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I squeezed my phone tightly. “She wasn’t hurt.”
“She’s physically okay. There’s been a string of break-ins. Nothing in a little while, but we’ve had our share of issues the past year. Colton Castle is the officer handling the case if you want to check with him. I’m not sure they’re any closer to figuring out who did it than when they broke into Remi’s shop or mine.”
The relief I felt that Brooke was okay didn’t dim my worry because I needed to see her and reassure myself in person.
“How bad is the damage to the store?” My heart stuttered a breath while I waited for his answer.
“It’s bad. A total loss,” Max muttered.
“Fuck.” I hated that for her.
I had to see her. She had to be hurting.
“She has insurance for things like this,” Max said reasonably.
“It’s devastating when she was already closed for a week for renovations, and now she has to start over.”
“She’s waiting to hear back from the contractor if they have room to fit her in again.”
“I appreciate you telling me.” I was already in my car and on my way to Cammie.
“I don’t know what’s going on between you two…”
We weren’t close, but I hoped to build relationships with the other shop owners. Not everything had to be a competition. “Things are messed up, but I hope I can fix it.”
The noise seemed to lessen. Maybe he’d walked into his office. “We all screw things up at some point. It’s how we approach fixing it that says something about our character.”
Brooke hadn’t trusted me, but I hadn’t had faith in her either. I’d walked away.
“I hope I’m not too late.”
“Good luck.”
“Thanks, man.” We hung up, and I pulled into my mom’s driveway. I wanted to be with two special people tonight.
When I walked inside, Cammie ran up to me. “You’re home!”
“I said I would be.” Then I crouched down. “But our friend, Brooke, isn’t feeling so great tonight. I was kind of hoping we could bring her dinner.”
Her eyes lit up. “Pizza?”
I smiled. “Sure. Why not?”
I straightened and asked Mom, “You mind if we eat dinner with Brooke?”
“I heard what happened at her store. It’s a shame.”
“What happened?” Cammie asked.
“There was some damage that she needs to fix.”
“We can help her. Right, Daddy?”
I smiled, proud that she was so sweet and earnest. “That’s why we’re going to see her. She needs us.”
Cammie nodded solemnly.
I just hoped she’d want to see us. That I didn’t ruin everything the other night.
