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My brother’s house nestled in the foothills of the White Mountains is no less impressive than the jet he flew us in on. With eight bedrooms, nine bathrooms, an indoor pool, and a full gym, it’s basically his own personal hideaway.
Even though the back of the house is made up entirely of glass pane windows, the trees surrounding it make me feel completely and utterly alone.
That’s something we have in common, I suppose—we both chose seclusion.
“Your room to your standard?” Presley asks as he jogs in, wearing a pair of basketball shorts and no shirt. Tattoos cover his arms and chest, but I can easily see the ragged scar where that bullet tore through him at ten. It’s faded now, but to me, it’s still fresh.
“Yeah. It’s good.”
“Nice. Let me know if you need anything else.”
“Why are you doing this?” I cross my arms.
He turns toward me. “Excuse me?”
“Why are you helping us?”
“I need a reason to not want you dead?”
“We didn’t exactly leave things on good terms, Lee.”
He takes a deep breath and sets his water down, his expression darkening. “We doing this then?”
“I need to understand why. It’s been twelve years.”
“The phone works both ways, Big Brother. You could have called me, too.”
“You made it clear when I wouldn’t come home for Mom that you wanted nothing to do with me.”
“I was barely eighteen when I had to bury her alone, you know that? Her pathetic—” He stops speaking. “Her current husband couldn’t even be bothered to attend.”
The brokenness of his expression tears a hole in me. “I didn’t realize she’d ever remarried.”
“No, you wouldn’t have, right? Because you checked out the moment you turned eighteen. What was that, three weeks after your girlfriend shot me?”
“Presley—”
“Look, Ryker. I’m not trying to get into this. Really, I’m not. You needed help. I wanted to help because you are my last remaining family member. And once upon a time? We were close. If that’s not enough of a reason for you, then there’s the door.”
He storms off, and for a moment, I consider going after him.
She got remarried?
How did I not know that? Presley and I wrote back and forth for a while. Why didn’t he ever tell me?
After a few moments, I head out onto the balcony overlooking the valley just on the other side of Presley’s house. I grip both sides of the railing and bow my head.
Lord, why is this happening now? Why did You bring him back into my life if it was just going to cause more pain? I trust You, God. But I don’t want to rip the past open again.
“Penny for your thoughts?”
I glance over my shoulder as Dahlia steps out. The sight of her wearing a pair of blue leggings and a white t-shirt steals my breath. She’s so beautiful, a beacon of light calling me to a place I never thought I’d find.
“How are you?”
“I’m great. Have you seen the size of the bathtubs? That was the best bath I’ve ever taken.”
Thoughts of soapy water try to invade my mind, so I close my eyes.
