Page 41 of Smitty

“Not unless they have a reason to be.” He crossed his arms. “And we’re a club. Not a gang.”

“Still sounds ominous.”

“It’s not… They’re not who you think they are.” He gave me one of his looks and sounded annoyed when he added, “They’re good men who have changed my life in ways I can’t begin to explain.”

Brayden had always been one of those straight-laced guys who kept his word, followed the rules, and tried not to hurt anyone along the way. It was partly because of what had happened with Aiden and partly because it was just who he was. So, if he said they were good men, I had no reason not to believe him.

“Okay. I get it.”

“You don’t.”

I followed his gaze up to the porch swing, the flowerpots, and the bicycles parked next to Ryan’s truck. When I looked back at him, his expression had hardened. “Bray…”

“Looks like I’m not the only one who’s made changes.” He glanced back at the house. “You got the house you always wanted… the yard… even got yourself a truck.”

“It’s not what it looks like.”

“But it is.” He shook his head, “I can’t believe you did this.”

His words hit hard. It did look like I had everything I wanted, and in a lot of ways I did. But there was a missing piece, and it was missing because he chose to pull away. He chose to move on, and I was left trying to pick up the pieces. “I’m not taking all the blame here, Bray. This was both of us.”

“I’m not the one who up and left and never looked back.”

“It’s complicated.”

“Then, uncomplicate it, Brooke.” I lowered my head and sighed. “Hell. You gotta give me something.”

The way he said my name, hard and cold, brought a knot to my stomach. The knot grew even tighter when he said, “I loved you… so much it damn near broke me. I woke up every morning wondering if I was enough… It took you walking away for me to finally get my answer.”

“I didn’t walk away.”

“But you did.” He glanced over at Ryan’s truck. “You’d met somebody better and no longer wanted the homeless kid with no future.”

“You’ve got it all wrong, Brayden. All of it.” His eyes met mine. “I never met somebody better.”

“Then, what happened?”

I had just opened my mouth to answer when the front door of the house opened, and I heard Ryan’s voice call out, “Brooke.”

Every muscle in my body locked when he appeared in the doorway. I stopped breathing. The color drained from Brayden’s face as his eyes shifted past me over to the front porch, where Ryan was standing with Anslee perched on his hip.

His entire body went still, and just like that, the world seemed to stop on its axis. I didn’t think it could get any worse.

I was wrong.

9

SMITTY

I’d come to Brooke for answers, and I was just starting to get somewhere when the screen door opened. I looked up just as the man from the fair stepped out of the house with the little girl balanced on his hip, and I couldn’t take my eyes off her.

She had these soft brown curls that framed her round face, and her blue eyes were shining bright, just like they’d been at the fair. One tiny fist was curled around the front of his T-shirt, and she was looking around the yard with wide, curious eyes.

The guy took one glance at Brooke before turning his attention to me. “Hey… Everything okay?”

Brooke didn’t answer. She just stood there, looking like her worst nightmare had just come true. His eyes flicked from me to her and back again, measuring the situation. He came down the steps and made his way over to us, stopping beside Brooke.

He didn’t stand in front of her, but close enough that if something went sideways, he’d be there.