Page 102
“What?”
“Bastian. When he first came home, he said he was here for good. He built that cabin because he was staying to take over the farm.” Taylen is glaring at the wall behind me and his eyes are watering. “He’s going to break his promise, except this time, that’s not all he’s breaking.”
“Tay, we don’t know that. Bastian wouldn’t make a promise he couldn’t keep.”
The words come out steadier than I feel because I don’t know what’s happening in New York.
For twenty-five years, my brother lived on the road. He tried to be home for Christmas and Thanksgiving, but he was never here during the summer.
Taylen has every right to be nervous about that, and even though I have no claim on Fox’s time, my heart thinks differently.
“He’ll stay,” I say quietly. “This time is different.”
“You keep saying that.”
“Because I need to believe it.”
Taylen finally looks at me.
“You want to know what the worst part is? I want to believe you so badly. I want you to be able to say ‘I told you so’ because I’d rather be wrong on this than right.”
The shoulder tightness that had loosened with Joe’s amazing wings and the free beer has come back.
While Bastian promised Taylen he was back for good, Fox has never said he was staying. He’s never made me a single promise.
I knew it when he showed up at my door six weeks ago. I knew it when he hid from the world in my apartment, and I knew it when he began coming over at midnight just to be with me for a few too-short hours.
My chest feels too tight with the weight of this secret. If I don’t talk to someone, I might actually need medical treatment for a real physical condition.
“Tay.”
“Yeah.”
“It’s Fox.”
He takes a sip of his drink, and I see his eyebrows narrow as he processes my words before his eyes go wide.
“You mean…?”
“Fox is the guy I’ve been seeing.”
“Dude.”
“You can’t tell anyone. Especially not Bastian.”
He puts a hand on my shoulder. “I would never break your trust, Finn. I’m happy for you though. Fox is sexy as hell.”
“Yeah, that’s the problem. My head, my body, and my heart share the same opinion. It’s very inconvenient.”
Taylen straightens his shoulders and runs his hand through his hair.
“Okay. New plan. We forget about them.”
“Who?”
“Bastian, Fox, and the band. Fuck them.”
“Taylen.”
