Page 42 of Mountain Grump Protector

He nods.

“No,” I stop him before he can speak. “You don’t. You have no idea what I had to…what I almost had to do to pay off your debt this time.” I swallow hard, not wanting to think about that night at the Rusty Nail when Ronnie and his buddies actually played for me.

I don’t even want to think of what could have happened if Cal hadn’t stepped in. Thinking about Cal, I spin around and take another glance over my shoulder before facing my brother. “You can’t be here.”

“I have nowhere else to go.”

“How about going back to town and handling your debts so I don’t have to?” I cross my arms over my chest. “Have you thought about doing that, Bryson? Because I can’t keep cleaning up your messes for you. And Dad…have you even thought about what Dad’s going through?”

He nods.

“I don’t think you do. “

Because if that were true, he wouldn’t even be here right now. He’d be down on his knees apologizing to our father and to me, and to the mountain man whose property he’s currently trespassing on, who spent thousands of dollars to clean up a mess he never created for people he’d never even met.

“Willow.” He glances at the cabin. “Please.”

My stomach drops. My anger fades.

“How much trouble are you really in?”

His silence is answer enough.

“Shit, Bryson.” I can’t help but think of the missing truck. “What did you get yourself into this time?”

“Willow, I…I just need a place to sleep for a few hours and maybe something to eat.” He talks faster when I shake my head. “I need a chance to think so I can figure out what to do,” he continues. “I can fix this. I can figure it out. I just need a bit to⁠—”

Murph appears and drops his ball at my feet before baring his teeth and snarling at Bryson, who takes a few steps backward and raises his hands.

“It’s okay, buddy.” I pat the dog, who doesn’t seem convinced.

Behind me, I hear the door of the cabin open, and I make a quick decision.

“Okay,” I tell Bryson. “You can rest in the garage. But you have to stay out of sight, and it’s only for today,” I add when he opens his mouth. “I’ll bring you some food and a change of clothes. But you need to be gone by tomorrow, understand?”

My brother nods. “Thank you.”

I shove him toward the garage before he can say anything else.

“And Bryson?” He turns. "Fix this,” I tell him. “Once and for all. I can’t keep doing this. I won’t.”

I turn back toward the cabin.

Murph lingers for a second, watching Bryson disappear into the garage before reluctantly following me.

Every step toward the porch feels heavier than the last.

Because I’m keeping something from Cal, and I never have before.

And it’s not small.

It’s the kind of secret that poisons everything it touches. Which terrifies me, because somehow in the last few days I think I’ve gone and fallen in love.

Chapter Fourteen

Cal

Luke drops the envelope onto the workbench with a heavy thud. “That’s all of it.”