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The door flies open as soon as I yell, “Come in!”
“You look like hell,” Hudson says, shutting the door behind him.
“And you look like a man who enjoyed his bachelor party last night.”
Said bachelor party was held at The Down Home Pub. Hudson texted and extended an invite my way, but after my argument with Lauren, I was a no-show.
I respect the dude sitting in the chair across from me. He could’ve celebrated his last party of singlehood at some expensive club, but he stayed here, true to his roots. It most likely didn’t kill him to go home to his fiancée at the end of the night either.
“I assumed you’d be at my wedding after I sent you an invite over a week ago. Your RSVP must’ve been lost in the mail because, according to my expensive-ass wedding planner, it’s nowhere to be found.”
“Your sister and I aren’t on speaking terms at the moment.”
He crosses his arms and legs at the same time and leans back in his chair. “Heard something ’bout that.” A sarcastic laugh drops from his throat. “How about you meet her by the swings and fix your problems over fruit snacks?”
If only it were that simple.
“Your sister is … complicated.”
“No shit.” He sighs and runs his hand through his short beard. “She’s not an easy nut to crack, but she’s fucking loyal. No one knows what went down between you and her, but I promise you this; she didn’t walk away for a bullshit reason. Since she was six, her life plans included you. Something changed her mind. Something serious enough that she’d ruin her life over it.”
“That’s the problem. She won’t tell me.”
“Try a different way of convincing her to open up.”
“Any tips for a man? She’s open with everything butthat.”
“All I’ve got for you is a good-luck smack on the shoulder and hopes that you’ll figure it out.” He pushes himself to his feet and extends a paper my way. Another invitation. “Wedding is this weekend if you’re free.”
* * *
“I figured you’d be gone,”my dad says when I step into the kitchen.
There was no sleepover in my office last night. My dad made ribs for dinner and insisted on not eating alone. He needed company. I needed company. We devoured our meal and spent the rest of the night watching old action movies.
I knocked down a few beers and convinced myself to sleep in the loft. It was a hell of a lot more comfortable than my office chair. The smell of Lauren on the sheets relaxed me and allowed me to fall asleep.
I snag a glass from a cabinet and fill it up with water. “Why’s that?”
“Isn’t the Barnes boy’s wedding today?”
I chug down the water before answering, “Yes, but I’m not going.”
He winces in offense like it’s his wedding I’m bailing on. “Why not?”
“Bad idea.”
“Something happen between you and Lauren? It sure looked like y’all were rekindling those sparks.”
“My love life isn’t any of your concern.” My attitude borders on rude, but I don’t want to talk about her, or where she’s at, or what weddings she’s attending.
“It’s my concern when I want to see my son happy.”
“My happiness left long ago, and I refuse to hand over all control to a woman who broke my heart. I’m a broken man, but I’m working on healing, and she’s not interested in the same.” I scrub my hands over my face in frustration … hurt … something. “I told her about Andy, Pa. And Missy, yet she won’t even confess why she left me.” A harsh laugh leaves my throat. “It sounds petty, but I’ll never get over not knowing what I did wrong for her to end our relationship like she did. It fucked me up, and then losing Andy killed me. The only action I can do to stop losing people I care about is not to put myself in that position any longer.”
Fuck. Am I whining?
“I understand, son. You lost the woman you loved and then experienced a loss even greater. Losing a child can be a scary soul-sucker, and you’ll never return to being the man you were.”
