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He turned slowly and when he saw us, he stopped. For a moment, I thought he was going to be okay. But then his face broke, and he shattered, his expression crumbling into grief as his eyes flooded with tears.
“He’s gone,” he rasped. “He’s really gone.”
Gripping his head in his hands, he sobbed uncontrollably.
“Vaughn,” I murmured, brushing past Beau and hurrying toward him.
When I reached out, he gripped my arms at the elbows and stared into my eyes with a pleading expression, admitting, “I can’t do this anymore. I don’t want to do this anymore. I just want him back.”
“I know,” I said. “I know.”
Honestly, I had no idea what his pain must be like, but he seemed to find some kind of comfort from my soft chant because he nodded as if grateful that I understood. Then he moved in and pressed his forehead to mine as he closed his eyes and gritted his teeth, letting the tears fall.
I wiped at the wetness on his face, and he shifted closer, hugging me completely and burying his nose in my hair.
I hugged him back, stroking his spine while he expelled as much pain as he could from his system.
Over his shoulder, I caught sight of more people crowding around Beau and gaping worriedly into the room at us. Then JB promptly grabbed Luke, who’d been standing beside him, and he yanked him close, hugging his little brother hard. Then he kissed Luke’s hair, and Luke actually hugged him back.
Behind them, Fox was hissing to Bentley, “Holy shit. I didn’t know packing up his brother’s room would do that to him. Should I put it all back?”
“No,” Vaughn answered, pulling away from me so he could face the crowd in the doorway. He sniffed and wiped his face, then added, “This was what I needed. So, thank you. Thanks, all of you. I never would’ve been able to do this by myself.”
“Well, dammit,” Luke muttered and pulled free of JB so he could step toward Vaughn. “Come here.” And he quite forcefully yanked Vaughn against him for a bear hug as he said, “You never have to do anything alone again. Not in this family. Not unless you just want to. And someone will probably prevent you from that, even then.”
As Vaughn hugged him back, ordering, “Promise?” all the other gawkers from the hallway surged into the room to join in on the group hug as they reassured the loneliest man I’d ever met that he’d never be alone again.
It was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen, and I was so incredibly proud of my family for accepting him into the fold.
24
VAUGHN
The next morning, I woke in my same old bed but in a new place to live and a new life to start.
Lucy’s garage was a pretty decent size, probably twelve-hundred square feet total, and even though a lawnmower, plus a couple more of her things, were pushed back into one corner, I had more space than I originally thought I would.
It was all a mess right now with boxes everywhere. My television was stacked on top of my microwave that sat on the floor next to my dresser. My refrigerator was on the other side of that. I’d only gotten around to setting up my bed last night and searching for all the sheets before falling into it and passing out cold.
In the light of day, I could see just how much work I had to do. Lucy had covered the cement floors with a couple of nice rugs, but the drywall was still unfinished, needing to be both mudded and painted, plus it smelled pretty strongly of gasoline and motor oil in here.
But all in all, I loved it. It made me feel like the ultimate bachelor.
I’d never actually felt like a bachelor before. I’d always been too concerned with taking care of Duke to think of any of that. It was kind of weird to think about now.
Groaning, I sat up in bed and stretched my arms over my head. The blankets fell to my waist as I yawned, and I scratched my bare chest as I dropped my arms.
The most pressing needs I had to accomplish for the day were finding a bathroom and getting some food into my stomach.
Gaze straying toward the window where I could see the back door of the main house, I gulped uneasily. Lucy had given me a key last night, but going up there and just walking inside felt so very wrong, especially when I was already wondering if she was awake yet or still in bed with her sleepy, warm body embraced by soft sheets and—
Yeah, I should not be thinking about my new landlady that way.
Who was also the mother of my brother’s baby.
Unease rumbled through my stomach. Moving in here might possibly be one of the stupidest things I’d ever done. I’d practically be living with the one woman I wanted but could never have. But here I was anyway. So I guess I needed to make the best of it.
I crawled out of bed and dressed quickly, then hunted up the box labeled Bathroom Stuff. After piling my arms with everything I thought I’d need for a shower and then wrapping it all up inside a towel, along with a checkbook, I headed out the door and started up the gravel walkway that led to Lucy’s domain.
