Chapter 35
Liam
Brother – NEEDTObrEATH Ft Gavin DeGraw
Ifelt like I could sleep for a week. I’d stifled at least a dozen yawns in the last hour. I wasn’t even sure what Cole had been saying in the last ten minutes. My mind was very much elsewhere.
Specifically, Charity’s bed the night before. Charity showing me a wild side of herself. Charity being fucking incredible, in every damn position we tried, and there were a few.
“Are you even listening to me?”
A pen landed right in the middle of my forehead—that got my attention, and a damn bruise probably.
“What was that for?”
I wheeled my chair back from the desk in the home office we shared. When we’d converted the barn, we hadn’t spared any money, making it better than any office space we could rent in town.
“It was because you’re not fucking listening to me,” my brother cried. “I’ve just told you that they want us to build an elf house for when the fairies visit and you just nodded.”
Standing, I went over to the coffee maker and pressed for a double shot. “Want one?”
“No, I’ll have water.” Cole got up and retrieved his pen from the floor. “Why are you so damn tired anyway?” He smirked, tapping his pen against chin. “Anything to do with why I heard your truck coming onto the driveway at six this morning?”
“Why don’t you just ask me if I stayed at Charity’s place last night?”
He raised an eyebrow, lifting a hand to catch the bottle of water I threw at him, rather than passed to him.
“I kind of figured that’s where you’d been. You did go halfway across the country looking for her sister. You did take her to the cabin for the weekend. So, where else would you be?”
I couldn’t help grinning as he recalled everything that Charity and I had done in just a short amount of time.
“Is it serious?” he asked, cracking the plastic top on his bottle.
“Cole, it’s been a couple of weeks.” I took a long swig of coffee, feeling the zing as the caffeine immediately hit the spot.
“I like her a lot, a hell of a lot, but serious…?” I shrugged.
I knew I was getting there, damn it I was already there, but was she?
And what if admitting how I felt cursed it.
“It’s taken me long enough to even open up to having a relationship, so why would you even think that I know the status of it? ”
Silence fell between us and I was fully aware that he was considering his response. For all that he was the relaxed one, he was also the one who took his time to consider things, particularly his words. Tally was a little of both of us, but more feisty than grumpy.
“Just fucking go for it, bro,” he finally said. “What’s the worst that can happen?”
“I get my heart broken again.”
“This is not the same as Ezra, Liam.” His phone beeped with a message, but he didn’t pick it up, just turned it face down on his desk. “And she is definitely not the same as Mallory.”
Denver brayed from somewhere over in the field at the back of our office, bringing a smile to both our faces. It was momentary, though, because as always when we talked about Mallory, it became serious.
“Did you agree with Nate about me and her?” I asked. “Did everyone?”
He looked at me through one eye. “And that would be?”
“Pretty much said that she and I were never meant to be. That we were never going to be some great love story.” I scrubbed a hand down my face. “She also said that Nellie didn’t like her.”
Cole laughed. “That’s because Nellie had a crush on you.” He shifted in his seat, looking a little uncomfortable. “Want me to be honest?”
“If I said no, would you listen to me?”
Chuckling he took a drink of water before wiping his mouth and placing the bottle next to his phone.
“We could all see she was no good for you, Liam. Tally was only a little kid, but even she told me that Mallory was too mean for you.” He barked out a laugh.
“Imagine that? Someone too mean for the growliest boy in Sweet Maple Falls.”
“There’s no such fucking word as growliest.”
“Growly, grumpy, drowning in misery, all of the above.” Denver brayed again and it sounded a little closer. “You think he’s got out of the paddock?”
“Here’s hoping.” I muttered. “Do I want to ask what you all think of Charity? Do I end it now to save you the bother?”
“Fuck no. We like Charity. Tally thinks she’s incredible. When she saw her ideas for the wedding, I think she said she loved her.”
Stomping back to my desk, my boots pounding on the wood floor, I dropped back down into my chair. “When did you all have this conversation about my girlfriend?”
“Hah!” Cole cried, pointing at me. “You called her your girlfriend. It is serious then?”
Grumbling, I hid my face in the steam of my coffee.
“We had a group chat while you were at the cabin.”
“And who’s in this fucking group chat?” I demanded. “Why am I not in it?”
Cole threw his hands in the air. “Because we couldn’t discuss you if you were. And it’s me, Tally, Nate, Mom, Dad, oh and Wilder.”
“No Denver, there’s a surprise.” And why the hell was my sister’s fiancé in it. He wasn’t even in the family yet. “And Wilder?”
“Yeah, he actually made some quite good points. And to answer your question, Mom set it up after Tally called her to tell her you’d gone to the cabin with a woman.”
Fucking Tally could now pay for her own bar bill at her wedding. Little snitch.
“Don’t be mean to her because of it.” Cole always knew what I was thinking. “She’s happy for you. Excited even. We all are.”
Thing was, I was excited for myself, too.
“I really like her, Cole. I enjoy her company. She makes me forget all the shit that’s dragged me down for years.
” I looked up at the ceiling, noticing a huge cobweb hanging from the rafter.
The web was intricate, fine gossamer threads spun into a beautiful but deadly pattern.
It was so striking, reminding me of a snowflake, and I wondered when I’d gotten so damn poetic in my thought process.
“What if it goes to shit?” I turned my gaze to my brother who was watching me thoughtfully. Probably waiting for me to freak out and tell him I was ending it with Charity.
“What if it does?” He shrugged. “But what if it doesn’t?
She might be the best thing that’s ever happened to you?
What if you get all the goodness you deserve?
” Putting his elbows on the table, he leaned closer.
“What if you stop acting like a pussy and just let whatever happens happen. Do you think it could become serious?”
I didn’t even have to think about it, truth be told. “Yeah, I do. Eventually.”
“And you’re obviously enjoying spending time with her?” He wiggled his eyebrows. “All night.”
“You don’t always need to be a prick, you know,” I told him. He usually amused me, but it didn’t feel right talking about my sex life with him. Especially as it involved Charity. “But yeah, I do enjoy spending time with her.”
He patted my hand with his large, smooth, architect’s palm.
“Then let yourself be. Don’t worry today about what may not happen tomorrow.
Now, if we’ve sorted your damn love life out, I’m going to check on my donkey, and then I’ll come back, and we can restart the conversation about the housing development project. ”
As he got to the door he paused and turned back to me. “Oh, and don’t think I haven’t noticed you’ve not spent any time with Denver yet.” He pointed at me. “You promised, remember.”
As Cole left the office, I wondered about my own sanity taking romance advice from a man who actually read books to his fucking donkey.