30. Legend of the Fall
CHAPTER THIRTY
Dalton
Legend of the Fall
B y the end of their date Dalton couldn’t imagine not seeing Brooke every day for the rest of his life. He’d never felt so connected to another person, and craved them so much. Maybe it was an infatuation or some kind of lovers’ honeymoon that would wear off with time, but he didn’t think so. There was a kind of peace that surrounded him when she was close, and tonight only solidified how good they were together. But so much still stood between them.
He’d taken her to a local Italian restaurant in town, where they’d sat at a small table in the middle of the room for anyone to see. Neither of them noticed who else was among the busy dinner rush, because they were too interested in each other.
Then, like any bubble, it burst wide open when he drove them out of town toward the pier. It was painted a shiny new white with red lettering that spelled out Dalton’s last name, courtesy of his younger brother’s funding. There were people along the short boardwalk buying ice cream and walking the length of the pier to take photos and to enjoy the view.
“Do you want an ice cream?”
“No, let’s just walk a little,” Brooke said, but she sounded sad.
He gripped her hand as they walked toward the end of the pier and neither of them spoke until they reached the railing. Then Brooke let go of his hand and rested both of hers on the railing. Her hair blew in the breeze as she stared out over the dark ocean, and she looked gorgeous.
“I realized something tonight,” she said.
“I think I did too.”
She turned to face him and there was a look of regret he didn’t want to see.
“I thought we could do this, keep things casual, enjoy a sexy summer together, but I’ve gotten too reliant on your calm, steady presence in my life. I realized tonight that I want so much more than casual.”
His heart stopped and dropped like an anchor in his chest. She was asking for the one thing he couldn’t give her, even if he wanted to.
He lifted his hand to lightly caress her neck and ran his thumb along her chin.
“This was never casual. We were always going to mean more,” he said.
She turned her face into his hand.
“But if you’re still planning to leave at the end of summer, it wouldn’t be fair for me to ask you to stay. Not for either of us. I think you have to want to stay on your own.”
He wanted to tell her what was holding him back, he wanted to bare his soul to her, but he physically couldn’t. He had never told anyone what happened that day. He’d buried his betrayal along with his parents, and he was worried no amount of penance was going to get his brothers to forgive him.
“As much as I want to stay and be with you, this town will always hold a heartbreak for me.” He was blaming it on the death of his parents, which was only half the truth. But he didn’t want Brooke to know what he’d done either. As selfish as that was, he didn’t want her to see him as a coward.
“I’ll never regret you, but I don’t think I can do this anymore. It’s not healthy for me or Max to get more attached to you.”
He nodded. “Don’t give up on me yet.” He didn’t know what else to say because it all sounded like not enough. Brooke deserved more than I wish I could be more and that he couldn’t promise to stay. Not yet.
“I think I better go home,” she said.
And that same feeling of loss he’d had when he found out his parents died washed over him; all he could feel was empty. They walked back to his truck in a quiet daze, then he drove to her house and walked her to the front door. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her one last time before she closed him out.
He’d set his life on a collision course with grief that day he’d argued with his dad on the phone, and Dalton didn’t know how to stop it. Telling his brothers and Gran what he’d done would only drive them away too, but maybe facing it would help relieve some of his guilt. Even if it meant he’d never be welcomed home.
For the entire drive to Wes’s place he didn’t know exactly what he was going to say, but he knew it had to be better than staying quiet for one more day.
Unlike Levi, Wes hadn’t built a modern home on the beach. His house was actually an old glass factory building that sat on the fringe of town in what used to be a small industrial park. The large brick building had exposed pipes, huge grid-style glass windows, and a large metal door. He parked next to his brother’s cruiser and sent him a text to let him know he was there.
Come on in , his brother fired back.
Dalton heard a beeping sound as he approached the steel door and then a click. When he turned the handle, the door opened, and he let himself in. The concrete floors looked fancier than he expected, and he was surprised to find a plush rug in the entryway.
The entire first floor was open concept with a modern kitchen that flowed into a large living room, and beyond that an area for working out. That was where he found his brother, doing pull-ups on a gym-worthy apparatus.
“And here I thought you lived in some abandoned building. This is pretty posh.”
