Chapter 31
Brooke
Brooke pushed through the back door of the coffee shop and headed toward her car in the alley when her phone chimed.
She tried to balance the coffee in one hand while digging her phone out of her daypack. It didn’t go as planned, and she missed the call.
“Well, fine,” she muttered, setting the cup on the hood of her SUV.
The missed call was from Joe. She tamped down her disappointment. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to hear from him—she hoped he’d learned more since yesterday. Still, part of her had been hoping it was Tyler. Every time her phone rang or a message came through, she wanted it to be him.
She couldn’t stop thinking about him. About the text she sent yesterday morning. About his reply, that had been so understanding, so quick to agree that staying apart was best.
The breakup was supposed to protect them both, keep her reputation intact, and keep her safe from whoever was targeting people connected to Tyler.
Instead, she felt empty. Broken. Like she was making the biggest mistake of her life.
She called Joe back.
“Hey,” he said when he answered.
“Hey, yourself. What’s up?”
“Do you have plans this evening?”
She leaned against her car. “Not really. I need to get a run in. I should’ve done it yesterday, but you know how my day went. Why? Did you find something?”
“I went to see Tyler today. We talked for a while but didn’t finish. He’s meeting me at my place after work around six thirty. Thought you might want to join us.”
Brooke’s heart kicked into a higher gear. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”
“Why not? You’re the one who asked me to investigate. You wanted to know the truth.”
“I do. But— ”
“But what? You scared to see him?”
Yes. That was exactly it. She was terrified to see Tyler, terrified that being near him would make her want to take back everything she’d said and make her forget all the very good reasons they needed to stay apart. She was terrified that seeing him would open the hole in her heart even further.
“Brooke,” Joe said gently. “You broke up with him yesterday. But you spent part of the day moping and the rest of it investigating his case. You haven’t given up on him. So why are you hiding?”
“I’m not hiding.”
“Aren’t you?”
She kicked her car’s tire with her heel. “What if I can’t trust my judgment? What if I’m wrong about him? It’s like Kelsey all over again. You know that.”
“It’s not like Kelsey. We discussed this yesterday, remember? Besides, what if you’re right? What if he’s innocent and you walk away from something real because you were too scared to take the risk?”
The words hit hard. Brooke closed her eyes, thinking about Saturday night at the steakhouse. The way Tyler had looked at her across the table. The way he’d stood up to Rusty. The way she’d grabbed that chair without hesitation because Tyler’s life was in danger.
She’d fought for him then, literally hit someone to protect him. And she’d do it again in a heartbeat.
She’d fight for him without thinking. But staying meant something else entirely.
“Come to my place,” Joe said. “Half past six. I’m going to ask Phil to join us too.”
“Phil? Why are you inviting my brother?”
“For the historical perspective partly, and partly because, like you, he owns a business in town. A business where people talk.”
“You mean gossip?”
“That too. But really, if you decide you can’t handle seeing Tyler, you can leave. But at least give yourself the chance.”
After they hung up, Brooke leaned against her car, rhythmically kicking the tire for several minutes. The noise her heel made as it connected with the tire was both comforting and irritating.
She thought about Tyler’s hands, always stained with grease no matter how much he scrubbed them.
The way he’d looked at her that first day on the mountain, calm and steady when she was panicking.
How he listened, actually listened, when they talked.
The way he’d kissed her, like she was something precious.
She thought about the note on his truck. The attack on the trail. The murders of two women who’d gone to high school with him all those years ago. About the death of his wife and child and how she knew he still loved them and missed them.
She thought about Adam Boverman’s certainty. The evidence. The timeline. All the reasons staying away made sense.
She thought about Joe’s words. You’re the one who asked me to investigate. You wanted to know the truth.
The truth. That’s what this came down to. Not what people thought. Not what the evidence suggested. But what she knew in her bones to be true.
Tyler was innocent.
And she loved him.
The realization hit her with sudden clarity. She loved him. Not despite the danger or the suspicion or the gossip. Not because she was trying to prove something to herself or the town.
She loved him because of who he was. A man who’d lost everything and kept going. A man who’d come back to face his past instead of running from it. A man who looked at her like she was worth fighting for.
A man who’d agreed to let her go because he thought it’d keep her safe.
She hit the key fob and unlocked her car. She didn’t care what the town thought. She needed to be with him and tell him she’d made a mistake, that they were stronger together than apart.
Brooke started up her car and began to pull forward. That’s when she saw it. The coffee cup sat on the hood where she’d left it. “Brilliant, Brooke,” she muttered, putting the car back into park and retrieving the now-cold coffee. She made a face as she took a sip.
“Life’s too short,” she said, taking the cup to the dumpster. “Too short for cold coffee and pretending I don’t want him.”
*****
Brooke stepped out of the shower. Her run was exactly what she needed, an easy half hour. Her body handled it well. She knew she had a lot of training ahead of her if she was going to complete the Moose Range Run 100.
If was the big question.
Registration opened in a week and a half.
She’d need to be ready the minute it opened to guarantee herself a spot and not be waitlisted.
