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“Hey, you’re the one who started this bullshit. Not me. I’m just pointing out the obvious.”
“Yeah? What’s that?”
“That girl’s in love with you, and if you don’t feel the same way, you’ve got to cut her loose.”
Tucker didn’t know what to say. He’d been in love before. Hell, up until a month ago, he thought he’d be in love with Marley for as long as he was alive. Their love hadn’t been perfect, in fact a lot of the time it had been rough and volatile…but it had also been passionate—it had been young and fresh and exciting and…
It had been safe. Back then, their whole world had been safe. Until she took a ride on that plane.
“Fuck me,” he whispered, eyes still glued to Abby, more confused than ever. The memory of Marley was something that he didn’t think would let him go. How could it? It would always be unfinished. That last morning he’d shared with her would always be unfinished. How did he deal with that? With the t
hings he hadn’t done?
How did he make Abby fit into all of that without hurting her in the end?
And so he stood next to his brother, looking down until Abby turned her sweet face up to him. She wiped at that long piece of hair that always tickled her nose and she smiled at him until Betty said something that made her giggle and turn away.
“I don’t know if what I have to give is enough for Abby.”
Jack put his hand on Tucker’s shoulder. “Brother, you need to find out. But a word of advice—”
“Yeah?”
“Don’t use think and love in the same sentence when talking to a woman. Not if you want to keep all your manly parts intact.”
Tucker’s gaze was on Abby again. “Good to know,” he murmured.
***
>A few hours later, Tucker thought about his brother’s words as he and Abby made their way outside to the bunky, which was a small bunkhouse the boys used to sleep in when they were younger. Located about twenty feet from the main house and nestled among a bunch of Fir trees, it was big enough for a double bed, a TV, a small bathroom and not much else.
But it was private and Tucker had some things on his mind. Things that needed to be taken care of.
The place was warm—his father had made sure the heat was turned on and the small lamp near the bed cast a soft glow.
He shut the door behind him and pulled Abby into his arms, resting his chin on top of her head, listening to her breathing, feeling her heart beating. Slowly her arms made their way up to his shoulders, and she leaned back, eyes shimmery in the low lights.
For several moments, the two of them stared at each other, Tucker not letting go and Abby looking up at him with a shuttered expression.
Finally, she exhaled. “You’re scaring me.”
God, that’s not what he wanted. “I don’t mean to.”
“What’s going on, Tucker?” She wiggled her hips and stepped out of his embrace, shivering. After folding her arms across her chest, she met his gaze, her toes digging into the pine floors.
“We need to talk,” he began and stopped. How the fuck was he going express the feelings inside him? What words could even come close to describing what he was trying to say?
“Okay,” her voice trembled a bit. “What about?”
“Us.”
She made a weird noise and shook her head. “I get it. Being here with your family made you realize a few things.”
“Yeah, it did.”
She licked that bottom lip which was usually his trigger for all sorts of hot and sexy things. Already his mind was going south, but before he actually followed through on it and went south, he needed to be clear about things.
“So, this is it then?” She thrust her chin out. “We’re done? You’ve come to the conclusion that I don’t fit the Simon mold? Well, I gotta say Tucker, not everyone can be like a…a Monique Patterson or a…” She stumbled over her words, glanced away and whispered. “A…a Marley.”
