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He covered my hand with his, and I startled. Lancasters weren’t touchy-feely people. “That had to bring up some memories about the night you found Mom.”
“It didn’t at first. Not until after she woke up. And then it hit me like a ton of fucking bricks.” I scrubbed a hand over my face. “Fuck, Wyle. If I lost her, I’d be done. So fucking done. How did I let myself get here?”
“You love her, and loving someone is scary as hell. But you’re hiding here in the city, talking about how she could have died, and you would have lost her—yet you aren’t with her now, when she needs you most?”
My head snapped up. “I was there when she needed me. I never left her.”
“Yeah. You stayed when she was in a coma, brother. And then you took off the minute she woke up. That’s a little fucked up.”
“I’m in too fucking deep, Wyle. I needed to know she was okay, but this is too much for me. I’ve got to be careful moving forward. It hurts too much. And I took her out there, you know? What kind of shit boyfriend am I? I nearly killed her on Valentine’s Day. The first girl I’ve ever loved. I’m not cut out for this shit.”
He tipped his head back and finished the amber liquid in his rocks glass and set it down on the desk. “Listen to yourself. You’re making no fucking sense. First of all, her falling through the ice had nothing to do with you. It was shitty luck. Shit happens, Maddox—we both know that. It was out of your control. You could have taken her to a fancy restaurant and gotten into a car accident on the way there. That would not be any more your fault than this was. A shit boyfriend does not plunge half his body into the freezing water, which, by the way, you could have fallen through that ice yourself. Going out there was risky. But you did it because you love her. You fucking risked your life for her, man.” He slapped me on the arm when I stared out the window and waited for me to look at him. “Seeing her like that, I’m sure it fucked you up. Especially after what happened with Mom. But Georgia didn’t die, Maddox. She’s alive and well. And there’s always a risk when you love someone, but we’re all going to die eventually. There’s no risk-free way around it. It doesn’t mean that you stop loving just because you might lose that person someday. Guess what,Harvard, you will. We all will. You just have to love the best you can while you can, right?”
His eyes searched mine, and I shook my head. “What the fuck is happening here? Who are you, and what have you done with my unemotional brother?”
“Hey, I guess this was a wake-up call for all of us. I think we all shut down after we lost Mom, and, man, she would be so pissed about that. She was all about feelings, you know? About loving one another.”
“Yeah.” I nodded. I was so tired, and I didn’t know what the fuck I was doing anymore.
“She would be so pissed at you right now.” He barked out a laugh.
“Fuck you. She would not. She never got mad at me.”
A wide grin spread across his face. “True. But… you went through all those heroic measures to save the girl. Hell, you breathed life into her and wouldn’t leave her side. And then she wakes up, and you tap out? That’s fucked up, brother.”
I scrubbed a hand down my face. “I get it. I’m a dumbass. The truth is, I didn’t know I was capable of loving someone the way that I love her, and that scares the shit out of me.”
“You’ve never been a coward. Man the fuck up.”
“Okay, can we give the offensive pep talk a rest and let me process this? How did you know I was even here?” I hissed.
“Hugh Reynolds must have gotten my number out of his sister’s phone. He called me. Said he was worried about you. He’d gone by your house, and no one at the office had seen you since you left the hospital. So, I called the hotel, found out you were here, and came right over. I was actually in the city, meeting with Grandfather. I think I’m going to join the world again. You’ve inspired me. I agreed to take a position working with Dad. I’m interested in real estate. What can I say?”
“Well, aren’t you just full of surprises?”
There was another knock on the door, and I rolled my eyes. “When I told the front desk I did not want to be disturbed, that seems to have been an invitation to knock on my door every five fucking minutes.”
“Listen, I’m meeting a woman down at the bar. But I sent this surprise to you myself. You’re welcome.” He marched to the door and pulled it open, and I stood there, stunned to see Alana Reynolds on the other side of the door.
“What are you doing here?”
“She’s your therapist. Hugh and I both thought you were due for a session. You’ve got an hour, and the helicopter is waiting to take her home.” Wyle shrugged and winked at me.
The little fucker.
“I’m sorry you came all this way,” I said, holding my hand out for her to walk in.
“Good luck, Alana. He’s a tough nut to crack,” Wyle said as he made his way out the door before letting it shut behind him.
I pulled a chair out beside the table, and she took her seat.
“Can I get you something to drink?” I asked.
“I’m good for now, but thank you.”
I settled in the chair across from her. “Should you be away from Georgia right now?”
She smiled. “Georgia is okay, Maddox. She was released from the hospital, and her cousins all flew to Cottonwood Cove to surprise her, and she’s doing really well. I stopped by this afternoon and saw all the arrangements that you sent.”