If she got in, she’d have a little over eight months until race day.
She was still in what she considered the base building phase.
Her hard training wouldn’t start until late January.
And, unlike last year, she needed to make sure to build some flexibility into her plan.
She’d definitely learned a hard lesson about how crazy training could make her, and she wasn’t going to let that happen this time.
She was even thinking about taking Tyler up on his offer to train with her.
He admitted he may not be able to run the distances she did, but he could bike alongside her.
The idea of it sent a warm feeling through her.
“Don’t get ahead of yourself,” she told her reflection in the fogged-up mirror. “See how it goes tonight. Maybe he won’t even want you anymore. You’re too wishy-washy. Besides, maybe you don’t even want to do that stupid race. There’s no reason you have to put yourself through that torture.”
She gave herself a nod, knowing that even though it’d be smart to forget about running a hundred miles up and down the steep mountainsides, giving up that dream felt almost as hard as giving up Tyler.
Brooke rushed to get ready, putting her hair up instead of styling it while taking a few minutes for her makeup. A skirt, blouse, and sandals would do. At the mirror by the front door, she gave her makeup a final check. “Here goes nothing.”
The drive to Joe’s townhouse took less than ten minutes. Brooke parked on the street and sat for a moment, gathering her courage.
What if Tyler didn’t want her back? He really might think she’s too wishy-washy—or had already moved on? What if seeing her again just made things harder for him?
Stop it, she told herself firmly. I don’t get to make decisions for him. If he wants space, he can tell me himself.
She looked up and down the street. Not seeing Tyler’s truck anywhere. “Hmm. Maybe I’m not the one who has cold feet. Might as well see this through.”
She climbed out of the SUV and headed for Joe’s door. She didn’t see Phil’s car anywhere either.
Joe answered on the first knock. “Knew you’d come.”
“Yeah, well . . . ” Brooke stepped inside. “Tyler’s not here?”
“Not yet. He should be here any time.” Joe gestured toward the couch. “Phil’s on his way too. He had a late job come in, but said he’s wrapping it up and will be here in fifteen minutes or so. Want something to drink?”
“No, thank you. I’m good.”
She sat, then stood, then sat again. Her hands wouldn’t stay still. She smoothed her hair, checked her phone, and smoothed her hair again.
“You’re nervous,” Joe observed.
“I broke up with him yesterday. Via text. Now I’m showing up to tell him I was wrong. Of course I’m nervous.”
“He’ll be glad to see you.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I do, actually. We talked about you today. He asked how you were doing and if you were okay.” Joe’s expression was knowing. “That man is in love with you, Brooke. Even if he hasn’t said it yet.”
The words filled her with warmth and sent a smile across her face. “What if— ”
A knock at the door cut her off.
Brooke’s heart jumped into her throat. Joe moved to answer it, and there was Tyler, standing in the doorway with exhaustion written across his face.
Then he saw her.
Everything about him changed. His expression shifted from tired to happy to something else. Something that made Brooke’s knees weak.
“Brooke,” he said, and just her name in his voice was enough to make her certain she’d made the right choice coming here.
“Hi.”
Tyler stepped inside, his eyes never leaving hers. Joe said something about getting drinks and giving them a minute, but Brooke barely heard him. Her entire world was Tyler.
The black eye Rusty had given him looked painful. And he looked like he hadn’t slept well, like maybe he’d been up all night thinking about her the same way she’d been thinking about him.
“I wasn’t sure you’d be here,” Tyler said.
“Joe called. Asked if I wanted to come.”
“Are you glad you did?”
Brooke took a step closer. “Yes.”
“I’m glad you’re here. I wanted to call earlier and tell you that the breakup was a mistake, that we’re better together.”
“I wanted to tell you the same thing.”
They stood there, three feet apart, the space between them charged with everything unsaid. Brooke wanted to close the distance, wanted to touch him, kiss him, make sure he was real and here and hers.
But she needed to say it first. Needed him to know.
“I love you,” Brooke said, the words tumbling out before she could second-guess them. “I don’t care what the town thinks. I don’t care about the danger or the gossip or any of it. I love you, and I want to be with you.”
“Brooke— ”
“Let me finish.” She took another step closer.
“I was scared. I am scared. But not of you. I’m scared of losing you.
I’m scared of getting this wrong. Scared I’m going to mess things up.
And I might. I’m a mess sometimes, and I do stupid things.
But staying away from you isn’t the answer. Fighting for us is.”
“I love you too,” Tyler said, his voice rough with emotion. “Mess and all.”
The distance between them disappeared. Brooke wasn’t sure who moved first, but suddenly she was in his arms, and he was holding her like she was the only solid thing in a world gone sideways.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered against his chest. “For the text. For pulling away.”
“Don’t be sorry. You were trying to protect yourself.” Tyler pulled back enough to look at her. “But Joe’s right. We’re stronger together.”
When they broke apart, Joe was standing in the kitchen doorway with a satisfied smile.
“Glad that’s settled,” he said. “Now, can we get to work? We need to sort out who is framing Tyler and prove it before they kill again.”