Her friend gasped. “Tilly!”
That was all it took. Her name being spoken by a friend, and she fell apart. Let all the tears flow as she fell into Harper’s arms.
Kayden’s skincrawled as he transferred the wood from the wheelbarrow to his truck, Tilly’s expression playing over in his head again and again. Her tears. The sadness in her green eyes.
He’d done that to her. He’d put that sadness there.
Fuck.
He dropped another handful of wood into the bed of the truck. There weren’t any tours today, and he needed to move. To exhaust his body and get her out of his head.
Was he wrong in saying what he had? Her father was in contact with her, yet she’d saidnothing. Oh, she’d told his brother but kept it a secret from him even after everything they’d done together.
The hurt in his chest rippled, not only at her deceit but at the fact that he’d allowed himself to date the daughter of the man who’d hurt his deceased father.
The two images, one of his father and the other of Tilly, competed in his head, plaguing and tormenting him.
He grabbed another handful of wood from the wheelbarrow.
Even though every fiber of his being screamed at him that family took priority, he cared about her, dammit. He cared about Tilly regardless of who her father was or what he’d done or whether she’d forgiven him and let him back into her life. And maybe that was the reason there was this niggle at the back of his head, this whisper, telling him she wasn’t that person.
Had that phone call about their family home being knocked down affected his judgment? Jesus, had he even let her speak?
A wild panic suddenly clawed at his chest. And her tears—fuck, her tears were all he could see. That and her pain. Pain thathe’d caused before she’d walked away, because he’d told her to go.
He’d just dropped the last of the wood into the truck when a car entered the parking lot, pulling in beside him. Cody’s eyes were narrowed as he climbed out, his mouth a thin line. His brother rarely got angry, but right now…right now, he looked furious.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” he growled.
Kayden faced his brother. “What are you talking about?”
“I told you not to hurt her. I gave you simple fucking instructions.”
The band around Kayden’s chest tightened, making each breath a battle. “How do you know I hurt her?”
“She came to our house. She was a mess, Kayden. Told Harper that her father just showed upinsideher house this morning. That he grabbed her. She hasbruisesin the shape of fingerprints on her arm. I sat with her while she called Eastern, and she shook the entire time.”
What thefuck? “He hurt her?”
“You didn’t know? Is that because you didn’t listen to her when she tried to tell you?”
Goddammit!He ran frustrated fingers through his hair. “I was a mess, Cody! I wasn’t thinking straight.” Jesus, hestillwasn’t thinking straight.
“I came here to tell you that I know my call this morning about Matthews selling our family home rocked you,” Cody said, a bit more calm in his voice. “But you hurt her.Reallyhurt her. And that’s not okay.”
A million emotions pummeled through Kayden. Anger at her father. Frustration at himself. And guilt. So much damn guilt.
Cody rubbed the back of his neck. “Look…I know you didn’t set out to hurt her. But if you care about her at all, you need to make this right. Give her some time, get your head on straight,and decide if you care about her enough to work on yourself. And if you do…fight like hell to get her back.”
CHAPTER 21
Alight knocking sounded, pricking at Tilly’s sleep. She groaned and rolled to her side, pulling the pillow over her head. She’d been awake for hours last night, sleep completely evading her while her mind was in overdrive. Sometimes because of her father, sometimes because of Kayden. Then, even when shehadgotten to sleep, the two men had bombarded her dreams as well, leading to her waking up feeling completely unrested.
The knock sounded again, this time accompanied by her friend’s voice. “Tilly? Are you awake? Can I come in?”
She tugged the pillow down. As much as she wanted to just stay under the covers and ignore the world all day, that was not a good long-term plan. And Harper had been a wonderful friend yesterday, welcoming her into her home. Feeding her. Sitting with her as she’d told Eastern what had happened. She and Cody had even driven Tilly to her house to grab some stuff. They’d stayed by her side the entire time in case her father returned…he hadn’t.
“Yes, you can come in.”
