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That was the one thing they couldn’t figure out. The whole drive to the city, both Mason and Henry attempted to come up with a logical explanation for where the money could have come from. Carter hadn’t given Caleb any clue as to where he might have gotten it, either. There was only one thing they did know; Carter hadn’t taken anything from the family jar.
“Well?” Henry nudged him.
“What?”
“Are you gonna knock, or what?”
The door swung open. “You two are ridiculous. This is a cheap motel. I can hear everything you guys are saying. Toss out the fact that I have no idea how you found me in the first place, I’m going to just ask you to leave.” Carter blocked the entrance of the motel room, his dark eyes drilling into Mason.
“Carter, we only wanted to talk to you about—”
“I don’t care what you want to say. You came. You saw me. You can leave.”
“That’s not fair. You can’t just leave without telling anyone,” Henry stepped forward. “You’re part of this family whether you like it or not. We wanted to make sure you’re okay.”
Carter snorted. “Well, clearly, I’m doing fantastic.”
Henry laughed. “Living in a dump like this? Yeah, right.”
“Sorry to break it to you, but this place is just as good as where I grew up. At least here, I can lock my door to keep people out. Speaking of which…” He moved to shut the door, but Henry put his boot in the way. Carter’s eyes darted down, then flitted up and narrowed. “Please move.”
“No.”
“No?” Carter shook his head. “Don’t you guys get it? I don’t want to be part of that family anymore.”
“What?” Mason finally cut in. “What’s wrong with being part of our family?”
Carter sighed. “Out of everyone, I thought you would understand the most. You and your need to work out at Abrams’ place. You knew how much that extra income meant. It’s the difference between starting out fresh and being stuck at home with eleven brothers and sisters.”
“That’s different, and you know it,” Mason snapped. “I never even considered leaving home. I wouldn’t have taken the money and run away with it.”
“I guess that’s the one difference between the two of us. And Abrams didn’t seem to care what my intentions were either. Apparently, you’re the only one who doesn’t view money as the one thing to open doors.”
Mason’s whole body tensed. His blood ran cold and hot all at once. “What are you talking about?”
“Abrams. He gave me some money to get me started.”
“He what?” Mason shot a look at Henry, then charged at the door, but Carter didn’t budge. “How could you do that—ask my employer for money? Do you know how unprofessional that is?”
“Well, it’s done. And he’s not your employer anymore, anyway—though you’re an idiot for walking away from that gig. You put so much into it. Why walk away? You had everything. You had the girl, the job, and the future you wanted.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I know that you’re making a big mistake. And I know that I’m doing what’s right for me. I’m not going home with you guys, and there’s nothing you can say to change that. In fact, if you try to bring anyone else with you to drag me home, then I’m going to move so far away you’ll never find me.”
Mason and Henry exchanged glances. Then Henry nodded. “Fine. But we reserve the right to check in on you. You’re family, no matter what. And you can always come home.”
Mason wasn’t sure, but he thought he saw some emotion filter through Carter’s expression. His little brother nodded and then slowly shut the door on the both of them. Turning to Henry, Mason sighed, “Well, that didn’t turn out the way I wanted it to.”
“He’s right, though.”
“About what?” They both started back to the parking lot.
“That job. The girl. We all noticed the change, and we all thought she would be the one for you. Actually, we figured you’d come home one day and announce you were getting married and moving out to the Abrams’ place. But then you never did.”
“It’s only been a couple weeks,” Mason said. “And I don’t know if I want any of it anymore. Money can be the cause of trouble. Just look at what it did to Carter.”
“Don’t use that excuse. You were happy, and that was with the promise of something more. You’re just bitter because it didn’t turn out the way you wanted it to. Maybe you should call up Abrams and see if he would take you back.”
