Chapter 14
Brock chose to spend the day working alone. Even after he apologized to Cody for being a jerk, he still couldn’t shake the cloud hanging over his head and dampening his mood.
So, he opted to go destroy some things with a sledgehammer and made sure Anders knew where to find him if anything came up.
His response was instant.
Anders
Smash all you want, as long as it’s not a load-bearing wall
Brock smirked.
Right, because the last thing they needed was extra costs associated with the beach house.
He spent the next few hours tearing through a few walls, taking out the ancient cabinets, and hauling pounds of debris to the dumpster.
Once his muscles burned and a nice sheen of sweat glazed his forehead and back, Brock sat down and reviewed Juliette’s orders to convert the house to a proper wedding venue.
Her colorways were perfect, neutral and what he supposed could only be described as romantic.
Soft color palettes with textures of satin and velvet complemented the gilded floor-length mirrors.
She’d purchased a beautiful chaise and chandelier for the bay window, which she explained would be an excellent spot for the brides to take solo pictures.
She’d ordered fresh linens in sets to flow with the different seasons.
New cutlery and stemware for the bar they were installing were on the way.
Tiles, carpeting, rugs, cabinetry, and lighting fixtures were all inbound as well.
He couldn’t wait to see how she put all of it together.
He just had to build it first.
Outside, a car door slammed, and Brock’s brow furrowed.
He was not ready to have another conversation with his father.
Their last two confrontations had been anything but pleasant, and he hadn’t quite figured out how to broach the topic of his mother yet.
Part of him wasn’t even sure he wanted to mention her at all, but he felt as though he owed as much to Yaya.
He strode toward the front door and glanced out one of the large windows. The sky was overcast with thick gray clouds. They pulled across the horizon and stole the light from the sun. The weather matched his mood, resentful and angry.
Brock yanked open the door and came up short. It was not Aidan Gallagher who stood before him.
“Anders.” Brock stepped aside and let his friend into the house. “I thought you were over at the Morrisons’ job site today?”
“Yeah, that was the plan.” Anders shed his coat and slung it over one of the workbenches. “But then Cody asked for more responsibility, so I let him cover it and headed over here instead.”
He glanced around the house and a line of worry furrowed across his brow. “I figure if we really want to make this into something profitable, we need to put in as much effort and time as we can.”
Brock nodded. “Absolutely.”
He noticed Anders was limping a bit more than usual today but kept his mouth shut.
They only ever had one discussion about the time he was injured on deployment, and it wasn’t a conversation Brock ever wanted to have again.
Anders made it clear that his injury and the events surrounding it were entirely off-limits from then on out.
All Brock needed to know was that sometimes it got worse and a little less manageable in the colder months, causing Anders to walk with an almost stilted gait.
Still, today seemed worse than normal, but Brock remained silent on the matter.
“What’s on the agenda for the beach house today?” Anders asked.
“Let’s see, I already took out the one non-load-bearing wall, which will open up to the future sitting area that Juliette wants designed to accommodate bridal portraits.
The old cabinets have been torn out in the kitchen.
The new ones, along with granite counters and backsplash, should be here in a week or two.
Earlier if our supplier can swing it. I know Juliette is eager to paint and stage the home for potential weddings, but we’ve still got to haul out the old furniture from upstairs and remodel the bathrooms.”
Brock looked up at the ceiling, where new wiring for light fixtures would need to be installed. “She has a great idea for a waterfall chandelier for the front entryway too.”
“She’s got a lot of great ideas,” Anders mused.
“Yeah, she does.”
“Everything about her is pretty great.”
That caught Brock’s attention. The sting of jealousy caused him to zero in on his friend.
“And there it is.” Anders crossed his arms and smirked. “The look of a man who still has a thing for the girl who got away.”
The urge to defend his intentions was immediate.
“Nah.” Brock shook his head and shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “Not this time. There’s nothing between us anymore.”
“Okay.” Disbelief passed over Anders’s face, and he rolled his lips in mock amusement. “Sure.”
