Chapter 2
This wasn’t fucking happening, Garrett told himself as he dropped the roll of painter’s tape on the floor and stumbled the rest of the way across his office, cursing the fucking rose bush that broke his fall every step of the way as he made his way to the closet, telling himself that she was lying.
God, she had to be fucking lying, Garrett told himself as he thought about everything that he’d put her through over the years and-
Fuck!
She was definitely lying.
She had to be because there was no fucking way that he’d ruined everything over a simple-fucking misunderstanding. He just…
She was definitely fucking lying, Garrett told himself as he tore through his closet, ripping open boxes and quickly shoved them aside when he didn’t find what he was looking for.
Once he’d managed to tear through his closet, he tore through his desk, the books filling the built-in bookshelves lining one side of his office that he’d replaced, the boxes that he’d shoved in the corner months ago, until finally, he found what he was looking for.
Slowly exhaling, he told himself that she was lying one last time before he opened the battered book that he’d used for batting practice and-
“Oh, God…”
Feeling sick to his stomach, Garrett dropped down on the leather couch that took up half his office as he forced himself to read the words that let him know just how badly he’d fucked up. The more he read, the more he saw himself in Tristan. He just…
This had to be a mistake.
He kept telling himself that as he sat there, forcing himself to read every damn word, praying for something, anything, that would prove that he didn’t destroy his life.
When he was done, the book fell from his fingertips as he thought about everything that he said that night and the look of absolute devastation on Kristen’s face and-
“Oh, God…” Garrett muttered hollowly as he sat there, feeling sick to his stomach as he thought about the moment when he ruined everything.
She was…
Christ, she was his world.
He loved his family, more than anything, but growing up with six brothers and a sister who enjoyed tormenting each other for the hell of it had been draining. There was always something going on, always someone there, and anytime he tried to find a space for himself, someone would find him.
Then one day, he spotted an adorable little girl getting out of a car, looking absolutely lost and he just…
He hadn’t been able to take his eyes off her and he had no idea why.
She’d intrigued him, making it difficult for him to ignore her until one day, he found himself crawling into a play tube, needing to find out what exactly it was about her that drew him.
As soon as he sat down by her side, a sense of peace like nothing he’d ever known before washed over him, leaving him feeling whole for the first time in his life.
It was addictive.
After that, he couldn’t stay away. He made up excuses to linger behind when his brothers and sister made their way to the bus stop just so that he could walk with her.
He kept an eye on her at school, making sure that Kelly and her band of bitches left her alone.
On the days that he rode the bus home, he took his time walking home from the bus stop, watching her as she made her way across the street before he reluctantly headed inside and made a show of grabbing a snack before going upstairs to do his homework.
As soon as he reached his room, Garrett was climbing out of his bedroom window, tearing across his backyard and cutting through the neighbors’ yards until he reached the end of the street only to cut down the next street and made his way through Kristen’s backyard.
After making sure the coast was clear, he quickly made his way across her backyard, climbed the old oak tree outside her room and spent the rest of the afternoon doing his homework while devouring whatever tasty treat her aunt brought home that day until it was time to go home for dinner.
Every night, he waited until his brothers fell asleep before he snuck out of the house and made his way back to her, unable to stay away.
He watched her scribble in her notebooks late into the night by the old camping lantern that he’d swiped from his garage until it was time to go.
He hated sneaking around, hated pretending that he was barely aware of the one person that made him happy, but he didn’t have a choice.
Not if he wanted to-
There was a good chance that he might have fucked this up, Garrett thought, swallowing hard as he slowly looked up and met angry blue eyes that used to light up when they saw him.
When they narrowed dangerously on him, he found himself slowly nodding.
Yeah, he definitely fucked up, Garrett thought as he ran his eyes over her, taking in her long black hair, cute little nose and her stubborn little chin, absently noting that she was still beyond fucking adorable before his gaze landed on the blue painter’s tape that he’d been forced to place over her mouth when she decided to share her plans to unman him.
In retrospect, it was probably a bad idea to tape her to the chair, but in his defense, he was apparently a fucking idiot.
He’d considered leaving her on the roof until he was able to confirm what she said, but that seemed like a bad idea at the time.
Now, he needed to figure out how he was going to handle this without Kristen going for his balls.
Garrett went to open his mouth only to abruptly close it, cleared his throat, went to open it again, thought better of it, and settled for a hopeful smile. He watched her beautiful blue eyes slowly, ever so fucking slowly, narrow to slits on him.
She was definitely gonna go for his balls, Garrett thought, debating the best way to handle this.
For a moment, he considered going with a typical Bradford apology only to decide that would only make things worse.
