Chapter 34
THIRTY-FOUR
brODIE
“Oof.” Dad winces and then chuckles as a Bruiser is flattened against the boards.
I shake my head, feeling the weirdest cocktail of emotions.
Hollowed out from a truly nightmarish day, yet marveling at how the hell I’ve ended up cozy with my dad, drinking his beer, and watching endless hockey.
All without any of his usual snide digs.
At least I’m not alone with my heartbreak right now.
Footsteps sound on the stairs.
Dad cracks open another beer. “Maggie, you wanna come and watch this? It’s a total rout. They’re getting crushed.”
I look up and am so convinced I’m about to see Mom that it takes a good five seconds to work out it’s not her stopped still, halfway down the stairs. And then it takes another five seconds to compute who it actually is. Here in Mom and Dad’s home. All the way out in middle-of-nowhere Burnaby.
“Savannah.” I stand in a rush of shock and then remain there. Frozen, like she is.
Dad grumbles something about me nearly knocking over my beer and then has his own moment of realizing it isn’t Mom who’s come down the stairs.
He also stands in a rush. And he does knock over my beer. “Shit.”
We both duck. I pick up the bottle and he grabs a newspaper, using it to mop up the mess. All the while, my head’s working overtime.
What the hell is Savannah doing in Mom and Dad’s house?
Dad jabs me in the ribs. He clearly doesn’t want to speak so he’s gesturing wildly with his eyebrows. A rough translation would probably be stop fucking around like an imbecile and speak to your girl. Problem is my mouth is bone dry and my throat’s struggling to swallow.
I look back at Savannah and our eyes collide, the connection pushing me to take a step.
As if it does the same for her, we both speak at the same time.
“How are you here?”
“I hope it’s okay I’m—”
“You go—”
“Sorry, you go—”
“For the love of god, you two.” Dad marches between us. “I’ll finish watching the game upstairs. Brodie, quit dicking around and calm the hell down.”
At last. Something familiar to grasp hold of. Dad being an ass. And I couldn’t be more grateful. He’s right. I do need to calm down if I want to find out what’s happening.
Dad shuffles to the stairs. Savannah moves out of the way to let him pass, but he stops right in front of her. “You must be Savannah. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Hi, Mr. Holt?” She’s frowning like she’s as confused as I am by all that’s going on. And probably wondering why the man I’ve painted as an asshole is actually being nice to her.
“Listen, when you’re done talking with this one, maybe you and I can have a chat. There’s something I’d like to talk with you about.” His hand flits over his head.
Savannah’s frown deepens. “Sure.”
He gives a small nod and disappears.
Savannah shoots her gaze to me. “What does your dad want to discuss?”
“Uh…” I shrug the question away. It’s his news to share. And in the meantime, there’s the more pressing matter of Savannah being right here when I thought I might never get to see her again. “How are you here?”
She smooths her hair around her neck and over her left shoulder. It’s deliciously wavy, instantly distracting me. Making me think way happier thoughts. Sunshine and beaches, and Savannah in a tiny string bikini asking me to rub sunscreen into her back.
Out of nowhere the need to touch her overwhelms me. The events of the day swirling into a frenzy and leaving me dizzy with need.
Only a few short hours ago, seeing Savannah again was an impossibility. But now she’s here. Her sapphire eyes loaded with yearning. How can I even think of resisting?
I’m in front of her before I’ve taken a breath, my hands doing exactly what they want. Tugging at her hair. Roaming over her neck. Giving me access to her soft skin smelling of holidays. I press my lips to her neck like she’s giving me life, her pulse insistent against my tongue.
“Brodie.” Her voice is threadbare. “I’m so sorry about my dad. If I’d known what was going on, I’d have put a stop to it. Protected you.”
Fuck.
Her dad.
I gave him my word. There’s no telling what he’ll do if he finds out Savannah’s here. With me. After I vowed to walk away.
However perfect this feels, it simply can’t happen. For her sake. For the sake of Eight. For the sake of the entire Vancouver fire department.
I allow myself one more beat with her gaze painfully burrowing into my soul and then conjure up some superhero-level shit, finding the necessary strength to step away. “You should leave. Now. You can’t be here, Savannah. We can’t do this. I can’t do this.”
I don’t wait for her to respond. I can’t.
Turning away, I take the stairs two at a time and dart into the kitchen.
I’m vaguely aware there are too many people. Mom. Brad. Brock. Nix? Jesus. I stumble as I push through the back door and into the cool evening air of the garden.
