Chapter Five
“Was she really living in her car?” Zach asked Chad a bit later, after they’d both climbed onto the roof of the main house to see if any of it could be salvaged.
“Yeah. There was just something about her that got to me. A quiet dignity, maybe. She was down on her luck, hungry, desperate, and yet she didn’t beg me for money.
Didn’t ask me for anything . But I think it was the surprise in her eyes when I offered to take a look and see if I could figure out what was wrong with her car that really hit home.
Like she was shocked anyone would do something nice for her.
I actually can’t believe no one else offered to help. Things have changed around here.”
“Things have changed everywhere,” Zach countered.
“People fake vehicle problems all the time to lure in unsuspecting victims they can rob, or worse. And while there are still plenty of people out there who’re willing to be charitable and help out, they aren’t stupid either.
They don’t want to just give money to someone, because the possibility that the money will be used for drugs is high.
They don’t want to give someone down on their luck a job, because they might get taken advantage of.
“It’s easier for people to mind their own business.
And I can’t say they’re wrong, especially when it’s hard enough for most of us to just take care of ourselves.
The more things cost, the harder it is to make a decent living, so people hoard what they have.
Of course, that means those without are even more desperate. ”
Chad stared at his brother with a frown. “That’s pretty pessimistic,” he said.
Zach shrugged.
“You’re too young to be that cynical. Are you saying that you’d ignore a young woman getting berated by a much larger and stronger man in a parking lot?”
“Probably.”
Chad didn’t believe that for a second. Zach might be seven years younger than him, but they’d both been raised by Austin and Evelyn Young.
Two people who believed down to their core that others were generally good.
Deserved the benefit of the doubt. And they’d passed those beliefs on to their sons.
Encouraged them to do the right thing. To stand up for those who were weaker and needed a champion.
“I know being a cook is hardly the most difficult job in the military, but I still saw some bad shit,” Zach said as he stared out over the water.
“I wasn’t a Seal or Special Forces. I didn’t have to deal with the aftermath of bullets and bombs and what those things can do to the human body.
But when we were in port, I always volunteered to deliver food to organizations that handed it out to those in need.
The things I saw ...” His voice trailed off.
Chad sat quietly and waited for his brother to continue. Zach, as the baby in the family, had been spoiled, and he’d gotten into his share of trouble in school. He’d obviously grown up a lot in the Navy.
“Men pushed women and children out of the way to get to the food. They’d grab it out of the hands of little boys and girls and run off.
Women weren’t much better. Desperation does horrible things to people.
The slightest sign of compassion, of trying to help someone else, could mean a beating or having all your belongings stolen.
Trying to do right by my fellow man just showed me it’s a dog-eat-dog world out there . .. and honestly? I’m exhausted by it.”
Chad reached out and put a hand on his brother’s shoulder. He sincerely hoped being back home in Rockville would help heal Zach’s battered psyche.
He had his own demons from his time in the Army, but he’d been able to push most of the bad shit so far down that he didn’t think about it much anymore.
And no matter what Zach had gone through, Chad knew down to his bones that if his brother had been in that parking lot and seen Britt with that asshole from the store, he would’ve stepped in the same way Chad had.
He might not have invited her home for lunch, but he wouldn’t have allowed her to get verbally assaulted.
“You like her,” Zach said suddenly, turning his gaze to Chad’s.
“What?”
“You like her,” he repeated.
His belly churned, and Chad shrugged. “Sure. She’s been great with Mom and a huge help.”
“Right, but that’s not what I’m talking about. I can tell, bro. In the way you watch her when you’re in the same room together. Just be careful, all right?”
Irritation coursed through him. “She’s harmless.”
“Uh-huh.”
“She is ,” Chad insisted.
“Okay, no need to get huffy,” Zach told him.
“I’m not huffy. I just don’t want you to think the worst of her before you even get to know her.”
“So if I got to know her and decided to ask her out, you wouldn’t mind?”
His words were a gut punch to Chad. His first instinct was to blurt “No fucking way!”—but he resisted the urge.
