Chapter 28
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Dylan
I glance at the clock before I swing open the door to my apartment. It’s mid-afternoon on Sunday. I know it’s not Eden. She has work on her plate today. I checked in with her late this morning via text.
She told me she’d be tied up today and tomorrow.
I’m looking at a full schedule for most of the week. There’s a good chance that the next time I see Eden, we’ll be standing in Judge Mycella’s courtroom.
I swing open the door because I know whoever is standing on the other side made it past the doorman.
I didn’t order food in, so it’s someone with a face familiar enough that the doorman didn’t view their presence as deserving of a heads-up phone call to me.
“Colt,” Barrett greets me with a nod of his head. “Let me in.”
I step aside to give him room to pass. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“It’s good to see you too, bastard.” He drops his duffel bag and a briefcase at my feet. “What’s going on in your world?”
I slam the door shut and turn to face him.
“I’m about to go out for a run.”
He takes in the black shorts and white T-shirt I’m wearing. “Hold up on that. We need to talk.”
I continue the leg stretches I started before he showed up unannounced. “Let’s start with why you’re here with an overnight bag. Did I miss the text where I invited you for a visit?”
He shoves his hands into the front pocket of his jeans. “You missed a few phone calls. I was worried about my little buddy.”
I laugh aloud. “Since when am I your little buddy?”
“Stroll down memory lane with me.” He walks to the couch, planting himself in the middle of it. “I was taller than you when we were twelve. If I recall correctly, you were my little buddy for six months give or take a week.”
He’ll never let me live that down.
I caught up in height and weight during summer break, but Barrett refuses to let it go.
“Why are you in New York?” I settle back on the heels of my running shoes.
“I thought I’d drop in on my way to London.” He pats his thigh. “I’m looking for an update on you and Eden Conrad. Anything new to report on that front?”
“You’re going to London?” Deflection never works with Barrett, but there’s no harm in trying.
He nods. “I fly out early tomorrow. You’re going to tell me what you and Eden have been up to since I left you in her very capable hands.”
“We’ve hung out.” I try to keep my voice level.
“Hung out?” He pops both brows. “Is that a polite way to say you’ve been fucking?”
“It’s more than that,” I correct him. “We’ve gone out for dinner. We went dancing.”
“You’re dating Eden?” He cracks a wide grin. “Look at you acting like a stand-up guy. I’m proud of you for keeping your dick on a leash.”
I move to take a seat on a chair across from him. Coach Conrad was an influential force in Barrett’s life too. He was the one who broke the bad news to my best friend that an athletic scholarship wasn’t in the cards for him.
Barrett took the news like a champ.
He thanked Coach for his honesty and then got drunk on cheap beer.
“I need to tell you something.” I edge into the conversation slowly. “It’s about Eden.”
Curiosity draws his body forward. He rests his elbows on his knees. “What?”
I scratch the back of my neck. There’s no easy way to do it, so I come right out with it. “Coach Conrad died three years ago. He’s gone.”
The look on his face mirrors the one I know was on mine last night.
I go on, “It was cancer.”
Barrett’s head drops into his hands. “Dammit. Life’s not fair. He was the best. You know he was the best.”
“I know.” I exhale on a sigh. “I was as surprised as you are.”
He looks up at me. “How did Eden handle that on her own? Was she on her own when it happened?”
I didn’t bother to ask, because she made it damn clear that talking about Clark is off limits. “I don’t know. She didn’t say.”
“Coach had our backs.” He pats his thigh. “He looked out for us at every turn. We should have been there to say goodbye to him.”
I can’t argue with that, so I don’t. “I know it.”
“I should talk to Eden.” He looks at my phone on the coffee table. “Give me her number so I can text her. I need to tell her I’m sorry.”
Shaking my head, I lean back in my chair. “I’ll tell her that you’re sorry when the time is right. It’s painful for her to talk about it.”
“Whatever you think is best, Colt. You know her better than I ever have.”
I can’t say that I do. I want to, but time is ticking on my relationship with Eden. The clock is about to run out, and when it does, I’ll become a memory from her past again.