I hear voices in my wake. Fragments of sentences. Something like “I’ll go” and “don’t worry, it’ll be fine” but I ignore them, uncertain where I’m going until I reach the bottom of the sprawling yard, where there’s an ancient horse chestnut glowing bright under the rising moon.
When we were kids, we constructed a makeshift swing from the biggest branch and it’s still here, hanging limply, the rope tattered and looking a lot like I feel. I reach for it but don’t sit. Instead, I unleash all my pent-up pain and frustration by kicking the shit out of it.
It’s only when two pairs of strong arms grab me that I stop seeing red long enough to pause, staring wide-eyed at the splintered remains of the seat. “Shit.”
“Forget it. That thing’s been falling apart for years.” Brad releases me and smoothly hauls himself into the tree like he used to, straddling the lowest branch with his legs hanging free. He’s so much taller now his feet nearly reach the ground.
I remain standing, adrenaline coursing.
Brock kicks the splinters of wood into a pile. “Feel any better?”
“No.”
“What’s going to help you feel better?”
“I have no fucking clue.”
“Well, how about I help you out? Get your ass back in there.” He squares up to me, chin raised. “We brought Savannah here so the two of you could talk.”
I push him hard in the chest.
He doesn’t budge. “Fighting me isn’t gonna help, little bro. Stop fucking around out here and go sort out your shit.”
I throw my hands to the night sky. “There’s no shit to sort out. This is about way more than my feelings. It’s about her dad and what he’ll do if I don’t stay well away. You don’t know who he is or what he’s capable of.”
Brock stands his ground. “Brodie, for the next few minutes I’m gonna need you to keep your mouth shut. Can you do that for me?”
I frown, glancing to Brad, who’s still sitting in the tree watching us with a very slight smile, arms folded like he’s our couples counselor, allowing us to fight it out rather than get involved.
He shakes his head. “Just agree to shut up, bro. It’ll be worth it, promise.”
“Fine.” I let out a sigh to rival a fourteen-year-old and glare at Brock. “Shoot.”
Brock stares back, his expression tight. “As much as it might be a surprise to hear, you don’t have a monopoly on falling in love and having the girl’s father ruin it.”
I go to respond but Brock’s continued death stare renders me mute.
“I was also head over heels with a girl and was forced to end it because her father got involved. Unlike you, however, there were no second chances.” His voice rasps with a hint of emotion.
I study his features, pain etched between his brows. “Are you talking about what happened in Seventeen? Did you get involved with someone there?”
He sighs, his hands clenching at his sides.
“Yep. Unfortunately, though, she wasn’t quite as devoted to me as I was to her.
Her dad was captain and not a very good one.
He was threatened by me, which wasn’t helped when I discovered him drinking on the job.
That whole scandal that rocked the system before I moved fire halls?
It’s not because I did something bad; it’s because I caught him with a bottle of whisky, and when I told Melody, I found myself unceremoniously moved to Eight.
Unlike Savannah, Melody sided with her dad and left me hanging out to dry. ”
My mouth falls open. “Holy shit. That’s awful. I’m sorry, man.”
“It’s in the past, but that’s why I can’t let you fuck this up with Savannah.
” He steps toward me, his hand landing on my back.
“Look, you and I might not be best friends, but you’re still my brother, and as surprising as it is, I care about you.
Just a little. Whether it’s fate or just plain luck, Savannah’s found her way back into your life.
And I have no fucking clue why, but she’s totally besotted with you.
There’s a chance for you here. Take it. Because either you go speak with Savannah and have an actual adult conversation to work this shit through.
Or you end up like me for the rest of your life.
Bitter, grumpy, and a total asshole. The choice is yours. ”
I go to chuckle at his description of himself, but the sound disappears when I spot the flaw in his plans. “You’re forgetting one thing. What about her dad?”
“Fuck’s sake. You’re not the only one who’s had a rough ride today.
A hell of a lot has also happened to Savannah.
” His voice has taken on the bossy tone I know so well.
“Engage your ears, shut your mouth, and you might be surprised to discover she’s handled her father like a boss.
Although why you’d be surprised about that is a mystery to me. ”
He turns toward the house. “Right, I’m done down here. Keep getting flashbacks of being attacked by those wasps when we were kids.”
A laugh bursts from Brad. “Oh my god, I remember that. I dared you to poke the nest and they went fucking nuts.” He hops down from the tree, throwing an arm around both of us.
“Proud of you two. Way to go with actually talking and listening. The fucking dream team.” He grins. “Right, let’s go get your girl back.”