Wes hopped down from the pull-up bar and wiped his face with a towel he had nearby. “I figured I had the space, so why not have some basic amenities?” Then he chugged his water and sat down on a weight bench.
“So, what brings you here finally after months of being home?”
Dalton gritted his teeth and faced his big brother’s speculative eyes.
“I need to tell you something,” he said.
“If you’re trying to figure out how to tell me nothing is wrong with Gran and you think she just made it all up to get you here, you’re too late.”
“Wait, what?”
“I stopped over at Gran’s earlier and overheard her telling her drinking buddies that her grand plan had worked. She thinks you’re home for good, so please don’t tell me you’re about to break her heart.”
“Well, I have been meaning to tell you that all those tests all proved only one thing,” Dalton said. “Gran is totally healthy for her age, and the doctors all say any little blips are natural aging at this point. But I can’t believe she would plot and lie to me.”
Wes laughed. “Oh, I can. You were never coming back, so she said she had no choice.”
“I don’t think I can even be mad at her,” Dalton said, running his hand through his hair. “But I need to tell you something else.”
“Is this going to be one of those conversations that go better with whisky?” Wes asked.
“Probably after you hear what I’m about to tell you.” Dalton spread his feet wide and crossed his arms over his chest, preparing to reveal his darkest secret to his brother.
“Alright, let’s have it,” Wes said.
Dalton rubbed his hands together and looked down at the floor for a heartbeat; it was now or never. He could admit what he’d done then leave town again, but he couldn’t stay another minute without getting this off his chest.
“The night Mom and Dad died, I was on the phone with Dad. He was driving out on Bluff Road and we were arguing.” Dalton met his brother’s eyes. “We were arguing about me getting into the Navy. Dad said he forbade it. So I told him to go to hell, and hung up. Then he crashed the car and they both died.”
The air whooshed out of the room as he took his last breath, and he sat staring straight ahead. Wes rose from the weight bench and stepped closer. The surprise was clear on his face but his eyes were narrowed and his shoulders were tense.
“Are you saying you think it was your fault Dad lost control of the car?” Wes asked.
“I know it was. I was pissed he said I couldn’t go to the Academy, pissed he thought he could stop me by threatening to cut me off financially. Pissed he thought he knew better.”
“Did he? Do you regret being a SEAL?” Wes asked.
“I can never unsee or undo the things a mission requires. I’ll never accept the idea that good men have to die to keep our country safe, but I don’t regret serving.” He hung his head.
Wes nodded. “I think Dad just didn’t want to be one of those Gold Star parents who had to lose a son. And I know for a fact it wasn’t your fault they had an accident that night.”
Dalton’s head whipped up.
“How do you know that?”
“Because I was the one who retrieved their things after identifying them. I was the one who had to manage their estate.”
“What does that mean?”
“It wasn’t a phone call that drove Dad off the road, it was a big truck and a stormy night. And…”
“And?”
“I think Mom may have told Dad she was leaving him.”
“What?” A small part of Dalton’s chest started to relax, like someone had been squeezing his heart in a death grip and now it was being released.
“There was an envelope with divorce papers in the items retrieved from the crash. The documents only had one signature on them: Mom’s. I think Dad had been trying to convince Mom not to leave him.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. I never bothered to look into it, because it didn’t matter. Nothing was filed; their last will was the only legal document that dictated what we should do. I became your and Levi’s legal guardians, and we split our inheritance three ways. With the lion’s share being the estate and the pier.”
“A divorce? But Mom and Dad never fought, they always seemed happy.”
Wes sighed and leaned back. “There were some cracks you probably didn’t notice at seventeen. But I was surprised to find the documents. I never said anything, because I didn’t want you and Levi to know.” Wes ran his hand through his hair and gritted his teeth. “Dalton, Dad didn’t lose control of the car on a road he’d driven a million times because you got into a prestigious college. The truck driver admitted he’d been drinking and drove over both lanes. He said he didn’t see the car until he hit it. And when he tried to stop, he skidded so far that he pushed Mom and Dad’s car over the bluff and the truck tipped over.”
Dalton’s hands clenched into fists. He could picture it all in his mind.
