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Of course, that was exactly what he did. He always had a hard time saying no to Sammy. They all did. It wasn’t that Vance was afraid of him. They’d butted heads and left bruises on each other plenty over the years. It was more about respect. Before Wanda and Chet had come along and adopted them, they’d all looked to Sammy for guidance. Even though he’d only been a kid himself, Sammy had done what he could to watch out for the rest of them at a time when no one else had wanted to take on the lousy job.
When they reached the kitchen and the swinging doors closed behind him, Vance felt boxed in. Immediately, he wanted to turn and leave. He hadn’t felt that way since his father’s death, helpless and at a complete loss as to what to do. No doubt, Shayla’s sudden reappearance in his life was doing a number on his calm, well-ordered world.
“You’ve been snapping at everyone since you got here,” Sammy said, leaning his large, six-foot-plus frame against the stove. His work boot started to tap out a rhythm against the tile floor, and Vance immediately recognized it as a sign that Sammy was settling in to give one of his lectures. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing,” Vance bit out. “I’m just tired of constantly repeating myself.”
“Vance, we all know you have the biggest part to play here since your construction company is doing the work, but Brodix has been working day and night trying to crunch the numbers to keep this thing within budget. No easy task.”
Vance immediately felt like shit. He shoved a hand through his hair and admitted, “I know. I’m being a pain in the ass.”
Sammy shrugged. “Yeah, you are, but why?”
Vance knew there was no way around it. If he didn’t tell Sammy about Shayla, their mom would. “You’ll find out sooner or later. Might as well be sooner.”
Sam stiffened. “I seriously hate surprises, Vance.”
“Shayla’s back in town,” Vance bit out. Saying her name brought her image to his mind. She was older, but the years had been good to her. She’d lost some of the sweet innocence that he remembered, but she’d gained a good amount of backbone to replace it. Her thin frame had filled out in all the right places too, he’d noticed. God, how was it possible to be attracted to someone who’d torn out his heart? Was he just that pathetic?
“Shayla Riggs?”
“You know any other woman with that name?” he asked, wishing he could start the day over again. “Yes, Shayla Riggs.”
“Damn,” Sammy muttered. “And she’s been by to see you?”
“This morning. She stopped in as if she hasn’t been gon
e for the last twelve damn years. Can you believe that shit?”
His brother shook his head. “Fuck, no wonder you’ve been acting like you wrestled with a porcupine.”
Vance rolled his eyes. “Gee, thanks for the sympathy, bro. Appreciate it.”
He waved a hand in the air. “Yeah, yeah. So, what did she want?”
“To clear the air, she said. As if that’s even possible.” He grunted. “I mean, why would she think I’d care after all this time? We’ve both moved on. What we had is over.”
He quirked a brow. “You sure about that?”
“Yes,” he replied, knowing it was a lie. Seeing Shayla again had brought it all back, as if the last twelve years hadn’t existed. No, God damn it, he’d gotten over her. She’d just surprised him with her sudden reappearance. There wasn’t any more to it than that. And maybe unicorns really did exist. “She can confess all her sins, but it won’t change the fact that whatever we had is in the past.” Vance thought of how well he’d handled the situation and groaned.
“What?”
He looked down at the floor. “I, uh, didn’t exactly welcome her with open arms.”
Sam was silent a moment, then in a low tone, he asked, “You still carrying a torch for her? And be honest.”
He thought about lying, to himself and Sammy both. Unfortunately, Sammy would see right through it the way he always did. “I don’t know,” Vance admitted. “Maybe.”
Sammy shook his head. “Did you at least find out if she’s married?”
Ah hell. “Christ, I didn’t even think to ask. I was too busy trying to figure out if I was having a really fucked-up nightmare or something.”
“You’d better find out, if you plan to go any further with her.”
Vance stiffened. “The only thing I have planned is to find out the truth. I figure she owes me that much.”
“True, but I don’t want to see you hurt.” Sammy closed the distance between them, clapped a hand on his shoulder and squeezed. “She cut you pretty bad once, Vance. I know you don’t want to hear this, but you nearly dropped out of school when she dumped you. You were pretty friggin’ raw over Shayla, and it took you a long time to get over her. Don’t let her do that to you again.”
