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“You left it on the table. Now tell me what the hell ‘We never blamed you for what happened to Ethan. He wouldn’t want that and neither do we. He’s at peace, and it’s my hope that you are too’ means.”
“No. Now let’s go. The kids will be here soon.”
Nash got out of the chair. “You take one step out of here and I’m tackling you.”
“This is my business not yours.”
“I’m worried about you.”
Ford’s anger drained away. “Why? I’m here where I’ve always been. Nothing has changed.” He ran a frustrated hand through his hair. “We all have secrets, Nash. Mine won’t hurt anyone. I promise.”
“But something is not right with you, and I hate that,” his brother said softly. “You’re my brother and have always been there for me. It eats me up that you have shit going on inside you and haven’t told me. Didn’t feel youcouldtell me—”
“It’s not like that.”
“Then what is it like? I didn’t think you and me had secrets.”
“Of course we have secrets. No way in hell could we tell each other everything that has happened in our lives.”
Nash held up a hand. “Okay, I get that, but both me and Maggs are worried about you, and I hate that it wasn’t until Luna told me I should be that I even considered shit wasn’t good with you. That we’ve been so caught up in our lives we didn’t once stop to see that maybe all wasn’t good in yours.”
“It is good,” Ford said. “This, what is inside me, is old stuff, bro. You don’t need to worry about it.”
“You know I won’t let up now I’ve seen that.” He pointed to the letter. “What’s going on, Ford? Who wrote it? Talk to me. That’s how this family stuff works. We bleed for each other.”
“That’s a bit dramatic.”
His brother just looked at him.
“It happened in college. I dealt with it and moved on.”
“Did you? Deal with it, I mean?”
“Yes.” No way was he telling his brother about his problems sleeping.
“I don’t think so. Tonight you’re coming to my place for dinner. Maggs and Fin too. We’re having this out. You’re coming clean and telling me what you’ve hidden inside you for so long. It’s not healthy.”
“No.”
“Then we’ll come here and have a nice healthy conversation at the dinner table withallthe family.”
“Well hell,” Ford muttered. “Can’t we just go back to the way we were, and you can forget you read that letter?”
His brother’s look told him everything he needed to know.
Fuck.
Chapter14
“Grace told Toby that if he came near me again, she would tie his shoelaces together when he wasn’t looking. Then she’d put something slimy in his sandwiches that would make him sick.”
“I’m sure Grace was just joking,” Autumn said from her seat beside her son in the back of the school minibus. Bas, the big bear of a man from the garage, was driving. From what she could gather, he was pretty much the go-to guy in town. Snowplow operator, secondhand-store owner, mechanic. She’d also heard he sang like an angel, but as yet that rumor had not been substantiated.
“She wasn’t, because Toby said she wasn’t the boss of him and he could do what he liked, and her cousin Benji, who was with Grace, said to him that he should try it and see what happens.”
“It’s not nice to threaten people, Ritchie. You know that. And while it was kind of Grace and Benji to stick up for you, they shouldn’t be making threats.”
The bus had eight kids and four adults accompanying them. Her; another teacher, Connie; Mayor Gripper, and Nixon. Tall and showing signs of growing up just like the rest of his family, he seemed a nice young man. He sat with Ella, who was Joe and Bailey Trainer’s daughter.
