Chapter 34
RAQUEL
Iwas sanding down the trim in the main bedroom when I heard a truck outside, gravel crunching under its tires and the hum of the engine just before it cut out. The heavy thump of the door closing rang out next, but my heart didn’t start racing and hope didn’t invade my chest.
Theo wasn’t the one who’d just parked outside my house. I knew that without even having to look that it was my brother. Avery had been texting for days and he’d obviously run out of patience waiting for a response.
I straightened up slowly and set the sander down, wiping my hands on my jeans and trying to rein in the flash of anger that sparked through me at the knowledge that he’d come here.
Avery and I hadn’t spoken properly since Theo had left, and honestly, I wasn’t ready to do it now either, but it looked like he’d decided against giving me a choice in the matter.
The way he was approaching the situation at the shop had put a rift the size of Jupiter between us, and it wasn’t only because he’d refused to accept Theo’s help.
That was part of it, sure. If he hadn’t been such a stubborn ass, we would have been out of the shit by now for longer than we’d been in it, but he’d also been treating me like my opinions were worthless and Dad like he wasn’t even there.
As I walked out onto the porch, I saw him standing by his truck with his hands in his pockets and worry in his eyes. It didn’t look like he’d come here for an argument, but I hoped he was ready for one anyway.
“Avery,” I said flatly, not moving off the porch. “What are you doing here?”
He jerked his chin at the house. “We need to talk about the shop.”
I leaned back against the wall and crossed my arms, holding his gaze head on. “Unless you’re here to apologize, we don’t have anything to talk about.”
His jaw tightened like I’d struck a nerve, but I didn’t care. Avery had overstepped massively and it’d cost me the man I loved, so yeah. He owed me an apology at the very least. Groveling and begging for forgiveness would be better, but I wasn’t expecting any of that.
“I’m not apologizing, Raquel. I did what I had to do.”
“Really?” I let out an abrupt, humorless laugh that only lasted a second. “That’s what you’re going with? You did what you had to do?”
“I stopped you from letting some rich guy take advantage of you,” he snapped. “I won’t apologize for that.”
“Oh, really?” I pushed off the wall. “That’s funny, because from where I was standing, Theo offered to help both of us and you ran him off like he was a con artist trying to swindle the whole damn town.”
Avery exhaled harshly through his nose. “You don’t know what you were getting into.”
“I know exactly what I was getting into,” I countered. “It was a chance to keep the shop afloat and our lives from collapsing. A chance for you and me to fix a mess Dad made when he was taken advantage of, and not by the rich guy you seem to blame for us being in this mess in the first place.”
“We can do it ourselves.”
“Yeah, because that seems to be going well,” I seethed quietly.
“Face it, Avery. You pretended that we were partners in the shop, but we’re not.
If we were, you wouldn’t have made all the decisions you’ve been making without me and you would’ve accepted my decision to take the lifeline we were offered. ”
“It wasn’t a lifeline.” He scowled. “It was charity.”
I shook my head. “Save it. I don’t need another lecture about pride or how people like Theo don’t just show up and fix things for free.”
“There’s always a catch,” he said firmly. “I know you don’t want to think that there would’ve been one with him, but we’ve never relied on anyone else and we don’t need to start now.”
“Except that he wasn’t anyone else. It was Theo offering his help, your friend, who only wanted to make things easier because he knew how hard it already was for us after Dad’s diagnosis.
We could’ve relied on him. We should’ve.
You should’ve just said thank you instead of acting like he’d committed some heinous crime. ”
A gust of wind moved through the yard and Avery looked up at the trees on the other side of my house, watching the drying leaves rustle before he shook his head. “I’m not doing this with you. I’m here to talk about the shop. That’s it.”
“There’s nothing to talk about.”
That place was barely holding itself together and Avery had made it crystal clear that he’d run it into the ground rather than take my advice or Theo’s money.
Meanwhile, Dad couldn’t help either. He was worse on the bad days and better on the good ones, but nobody knew what to expect from him on a minute-to-minute basis.
His mental condition could change at the drop of a hat.
I inclined my chin toward the truck. “Leave, Avery. Go do whatever it is you’ve been doing while you convince yourself that you’re doing anything at all. You can spin your wheels all you want, but that’s all you’re doing. Spinning your wheels and snapping at everyone in sight.”
His eyes flashed. “That’s bullshit and you know it.”
