Page 34 of Wanted By You

“Enough,” I grind, pushing him rougher than I should, to the point his back slams against the fridge with a shake.

What can I say, he brings out the worst in me.

I shake my head to myself and step toward the door. I need to stop wasting energy on this prick and focus on what matters—Cassidy. But he’s her brother, and what matters to her, matters to me.

I hesitate at the door, the knob tight in my hand and ready to slam shut behind me. My eyes find Garrett’s, and for once I’d venture to say there’s genuine regret in them. “I’m not one for motivational speeches, but I’ll tell you this—get your shit together, Clark,” I seethe, wanting my words to sting. “Yoursister needs you around more than you need to finish off that bottle of liquor, you hear me?”

He stiffens then, slamming a hand on the counter to keep himself upright. I’ve never seen someone this far gone before. “You don’t know what you’re talkin’ ‘bout,” he mutters.

I gesture around the room at the half-dozen pairs of eyes watching us. “You think a single one of these fuckers gives a shit if you drink yourself into a hole in the ground? They don’t. The sooner you realize Cassidy is all you’ve got left, the better off you’ll be.” I pause, waiting to see if he has anything to come back at me with, and when he doesn’t, I add, “When you get your head out of your ass—call me. There’s a treatment facility in Billings I’ve heard good things about.”

His eyes glaze over and I can tell he’s on the verge of tears—it’s the same look Cassidy gets when she’s upset.Good. He needs to feel at his lowest before he can commit to making a change, I think to myself as I close the door behind me and make my way down the porch steps.

I look up to Frankie watching me from the passenger side window, but not Cassidy. Her head is in her hands and I can tell I’m in for it tonight.

Whatever she wants, she’ll have it. However she wants it, she’ll get it. Anything she needs, I’ll make sure she doesn’t even need to think twice.

I’m here now.

And I’m not going anywhere.

Twelve.

Cassidy

I don’t stop cryingfat, ugly tears until we’ve left the trailer park and fully passed the coffee shop. I sniffle and stare out the window, unsure where we’re going. Well…I have an idea, I’m just having a hard time grasping it.

Butch hasn’t said much since he got in and started driving—nothing, in fact. I drag my gaze over to him with Frankie sitting in his lap and his nose pressed to the driver’s side window leaving wet nose smears all over it. I smile faintly at the sight—a big, growly mountain man with a fat sausage between his legs.

A giggle escapes me at the double meaning.

Butch’s head snaps in my direction. His brows furrowed deep into the scowl that drove me crazy weeks ago. Now, it just makes me feel…cared for. Funny how perspectives can change like that.

He turns back to the road. “I’d rather hear you laughing at me than listen to you cry any longer,” he grunts.

I lean my head against the seat. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be,” he says. “When did he get home?”

“Late last night,” I say. “After midnight they all started trickling in.”

“Why didn’t you call me?”

I shrug a shoulder and roll my head to stare out the window as the tears threaten yet again.

“I don’t want you thinking you can’t call me—ever,” he says sternly.

“It’s not that,” I whisper, roughly wiping away the useless tears. “I…didn’t think it was going to end like it did, I guess. I just wanted… I don’t know.” I sigh. WhatwasI hoping for? That all my brother’s stupid friends would leave and we’d spend Garrett’s birthday just the two of us watching movies and hanging out like old times?

I start to cry again.

Butch lets out a deep, frustrated growl, his grip on the steering wheel so tight his knuckles begin to turn white. “I’ll fuckin’ kill him.”

I shake my head, sniffling as I dig through my bag for my phone. “No, it’s fine. I-I’m fine. I just—”

“Stop defending him, Cass,” he bellows and I freeze, glancing over at him. He spares me a brief side-eye before focusing on the road. “I get it, I really do. If it was any one of my siblings, I’d feel the same. But at some point, you have to separate yourself from his bullshit. It’s not doing you any good.”

I take a wobbly breath. He’s not wrong, but he’s not entirely right either. “I can’t just abandon him.”

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