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“What day is it?” Will asked.
“Will,” Travis said, heaviness in his voice. “She’s your girlfriend. You have to make her a priority,”
“Thanks, Mom,” Will said, unable to keep the sarcasm out of his voice. “I already said I don’t want to talk about her.” He drove past Clarissa and Spencer’s cabin and parked in front of his.
He threw Trav a dirty look and got out of the truck. His door slamming sounded like an angry exclamation point, and so did Trav’s. “Will,” he said, jogging after him.
“Travis, go on home,” Will said.
“You should go see her,” he said, coming up the steps right behind Will.
“I don’t need to be lectured tonight.” He barreled into the house. He’d lock himself in his bedroom if he had to. Pressure built in his chest, and he suspected he needed to let it all out before it made him explode. So no retreating to his bedroom.
He opened the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water. He tossed one to Travis, along with one of his hottest glares.
“You might as well say it,” he said. He’d known Trav for his whole life. He knew when Travis had something on his chest, and he knew when he needed to let him scream his frustrations into the sky. He wouldn’t leave until he spoke his mind anyway. Might as well get it over with.
Will took a long drink of his water and recapped the bottle. “Are you mad at me?”
“You know what?” Travis asked. “Yeah, I am. You moved out without saying a single thing to me. How do you think I felt when I realized you weren’t coming home at night, and then that you had a whole new home and I was all alone?”
“Is this about you or me?”
“It’s about me,” he said. “Right now. We’ll get to you.”
“Can’t wait,” Will said, immediately wishing he hadn’t. He met Trav’s eyes, and thankfully, he and Trav could communicate with just their eyes.
“You didn’t have to move out,” Travis said. “I would’ve told you that if you’d talked to me.”
“I know that place is for you and Shay,” Will said. “I saw you two there, a couple of months ago. I knew then that she’d come live on the farm with you, and I’d need to find somewhere else to live.”
“But not for two more months,” Travis said. “And I didn’t know that. Shay and I just barely talked about where we’d live.”
Will finished his water and waited while Trav drank too. “I didn’t mean to lecture you about Gretchen,” he said.
Will nodded, because he did love his brother. “I shouldn’t have moved out without talking to you.”
A knock sounded on the door, and Travis’s gaze flew in that direction. “That’s Shay.”
“Let her in,” Will said. “I’ll find something for dinner.”
Travis went to open the door, and Will rustled up some frozen chicken cordon bleus from the freezer. He had a bagged salad, and that would have to do for tonight.
He set the oven and then finally turned toward the front door. Shay was just starting to move away from Travis, and relief filled Will. He didn’t want to watch his brother kiss his fiancée, not when Will hadn’t even texted with Gretchen that day.
He probably needed to go see her. It was Thursday, so she was real busy with her daddy tonight, but he could ask her to dinner tomorrow. Even just taking her one of her favorite meals would count, and Will didn’t mind his time in his truck if he got to see Gretchen at the end of the drive.
“Hey, Will,” Shay said, smiling at him as she walked through the living room.
“Howdy,” he said. “I have chicken cordon bleu. It’ll be about forty-five minutes.”
“That’s fine,” Travis said, following Shay and slinging his arm around her as she sat at the bar. “Right, baby?”
“Sure,” she said. “You don’t have to feed us at all, Will.” Shay had always been kind to him, and Will did his best to smile at her. She saw the effort, and her smile slipped. After a quick glance at Travis, she asked, “How’s the barn coming?”
“Great,” Will said.
“Oh, you know what?” she asked. “I got those new running packs. I should’ve brought you one.”
