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“I know that she just needs some time to get things figured out. And you aren’t going to be part of that plan. She’s gonna make something of herself.”
“What? Like you? You couldn’t even get out from under your uncle’s thumb. Why are you still working for them when you could have had your own place? Heck, if you had only waited for a few years, you might even have gotten this house.” Mike gestured to the one he’d been working on for the last several weeks.
Ethan’s momentary confusion would have been worth it if Mike hadn’t spilled the truth about his plans for the property. He wasn’t cut out to run it. He wasn’t sure how his grandfather had managed as it was.
Mike cleared his throat. “Anyway, that’s not the point you’re trying to make, is it? We both know that Rose is going to do what she’s gonna do. It wouldn’t matter if she dated me or if she dated some hotshot from the city. She’d find her way. There’s just one thing you clearly haven’t noticed.”
“What’s that?”
“She’s miserable.”
Ethan stopped short. “She’s not miserable.”
“You don’t get it, do you? She lost her dream job. She has lost faith in her own talent. No one in your family is supporting her.” Mike crossed his arms, shooting a smirk in Ethan’s direction. “I, on the other hand, have nothing but good things to say about what she wants to do. I’m willing to push her to chase after her dreams.”
“Even if it means she’s gonna fall flat on her face?”
Mike moved in close. “Even then. She deserves to be happy. And as long as she has some support, she can always get back on her feet.” His voice softened as he glanced toward the house where Rose was waiting for him. “She’s really good, Ethan. Her art could hold up against some of the greats, and it’s a shame that no one can see it but me.”
Ethan went quiet for a moment but then the color returned to his face. “You’re blind if you think that makes any difference. You can pretend that you’ve changed. You can shout from the rooftops until you’re out of breath, but it doesn’t mean a dang thing. You will never be a good guy, and Rose will never go for that.”
Mike gritted his jaw tight. “So that’s it, then. You just don’t want her with a guy with my past.”
“This has nothing to do with your past. Tell me, Mike, where did those tools come from?”
Mike’s expression soured. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Oh yes, you do. Those tools you had at the top of the stairs the other night. It’s no coincidence that they’re exactly what I ordered a few weeks ago to make some repairs to the Sagebrush barn.”
“You don’t make the rules on what tools I can use.”
“No, but the sheriff would be very interested to know that you have a duplicate set to what went missing.”
Mike shook his head, grabbing a new box to take to the truck. “If you came here to tear me down and remind me that I’m not good enough for your sister, you’re late to the party. I’m fully aware that I’m not good enough for her. But that doesn’t mean I’m not trying to be better. And that should count for something.”
“It’s not enough, Mike, and you know it.”
Mike ignored him, choosing instead to put all his energy into filling up the truck as quickly as possible. The sooner Ethan left, the better.
They continued to work in strained silence. Every single thing Ethan had said about Mike’s character had been completely true. He knew where to hit Mike below the belt, and it hurt.
There had been a time when Mike had been close to Ethan. They could count on each other to have the other’s back. But that had all changed when Mike had entered high school.
Why did he have to be so shallow to think he was better off with the crowd of friends who had introduced him to the stealing addiction?
That was exactly what it was.
His grandfather couldn’t afford to get him the name-brand clothing or the electronics that all his friends had. The vehicle he’d driven as a teen was a beat-up, rusted-out truck that had no business even starting.
Everywhere Mike had looked, everyone was doing better than he was. Stealing had evened the playing field.
After all that time, Mike could see the distance between them growing again. Ethan had his own place, a good job, and a family—a family Mike had desperately wanted as a kid. And Rose was part of that family. She might have faltered in chasing her dreams, but she still wanted more. He could tell.
One day, she’d get back on her feet and she’d go after everything she wanted and more.
Was Ethan right? Would she lose interest in him when she found out who he really was? What would she do when she realized he didn’t fit into that perfect, cookie-cutter lifestyle she’d been raised to go after?
With each box he placed in the bed of Ethan’s truck, Mike’s confidence waned. Those two little voices battled it out, arguing about whether his support would be enough to win over Rose’s affection.
