8. Brooke #2
And then, I was right back to Brayden.
He will hate me. He will think I betrayed him.
I needed to weed the flower bed, and I had a stack of bills that I needed to pay.
He’d never looked at me the way he did last night, so lost and confused.
I needed to look over my notes and clean Anslee’s room.
How would I ever be able to explain what happened?
How could I ever make sense of any of it when I didn’t understand it myself?
We needed groceries. Coffee. Milk. Something for dinner. Snacks for Anslee.
Damn. There was no denying it. Nothing in this world was going to keep me from thinking about Brayden.
I could still feel his blue eyes piercing through me.
The thought had my chest feeling heavy as I turned down my road.
That heavy feeling quickly turned to panic when I spotted a motorcycle parked at the end of my driveway.
I wanted to think it was one of the neighbors.
But I knew better.
It was Brayden.
He was leaning against the bike with his arms crossed and a fierce expression on his face.
When I got closer, he lifted his head, and even from a half a block away, his eyes locked on mine.
Every ounce of air rushed from my lungs, and for a split second, I actually considered driving right past him.
I would just keep driving and hope that he would disappear.
But that would only make matters worse.
I knew this was coming. I’d been dreading it since seeing him at the fair. I’d tried to prepare myself, tried to think of what I would say, but nothing could prepare me for the way my hands trembled as I pulled into the driveway.
He didn’t move. He just watched me as I put the SUV into park and gathered my things.
I took a deep breath, hoping it would settle my nerves, but it didn’t.
I wasn’t ready. I needed another minute, another hour, but I didn’t have that luxury.
Ryan was inside with Anslee. I needed to deal with this, and I needed to deal with it now.
I opened my door, and the second my foot touched the ground, Brayden started toward me, slow and careful. My heart didn’t seem to know if it wanted to race toward him or bolt for the front door, so I did the only thing that made sense. I didn’t move.
He stopped a few feet in front of me, and he looked at me in a way that made my heart drop to the pit of my stomach. “We need to talk.”
“I know, but this isn’t the right time.”
“Why? You think it would be better to wait another two years?”
“No, that’s not it at all. I just wasn’t expecting you.” My mind was reeling, and I had no idea where to start. “How did you find me?”
“I have my ways.” He studied me for a moment, then added, “I went back and forth on it, but I figured after all this time, I deserved an explanation.”
“I think we both do.”
Silence settled between us.
Not the comfortable kind we'd once shared while lying in the bed of his pickup watching stars. This silence had teeth, and it was gnawing into me like a wild animal. He motioned his head toward the house. “You seem to be doing all right.”
“I’m doing okay.” I swallowed. “You look like you’re doing good, too.”
“I am.”
“A motorcycle.” I looked over at the black Harley parked at the curb as I said. “That’s new.”
“I still got the truck, but yeah. It’s new.” His face was void of expression when he added, “I got it when I decided to prospect for Fury.”
“Fury?” I’d heard the stories, and I couldn’t imagine him being a member of such a fierce group of men. “You mean, Satan’s Fury… that motorcycle gang? Aren’t they dangerous?”
“Not unless they have a reason to be.” He crossed his arms. “And we’re a club. Not a gang.”
“Still sounds ominous.”
“It’s not… They’re not who you think they are.” He gave me one of his looks and sounded annoyed when he added, “They’re good men who have changed my life in ways I can’t begin to explain.”
Brayden had always been one of those straight-laced guys who kept his word, followed the rules, and tried not to hurt anyone along the way.
It was partly because of what had happened with Aiden and partly because it was just who he was.
So, if he said they were good men, I had no reason not to believe him.
“Okay. I get it.”
“You don’t.”
I followed his gaze up to the porch swing, the flowerpots, and the bicycles parked next to Ryan’s truck. When I looked back at him, his expression had hardened. “Bray…”
“Looks like I’m not the only one who’s made changes.” He glanced back at the house. “You got the house you always wanted… the yard… even got yourself a truck.”
“It’s not what it looks like.”
“But it is.” He shook his head, “I can’t believe you did this.”
His words hit hard. It did look like I had everything I wanted, and in a lot of ways I did.
But there was a missing piece, and it was missing because he chose to pull away.
He chose to move on, and I was left trying to pick up the pieces.
“I’m not taking all the blame here, Bray. This was both of us.”
“I’m not the one who up and left and never looked back.”
“It’s complicated.”
“Then, uncomplicate it, Brooke.” I lowered my head and sighed. “Hell. You gotta give me something.”
The way he said my name, hard and cold, brought a knot to my stomach. The knot grew even tighter when he said, “I loved you… so much it damn near broke me. I woke up every morning wondering if I was enough… It took you walking away for me to finally get my answer.”
“I didn’t walk away.”
“But you did.” He glanced over at Ryan’s truck. “You’d met somebody better and no longer wanted the homeless kid with no future.”
“You’ve got it all wrong, Brayden. All of it.” His eyes met mine. “I never met somebody better.”
“Then, what happened?”
I had just opened my mouth to answer when the front door of the house opened, and I heard Ryan’s voice call out, “Brooke.”
Every muscle in my body locked when he appeared in the doorway. I stopped breathing. The color drained from Brayden’s face as his eyes shifted past me over to the front porch, where Ryan was standing with Anslee perched on his hip.
His entire body went still, and just like that, the world seemed to stop on its axis. I didn’t think it could get any worse.
I was wrong.