s doggie bowls.” Savannah chuckled. “Winter rolls in fast, but so does spring.” She tucked her hands into her long coat pockets and looked around. “Remember when I moved away from Shadows and went to Redstone after everything went down with the American?”

“Yes.” I remembered the guy who tried to buy Savannah’s life from someone close to her. He was nicknamed the American because he dressed like a classic American living in the west. I knew what had happened back then had broken Cole.

“I thought I needed space. I thought I didn’t belong and everything would make sense once I was away from here and on my own. Do you know when I realized I was wrong?” She paused. “About two minutes after I was alone in my apartment.”

“Really?” I never knew that.

“Yeah, once Keith dropped me off, the silence and loneliness arrived, and I regretted it all immediately. Not that you’d know this about me, but I’m really stubborn.”

“No, I don’t believe it,” I said, deadpan, and she laughed.

“See, I can still shock you guys.” She laughed again then went serious. “I had to gaslight myself into thinking it was the right thing to do, but really I was just punishing myself because I didn’t think I deserved to be happy with Cole or with any of you.” She cleared her throat like the emotions from all those years ago were still at the surface. “She’s going to pull away, Paul. She’s going to fight you at every turn because she’s hurt and feels betrayed, and that’s going to take time to heal from. Also, she doesn’t feel she belongs.”

I looked toward the house and thought of what I had done to Nicole. How much it must have hurt her.

“It’s a lonely, ugly spiral, Paul. Don’t let her.”

I shook my head. “The wives tell me to give her space, but the guys say be careful with the space, and now you’re telling me not to give her any. You all need to get together and be on the same page because men need one direction when it comes to women—any more than that, and we get confused and start bumping into fences.” I sighed, exasperated that there were too many people in my head.

“Okay,” she waved a hand around as if to erase everything, “I’m going to give you chick talk but in guy language.”