Page 151 of Let Me Keep You

“I asked him to come here with me, but he’d always say he was too busy with work.”

Looking back, Robert always acted too good to be seen visiting a convict in prison. He judged and mocked people who had criminal records, my brother included.

“Fine by me. Fewer times I had to fake being nice.” Noah smirks.

“Just wait till you come home. Everyone’s polite to your face but talks shit behind your back,” Tyler warns. “Hope you got some thick skin.”

“Tyler…” I mutter and give him a look. The last thing I want is to scare Noah about going home.

“Gem, it’s fine. You don’t need to sugarcoat anything for me. Without a doubt, it’s gonna be rough, but since Tyler’s there, I won’t be so alone.” Noah shrugs, and it breaks my heart that he’ll have to deal with this when he’s out.

“I’m not trying to. I just wanna make sure you don’t change your mind and move to Alaska or something.”

“That’s way too damn cold for me.” Noah grunts. “Plus, I don’t have any money, remember? I’ll be a thirty-three-year-old man living the dream at home.”

“I’m thirty-four, and I’m staying with my baby sister,” Tyler mocks. “She said we can start a convicts club when you’re back.”

Noah laughs, and I love hearing that sound come from him because it doesn’t happen often.

“I’ve been working out at the gym, training a few people.”

“So what you’re saying is I have less than eighteen months to bulk up so I can kick your ass?”

“Yep, something else to look forward to,” Tyler says, and I’m glad he’s being so positive.

Glancing back and forth between the two of them, I beam because they’re getting along so well.

“So you’re dating my sister now?” Noah asks bluntly.

“Noah!” I whisper-hiss. “I just ended my engagement.”

“Exactly. You’re a free woman. He better hurry before another old guy swoops in and steals you away.”

Tyler tries to hold back his laughter, but fails, as I hang my head. “You’re both jerks.”

“Hey, I just said what Tyler’s probably thinking.”

“What the whole town is thinking,” Tyler adds.

“How’d we get on the subject of me anyway? We’re here to talk about you,” I deflect. There’s no way Tyler and I are having this conversation in front of my brother in a prison.

“There hasn’t been anything new with me in over eight years.” Noah leans back, crossing his arms. “Well, unless you consider us getting two new flavors of Jell-O this month.”

“Ooh, which ones?” Tyler acts interested.

“Watermelon and strawberry banana,” Noah confirms.

I burst out laughing at his excitement. “If that makes you happy, just wait till Tyler makes you one of his amazing dinners. He’s practically a chef.”

“No,” Tyler argues. At the same time, Noah says, “Can’t wait!”

“Stop being so modest. Considering you could’ve lived on ramen and PB&J sandwiches, but taught yourself how to cook so y’all could eat a home-cooked meal is something to be proud of,” I tell him genuinely. He probably doesn’t think he did anything special, but he did. Tyler was all Everleigh talked about in middle and high school, and those stories are what had me falling for him in the first place.

Tyler and Noah mostly chat about Noah’s plans when he’s free. Though I know better than to mention Katie’s name, Tyler has no shame in doing so.

“Since our time is almost up, I gotta ask. Why didn’t you ever write Katie back or let her visit?”

The moment his question comes out, Noah’s face pales.