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I watched him walk away, not looking forward to the heavy conversation ahead of us.
But I hadn’t lied—I was swamped with shit I needed to take care of for the city of Boston before settling things with Alex.Then I would hunt down Kellen and figure out a way to prove that I wanted him and no one else.
Chapter23
Kellen
One week at the cabin up north on the Androscoggin River, and I finally got the to-do list finished up.A sense of satisfaction filled me over seeing the freshly split stack of wood out back beside the deck I’d completed the day before.The new sliding glass door leading from the living room to the outside space was also set in place.
I just needed to fix the drywall and trim work in the interior.
The sound of an engine reached through the cabin’s walls, and I frowned, getting up from where I lounged in front of the fireplace to drink a much-deserved bottle of beer.Since hiding in the sticks of Maine, I’d stayed away from the hard shit, having no wish to drown my sorrows rather than figuring myself out.
Not that I’d done that yet.
I hadn’t realized until the moment I laid eyes on Jacob’s extended cab truck out the kitchen window how lonely I’d been.Grinning, I grabbed a flannel, slid on my boots, and went outside to greet him.
Dad sat in the passenger seat.
“I don’t remember sending out an invite!”I teased as they climbed from the cab, both dressed in similar garb as me.
“Your mom said you’d been up here long enough sulking and hiding out,” Dad said, giving me his usual side-hug squeeze, “and your brother has off the next two days.”
Remembering JJ didn’t have his hero, his stepdad anymore, I yanked Dad fully against my chest, slapping his back to remind myself of the family I’d been blessed with.My throat went tight with thankfulness to still have my father in my life, but I shoved against rising emotions as I’d been doing since I’d gotten to Maine.
Trying to work through my thoughts while numb hadn’t been accomplished, but I couldn’t imagine lowering my walls tomyselfand facing the bitter truth of my aimless existence.
Even though I knew that was exactly what I needed to do.
“Cold out here,” Dad muttered, and I let him go.
“It’s only October, you wuss.Thought you were a New Englander by birth?”I joked with him while heading for Jacob.
We hugged tight, and I slapped his shoulder.“Tell me you brought dinner.”
“We brought dinner—Mom’s pot roast.”
“Fuck yeah.”I helped them grab their bags off the backseat, learning they’d planned on crashing my pity party even though I hadn’t exactly told anyone why I hid away.Leave it up to Mom to figure shit out.
Besides, Jacob had told me about Xavier.I expected my whole family assumed I’d fallen into another depressive slump because of his engagement to the man he’d cheated with.
If only they knew that my heart ached for a different man, one who’d set me aside as easily as my ex had.
“Ah,” Dad made his usual noise of appreciation over the crackling fireplace blazing and filling the cabin with the scent of woodsmoke.“Nowthisis heaven.Don’t tell your mom I said that.”
I snorted and took his bag to the main bedroom on the first floor.
I’d claimed the one at the top of the stairs where I usually slept whenever I had the place to myself.
Jacob tossed his bag on the stairs, and the three of us congregated in the kitchen for the dinner Mom had packed up for us.Everything was still warm in the crockpot after their half hour drive.I put the canned beef stew I’d planned for dinner back in the cabinet and settled in to feast on my first home-cooked meal in over a week.
Thankfully, both Jacob and Dad didn’t ask how I was doing or what had brought me north.Over pot roast and a loaf of Mom’s freshly baked sourdough, we discussed Brian’s upcoming final football game, their 5-1 record, and how his coach dropped hints that a couple of colleges were already watching the sophomore star quarterback.
I’d only gotten to head home for two of his games since Friday nights had been booked with Elite throughout the beginning of the season.But I would catch that weekend’s game and all the others while I hid out in the woods.Nothing would keep me away.
Once we cleaned up from dinner, Dad and Jacob got their shit settled in, then joined me by the fireplace.Jacob and I sipped on dark lagers while Dad enjoyed two fingers of scotch, his one guilty pleasure saved for nights at camp.
“Slider and deck look great,” Dad said from where he sat on a recliner by the unfinished interior around said door.The outside lights illuminated the work I’d done.
