Chapter Twenty #2
T scoffed. “Yeah, I bet if you asked Cass, she would’ve said the same shit about me.”
“T, you’re a good guy.” She shrugged and muttered. “Just a little rough around the edges.”
He snorted, and she glanced up. His lips spread into a smile, and he held up three fingers. “Only three women ever thought I was a good guy. Mom, you, and Cassie.” He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “Wanna know what you all got in common?”
He didn’t wait for her to answer. “You know me. You know the truth. You know all the ugliness, the shit that almost ended me. You three knew it.”
She did. All the horror he went through before he came to live with them. It was years and years later, but it was shared just among the family. They may not have talked about it, but there were no secrets among them. They each had their story, some more painful than others, but they all knew it.
“But that’s not Jonah.”
“You sure about that?”
Was she?
Roxanne sighed. “He broke up with me, T.”
T stood and nodded. “And I pushed Cass away more times than I could count. We all got our demons, Rox. Some of us are just better at hiding them ‘cause we don’t want anyone else to see. Especially those we love.”
T walked across her room and out the door without another word. He’d said enough.
He’d said everything.
****
Jonah had been holed up in the workshop since he got home three hours ago.
Holden was still avoiding him since his outburst a few days ago.
Hell, he couldn’t blame the kid. Jonah had lost his shit.
He rested his knuckles on his workbench and lowered his head.
The breakup continued to be a sore subject.
“Hey, man.”
Jonah glanced over to find Cord walking through the shop.
“Hey.”
Cord hooked his thumb over his shoulder. “You eat already? I was gonna heat up the tenderloin. I could make you a plate.”
“No, I’m good. Thanks.”
Jonah expected his brother to leave. He didn’t. Cord glanced around the shop, seemingly stalling. Jonah rested his hip on the workbench, staring at his brother.
“What’s going on, Cord?”
He dragged his hand over his head, grasping the back of his neck. “So, you and Roxanne are really over, huh?”
He sighed and remained quiet. What was he supposed to say? I pushed her away because she got too close. And I broke her fucking heart in the process. The pain of leaving her in tears was a deep wound he wouldn’t soon forget.
“Guessing you don’t wanna talk about it.”
Again, he said nothing.
“It’s too bad things didn’t work out. You two? It was good.” It wasn’t good. It was fucking great. She was the best thing that’d ever happened to Jonah.
“You deserve that, you know?” Cord tightened his lips in a stressed smile, which didn’t quite reach his eyes. “You gave up a lot for us, Jay. All of us.”
He sighed. “I didn’t give up anything. We’re family.”
Cord was shaking his head before Jonah even finished his sentence.
“No, don’t do that. You were eighteen. That’s a kid.
” Cord swallowed hard and cleared his throat.
“You were just a kid, Jay. And I know I wasn’t easy, not by a fucking long shot.
Bitter little prick, and you took that on.
You took us all on. So yeah, you gave up a lot. ”
Cord scanned the workshop. “You’re different with her.” He lifted his gaze to Jonah’s. “You were happy, and you deserve that.”
Jonah had no response. He had been happy with her. Roxanne had been a game changer he never saw coming.
“Does the breakup got anything to do with me?”
Jonah furrowed his brows, turning to Cord. His brother shrugged, grabbing a tool from the bench and tapping it against his palm.
“‘Cause of what I asked her to do?”
It had everything to do with that subject, but Cord wasn’t to blame.
The honeymoon phase would’ve only lasted so long before he’d be forced to give her everything.
It probably would’ve been harder to end things had their relationship gone on longer.
As it stood, he quickly found out life without Roxanne was gut-wrenching.
“No.” Jonah gripped the edge of the workbench in a tight squeeze. “You should know better than anybody. Sometimes it just doesn’t work out.”
“Yeah, but you guys were different.”
Were they? Jonah sucked in a breath, ready to end any and all conversation about Roxanne.
It was rare for him to have a heart-to-heart with Cord, and he appreciated the concern.
But there was nothing left to say. Much like Roxanne, he couldn’t be completely honest with Cord.
The weight of this secret was one he’d have to carry alone.
The loud knocking on the door had Jonah jerking his head and scowling. The force was enough to shake the hinges of the old door. He straightened and walked two steps when it flew open, and he halted, taking in the two men entering.
What the …
His workshop rarely had visitors, and when it did, it was by appointment only.
“We were in the neighborhood and thought we’d stop by.” Bogs grinned, glancing around the workshop. He whistled and turned to Jonah. “Now this is a fucking sweet setup, man.”
Jonah eyed Bogs and T, who stood a few feet behind him. “In the neighborhood, huh?”
Bogs smirked, shrugging. “Close enough.”
Cord subtly moved a step closer to Jonah. He’d heard of the Garrison brothers but hadn’t met them formally. If Jonah had to guess, after the accident with Roxanne, Cord was probably hoping he’d never run into them.
“This your brother?” Bogs said, pointing to Cord, whose face paled.
Jonah flattened his lips, resisting the urge to smile.
“Yeah. Cord, this is Bogs and T.”
Cord lifted his chin. His faux confidence wasn’t fooling anyone. “How’s it going?”
“Be a lot better if you knew how to fucking drive.” T hardened his stare.
“Yeah.” Cord cleared his throat. “Sorry about that. But we got it all squared away.”
Bogs laughed. “Yeah, after she came for your ass. I’m telling you, don’t fuck with Roxanne.”
Cord nervously nodded.
Jonah was all for learning a lesson, and he was sure Cord had learned his in this very minute. Time to put little brother out of his misery.
“You got plans, right?” Jonah asked and saw the flash of relief on Cord’s face.
“Yeah.” He side-stepped Bogs and purposely walked to the opposite end of the workshop to avoid T. “Later.”
Within seconds, Cord was out the door, and he saw T’s lips twitch.
Jonah folded his arms and glanced between the brothers. He knew why they were there, and it had nothing to do with them being in the neighborhood. Discussing his relationship with Roxanne wasn’t on the table, and he planned on telling them that. But T beat him to it.
“You didn’t tell her” T said, staring back at him.
“I told you that wasn’t an option.”
“Alright, it’s your life, Jonah. I sure as shit got no place telling you how to live it. Even when I think you're wrong.” T said.
Jonah scowled. “I appreciate that.”
Reverse psychology wouldn’t work on him, and he wouldn’t entertain it.
“Just one question.” T paused. “If you could go back and change things, would you do it differently?”
T was no longer talking about his sister. This went deeper into the past. This wasn’t the first time he’d pondered his decision. And every time, he had the same answer.
“No.”
T slowly nodded. “No regrets. Then you've got nothing to be ashamed of.”
“Not ashamed.”
“Aren’t you? Don’t want her to know ‘cause you’re afraid she’ll look at you differently. You show her the dark in you, the ugly fucking scars, and you think that’s all she’ll see. Everything you two built will just go away, and all she’ll ever see is your past.”
Jonah remained silent.
“Well,” T glanced around the room, “then it’s a good thing you ended it. ‘Cause if that’s what you think of Roxanne, then you don’t know her. And you sure as fuck don’t deserve her.”
T turned and walked out, followed by Bogs.
Fuck!