The day after Jonah dropped me off, Tate drove me to Bozeman to grab some clothing that would work better for a Montana winter instead of a Bali honeymoon. He acted like a lookout until I was all packed into his pickup. Then he also interrogated me on who had the keys to my place.
I’d never been so grateful for Boyd’s elitist personality. Our break was fairly clean, and his need for maintaining a certain status would keep him away from me or I would be loud about how he’d hit me.
Tate parked by the back door of Mama’s house. “You call if you need anything.”
“Got it.” I went to open the door.
“No, Summer.”
I stopped with my hand on the handle. He was using his bossy-big-brother voice. “Iknow, Tate. I’m fine.”
“You’re the girl who bought me for Scarlett at a bachelor’s auction as a way to get us together.”
“Would you have asked her out otherwise?”
“Maybe, but that’s not what I mean.” He rested his elbow on the steering wheel and twisted his torso toward me. “You butt in. You interfere. You tell us what to do.”
I frowned and picked at my plaid pajama bottoms. I’d been tempted to keep Jonah’s snow pants on. Only a day had gone by and I wished I was at the quiet cabin, hiding from life. “You make me sound awful.”
“That’s not what I mean either,” he said, exasperated. “You care about us, but what makes you think you’re the only one of us who can help? You got snowed in with Dunn instead.”
“What do you mean? He hasn’t done anything bad.”
“Iknow that. How would you know that?”
“I’ve known him most of my life, Tate.”
He let out a sigh. “My point isn’t whether or not Jonah is a decent guy. I wouldn’t have let you leave with him if I hadn’t thought you’d be safe. I’m trying to point out that you avoided everyone who’s invested in your happiness and went with someone who’s been tucked into his mountain cabin since he left the hospital for the last time.”
For the last time. The ache behind my sternum returned. Jonah had had such a rocky road to recovery and then he’d secluded himself. “He’s punishing himself.”
“No kidding.”
I rolled my eyes at his sarcasm, then dropped my gaze to my hands. “I was ashamed.”
“We weren’t ashamed of you.”
I gave him a small smile. “Thank you. I kind of needed to hear that.”
“I thought I was a failure when I got divorced.”
I tipped my head and considered him. Tate was the oldest of us all—of his brothers, of me and my sisters, of all the fosters who’d been through Mama’s house. He was infallible. I often forgot he was just a guy going through life wondering if he was making the right decisions.
Only he had. Maybe he and his ex hadn’t been meant to be, but they were amicable. They co-parented around his ex’s heavy travel schedule. His wife, Scarlett, glowed each time I saw her, and not just when she was pregnant. My friend was happy in a way she never had been when she’d been single and would shyly drop her gaze when Autumn and I talked about Tate.
“You succeeded even in divorce,” I pointed out. He hadn’t broken her heart and she hadn’t lashed out and done something stupid.
“Divorce has a way of making everything feel like the opposite of success.” He scowled at me. “How did we end up talking about me again?”
I smiled. “Busted.”
“You’re the most stubborn of us all.”
“Take that back! I cannot out-stubborn Junie.”
He rocked his head from side to side. “You’re right. But we’re not talking about her. You can come to me if you need anything. I’m not my wife or Autumn, or Junie or Wynter, but you can talk to me. I won’t fly off the handle. I’d like to think I’ve matured in my old age.”
“I guess I just wanted an escape. I had to figure out how I felt first.”
