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She shook her head. “But they’re not scenes. I know you don’t understand him, and he’s burned you before. You do not owe him another chance, but I hope you give it to him. I hope you at least hear him out. He’s trying to find a balance that’s hard to achieve on his own. I think I found a way to get his movie back. I’ve got to check into a few things, but I worry if he goes back to LA without settling anything with you, he’ll lose his way again.”
“If you get his movie back and he’s got a little money, I assure you he’ll be back in LA in a heartbeat.”
“I don’t think so. I think if you ask him to stay, he will.”
“Why would I ask him to stay?”
“For your mom’s sake. For his. Because he needs to be here for a while, maybe a long while. He needs to find himself again, and he can’t do that out there in the world with no one to anchor him,” she said quietly. “I think he needs his family. He needs his brother.”
“Well, he got to you, didn’t he?”
She sighed. “Like I said, I know you don’t owe it to him, but I hope you’ll at least talk to him.”
“I’m giving him what? A quarter of a million dollars?” He resented the fact that they had to use the little time they had to argue about Paul, but then wasn’t that what Paul always did? He put himself in the middle of everything so the spotlight was always on him.
“It’s going to be more than a quarter of a million, but he’s going to pay you back. I set the sale in motion,” she replied.
“Sure he will. Maybe he does this time, but it’ll happen again.”
She opened the car door, her shoulders sagging. “Maybe, but if we don’t have hope, I don’t know what we have. I guess you’re right. We make the same mistakes over and over again, and who can really put up with it? It’s probably best to protect yourself when you know what’s coming. Good night.”
“Hey.” He wasn’t sure what she’d meant but those words had felt personal. “You don’t make mistakes like that, baby. You’re not selfish.”
“My mother would disagree,” she countered as she slid into the driver’s seat. “If I don’t see you before, I’ll call you tomorrow and let you know when we’re bringing the car.”
She shut the door between them, and Quaid felt his fists clench.
He shouldn’t have sent her with Paul. He should have known his brother would screw everything up for him. What line of bull had he been feeding her? Likely the same line he’d been feeding their mother for years.
He took the stairs up to the second floor two at a time, anger giving him a second wave of energy.
He stepped into the waiting room, perfectly ready to explain to his brother that part of taking the money he was about to give him would include his promise to stay away from Jayna.
Paul sat alone in the room, hunched over, head in hands, and his brother looked the very picture of weariness. Not of the body, but the aching tired that could only come from the soul.
What did he owe his brother? His family?
Maybe it was time to stop thinking about obligation and ask what he wanted. Truly wanted. Did he want to have a relationship with his brother? Did he want to try again? To set himself up for disappointment?
If we don’t have hope, I don’t know what we have.
Jayna had asked, and she hadn’t been asking about Paul. She’d meant what hope was there for them. She was unsure about her place in the world and couldn’t bring herself to believe he would always want her. Life had whispered to her time and time again that she wasn’t enough.
What had life whispered to his brother?
He moved in and the minute he sat down, his brother’s head came up.
His eyes were rimmed with red. “Hey. You missed the doc. He said she came through with flying colors. She’s back in the ICU for an hour or so and then they’ll move her into a room. I can call him back if you want. You’ll probably want to talk to him yourself.”
Because he wouldn’t believe that Paul could even get thatmuch right. “No. It’s good. We’ll wait until she’s settled in her room and then head to the hotel. How is your side?”
He’d been the one stabbed and yet Paul hadn’t said more than a few words about it. The Paul of the last several years would have made the biggest scene, centering it around himself in every way.
“It’s fine.” He waved off the worry. “The asshole didn’t want to kill me, just make a very specific point. I gave Jayna the name.”
“She told me. We’ll handle it in the morning.”
“Thanks. I know you don’t have any reason to believe me, but I’m going to pay you back as soon as the house closes.” He went quiet for a moment. “And I’m sorry we were late. I asked Jayna to take me to a meeting.”