“It wasn’t your fault. I’m sorry I never realized you were carrying that lie around all these years. I was afraid to tell you and Levi about the driver because I didn’t want you to do something stupid, so I blamed the weather. Is this why you’ve stayed away so long?” Wes asked in a softer tone. “It wasn’t your fault,” he repeated.
Dalton’s throat was tight, and he felt the burn of unshed tears threatening. His mind raced back to that night. Had it been storming? Why was their mom leaving their dad?
“Dad wouldn’t want you to have any guilt over an argument. You were a teenager who thought he could conquer the world, and you sorta did. Dad would be really proud of you. I’m really proud of you,” Wes said.
Dalton let out the huge breath he’d been holding and swiped at the tears that spilled out. Years of guilt washed away with one conversation. Wes closed the space between them and gave him a big, brotherly hug.
“It wasn’t your fault,” Wes said again, his voice strained from emotion. Then gave him a few pats on the back. “You got any other demons you need to let loose?”
Then Wes pulled back and sat back on his workout bench as if he was exhausted.
Still swiping at his eyes, Dalton laughed and walked over to the window that faced the center of town.
“Nope, that was the only one that’s been haunting me,” Dalton admitted.
“Damn it, Dalton, we should have talked about this after Mom and Dad died. I didn’t know how to be a guardian or a parent. I still don’t. It’s a wonder Levi didn’t end up in jail or worse.”
Dalton turned to face Wes and could see the strain in his eyes. “You shouldn’t have had to leave your life in the city to then get a crash course on raising teenage brothers. It was a shit deal.”
“Yah, well, we did alright. I’m just sorry we never talked about that night.”
“Maybe Dad didn’t sign because they reconciled. Maybe Mom changed her mind,” Dalton said.
“Maybe,” Wes said, but he didn’t sound convinced. They both had enough memories of their mother to remember that she was the strong and silent type, but if she was pushed, she would come out swinging.
“Remember that time you were being bullied in middle school before you had your growth spurt, and Mom said that if the other kid swings first, you make sure you swing last?” Dalton asked.
Wes grinned. “Sage advice, and it’s definitely come in handy on more than one occasion.”
“Yah, she epitomized resilience.”
“Does this confession mean you’re staying in Sandy Point for good?” Wes asked.
“I figured I couldn’t stay unless I told you what I’d done. I needed your forgiveness.”
“You don’t need it, but I hope you’ll stay. And not just for Brooke Banks. This has always been your home.”
“I hate that that’s her last name now,” Dalton admitted.
“Well, there is one way to change it.” Wes laughed and got up to pull two beers out of the fridge.
Dalton’s heart skipped several beats at the thought of making Brooke his. He’d never considered marrying anyone until this moment, and he was surprised it wasn’t pure fear that settled in his stomach. It felt a lot more like hope.
“Wow, you must really be falling for her if you’ve come to confess and you aren’t running from the idea of getting married to your childhood friend.”
“I don’t think Brooke is interested in getting married again, but I’m not opposed to trying to change her mind.”
Wes opened both bottles with a whistle and handed one to Dalton. “Well, Gran was right again.”
“Right about what?”
“Like I said, she plotted to draw you back to Sandy Point, get you a job, and hope fall in love. Said you wouldn’t be able to leave again. Then she could focus on getting Levi to come home.” Wes laughed.
Dalton shook his head. “I’m betting she has some grand plan for you too, so you better wipe that smirk off your face.”
“I will not be falling for any of Gran and her friends’ wild matchmaking schemes,” Wes said.
“I’ll remember you said that,” Dalton said, tipping his bear toward his big brother.
Dalton stayed and chatted with Wes, and before long he realized it was after midnight. It was odd but nice to visit with his brother and not have any secrets between them.
“You sure you’re okay with me staying in Sandy Point?”
Wes’s smile faded. “One hundred percent, and not because I need help with Gran, or the estate, or think you need to pay any penance. Selfishly, I want both my brothers to live in Sandy Point. We’re the only family we’ve got.”
Dalton nodded. “Great, you can tell Levi he needs to build a new house when you and Gran scheme to get him to return.”
He could hear Wes’s laughter as he headed toward the front door. Now that he’d told Wes why he’d left home, now that he knew the truth, there was nothing keeping him from staying in Sandy Point. He needed to tell Brooke and find out if she would give him a real chance. He just needed to do one more thing.