Page 128 of Keeping Score

“Since when do you watch The Office?” I cackled, nearly spitting out the sip of coffee I’d been drinking.

“Cassie and I watch sometimes after Lily goes to bed.” He shrugged, clearly not seeing the big deal.

“Oh, how much you’ve changed over the years.” I shook my head slowly.

“And you haven’t at all,” he responded, and I was struck with the realization that he was completely right.

How long had it been, ten years since I’ve known him? And in that time, he got married, had a kid, bought a house, became Captain of the Harbor Wolves… and what have I done except stand still?

It was depressing as hell the more I thought about it. Especially since I had hoped and planned and truly believed I’d be at a similar stage of life as him by now.

But I wasn’t. Not even close.

“Hey, Brody,” Liam started, sensing my deflation.

“I gotta get ready to head out,” I said, standing from my seat. “Thanks for the coffee and the chats and everything.”

“Brody,” he called again, but I was already out of the room.

I didn’t need Liam to comfort me, to tell me that it didn’t matter how “behind” I was in life because everyone moved at different paces. But the thing was, this wasn’t the pace I wanted to be moving at.

And if I stayed here in Boston, then I knew I’d spend the rest of my life pining after Maggie Brynn forever.

Yeah, I thought, maybe Michigan wasn’t looking so bad after all.

Chapter Forty

Maggie

“Have you seen Brody?” I said, walking into the darkness of the living room where my brother and his family were settled on the couch having a movie night.

It was such a mundane, normal night, but I felt the strangest feeling wash over me that I was intruding on something private.

“Oh, never mind,” I said quickly, taking in the scene in front of me, the three of them cozied up on the couch as the flickering light of the TV illuminated their faces. “Sorry for interrupting—”

“No, stay,” Cassie urged, shifting to sit up and pat the space beside her on the couch. “We’re having movie night.”

It was one of Liam’s few nights off, and I knew how much he prioritized spending time with his family. I’d made a promise to him to show him with actions rather than empty words how much I respected him, and worried that barging in on his night might be selfish.

But when I looked to him for an answer, I found nothing but openness.

“Yeah, come hang out,” he agreed. “You’ve been working all day.”

It was true. My mind was fried after having done a deep dive into Mr. Reilly’s case and overanalyzing every possible next step we could make. After exhausting every avenue and formulating a new plan going forward, all I wanted was to mindlessly watch something to distract myself. Even if it was some animated children’s film.

Plus, I really didn’t want to be alone. Especially after I’d come to the realization that I hadn’t seen Brody around at all the entire day.

Had he found somewhere else to stay? Was he back at the apartment? Was he taking space away from me?

All valid scenarios. Still, none felt particularly pleasant.

“If you’re sure,” I said, plopping down on the farthest end of their three-section couch.

Liam stretched an arm behind him—the one not being used to cradle his family—and tossed over a throw blanket in my direction.

I grabbed it midair and laid it over me, settling back into the couch, feeling waves of tension ease off me for the first time in a while.

It was nice—the life Cassie and Liam had built for themselves here. It wasn’t just because they had a big house or a lot of money. It was because they had a lot of love. And with that, they’d turned this place into a home.