“Yup, you like her,” Zach said for a third time. “I’m just curious as to how she’s gotten under your skin so fast. Is it because you’re living with her? Have you seen her prancing around in her undies and gotten all hot and bothered?”
That pissed Chad off. “What the hell, Zach? No, she doesn’t walk around in her underwear. Jesus! You’re being a dick.”
“Then explain it to me,” his brother said calmly.
Chad was well aware of what Zach was doing.
He’d done it all the time growing up. He was like a dog with a bone.
Once he wanted to know something, he didn’t let up until he got his answers.
And he managed it basically by annoying the crap out of whoever was enduring the questions, until they gave in and answered.
Or if he wanted to learn how to do something, he’d read whatever he could get his hands on about the subject, or just go out and do whatever it was he wanted to learn. Dogged persistence through and through. That was Zach.
“She’s ... different,” Chad said lamely.
“In what way?”
“I don’t know, she just is.”
“You’ve known her a week. How do you know she’s different? Maybe you’re just horny.”
Jeez, his brother was annoying! He’d been happy to see him, but now he wanted to throw him off this roof.
“She just is!” Chad said way too loudly.
Zach chuckled. “Okay, okay. No need to get mad about it.”
Chad took a deep breath, irritated that his little brother could still get to him the way he used to when they were growing up.
“Honestly? I really don’t know. She’s just .
.. calming. Nothing ruffles her feathers, which is so different from women I’ve dated in the past. They got so excited about every little thing, it was exhausting.
But Britt is even-keeled, doesn’t get upset when things don’t go her way or when a guest is rude.
“Like ... the other day, Mom was getting a casserole out of the oven and dropped it. The dish shattered, and food and glass went flying everywhere. I heard it from my room, and by the time I got downstairs—which didn’t take long, trust me—she’d gotten Mom out of the kitchen and was making sure she wasn’t cut by flying glass.
She wasn’t freaking out, was focused on reassuring Mom that it wasn’t a big deal. ”
“Hmmm,” Zach said.
Chad wasn’t sure what that meant, but he kept talking.
“She’d been scrubbing that damn floor in the guesthouse all day, had already skipped lunch—which I only found out later—and had to have been starving.
But she made sure to take care of Mom first, then set to work cleaning up the mess.
I was going to help, but Mom was really upset.
I think it was mostly just grief bubbling to the surface, but I had my hands full reassuring her.
By the time she calmed down and I could help Britt, she’d already cleaned the kitchen and was making grilled cheese sandwiches for all of us to eat.
I can’t recall another woman I’ve dated who would’ve stayed so cool under pressure. ”
“You’ve been dating the wrong women, Chad.”
“Obviously. But that’s not all. It wasn’t until after we’d eaten, and she’d done the dishes and was on her way to her room, when I saw blood on her leg.
She’d been cut by the glass and hadn’t said anything about it.
Granted, it wasn’t as if she’d cut an artery or something, but still.
That’s just one example, and not a very good one .
.. but it’s hard to explain how I feel when I’m around her.
I’m still trying to figure it out in my head. And yes . I like her.”
Zach nodded. “I still think you should be careful. You don’t really know this woman, even if she is good with Mom and the guests. But I’m willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. If you say she’s different and that you like her ... I can go with that.”
“Zach, nobody knows anyone when they first start dating. They learn about them during the dating process. That’s how it freaking works. I do appreciate your begrudging support, as weak as it is, but please keep an open mind about Britt.”
Chad was well aware that there was still a lot about their new houseguest that he didn’t know. He wasn’t ready to propose and run down to the courthouse and get married, but he was enjoying the feeling he got deep inside when he was around her. Time would tell where it would lead, if anywhere.
“What do you think about this roof?” Chad asked, wanting to change the subject.
“It’s fucked,” Zach said with a sigh.
“Yeah, that’s what I thought too. Damn. What do you think about replacing it with a metal roof?”
“Was going to suggest that myself,” Zach said. “I’m thinking we can save some money if we install it ourselves. Or at least help with the process.”
“I agree. Otis isn’t happy about how much things are costing to fix up Lobster Cove.”
“Mom and Dad weren’t hurting for money, were they?” Zach asked, sounding alarmed.