My eyes widen as I stare back at my oldest brother. “What?”
He tilts his head to the side, a ghost of a smile dancing across his lips. “Of course you didn’t see it,” he says with a chuckle, shaking his head. “Everyone else could see it, Will. That boy has only ever had eyes for you.”
Noah grumbles at the thought, his eyes narrowing on Finn. “I asked him if he did and he hesitated.”
“Because he’s your best friend and you’re another person he doesn’t want to let down,” Finn says, rolling his eyes. “Imagine the conflicting feelings he must have been experiencing this entire time.”
Twisting my lips, I chew on the inside of my cheek, the guilt washing over me as Finn’s words settle in my chest.
“I’m not saying you have to forgive him or go running back to him,” he adds, his eyes meeting mine. “I’m just saying, maybe give him a little bit of grace.”
“Regardless of what happens, we love you, Will,” Noah says, his voice soft. “We will always support your decisions, even if we don’t agree with them.”
“And we will beat anyone’s ass who ever makes you feel like shit,” Finn adds, a grin stretching across his lips. “Even if it’s Jace Miller.”
“EspeciallyJace Miller,” Noah chimes in with a chuckle as he rises to his feet and drags me to mine, pulling me in for a hug. Finn lets the door fall shut as he walks over to the two of us, wrapping his arms around Noah and me.
The three of us stay like that for a few moments before we all break apart. Finn heads back inside and Noah leaves for town, taking the bottles of syrup with him to drop off with Natalie.
Sitting back on the rocking chair, my gaze roams over the yard and out to the fields where the horses graze. My life might not be exactly where I want it yet, but this is a start.
Whether or not Jace decides that we are worth the risk—I know that I will be okay.
I just hope he at least considers it…
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
JACE
Dr. Grey sits on the table in front of me, cocking her head as her eyeball rolls around, almost like she’s trying to scan me. Her head tilts slowly, moving back to a neutral position before it slowly starts to tilt again.
“Why does her eye look like that?”
I look at Liam standing next to me. Harrison pulls one of the other chairs out, the feet dragging across the floor before he lowers himself onto it.
“She had a really bad infection when she was a kitten.”
Liam looks away from me, staring directly at Dr. Grey’s eyeball. “Is it ever going to get better?”
“No,” I say, shaking my head as I glance at Harrison, who’s got Snoop on his lap. He scratches behind her ear, not paying any attention to me, although he’s undoubtedly listening to every word I say to his son. “They treated it as best as they could when she had the infection. They think she can see shapes and shadows, so she still has some use of her vision.”
His eyebrows tug together as he slowly inches his hand closer, stopping directly in front of Dr. Grey’s face. He’s laser focused on her and he waves it back and forth. The cat doesn’tmove. She doesn’t even blink. “I don’t think she can see anything.”
“She can, I promise.” I chuckle as I rise to my feet, turning away from the table to grab my drink from the counter. Liam stares hard at her for a few more seconds before he spins around and heads back into the living room, where he abandoned the toys he was playing with.
My footsteps are slow as I walk back over to the table, a frown tugging on my lips as I look at Harrison. Snoop isn’t on his lap anymore. Instead, Harrison is hunched over, elbows planted on the table with his forearms resting against the cool surface. His gaze is focused on his hands as he traces the patterns in the wood, like he can’t figure out what he’s supposed to do with himself.
He doesn’t look right sitting here like that. Not because he doesn’t belong inside my house or anything. He’s just not himself. This isn’t the Harrison I’ve known since I was a kid.
This is the broken version.
Glancing through the doorway that leads into the living room, I see Liam sitting in the middle of the room on the rug by the couch, clearly having given up trying to play with Dr. Grey. He has an old basket of toys my mother must have saved from when I was a kid and he’s digging inside it, pulling out different dinosaurs and cars.
Turning back to the fridge, I grab a bottle of water for Harrison and carry it over to the table, setting it in front of him. I asked him earlier if he wanted a beer and he turned down the offer.
“You okay?” I ask, my words quiet as I lower myself back down into my seat.
Harrison lets out a ragged breath that sounds like half a laugh and half like he’s being strangled. “I just signed papers for an apartment and had a meeting with a divorce attorney.Asking me if I’m okay is like asking someone who’s standing in the center of their house as it burns to the ground if they’re comfortable.”
