Chapter 8
Had he just made their relationship worse? Instead of addressing their issues head-on, Derek remained closed off and emotionally stunted, ignoring the elephant in the room. He pretended nothing had happened between them and tried to joke with his twin like he used to. It fell flat, like a lead elephant-shaped balloon. Tommy had stomped back up the stairs in frustration.
Rather than spending the rest of his day off at the farmhouse, Derek jumped in his truck and drove to his best friend’s house. But Nick wasn’t home, and Patty’s Pub didn’t open until noon. Good thing he had a cooler of beer in the bed of his pickup.
He eyed the front porch of Nick’s new house. Not a single chair in sight. Then he noticed the ladder beside the house and looked up. It was a one-story bungalow with a low-pitch roof.
Why not?
He set down the cooler, hoisted the ladder to the front of the house, and propped it against the eavestrough. Carefully, he balanced the cooler while climbing the ladder and stepped onto the roof. Edging himself to the peak, he sat down with the cooler precariously balanced beside him and pulled out a beer can.
Derek stretched out his legs, crossed them at the ankles, and took a long swallow of his beer. Cold beer, warm sun, great view; life was good. From the peak, he could see Main Street and the river. Nick had missed out on a great view by not building a two-story house.
Nick pulled his truck into the driveway and stepped out. He shielded his eyes and stared up. “Why are you on my roof?”
“I’m having a cold beer. ”
“On my roof?”
“Why not? It has the best view, and you have nowhere to sit on the porch.” Derek held up a beer can. “Come on up and join me.”
“It’s ten-thirty in the morning.”
“Yeah, so? What’s your point?”
“So? You’re drinking beer. It’s not even noon, and you’re doing it on top of my house.”
“Get your chicken ass up here.”
“I’m not chicken. I have common sense. There’s a difference,” Nick said, but he still grabbed onto the ladder rung at eye level and began to climb.
Nick reached the top and shot him a dubious glance as he carefully inched his way to the peak, sitting beside him. Derek opened the cooler and pulled out a cold can, handing it to his friend.
“So, once more. Why are you drinking on my roof?”
“Because you and I are a couple of sorry jackasses.” Derek tapped his can against Nick’s beer.
“Maybe you are,” Nick side-eyed him.
“Nope. You definitely are too.”
Nick took a long swallow.
“I hear the wedding is off for good,” Derek pursed his lips, scrutinizing Nick. “Heard Piper gave you back the ring.”
“You hear a lot.” Nick shook his head. “We’re figuring things out.”
“That’s what you call it? Piper is the kind of woman a man builds a life with and pops out a puppy or two.”
Nick shifted, turning to stare at him. “Puppy?”
“A baby.”
“What do you know about building a life with a woman?” Nick’s eyebrows shot up, and he stared at Derek, his mouth slightly agape.
“I know that a woman like Piper won’t wait around forever. You’ve got a long way to go to deserve her.” He also knew that he’d never seen Nick happier than when he was with Piper or more miserable since the split .
“I think I need another beer,” Nick sighed. “I need to catch up with you.”
“Life can be a shit show. Take all the good that is offered before it’s all gone.” He crunched up the empty can and threw it onto the lawn.
“Hey.” Nick stared at the empty can littering his immaculate lawn.
“I’ll clean it up later.” Derek pulled out two more cans from the cooler, handing one to Nick.
“So once again, why are you drinking on my roof at ten-thirty and waxing poetic?”
“Because, dumb ass, we don’t always get second chances with the woman we’re meant to be with. Sometimes we lose her.”
Nick narrowed his eyes but didn’t comment.
“This break-up, did it have anything to do with my sister? Is she the reason you and Piper are Splitsville?”
“Huh?” Nick’s head snapped around.
“You’d have to be denser than I am to miss the tension between you and Kylie. I’ve dumped enough women to recognize the look on my sister’s face when you’re around. You pissed her off.”
Nick downed the first beer and tossed it on the grass beside Derek’s. He spoke as he stared at the second can, popping the top. “There was a time when I had a brief lapse in judgment. When Kylie was at university. But it didn’t last long.”
Nick brought his free hand over his face, shielding himself. “You aren’t going to clobber me, are you?”
“No, Kylie can administer her own clobberings.” This he knew firsthand. His little sister packed quite the punch when she was riled. “Not that you don’t deserve it. Seriously, you broke the bro-code with that one.”
He stared at his best friend and noticed the turmoil there. “Nick, Kylie’s moved on. She’s happy.”
Nick scratched at the stubble on his chin. “Yeah, I know.”
“Are you using her as an excuse to end things with the hot teacher? Was it getting too real with Piper?”
Nick’s head popped up. The man was probably shocked. Derek wasn’t one for deep discussions, not even with his friends. But he was worried about Nick.
“It doesn’t take a psych degree to understand that you would have commitment issues after everything that happened with your parents. With your dad.” Nick’s father had taken his own life with his service revolver exactly a year to the day that Nick’s mother died from breast cancer.
Derek leaned an elbow on his bent knee. “Hell, I have plenty of issues of my own, and I was raised in a happy, stable home.”
“Yeah, just why is that? Why are you so messed up?” Nick turned the tables.
“Just am,” he evaded.
“Nothing’s bothering you?”
“Nope. I’m fine.”
Nick guffawed. “Yeah, okay! You are day drinking on my roof, but you’re fine!”
“Yep.”
“So, you and Tommy are just fine? You and Leighton are fine, too?”
Derek cleared his throat. “It’s complicated and totally messed up. I’m the asshole who has feelings for my brother’s girl. Not just feelings, but I acted on them.”
Just like Nick, his unrequited feelings were obvious too. He stared straight ahead and let out a low moan. “Oh shit. Twelve o’clock.”
Ophelia Meddler stood on her front lawn staring at them.
“Nick Taylor, what are you doing on your roof?” Her nasal voice was so grating.
“Enjoying the view,” Nick called back.
“Is that Derek Brennan with you?” Ophelia shielded her eyes from the bright sun with her left hand as she crossed the street.
“Depends,” Derek yelled. “Are you going to call my mother?”
“Maybe I will,” Ophelia snapped, now standing on the sidewalk, fuming. “This is a respectable neighborhood.”
“Dude, I can’t believe you built a house across the street from the Meddler,” he muttered out the side of his mouth, holding his hand up to cover it just in case Ophelia could read lips.
“The land was cheap.”
Derek raised his eyebrows. “It was cheap because Ophelia Meddler lives across the street.”
“Yeah, I didn’t think this through.”
“Oh, she’s not going to call my mother, but she did call your grandfather.” Derek let out a hoot as Earl’s old station wagon came to a stop at the curb.
“Everything ok, my boy?” Earl moved to stand beside Ophelia, staring up.
Ophelia huffed, crossing her arms. “I think he’s really upset over the breakup.”
“I’m fine. Just doing some roof drinking with my friend,” Nick moaned. “Give me another beer. You realize that I’m going to have to move.”
“Yep.” Derek handed him another can. “I’ll help you pack.”