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We sit in silence until the sound of a knock at the door echoes through the house. We don’t rush to answer it. We all know it’s one of our brothers. Within fifteen minutes, we’re all here. Chairs are brought in from the kitchen, and Orrin brought his own. He has his zero-gravity lawn chair set up next to the couch. I shake my head at him, but I’m cursing myself that I don’t have mine with me. Those fucking things are legit.
“Tell me how we’re doing this,” Orrin speaks up. “Are we hating on her? Getting drunk to temporarily forget? Are we taking you to the airport? Tell us what you need, Ryder.”
“Whatever you need,” Brooks reiterates.
“I’m in love with her.” Ryder’s voice is low and laced with so much pain I feel it deep inside my chest.
We remain quiet. He needs to do this his way, and we’re just here for moral support.
“We had plans to talk about it today. We were going to spend the day working out the details. I got there to pick her up, and Gianna said she was gone. Her flight left at six this morning.” He tells us this while staring at the floor. He lifts his head and starts on his right with Maverick. He lets his gaze fall on each of us, ending with Merrick on his left.
“She never intended to have that talk. She just left as if I meant nothing to her.”
“Maybe she was scared?” I think about my own situation, and fear is a huge factor in me dragging my feet with Alyssa. Sure, I’ve already decided I’m going all in. I need a plan, but it’s been weeks. I’ve been pussyfooting around, worried that if I tell her how I feel, she won’t feel the same, and I’ll lose her. That fear has kept me silently loving my best friend.
“I can’t fix it if she doesn’t tell me,” he says as there’s a knock on the door. “Come in,” he calls out.
“Are we taking bets that it’s Dad?” Archer jokes.
“I love Raymond, but he’s got a good twenty years on me,” Deacon says, stepping into the living room. He surveys the situation, smirks at his best friend sitting in his lawn chair, and moves to sit on the floor next to me, propping his back up against the side of the recliner.
“Do you pack that thing with you everywhere you go?” Deacon asks Orrin, laughing.
“It was still in the back of Jade’s SUV from the movie in the park. She was parked behind my truck, and I didn’t want to wait once I got the call.”
“They can’t be that nice,” Ryder speaks up.
Orrin stands. “Try it.”
Ryder stands, the bottle of Jack still in his hand, and trades places with Orrin. He sits in the chair, pushes back, and it reclines. “Damn,” he mutters.
“Told you.” Orrin grins, taking a seat between Maverick and Merrick on the couch.
The room falls silent, and Rushton looks like he’s about to say something to break the silence, but it’s Ryder’s voice that fills the room. “I told her that I loved her. I told her that we could figure it out. It’s eighteen months. Sure, it’s not the ideal situation, but I know we could do it. Fuck, I even told her I’d go with her.”
“What’s the plan?” Declan asks.
“I don’t have a fucking plan. My plan was to get this settled with Jordyn before she left. Gianna won’t tell me where she’s staying. I don’t even know the name of the company that she’s working for. I don’t know how to reach her. I can call her. I can text or send her an email, but if she doesn’t reply, that’s it. I’m at her mercy.”
“Why not hire a private investigator?” Merrick asks.
“Mer, I’m a fucking lineman, not a billionaire.”
“It can’t be that much,” Maverick chimes in.
“I’m not doing it. Even if money was no object, I’m not tracking her down like a fucking animal. She made her choice.”
“But you still love her,” I say, not thinking.
His eyes find mine, and he nods stiffly. “I still love her.”
“Eighteen months,” Rushton says. “A year and a half to form a plan.”
“What are you thinking?” Brooks asks.
“If she’s the one, you don’t let the fact that she’s in another country stop you. She has ties here. Her family, her best friend, and you.” Rushton shrugs. “This is a huge opportunity for her, and I’m sure it was a hard choice for her to make. She was into you, man. We could all see it.”
“He’s right. Alyssa said she thought so too,” I tell them.
