A grin curls my lips recalling our old Yellow Labrador. “You’re right. She loved everyone.”
“I heard the Allen clan is raising Boxers.”
“Or we could ask Grady where he got Bear.”
His steps come to an abrupt halt. “You met his dog?”
I turn to face him. “Sure did. I went over to his place earlier this week.”
“Why?” My brother peers down at me. I almost squirm under the pressure. “Wait. You’re not still harboring that stupid crush on him, right?”
“What?” I cough to cover my gasp. “That’s silly. I’d like to be his friend.”If nothing else,I add silently.
Jace doesn’t relent, seeing way too much. “Pretty sure he’s not interested.”
I rub at the slap his words hit my cheek with. “Blunt much?”
He folds his arms. “Just speaking the truth. I barely see Grady. He’s been shoving a lot more distance between us lately.”
“He mentioned leaving Silo Springs,” I murmur.
Jace scratches at his smooth jaw. “That doesn’t surprise me.”
My stomach plummets to the gravel ground. “How could it not?”
His lips flatten into a thin line. “Grady has never felt at home in this town.”
“He always has a spot in our family.”
“Not sure that’s enough for him,” he admits on a sigh.
“I wish it was.” I suck in a sharp breath, willing my eyes to stop watering.
“You’re better off spending that energy elsewhere.”
That doesn’t sit well with me. At all. “But what about the house he’s fixing up? Why spend all that time and effort if he’s just going to leave?”
Jace hitches a shoulder up. “Turning a profit.”
I furrow my brow. “It feels like a place to stay.”
“So what? Why does this matter so much to you?”
“Because I care about him.” His glare has me backpedaling. “Not like that. He’s been close to our family for years.”
“Well, you’ve been gone. Things change. Just leave him be.”
That was my initial plan. Grady Bowen should no longer have a hold on me. I was supposed to ignore him the way he’d been avoiding me. But there’s no resisting his steely exterior and hardened expression. Letting him go is a battle I’ll always lose. I’m more likely to win the lottery and get struck by lightning in the same afternoon.
I release a slow exhale. “What happened to Grady?”
Jace’s narrowed gaze snaps to mine. “Not sure what you mean.”
“He isn’t the Grady I knew. Not even close. Sure, he’s always been guarded. This is something else entirely. He’s different in a glaring and drastic way. Why?”
My brother is no dummy. He can read the reason I’m asking clear across my forehead. I’m sure he has similar concerns about our friend. It’s impossible not to. I’ve buried the need to check on Grady. Four long years biting my tongue. But staying silent hasn’t done me any favors.
Jace’s exhale is forced. “People haven’t been kind to him, Sutt. The majority have been really shitty, if we’re being honest. There has always been a countdown to the point where he’d crack.”