Deciding that it was for the best to find out just how pissed she was, he cleared his throat again as he reached over and carefully peeled the tape off her mouth and-
Definitely pissed, he thought when she only continued glaring.
Not really sure where he should go from here, Garrett opened his mouth only to realize that he had absolutely no idea what the hell he was supposed to say to fix this.
Deciding that he was in way over his head on this one, he debated his options while the small woman who he was hoping was willing to overlook the fact that he’d kidnapped her watched his every move.
He definitely fucked up, Garrett thought, swallowing hard as he stood up and gestured weakly towards the double doors that needed to be refinished and said, “I’ll be right back.
” That was followed by clearing his throat and nodding for some reason when a small muscle beneath her right eye began to twitch.
Trying not to think about just how badly he’d fucked up, Garrett went for a hopeful smile only to rethink that decision when she sent him a look that dared him to finish the gesture, cleared his throat again, bit back a wince, and made his way into the small foyer.
Telling himself that he could fix this, Garrett made his way past the stacks of two-by-fours lining the wall and headed outside, only pausing long enough to close the door behind him and-
“Fuck!”
He couldn’t fucking believe this, Garrett thought, rubbing his hands roughly down his face as he began pacing in front of the decrepit, old house that he’d paid a fortune for while he tried to wrap his head around the fact that he’d fucked up this badly.
He couldn’t believe that it was possible to ruin his life over a simple misunderstanding that could have been fixed with a few simple words.
He just…
He had no idea how he was supposed to fix this.
Dropping his hands away with a heavy sigh, Garrett reluctantly pulled his phone out of his pocket, knowing that he didn’t have a choice, and scrolled through his phone until he found the number that he was looking for. Slowly exhaling, he hit call and said the words that would seal his fate.
“I’m a fucking idiot.”
“I’m listening,” came the immediate reply from the woman who went into hiding after her secret came out and the only person who knew about Kristen.
“I really fucked up,” Garrett admitted as he reached up and rubbed the back of his neck with a heavy sigh, wondering how he was going to fix this.
“It was bound to happen,” Kenzie said with a heartfelt sigh when the harsh sounds of wood scraping together drew his attention in time to watch as the small woman who was justifiably pissed managed to shove his office window open a few inches only to release a frustrated growl when it became stuck. “What did you do?”
“Destroyed everything,” Garrett murmured absently as he watched Kristen struggle to shove the window open the rest of the way only to give up with the cutest fucking growl that he’d ever heard before she focused on the window next to it.
“I gather that you finally figured out that you’re Tristan,” his little sister said, sounding really fucking amused for some reason.
“You knew?” Garrett asked, shaking his head in disbelief while he watched as Kristen managed to shove the window halfway open before releasing another one of those adorable growls when it became stuck.
Grumbling to herself, and God, she really was fucking adorable, Kristen gave up trying to shove it open, rammed her shoulder into it only to-
“It really wasn’t that difficult to figure out,” Kenzie said as he watched Kristen through the window as she stumbled past his desk while muttering what sounded suspiciously like “Owie” before disappearing out of sight seconds later.
“Why the hell didn’t you tell me?” Garrett demanded when the front door was suddenly thrown open and Kristen, looking really fucking pissed, appeared. When that murderous glare landed on him, he decided that it was in his best interest not to make any sudden movements.
He watched as cold blue eyes narrowed dangerously on him before they shifted, taking in the stack of pavers to his right, the dumpster filled with old horsehair plaster and the rotted boards they tore out of the basement to his left before her gaze landed on the hose that one of his cousins used to mix cement last weekend.
He thought about what she did the last time she got her hands on a hose and-
It didn’t matter what she tried to do with that hose because he deserved it, Garrett reminded himself as he watched angry blue eyes land back on him before the muttering began.
That was followed by glaring at him while she made her way down the stairs, stumbling, cursing, righting herself, and then, storming off all while grumbling angrily to herself.
“Oh, you mean like that time when I threw a book at your head and told you that you were being an idiot and should talk to her? Do you mean like that?” Kenzie demanded, making him wince as he watched Kristen trip over her own two feet, stumble, right herself, release a frustrated growl that he probably shouldn’t find adorable, but did, and continued making her way across the street.
“You could have tried harder,” Garrett said, watching as Kristen stormed up to her front door, grabbed hold of the doorknob and-
Definitely pissed, Garrett thought, absently nodding as he watched her give up trying to break her front door open, turn around and…stumbled back against her front door with a horrified expression on her face.
“I could have, but I wanted to see how this played out,” Kenzie said, reminding him that his baby sister was a Bradford while he stood there, watching Kristen’s terrified gaze lock on something to his left. Frowning, Garrett followed her gaze and-
“Oh, fuck.”
-realized just how badly he’d fucked up.