The parking lot was empty, which was a relief. For the first time since summer started to ebb into the next season, there was a bite to the air. Soon, the tips of the leaves would start changing, the air would take on the smell of fall, crisp and cool.
While I waited, I tucked my hands into my pockets and tilted my chin up to the sky. I had less than twenty-four hours to fix this, in a way that felt right.
As the car pulled into the lot for the Cooper Trail road, I took a deep breath and straightened my shoulders.
He hadn’t even answered my text, so up until that moment, I wasn’t even positive he’d help me. The engine shut off and he opened the door, unfolding to his full height, about an inch shorter than my own six-five.
But Grady had something I didn’t; the justified fire of a pissed-off brother. Which is why I let him have the first punch.
His fist came up before I could blink, a right hook to my jaw that snapped my head around. I staggered back against my truck from the force of it, my hand cupping my face as he shook out his hand.
Grady took one step and I straightened.
“You get one free one, and that’s it,” I warned. “Because I deserve that hit. But I’ll defend myself if you want another.”
He lowered his fist and studied me with a stony expression.
“You’ve got balls the size of Texas to think I’d help you do anything, Haywood.”
I worked my jaw back and forth, wincing when I stretched it too far. “Who else would I call to do this?”
“Maybe you could leave her the hell alone,” he suggested. “Don’t you think you’ve done enough?”
A humorless laugh escaped. “Trust me, I know what I’ve done. I’m going to fix this, but I want to do it in the right way. I need your help for that.”
Grady leaned up against his car and studied me again. His face had lost a bit of its uncharacteristic iciness.
“Your face hurt?”
My eyebrows popped up in concession. “Yeah.”
“Good. And just to warn you, I can’t guarantee that my sister won’t do the exact same thing when she sees you.” He looked at me like I was crazy when that made me smile. “You want her to punch you?”
“No,” I said around a grin. “I just don’t think she will. Even if I deserve it.”
“Why do you say that?”
Mimicking his position against my own vehicle, we must have looked like we were facing off to anyone who might drive past. Arms crossed, studying the opponent opposite us.
“I think your sister puts up a good front of being a hard-ass. But the more I’ve gotten to know her, she’s a big ol’ softy on the inside. She’s got a huge heart, and she loves people with her entire being. When she’s happy, you can’t help but be happy too, but when she hurts, it’s equally as big. The boots, the attitude, the way she stays around the edges of everything, it’s armor. And she’s allowed to have it, we all do things to protect ourselves, there’s nothing wrong with that.”
I exhaled as I thought about her, as I thought about the big picture that made up Grace Bailey Buchanan. The things that I’d failed to notice when it mattered. “But she won’t lash out at me, even if I deserve a punch and more. She’ll sit in her hurt until she’s figured out a way to pull herself out of it. But I don’t want her to be there anymore. I want her to see that no one here will hurt her. Not me, not anyone, because I won’t let them.”
It took me far too long to piece all that together about her, my sweet, angry girl. She was both.
“You think Grace needs you to protect her?” he asked carefully.
“No, I think she can take care of herself, because for all the big heart, she’s tough as hell. I just think she pushes the tough to the surface so people see her that way.” I straightened to my full height. “But I’m in love with your sister, and I’ve done a shit job of showing her that. So she might not need me to protect her, but I want to. I want to be right there with her.”
Grady shook his head and stared past me to the trailhead. The one where, ostensibly, it all began. The first time Grace thawed to me, the first time I saw a crack in that shield. And it made me want to pry it loose and see what was underneath. I should have known then that I would’ve done anything, sacrificed anything to have her in my life.
“You have no idea how badly I want to tell you to go screw yourself.” His gaze came back to mine, and when it did, I knew he’d help me. My shoulders relaxed from the sheer, overwhelming relief that swept through my body. Grady dug into his front pocket and handed me a thumb drive. “But I won’t.”
I took it. “This is all of them?”
He nodded. “Yeah.”
“Thank you.”
“Stupid Buchanan curse,” he mumbled.
My head snapped up. “What did you say?”
Grady held up his hands. “Nothing.”
“No, you said something. And I swear,” I shook my head, trying to figure out what it meant, “I swear it’s exactly what Grace said when she left my house after we argued. I heard her. It just didn’t make any sense.”
Grady looked up at the sky, much in the same way I did before he arrived. Like he was searching for divine intervention.
“This is not my problem, you know,” he said, then pointed a finger at me. “It’s not my problem. All I wanted to do was move here, be outside, have a job that didn’t keep me chained to a computer staring at ones and zeros. That’s it. I didn’t move
