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“All cities can be dangerous. Just depends on where he’s at.” Bear ran his hand along his beard. “Not sure where he grew up.”
He seemed unconcerned but almost too unconcerned, which made me believe he was pretending to make me feel better. “You think he’s coming back?”
“He’s coming back.”
He answered with such certainty that I shifted my attention from Wyatt to Bear. “How do you know that?”
He studied me closely, and I wondered if he’d answer. Leaning forward, he placed his elbows on his knees before finally speaking. “Saw his face the day he left, Becs. He didn’t want to leave. He felt an obligation to his family, but there wasn’t a doubt in my mind that if he could’ve thought of another way to handle it, he wouldn’t have gone back.”
He pointed at the necklace around my neck, and I lifted my fingers to run along the smooth chain. “That says everything.”
I was surprised when I’d opened a gift from Race on Christmas morning. I hadn’t seen it until later in the day because it was tucked behind Wyatt’s presents, but there it was. He’d even wrapped it, and the card attached only had his name on it. I’ll never forget how I felt when I opened the small blue velvet box and saw the dainty silver chain holding two charms with Wyatt’s and my birthstones. After I put it on, I noticed a stack of presents for Wyatt that, again, were only signed Race.
He would’ve had those gifts well before he left.
I’d been reminding myself of that a lot recently.
It was one of the only things that made me believe Bear was right.
Chapter 24
Becs
“I’m glad you decided to come.”
Settling back against the couch cushions, I stared at the woman who had become an unlikely friend to me over the past six months. We didn’t have much in common, but on the other hand, there were times it seemed we had everything in common. Either way, I planned to keep her in my life if she was willing.
“I’m still not sure it’s a good idea.” She smiled sadly, and I couldn’t help but notice the large gray circles under her eyes, proving she was just as miserable without my brother as he was without her.
“He misses you,” I said quietly and saw pain lingering in her eyes. Wanting to get rid of the pain, I rolled my eyes. “And he’s being a giant ass to everyone.”
She chuckled, and my shoulders relaxed. “We’re too different, Becs. It was insane to ever assume we could work.”
“Do you love him?”
Pain once again flashed through her eyes before she spoke. “It was just chemistry. It’ll fade in time.” Shaking her head slightly, she pulled her legs up beside her on the couch and leaned her back against the armrest. “Let’s talk about something else. Like Wyatt.” She smiled at him sleeping in his swing. “How is he?”
“Amazing.” I smiled softly at him before facing Josie again when she spoke.
“And you?”
“Better. A lot better, actually.” I picked a piece of lint from my yoga pants. “I really feel like my old self again. I have for a while.”
She tilted her head to the side. “But…” She paused. “I feel like there’s something else.”
Frowning, I ran my hands over my thighs. “Sal stopped by.”
Her forehead wrinkled. “He came here? To Bear’s house?”
“Yeah.” I took a deep breath and exhaled loudly.
“That’s not good.” She laid her hand on her knee. “What if Bear had come home?”
“Exactly,” I agreed. “And I told him that, but he told me he wasn’t afraid of Bear.”
“Well, then he’s an idiot,” she said simply.
I snorted out a laugh. “Yeah.”
