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Knox laughed. “We warned you that the last one to arrive didn’t get dibs.”

They had. Even if the mess with Curt hadn’t happened, he hadn’t been ready to make the move the previous year. Burke swore without much heat. He was a grown-ass man. He could handle a pink toilet, bathtub, and sink. “Maybe I’ll get Ford working on those renovations sooner rather than later.”

“Good luck with that. And with Rissa. What the hell was that about? Last I knew, you two were best friends.”

That was the $64,000 question. “We drifted apart after we moved in with Fox.”

Knox frowned. “That interaction was about more than drifting apart. I know she didn’t have a cell phone, but didn’t you keep in touch with emails?”

Burke nodded, heart aching. “For a while. Life got busy, and I figured she’d be better off without me.”

“Seriously? I may have been a kid, but I know the best part of her life was when she was with you or at our house. Her dad was an asshole.”

Burke nodded. “He was. But I couldn’t offer her anything. I couldn’t help, so I figured it was better if I just faded away into her past.”

Knox crossed his arms and leaned against the door frame as Burke finished dumping his clothes into drawers. “You were running yourself ragged even back then, but you were always there when any of us needed things. Still are on both counts. Maybe it’s time to figure out how to be there for Rissa.”

His sigh came from his toes. “It’s probably too late for that. I didn’t think I hurt her; I thought I was making things better.”

Knox raised an eyebrow, and Burke nodded. His brother was right. It was time to figure out how to fix his biggest mistake, his biggest regret.

Unless she’d already packed up and left.

Chapter 5

A Question Of Forgiveness

Rissa took her step stool with her when she and Frizzle joined Lawson outside. He already had the Q Lab’s hood open and propped up.

It would only take a heartbeat for anyone to realize that he and Burke were related. Knox, too. The Malssum genes ran strong in the family. Tall, broad shoulders, long legs, dark looks that shifted from brooding to joy in a blink.

But it was Burke who turned her insides to jelly and made her heart ache with regrets. Why hadn’t she been enough to remain his friend? She knew he was one of the most loyal people she’d ever met, but he hadn’t wanted to continue their friendship.

Shoving the worry to the back of her mind, she set her stool beside Lawson and climbed up.

He barked out a laugh that reminded her of the times they’d spent together as kids. Burke had loved his siblings with a fierceness she’d never felt aimed directed at her. He’d spent time with them all while living in Burlington and she imagined that hadn’t changed when they’d moved in with Fox. She’d always craved that kind of family unity. Maybe one day.

Lawson bumped her shoulder with his. “You need to work on growing some more, Rissa.”

She laughed. “Little late for that.” And for other things. Instead of focusing on regrets, she looked into the engine. “The clunks have me thinking either I need a new timing belt or the bearings have dried out.”

Lawson turned to her, hand on his heart. “A woman who knows her engines. Be still, my heart, I might be in love.”

She grinned at his silliness. “You are in love, but it’s not with me.”

He nodded. “True, but there are all kinds of love, Rissa. Did you know I had the wildest crush on you when we were kids?”

She nearly fell off her stool as she turned to face him. “You did not.”

His smile widened. “Did too. I had a thing for older women back then. And you were two years ahead of me.”

“We were kids.”

“Yup. I had finally figured out that girls didn’t have cooties. I was totally jealous that Burke spent all that time with you. I thought when I hit my growth spurt and built up my muscles, you’d dump his ass and fall for my charms instead. You broke my heart, Rissa.”

His eyes sparkled with fun, and she laughed along with him. “You’re ridiculous.”

He nodded. “As often as I can manage it. Now, tell me how you know about engines.”