“I’m being honest. I need the fucking money. I have a shitload of bills and a bank loan I’d like to pay off before I’m ninety.”
So it really was a money issue. “You don’t have to pay for Noah’s daycare this summer.” Not that I had money to burn but I would find a way if it meant helping him out. “I’ll take care of it.”
“He’s just as much my responsibility as yours so fuck no. You’re not going to take care of it. I’ll pay for his daycare. You know I’d be happy to pay for anything that makes your life and Noah’s life better.”
I did know that. “You’re a good man, Brody.”
“Since when?”
“Since always.”
“Don’t get sweet on me,” he teased, giving me a smile and a wink. “That only leads to trouble.”
And trouble was the last thing we needed.
“You need to meet someone special. It’s time you let someone in.” Ever since I could remember, Brody had hooked up and moved on before anyone could get too close.
“Someone special, huh? Someone like you?”
“No. I meant...” Someone else.
“Yeah, I know what you meant. Falling in love... getting too close... it only leads to heartbreak.” His hooded gaze held mine for a few long moments before he shook his head and walked out the door.
When the door closed behind him, I sagged against it and expelled the breath I’d been holding.
Oh my God.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Jude
My truck bumped along the winding dirt and gravel lane flanked by trees. Up ahead, a metal gate had been left wide open. I drove through the two stone pillars and peered through the windshield at a two-story weathered shingle house with dark green trim. It looked like a home. The kind of place where you could raise a bunch of kids. Worlds away from the life I’d been living.
Last time I saw Brody, he was living in an Airstream on Austin’s ranch. Now he owned a home and a horse farm.
I pulled in behind Brody’s truck and followed the stone paving slabs to the front door.
Lifting my hand, I pounded my fist against the wood. No answer. I tried again with the same result before I rounded the side of the house.
I knew this property. Thirty acres of prime Hill Country.
The summer I was seventeen and working for my dad, I worked with the crew that put a new roof on the barn. That summer Brody was working as a ranch hand and I’d told him he would love this place. One day he stopped by for lunch and climbed up on the roof with me to get a better view—beyond the barn and paddocks, the land was wild and rugged, hills and meadows and wooded areas with a natural spring lake.
“Someday I’m gonna buy a place just like this,” he’d said.
The other guys on the crew had laughed like that was a joke. But I knew Brody meant it. Owning land and working with horses was all he’d ever wanted, and I knew he’d find a way to do it. That was Brody. When someone said he couldn’t do something, he knocked himself out to prove otherwise.
When something—or someone—was off-limits, he wanted it even more.
I slowed my steps when I heard Noah’s voice coming from inside the barn. Shit. I hadn’t even thought he might be here.
“Can you fix him, Daddy?”
“I don’t know, buddy. Some things can’t be fixed.”
“But you can fix anything. You can fix all the horses.”
“Wish I could. He’s been through a lot. That’s why he gets so spooked. He has a lot of triggers and they make him relive the bad things over and over in his head.”
“Triggers? Oh... like a gun?”
“What are you doing in my truck?” Brody asked, narrowing his eyes at me as he climbed into the driver’s seat.
I sat up and yawned as I rolled out my shoulders. I’d slept in his truck so I wouldn’t miss him when he took off. The sun wasn’t even up yet.
“I’m going with you.”
“I need to do this alone.”
Good luck to him if he thought he could get me to leave. I settled in, preparing to be here for the long haul. “No, you fucking don’t. I’ve got your back. I’m not letting you do this alone.” I knew he didn’t want me to get out of his truck. Otherwise, he would have put up a fight. He hit the gas and we rode in silence. While he drove, I texted Lila to let her know I was going on an impromptu camping trip with Brody to celebrate our high school graduation.
“You wanna talk about it?”
“Nope. Wish I’d never told you.”
When he told me, he was drunk and stoned, and barely coherent but it was obvious he needed to tell someone. He’d been keeping it to himself for too long. Now he was out for revenge and I wasn’t about to let him do this his way. He’d end up in prison. No way could I let that happen. I had a few hours to help him come up with a better plan. One that didn’t involve putting a bullet in his abuser’s head.
“Uncle Jude!” Noah grinned at me and waved as I walked into the barn. Brody scowled at me but I ignored it and him.
“Hey Noah.” He ran toward me then stopped short and held out his fist. I bumped my scarred knuckles against his small fist. Just a light tap so I didn’t hurt him. His grin grew wider, like bumping fists had already become our thing.
“How’s Hayley?” I asked.
“Good. She got a new dog. She drawed a picture for me. I drawed one for Grandpa. He said it makes him feel all better.”
“You have a lot of talents. You’re an artist too?”
He nodded seriously. “Yep. I’m really good.” I suppressed my laughter. “Are you gonna punch Daddy?”
Tempting. “No. I just came to talk.”
Noah looked at me for a minute then nodded and darted away in pursuit of a black and
