“Probably a bit of both,” I concede.
Truly, he’s not going to like it, but I need a male perspective that does not come from the enemy who might have towed my truck to me.
“Ask your question.”
This is a mistake, but I’m in too deep now. “If you were dating someone and she called you needing help, would you go?”
“Of course I would.”
“Even if you didn’t know how to help?”
Jeremy knows nothing about trucks or mud or pulling cars out with a winch. He’s more of a “call the local farmers to get them to do it” type of guy.
At that he laughs. “I know how to help.”
“Oh my God,” I grumble. “Seriously, like, let’s say she’s stuck at a party for work, and she needs someone to get her out without a scene.”
There, my brother has never attended a work party.
Deacon grins. “If the woman I was dating said she needed me, I wouldn’t fucking care what was going on, I’d go to her. If she needed out of the party, I’d stroll in, tuck her to my side, and walk her out. There’s no situation that I wouldn’t at least try to fix. I’m sure I’d fuck it up, but that’s what you do for the person you’re with.”
I close my eyes, hating everything he said, but also knowing he’s right. I know that if Jeremy had called me for help, I would’ve gone or at least tried. Deacon and Ryan would’ve tried to stop me, because it probably wasn’t the safest thing, but I would’ve fought and basically told them to fuck off.
Jeremy didn’t.
“I’m going to tell you something, and I swear to God, you’d better react like a normal human and listen completely.” I do my best to forewarn my brother that he isn’t going to like what I have to say, but I need him to behave—or try to.
His jaw sets and his shoulders look broader.
Great.
“Tell me.”
“I told you and Ryan that I broke down last night and the tire was flat after you idiots removed the spare.”
“Yes, thanks to you, we had to listen to a lecture from Dad for an hour this morning.”
He’s not going to make this easy on me. Not in the least.
“Okay, and you know I got a ride home—they helped me get the truck off the road because I wasn’t far enough over when I stopped, and I was stuck in the mud thanks to the downpour. Anyway, before that, I’d called Jeremy and asked him to come help me.”
Deacon’s green eyes flash with anger as he starts to piece it together. “That fucking prick left you there? In the fucking storm?”
“Well, he didn’t leave me since he wasn’t with me, but he didn’t come either.”
“I’ll kill him.” His fists clench, and I know we’re about to have a nuclear explosion if I don’t quell this.
“So glad to see you’re reacting like a rational human,” I say, throwing my hands up.
Seriously, they wonder why I can’t talk to them about things. It’s because they act like idiots and go off the deep end.
“Lark, you’re my sister! You don’t get left on the side of the road!”
“It was storming!”
Deacon doesn’t look at all appeased by that. Not that I was, either, but I really do worry he’ll beat the shit out of Jeremy if he sees him again.
“I don’t care if it was the great flood from the Bible! You needed help. You called your stupid-ass boyfriend, and he didn’t show. Fuck him, now the truck showing up here means nothing.”
