Chapter 11
Brett
I’m in a large walk-in cooler with Jacob as he checks on some cheese and explains the process of cheese making.
“Your brother really has it out for me,” I say to him.
“He’s looking out for Willow,” he replies.
“I can appreciate that.”
“Thanks for your help today,” he says as he counts the pieces of goat cheese on the shelf.
“It was my pleasure.”
“You didn’t have to do all that work,” he states.
“I wanted to,” I assure him. “I need to prove to your sister I’m a man she can trust.”
He snickers but doesn’t say anything.
“We’re done for today,” he says instead. I follow him back to the main house, expecting to see Willow and Maylee hanging out in the main room. But when I arrive the house is empty. I notice my suitcase by the front door. I’ll need to thank Maddie for sending my clothes.
“Did Willow say she was going somewhere?” I ask Jacob. I also check my phone for missed messages.
”No, but Lev enlightened her on this,” he says and then he takes out his phone. A moment later my phone pings with a message from him. It’s an article written about me. Beneath the article are more links to read about my playboy ways.
“This all makes sense now,” I say.
“What?” Jacob asks.
“Lev was being a real ass to me this morning, and I couldn’t figure out what I did wrong,” I explain.
He presses his lips into a thin line but I sense sympathy from his blue eyes. “This family has been through a lot. We don’t trust easily. We rely on each other.”
I nod. “Maybe you rely on each other but none of you were really helping Willow with Maylee when I arrived. She was tired and stressed,” I point out.
“She had a free place to stay and free food. That’s something and I helped when I could. Running this farm is a full-time job.”
I exhale because he is clearly not the enemy. “Sorry, you’re right. I just want to prove to her that I can be the man she needs.”
“I don’t have any good advice for you. I’m not a relationship guy.” He shrugs and he walks over to the fridge.
“Yeah, I get that,” I sigh.
I shoot Willow a text.
Me: Done working. Where did you run off to?
I don’t get a reply and now I’m not surprised. I lived a life I am not proud of. I head upstairs, taking my suitcase with me. I leave the suitcase open on the floor in Maylee’s room and go to shower. I get dressed in a pair of joggers and a Rangers hoodie then I head down to the kitchen.
I text Willow again.
Me: You coming home for dinner?
I don’t get a reply so I fry myself up a steak and steam some vegetables. I need to maybe head out for a jog and do some training so I’m not hurting when I get back on the ice. While I am cooking dinner I call Kaleb, my best friend, who is now with my sister, Maddie. He is the last person I thought I would ever go to for relationship advice, but a lot has changed since he got together with my sister.
He picks up after a couple rings.
“Bro, holy shit. How are you?” he answers the phone.
I get it. There was a shitstorm at the arena when I found out about Maylee. Then I went MIA. I’m very aware of the viral footage of Willow telling me about my baby girl, but I tried not to focus on it since I have been here. Willow and Maylee are my top priority, and I could care less what social media has to say about my private life.
“I’m okay, I guess,” I reply.
“Doesn’t sound promising.” He laughs. “How’s your baby girl?”
“Amazing, sweet, perfect,” I claim.
“Wow, I can’t wait to meet her,” he says.
“When did you come to care about kids?” I shoot back.
“When your nephew made me his best friend,” he reminds. “Now I want more kids but, um, we have to wait for Maddie to finish school.”
Even though I’m grossed out about hearing him wanting to make kids with my sister, I still appreciate that he wants to build a family with her.
“Nice,” I say.
“What’s going on, Brett?” he asks.
“Where are you right now? Is Maddie around? Where is Asher?” I ask quickly. If my sister gets wind of me having trouble, she won’t let up. I love her with all my heart, but I don’t want her worrying about me when she has enough with school and a family.
“Maddie took him for hockey practice,” he replies. “I’m home on my own.”
“Okay,” I breathe out. “I’ve been doing everything to get in Willow’s good graces,” I admit.
“So, you’re into her?” Kaleb asks, sounding surprised.
I squeeze my eyes shut, deciding if I should confess the truth to my friend. At this point, it kind of seems like I have to. “I kind of haven’t slept with anyone since her.”
“Get out of town. I saw you with chicks in your room,” he states, and he isn’t wrong.
“I kinda tried picking up girls because I thought it would help me get over her when she wasn’t returning my calls and she disappeared, but nothing happened. The waitress and I became friends. We played video games in my room then I told her to mess up her hair, so she looked thoroughly fucked.” I hold my breath as my friend processes this fucked-up news.
“Why the hell would you go to that trouble to make me believe you were getting laid on the reg?” he asks.
“Because my head was all messed up after I was with Willow. She’s the first woman I really liked and she wasn’t returning my calls. I didn’t know how to handle it. I wasn’t going to come moping to you assholes like some lovesick puppy.”
“Why the hell not?” he shoots back.
“Because I’m me. I have a reputation to uphold. Only now that reputation has come back to bite me in the ass. I wish I could take all of it back, but I can’t,” I confess as I begin to sear the steak in the pan.
“You can’t take back your past but you can show Willow how you feel,” he advises.
“I’m pretty sure she was online reading about my playboy ways this morning and now she’s taken off with Maylee. I don’t know where they are and I feel sick about it.”
“You need to understand where she’s coming from,” Kaleb says.
“Fuck, Kaleb, did you see my crazy reaction at the arena when I thought she was at my game with Jacob Heaton?” I ask.
My friend laughs into the phone. “I thought I was seeing things, Brett. Green wasn’t a pretty color on you.”
“I’ve never been jealous in my life. I’m far gone on this woman. I want to make her mine. I want to marry her,” I confess, surprising even myself.
“Whoa. Brett, you barely know her,” Kaleb says, sounding alarmed.
“We’re soulmates. We were the same that night. We’re so much alike and I get her apprehension about relationships, but you and Maddie have turned me, Kaleb. I see what your relationship has done for my sister and nephew.”
“Shit, Brett, you’re going to make me cry,” Kaleb says and there isn’t an ounce of sarcasm in his voice. Finding Maddie has made my friend super happy for the first time in his life.
“Get it together, bro. I’m in a crisis. What am I supposed to do?” I ask him.
“Sounds like you need to be patient with her. You’ve been enlightened on love but if she is still scared, then you need to be there for her. You need to show her that no matter what, you aren’t walking away.”
“I asked her to move in with me but I don’t know if she will now. I have to leave this farm in just over a week, and I don’t want to leave without my girls.”
“Shit, Brett. You better find ways to show her you care. Those women are in your past and not the life you want,” he says. I knew all this before speaking with him but it feels good to talk about my feelings. Who the hell am I? Willow has ruined me and the truth is, I wouldn’t change anything about the way I am now because my life was meaningless before her.
“Thanks, bro. I’m a stubborn asshole. I’m going to show her I can be the man she needs. I just feel like her family members are also pushing her not to fall for me. No one here believes in love.”
“Convert them, bro,” he replies.
I laugh because who would have thought in a million years that Kaleb, of all people, would have shown me the power of loving someone.
I laugh so hard my shoulders shake and when I get off the phone with him, I feel like I have purpose. I sit down alone, eating my dinner, while missing my meals with Willow. She is nice to talk to and having Maylee hanging in the background with her cute sounds and sweet smiles is everything. I just saw them this morning but I miss their presence now. I just hope when Willow comes back, she will be willing to hear me out.