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She nodded. “That sounds good.”
He squeezed her shoulder. “Come on then. Let’s go.”
ChapterTwenty-Nine
“Here you go,”Josh said, popping the lids off two bottles of beer and handing one to Michael.
“Thanks.” Michael lifted it to his lips, taking a long, cool sip. He’d come home from the mess at church to find his brother sitting in the living room, waiting for him. His mom must have called him, disappointed that Cam had gotten nowhere the other day.
His kid brother had a determined look on his face, the same one he used to have when they played ball together. That he wanted to be as good as Michael. His equal.
“Okay then, let’s do this,” Michael said. “Want to just shout at me?” He was tired of fighting his family. They were the only ones talking to him now.
“Nope. I want to listen to you,” Josh said. “Let you do some talking for once.”
“There’s not much to say.” Michael shrugged. Josh knew he and Grace had split up. Knew that it was Michael’s choice. The only thing he didn’t know was about today. “I tried to talk to her at church, but Grace doesn’t want to know me anymore. Doesn’t want to be friends.”
“Can you blame her? You broke her heart.”
Michael’s gut twisted. “But I did it for a good reason.”
“What reason was that?”
Michael let out a long breath. Surely their mom had filled Josh in on that. “Her dad wanted her to choose between us. And I wouldn’t let her do that.”
“Because you were scared she’d choose him?” Josh frowned, as though he didn’t understand.
“No.” Michael shook his head. “Because I asked Mom to choose between Cam and me all those years ago and we saw what it did to her. She cried for a fucking week, if you remember. And I was the one who did that to her. I can’t do it to Grace as well.”
Josh blinked, not speaking. He lifted his beer to his lips and swallowed a mouthful.
Christ, Michael was tired of this. Of being the asshole. It didn’t matter what he did or what he didn’t do. He always ended up in the same place.
The bottom rung.
“We were just kids,” Josh finally said. “I understood why you did what you did.”
He met his brother’s gaze.
“And Cam always maintains it was his fault. He’s the one who walked away when you demanded it. He said he should have stayed and fought for her.”
Michael blinked. “He said that?”
“Yeah. Don’t you remember?”
Michael shook his head. He remembered little about that time. Maybe because he didn’t want to. It was a mess, and he was no better.
“Cam said she cried because he walked away, not because you asked her to choose. You would have gotten used to him if he’d stayed, wouldn’t you?”
“I guess…”
“Did you two never talk about this?”
“I don’t know. We tried, but you know how things were like back then. I was a punk and Cam was walking on eggshells around me.”
Somebody cleared their throat. Cam walked into the living room. “I should have talked to you,” he said.
Michael got the feeling he was being ambushed. But in a loving way.
