“I am healed.”
“Physically maybe, but not emotionally.”
Brad groaned.
“She’s big on expressing what’s inside you, Brad.”
He sent his brother a glare.
“For what it’s worth, I’m sorry you lost your friend. It must have been hard.”
Brad acknowledged Ethan’s words with a nod.
“Please tell me why you left home, Brad,” Ethan then asked him.
The please made the difference, and what the hell, maybe he should try and at least have a civil relationship with his brother. He doubted they’d have anything deeper, but he could play nice, even if it was just for Annabelle’s sake.
“EG asked me to fire Troy five days before Christmas, and I couldn't do it.”
Ethan whistled. “Troy has been my father's right hand since before we were born,” he added to get Annabelle and Newman up to speed.
“Why'd he want him gone?”
“He said it was time for a change. Time to bring in someone young and more innovative. What he actually meant, I found out from Troy, was that he was hiring a young woman he wanted to get into bed.”
“So you told him no,” Ethan added. “Must have been ugly.”
Brad remembered the day clearly. The rage that had mottled his father's face, and the anger that had gripped Brad.
“Uncle Mitch walked in when I had Father pinned against a wall.”
“Good timing, Uncle Mitch, is my guess,” Newman said.
“Don't worry, he's like part of the furniture.” Ethan waved a hand at his friend as Brad looked at Newman. “You get used to just talking and every ear listening here, it's just the way of things.”
“I'm the comfortable ottoman.”
“Idiot,” Ethan muttered. “So what happened then?”
“I left. Packed my things, told Uncle Mitch I couldn't live there any longer, and that he needed to watch out for Mother.”
“Just like me,” Ethan said. “Uncle Mitch was there when I left.”
“Guess.” Brad didn't want to think about the moment he knew his brother had thrown him to the wolves… or more importantly, one wolf in particular.
Chapter 6
Macy had woken the morning after Ethan and Annabelle's wedding smiling. She’d had sex with Brad Gelderman and loved every second of it. Loved, relished, and several other descriptive words. The man had taken her to heights she hadn't known she could scale.
She was pleased he was leaving though, because she had a feeling any man that could bring her to such heights would play havoc with her head if he was around for long enough.
“What are you smiling at, Mommy?”
“Nothing, sweetie, you just eat your snack.”
She really shouldn't be thinking about the night she'd shared with Brad while her son was sitting across the table. But what a night. Macy sighed silently. He'd touched her like she was precious. Kissed her softly, and for those brief moments, she had been just a woman with no emotional baggage. It had been heaven, and Macy knew she would hold the memories of that night close for a long time.
Last night had told her that perhaps if the right man stepped into her life, she could have a relationship with him. Last night had been another step in changing the person Brian had turned her into.