“I’m serious, man. It’s not like that with us. I mean, it used to be, but that was a long time ago.”
Anders ran his thumb along his jawline. “So, you wouldn’t care if I asked her on a date?”
Brock’s temper spiked, but he tried to play it cool. Juliette was not his girlfriend. She wasn’t even his friend. He had no right to get upset or angry just because Anders wanted to ask her out.
“You do you.” It would be fine if Anders and Juliette dated. Completely fine. “But just to warn you, she’ll probably say no.”
“And why’s that?” Anders’s grin widened.
“For starters, you work together. That could cause some unnecessary drama in the work-life balance.” The complete and honest truth. “And second, she’s not staying.”
That second admission stung a bit.
“Not staying where? Here?” Confusion plagued Anders and he arched a brow in question. “In Mystic Cove?”
Brock shuffled the stack of blueprints in front of him, trying to ignore the swell of disappointment in his chest. The thought of her leaving again made it difficult to breathe.
“Yeah. She said she’d work with me on saving the beach house, and I promised to write her a letter of recommendation when she leaves. ”
“So.” Anders rocked back on his heels. “How are you going to convince her to stay?”
“I’m not sure I can. Even if I could, there’s not enough to keep her here for long.” Brock toed a stack of hardwood. His work boots were suddenly more interesting. “Besides, if she ever found out the real reason we split, she’d leave and never come back.”
Beats of unintentional silence passed between them.
This secret, the one he held closest, had chiseled away at him over the years. It burdened him. Wrecked him. Made his life a living hell.
Anders shoved a hand through his curly blond hair. “Are you going to tell me what that real reason is, or no?”
Brock shifted, then scrubbed his hands over his face.
What happened all those years ago wasn’t anything he was proud of, but he thought he was doing the right thing at the time.
However, it wasn’t easy to talk about, and nobody knew the truth about why he went to boot camp and never came back. No one except him…
And Gigi Laurent.
“Juliette and I had plans, like forever-type plans.” He could remember them all, every detail.
Every hope and wish and dream. A sunset wedding on the beach.
The opening of their own tiki bar, or some other dive with a similar vibe once he retired.
She wanted four kids, but he only wanted two, so they’d settled on three.
“We were going to travel the world, courtesy of the Marine Corps. She would study design, do some freelance work until we got settled. We’d get married, have some babies. ”
Brock’s heart twinged but he shrugged half-heartedly, the words clogging the back of his throat with forgotten emotion.
“But?” Anders prompted.
“But something someone said changed all that.” Brock rolled his shoulders back, stood tall against the knowledge of his wrongdoing.
“And when I went off to boot camp, I never came back. I went to the schoolhouse, to my first duty station, and I stayed away. I ignored her calls. I ignored her letters and texts. I never even gave her a reason.”
“You just left?” Anders’s gaze sharpened. “Because of something someone said.”
Brock nodded stiffly. His conscience carried the weight of that guilt for years. “That’s right.”
Anders blew out a low whistle. “Sounds like you have some baggage to work through, preferably before you get too deep on this job together. Because the last thing we need is the two of you giving each other the silent treatment while we’re trying to renovate and restore this place.”
“I know,” he groaned, not wanting to think about how furious Juliette would be once she learned the truth.
“Well.” Anders spread his arms wide. “Go fix it.”
Brock blinked. “Right now?”
“Yeah, man. There’s no better time.”
“But what about hauling out the furniture from upstairs and the demo of the bathrooms?”
“I’ll call one of the guys over to help. Go fix this thing with her. She deserves the truth.” Anders pointed a finger at him. “And the longer you keep it from her, the worse the blow will be when she finally finds out.”
As much as Brock hated to admit it, Anders was right.
“Fine. I’ll go see if I can find her.” But the thought of his impending conversation with Juliette sent needles of anxiety prodding down his spine.
Because he’d already lied to her. He said the reason he left in the first place was because he met someone else.
Now, he had to explain the lie and the truth.
Shit, this was going to be bad.
Anders tossed a sledgehammer over his shoulder and gave a wave. “Good luck.”
He was going to need it.