Chapter 43
THEO
Avery and I faced off in the mostly empty parking lot as the last rays of sunshine disappeared. Colin had wisely disappeared the moment Avery had climbed out of his truck, his self-preservation instincts kicking in, I was sure.
Or maybe he just wanted to give me some space so I could do this alone. Either way, I didn’t have backup, but neither did Avery. It was just the two of us—and probably Frieda spying through a window somewhere.
It didn’t really matter, though.
By tomorrow, the whole town would know I was back anyway, and depending on what happened here tonight between Avery and me, they would also know that I either had a Thompson target on my back or they’d speculate over how he and I made up.
Any way I sliced it, I would be the topic of conversation being churned through the town’s gossip mill this week. Fantastic start to my new life, huh?
“What are you doing here, Theo?” Avery asked, his tone making it clear that he was hoping I wouldn’t be staying long. “I thought you’d run back to Chicago.”
I slid my hands into the pockets of my jeans, biting back the first dozen retorts that shot into my mind. I hadn’t come all the way out here to aggravate the situation, and if I had any hope of actually achieving the goal I did have in mind, then I couldn’t reflect his aggression back at him.
“You and I were friends,” I started slowly.
He scoffed. “Yeah, that’s what I thought too.”
“No, we were,” I said. “When I first got here, you were the person who made me feel like I could be part of this town. You loaned me that pressure washer, volunteered to help me at the motel, and then invited me out for drinks after. You took me camping. You gave me beer. We were friends, man.”
He narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. “Yeah, well, you think you know a guy.”
“You do know me, Avery. I think you also know that I didn’t offer to help because I was trying to be condescending or whatever other reasons you’ve cooked up in your head. I wanted to help because you’re my friend.”
“And to get into my sister’s pants.”
“Don’t talk about her like that. She doesn’t deserve it and neither do I.
” I held his gaze steadily, the edge in my tone sharp enough that his eyebrows swept up, but I wasn’t done yet.
“Even if Raquel hadn’t been in the picture, I still would have offered to help you.
It didn’t only have to do with her, man.
I wanted to do it for you and for your old man. ”
“Leave him out of this,” Avery snapped. “Don’t?—”
“Just shut up and listen,” I said. “You and I went looking for lost gold in a creek together at midnight and I was right there when Raquel told you Clyde’s diagnosis. I’m not going to sit around and pretend I’m okay knowing you guys are going through this. Especially not when I can actually help.”
His chin came up. “I don’t want your help.”
“Yeah, you’ve made that abundantly clear, but whether or not you want it, you do need it. Your dad is sick, Avery. There’s no way around that and I like Clyde. I respect him.”
His shoulders stiffened. “If you respected him, you wouldn’t be trying to interfere in his business.”
“It’s because I respect him that I am,” I said firmly. “You’re still trying to save the shop, Raquel is trying to hold everything together with nothing more than determination and grit, and from what I hear, the added strain is making your dad’s condition worse.”
Avery looked away, but he didn’t have a comeback or argument this time, so I laid my final cards on the table. “I care about all of you, but I love Raquel. I’m in love with her and I can’t let her go. I tried, but I just can’t do it, so I’m back in town and I’m here to stay this time.”
He closed his eyes briefly, and when he opened them again, some of the fight had definitely left him. “I know you love her.”
“You do?”
“Any fool with eyes has seen the way you look at her,” He leaned back against the front grille of his truck.
“She’s in love with you too, you know. I’ve felt awful about being part of the reason you two split up, but as her older brother, I’m not sure I’d do it differently if I could go back in time.
” He looked genuinely miserable as he shook his head.
“People have hurt my sister too many times for me to take risks with her heart, and you became a big one.”
“That much, we agree on,” I said, knowing as well as anyone that fear could be disguised as stubbornness and love as interference. “You were trying to protect her. If some guy rolled into town promising any of my nieces forever, I’d do exactly the same thing.”
As he blinked, the anger, frustration, and everything else vanished from his features, leaving behind only exhaustion. “It’s just that with Dad’s condition…”
He broke off, not finishing the sentence as he looked away, but in that moment, I finally understood why Avery had boxed me out the way he had. I knew what it was like to lose a parent, but Avery was watching his father disappear in slow motion.
Piece by piece, he was seeing a disease steal the man who’d taught him everything he knew. That was much crueler. I had no idea what it must be like for them, to have their Dad here one minute, then be furious and yelling at them the next as a complete stranger.
I still missed my mom every day, but I couldn’t imagine what it would’ve been like to see her lost and confused, looking right through me or not remembering who I was, and all that while she was still here.
It suddenly made sense to me why Avery had fought so hard and rejected every offer for help. Why he’d pushed me away with everything he had. He was trying to protect what remained of his family before it all slipped through his fingers.