“I said leave.” I stared him down, but he didn’t move a muscle, just standing there next to his truck with his arms folded and his jaw set.
“No,” he said simply. “We’re not doing this like that.”
“What you mean is that we’re not doing this my way, even though we’re on my property and you came here without invitation or permission?”
“What are you going to do?” He scoffed. “Call the cops on me?”
“I might just.” I shrugged as I started backing toward the door. “I have work to do and I don’t want to talk to you. Leave. Or hang around. I don’t care. Just stay out of my way.”
Before I could take another step to head inside, he called out, stopping me right in my tracks. “I’m not the one you should be mad at, Raquel.”
I spun to face him. “Oh, you’re not?”
“No.” He took a few steps forward, his jaw still set in that stubborn way that let me know this wasn’t going to be easy or painless. “I’m not the one who left. If you want to be mad at anyone, be mad at him.”
My head shook as I stared at him, honestly not sure when he’d gotten quite this stupid.
“Do you know what I’ve been doing while you were off deciding what was best for everyone?
I’ve been taking care of Dad. I’ve been keeping the shop open while you fight with the bank over money they didn’t lose and don’t owe us.
I’ve been here, Avery. I’ve been trying to keep it all together. ”
“So?”
“So when Hunter wanted me to move to Phoenix with him for work, I said no. I stayed here in Quartz Pass for you and for Dad, and my boyfriend of a fucking decade ran off with my best friend because he couldn’t stand the thought of being stuck here.”
Avery’s jaw twitched. “This has nothing to do with that dick.”
“No, you’re right, but it does have to do with me. I built my life here, around you, and Dad, and the shop, because I couldn’t imagine leaving you behind. Now it’s all in trouble, our whole lives, and you’re pretending you’re the only one who’s affected at all.”
“I’m trying to fix it.”
“No, you’re trying to control shit that can’t be controlled.
Dad lost the money because he’s sick. That’s not the bank’s fault, it’s not Dad’s, and it’s not Theo’s, but you couldn’t even let me have that.
You ruined the one good thing that’s happened to me in years just because you were too proud to accept that Dad isn’t in control anymore and that you can’t control what this disease is doing to him. ”
“I ruined it?” He snorted. “Fuck that. Did you seriously think Theo was going to choose you and this life over everything he has back in Chicago? Shit, Raquel. Have you even bothered to look them up, the Westwoods?”
“No, I haven’t, because I don’t care who they are. I really did think Theo was going to stay, and I still believe he might’ve if it wasn’t for you, but I had to let him go instead. I guess I have you to thank for that.”
Avery finally flinched, but I was done with him. I didn’t need his guilt. Frankly, I didn’t even want an apology anymore.
God knew, I loved my brother, but he needed to be knocked off the high horse he’d jumped onto as soon as he’d found out about Dad’s mistake.
I knew he felt responsible for not picking up on it before the bank had called and I knew he was desperately searching for a way out, but he’d had no right to go after Theo the way he had.
Not taking the money had been a pig-headed stunt that might actually still end up costing us the shop, and to make matters worse, he couldn’t just come out and admit that he’d been wrong. Instead, he’d been prancing around like a buffalo, verbally mauling anyone he thought deserved it.
I wouldn’t take it anymore.
As I slammed the front door behind me, intent on getting back to work in my bedroom, I thought about Theo laughing with paint smeared across his cheek and that stupid, soft look he’d gotten in his eyes the day when he’d backed me into that corner.
While I really had thought he might stay, part of me knew that he hadn’t left because of Avery.
In the end, he’d gone because he’d realized who he was and that he couldn’t turn his back on his family, but I couldn’t help feeling that we might’ve been able to make some kind of plan if it hadn’t been for my brother.
My brother who was still acting like he was doing the world a favor by just existing. Fuck him. He’s going to get himself out of this now.
I wasn’t sure yet what I was going to do, but Dad was my first priority. Avery was insisting on handling things at the shop his own way, so I was going to let him. Lord knew, I had enough to keep me busy without subjecting myself to my brother’s shitty attitude.
Walking back into the main bedroom, I sighed and tried to shut out all the memories of Theo in here. It wouldn’t help to wallow in my misery any longer, but as I went back to the trim, I stole a glance at my wallet lying on the nightstand.
The check was still in it. I hadn’t cashed it.
Honestly, I didn’t know if I ever would, but while it was there, at least I’d know that Theo had still wanted me to have the future I dreamed about. Even if he couldn’t be part of it.