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Max seemed to think about that for a moment. “Probably because she was afraid that was exactly how you would react. Before or after sex?”
“After.”
A low whistle came from Max’s lips. “You are lucky she is not from Bliss because a Bliss woman would be joining the I Shot a Son of a Bitch club this morning. They have a ceremony and everything. Or so I’ve heard. Men are not allowed, and that is one secret society I try to stay far away from.”
“It wasn’t what I meant.” He still wasn’t completely sure what had gone wrong. “Van was trying to leave, and I was trying to figure out why. I asked if it was about her scars. I said they weren’t so bad. I didn’t mean it like that. I think she’s beautiful. I wish I was still in bed with her. But I don’t know how to fix it.”
“What was wrong with Van?” Max asked. “Why was he trying to leave? I take it she wasn’t awake at this point. He was trying to sneak out?”
“Yes. And that’s what I was upset about. I don’t know. I guess he didn’t feel the same way about her that I did.” Maybe it was time to say the problem out loud. Again, not talking about it had gotten him nowhere. “Once he graduates, he’s leaving Bliss. He’s going back to Dallas to work for his brother’s company. I don’t think he wants to get too involved.”
“But you do?”
“I don’t think I’m going to go with him. I think I want to stay here.” That wasn’t right. He needed to stop hedging. “I am going to stay here in the area. I have enough work lined up for at least a year, and if I widen my range, I can probably work steadily for a long time.”
“Good. I think you belong here, and I know we can use your skills. It can be damn hard to find a truly skilled contractor who’s willing to come all the way out here.” Max studied him for a moment. “But you’ve been with Van for a long time. You sure you want to break up the band?”
The idea of not having Van around hurt, but he had to be realistic about this part of his life. “I think if I go to Dallas, it won’t be long before I find myself getting left behind. Van has a real family there.”
“Real family? As opposed to his fake one?”
“You know what I mean.” Or maybe Max didn’t. He’d grown up here in Bliss. He was still close to his childhood friends, and he’d never gone a day without his twin. He might not have any experience with being alone in the world. “When one friend doesn’t have a family, the other friend says you’re my brother now or something and he means it, but it’s not the same as his real brother. I liked his family, but I did not fit in there. I fit in here.”
Max nodded as though he finally understood. “And if he’s got to pick between you and his blood relation, you think he’ll pick his brother.”
He’d thought a lot about this, and there was no bitterness when it came to Van’s family. “I don’t blame him. I’ve never had a real family so I don’t know how I would feel. Everyone I was close to growing up as a kid is dead or lost to me. I’ve come to the conclusion that relationships, even friendships, are not forever. Inevitably you grow apart, and friendship isn’t enough to keep you close. You have to have something else to bind you. A business, a shared home, something you build together, and we don’t have that so it was only a matter of time. I wish he hadn’t wrecked my chances with Elisa on his way out.”
“It sounds like you did that, buddy,” Max corrected.
And that was why he’d come back here to work. “Yeah, I know. She made it clear that she understood why Van needed time. I’m the bad guy here.”
“You were trying to make things perfect, and that is always a mistake. I know you’ve been surrounded by a bunch of relationships where it looks like two guys found a girl they liked and easily settled into a happy life together, but it was tough, man. I had to convince Rach to give Rye a shot. That woman walked in and took one look at me and knew what she wanted. I had to be clever to ensure I didn’t leave my brother behind.”
Somehow Hale didn’t think it had gone exactly that way. He’d heard some of the Harper family history, but at the heart of the story Max was telling him lay a very important question. “What would you have done if she hadn’t accepted Rye? What if Rye hadn’t loved Rachel?”