Avery and Raquel’s future was watching the man they loved disappear one memory at a time and I was determined to be planted firmly alongside them to see them through this storm. I was also confident that was what Clyde would want too, someone in his children’s corner.
Someone who loved them both fearlessly and who had access to resources. Someone who wasn’t afraid to step up and take control when they needed help.
What was happening to them was too heavy to carry alone, but they wouldn’t have to. If Clyde were standing here right now in his right mind, I had a feeling he’d tell Avery to stop being stubborn and accept a little help.
At least, that was what I wanted to think—and I wasn’t leaving here until Avery saw that too.
“Let me help.” I rubbed the back of my neck.
“It’s not pity or charity. Hell, I hate pity.
When my mom died, one of our neighbors brought over a casserole every single day.
I overheard her talking to my dad once, saying that she pitied him for being left on his own with seven kids.
I never ate another bite of her casserole.
I went to sleep hungry for weeks instead and no one even knew.
To this day, I haven’t forgotten how I felt when I heard her say that. ”
“Then you know how I felt when I heard you offering us that money,” he said, but at least he wasn’t spitting the words at me anymore. “It really wasn’t pity?”
“No. It was because I’ve never cared this much about anything before,” I said honestly.
“I can’t stand the thought of seeing you and Raquel lose that shop, man.
Especially not now. Especially not with everything you’re already going through with your dad, but I can’t do anything about his disease.
If I could, I’d have flown him anywhere in the world and paid anything they wanted for a miracle cure, but that’s just not possible.
This is. Saving the shop? That’s possible and I’m not taking no for an answer. ”
He stared back at me across the dimly lit patch of parking lot between us. “It’s you, isn’t it? The buyer.”
“Technically, it’s my friend, but yeah. It’s me too. I’m not going to let you lose that place, Avery.”
After just staring at me for another long beat, he finally sighed and raked a hand through his hair. “I’ll talk to Raquel.”
I flinched. “Well, actually, it turns out that she’s in Chicago right now.”
“She’s what?” he barked.
“Yeah. I just found out myself, but I’m going to go get her so I can fix this.
” I looked over my shoulder, scanning the darkened lot until my gaze landed on Colin.
He was about twenty feet away, leaning against the wall near the ice machine with one foot kicked up against the brick behind him while he scrolled on his phone. “Thayer?”
He looked up immediately, even though I hadn’t even really raised my voice. If he’d been trying to pretend he hadn’t been eavesdropping all this time, he was doing a pretty poor job of it. “What’s up?”
“I have to go.”
“Got it.” He pushed away from the wall and slowly walked over, giving Avery a wary glance before turning his attention to me. “I’ll stay and get everything stitched up on the business front.”
“You’re sure?”
He shrugged. “My job will be the easy part, and staying here keeps me out of Alex’s firing line, so yeah. I’m sure.”
Avery barked out a laugh. “No offense, man, but nothing about what’s going on with that shop is easy.”
Colin smiled at him. “You haven’t met the people I usually work with. They’re real assholes.”
“So am I.” Avery cracked a grin, though, his head shaking as he looked back at me. “There’s really no catch?”
“There’s no catch,” I said confidently. “If you’ve ever heard of Thayer Steelworks, you’ll know they’re aboveboard and we’ll get you an independent lawyer to review the contract just so you can be absolutely sure.
We’ve set it up so the shop stays in your name, and Colin and I will partner with you to keep it running under your management. ”
He blinked a few times, but I knew this wasn’t the first time he was hearing this. Colin had pitched Raquel, and since Avery hadn’t asked who he was when I’d called him over, I was assuming Colin had already laid at least some of the groundwork with Avery too.
After thinking it over for a beat, he stepped forward and held out his hand. “Thank you.”
The sincerity in his voice caught me off guard, but I took his hand and shook with him, feeling a wide grin spread on my lips. “You were protecting your family. Never apologize for that.”
As I let go of his hand, my phone rang in my pocket and I pulled it out immediately, groaning when I saw Alex’s name on my screen. “Would you look at that? The chickens are officially coming home to roost.”
Colin winced. “Good luck with that. You’re going to need it.”
“Yeah, I know.” I spun away from them and walked a few feet before I took the call, mentally trying to prepare myself for the lashing I was about to receive. “Before you say anything, I can explain.”
“I know you’re in Arizona,” he said, his voice cold and hard. “Were you going to tell me?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
I swiped my tongue across my lips, striding to the edge of the parking lot and looking out at the desert under the silvery light of the moon hanging in the sky. “As soon as I knew what to say.”
“You have a guest here.” He blew out a harsh breath. “Adeline and Zach will take care of her for you until you get here, but get here, Theo. You and I have a lot to talk about.”