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Realizing that Mikayla meant for her to buy something to wear to the wedding, because she was invited, Georgie stuttered, obviously not really sure how to respond. Leah reached over and grabbed her hand. “You’re Mik’s person now. Resistance is futile.”
“You don’t wanna come to our wedding?”
Georgie relaxed. “Yes, I do. Thank you for inviting me.”
CHAPTER5
The first thing Georgie did when she got up the next morning was look through the sliding door to see if Ryan was there. He was. She debated whether or not to go out there after she’d made her coffee. He hadn’t had a chance to say anything to her last night, but she thought once he got her on her own, there was a good chance he’d want to start doctoring her. Give her advice. Push her. She didn’t want to be anyone’s fixer upper. She didn’t need it. She was fine. Totally fine. On the other hand, she couldn’t hide in her cabin all day. And she liked him. A lot. Liked spending time with him. Liked his friendliness. His thoughtfulness. His consideration. As long as he didn’t overdo it. So she should go out there, say hello. If he started in on her, she’d leave. Easy as that. She slid the door open and stepped onto the veranda. It was the same as the previous morning. He heard the door. Turned and smiled at her. Her heart thudded. Georgie cursed under her breath.
“Mornin,”
“Hi.”
“You gonna come and sit with me?”
“Sure.”
He walked over, picked up the recliner and carried it back, placing it next to his easel. Once Georgie was seated, he pulled a protein bar from his cooler bag and threw it in her lap. She was expecting a lecture, but he just took a seat and picked up his brush. Georgie opened the bar and took a bite. Chocolate covered, at least. Then she relaxed back against the recliner, gazing out at the ocean as she chewed. When she’d finished the bar, she turned her gaze to Ryan. “Ryan?”
“Mmm?”
“Who’s Shawn O’Shannessy?” He went still for a brief moment and Georgie saw his shoulders drop. “You don’t have to answer.”
Putting the paintbrush down, he turned on his stool and looked at her. Georgie felt her heart squeeze at the look in his eyes. “He was my brother.”
Was. Georgie felt her heart squeeze tighter. “What happened to him?”
“He was a lot older than me. I’m the youngest of six kids. Shawn was the oldest.” He stopped, linked his fingers together. Georgie noticed the knuckles were white as he clenched his hands together. “He went to Iraq. I was about ten years old. The Shawn that went to Iraq was not the same Shawn who came home. In lots of ways. He was in an explosion. Had to have lots of surgeries. I never knew the particulars. But he struggled with it. Once it got too much for him, he took his own life. I was fifteen.”
Realization dawned. “That’s why you do what you do.”
“Aye.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Thank you.”
Georgie wrestled with herself for a moment but felt compelled. “I had a brother.”
“Did you?”
She looked away from the sympathy and compassion in his eyes. “Yeah. A twin brother. Brandon.”
“What happened to him?”
“I think he’s dead.”
“But you don’t know?”
She shook her head. Not sure exactly how much she wanted to share with him, she took a moment to think about what she wanted to say. He’d already told her so much; it didn’t seem fair to withhold. And she needed to get it out. “We didn’t have a great childhood. Our parents both died of drug overdoses within a year of each other. Dad first. Then Mum. We were nine when Mum died. There was no one else to take us on, so we went into the system. Bran didn’t take it well. He started smoking when we were ten, drinking when we were twelve, weed by the time he was thirteen. Hard drugs before he was sixteen. I did everything I could. He kept promising me he’d get clean. And he would. For a while. Sometimes for a long while. But he always broke. Went back to it. A few years ago, before my accident, he went to Thailand with a group of friends. They were all into whatever drugs they could get their hands on. I begged him not to go. But he didn’t listen. He’d been gone just over a week when I got a call from the Australian Consulate in Bangkok. He’d overdosed. That’s all they knew. Then two weeks after that, he rang me. So he hadn’t died. God, I was so relieved. But the line was bad and I had no idea what he was saying. I kept saying, I can’t hear you, Bran. Hang up and call me back. But he didn’t. To this day, I have no idea what he was telling me. I haven’t heard from him since.” She paused for a moment. “I miss him. So much. I mean, God, he used to drive me crazy. So unreliable. He borrowed money from me all the time, said he’d pay it back but never did. I don’t know how many times I let him take off with my car, knowing he wouldn’t get it back to me when he said he would. And I’d rip into him about it, absolutely crack it. I’d be so mad. But the last time I yelled at him…I didn’t know that would be the last time. I’d give anything for the chance to yell at him again. Because he’s my only person, you know? For almost as long as I can remember, it was just him and me. Georgie and Brandon, against the world. But he left me.” She stopped then, swallowing around the lump in her throat. “And do you want to know something really stupid?”
“What’s that?”
“I still hope. Just a tiny sliver of hope. Before I left Melbourne, I wrote him a note, letting him know where I was going. I’d lived in that flat for ten years. If he came back, that’s where he’d go first. Stupid, hey?”
“No, mo chroi. That’s not stupid.” Georgie shrugged. He was quiet for a long time, then he said, very softly, “Georgie?”
“Yes?”
