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“Hey, at least you had the guts to send Blake, and you hadn’t proposed to her. So you did better than me.”
Clay grunts, half agreeing with my comments. “You know, the saddest thing about my breakup with Katie was that she blamed Matty, accused me of putting him before her. That she was lonely, she felt neglected, blah-blah. How cheap was that!” He bows his head. “She’s not like Amber. You’re really lucky to have her.”
“Sorry, Clay.”
“Anyway, you should rest.” He nudges my uninjured shoulder.
Ironically, the walk to my room finally highlights that my heart is still in shock. I almost run out of breath, and it’s obvious enough that Clay follows me all the way.
I throw myself onto the bed, hiding my grimace.
“It’s okay to show pain, tough guy. I’m your brother.”
I curve a side smile.
After a few moments of silence, I say, “I saw him, Clay. Our dad.”
Clay reaches for my hand. “Let him go, Rob. The accident at Imperial Valley happened, and he’s gone, so it’s no one’s fault now.”
“He was crying, but I wanted to shout at him, you know? ‘You killed Mom! You hurt Matty!’ I still can’t let go. Don’t you feel anything?”
“I do, but I guess I’ve made peace with it, accepted it as how their lives were meant to end. But I was never close to either of them. Well, I was sort of close to Mom, but not like you and her. I’ve always been closer to you, just like Matty is.”
I nod, wishing I was him and he was me. I’d be happy to carry the burden—to spare him any hurt. That’s what big brothers do.
“You just need time, Rob.”
I do. And I wish Amber-Rose was here. But my gut says she’s hiding something from me.
“Clay, this afternoon someone sent a huge bouquet of red roses to Amber-Rose.”
He laughs. “And?”
“She looked… I don’t know. Before I left, she said she was going to tell me something, and she sounded so distant when I talked to her on the phone. I asked about the flowers, and she just avoided the question.” I recall our conversation in the car. “If they were from a customer or a friend, she would’ve said so, right? Now someone has tampered with my brakes—it was a calculated attempt, Clay. My car drove fine for hours, until I was close to Santa Barbara. Something is going on.”
“You think someone might be jealous of you two?”
“More than jealous. They wanted me dead.”
“Why don’t you actually talk to her? You met her after she had a date with a thief. Who knows who else she’s been involved with? I’m not saying she’s bad for you. I’m just saying, everyone has a history.”
I sigh, partly because there’s a mighty punch attacking my head physically from the inside, and partly because I need to make sense of how she could be involved in my accident. No matter how much I love Amber-Rose, I’m not gonna let another woman screw me up.
Maybe I should get Blake to investigate her.
I’d secured my heart, but she penetrated my defenses and went straight in—I wanted her to—and now an alarm is ringing, warning me of danger. We kissed before I left her, and it was as passionate as our first kiss. I’m desperate to convince myself that it’s a false alarm, that I must be exaggerating the situation. But a gut feeling is a gut feeling. After what I’ve been through with women, I have the right to be over-vigilant.
I need to use my head this time—and I need to rest, so I can restore my incapacitated mind.
“I just need to lie down, okay? Can you get Matty from Wyatt and take him to dinner or something?”
“Yes, you do that. I’ve got Matty.”
“You haven’t told him I was in an accident, have you?”
“No. I just said Rob needed help. And I haven’t told anyone else besides from Wyatt and Joe.”
“Thanks.”
