Think, Scarlet. Think.
“Please don’t leave here mad,” I begged.
“Sorry, sweetheart, but I am,” he returned, his patience waning. “I’m angry, no, I’m pissed at myself for being young and stupid and not understanding the devastation I was bringing on both of us back then. But we’re both here now, we both love each other, and you don’t want this. I might not be here throwing glass dishes at the wall, Scarlet, but inside, I’m breaking much as you did. I have only myself to blame for that. I just hope it’s not another fourteen years before you realize you’re doing exactly what I did. Because I’d hate for you to have to live with the guilt that I do every damn day.”
“Ryker…” I trailed off.
“I would have put in the work,” he advised. “There’s a lot to fix. I know how much I hurt you. I’m sorry, I can’t fix that. But no matter what it took, I would have done it. I don’t give up, Scarlet. Not at my job and especially not when it comes to you.” A look of disgust washed over him. “But you want to do this on your own, go ahead,” he continued. “Take your space and your time. I’ll be where I’ve always been… living in misery without you.”
I didn’t want him living in misery. I just wanted to be sure this was a smart decision. I wanted to be cautious. I didn’t want to break again.
Ryker didn’t wait for me to respond. In fact, he decided to push the blade in and twist it. “I don’t believe we’re broken so far beyond repair that we can’t get to a place even better than we were before. But you don’t trust me. There’s not much I can do to fix that if you won’t let me. So, I’ll pray that you can find a way to do that without me being around. And when you’re ready to love me again, I’ll be waiting with the same phone number. Just like I’ve been doing for fourteen years.”
And with those words, he opened the door and walked out.
Two Weeks Later
“Fuck!”
I yanked open the drawers on my toolbox, slamming each closed when I didn’t find what I needed. Quite frankly, I didn’t even know what I wanted.
My mind was so scattered, I couldn’t think straight.
My vision was so hazy; I couldn’t see straight.
Frustrated and assuming what I was looking for was already out, I turned around and tripped on the impact gun. Growling with frustration, I picked it up, disconnected it from the air line, and threw it onto my workbench.
“Looking to spend another thousand bucks on a new impact?”
I looked up and narrowed my eyes at Knox. “I’m not in the mood,” I warned him.
Half a second later, Logan appeared.
Neither of them said anything as my eyes darted back and forth between them. “Now’s not the time,” I ordered.
“You’ve got to talk to us, Ryker,” Logan urged me.
I didn’t want to talk to them. I didn’t want to talk to anyone. For the last two weeks, I spoke only when spoken to and only regarding work. When I walked into work on Monday two weeks ago, the Monday after Scarlet’s signing, Avery was sitting in her seat in the front office, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. She took one look at me and knew it hadn’t gone well.
Thankfully, she’d respected me enough not to pry.
And for the last two weeks, I’d been perfectly happy to keep it that way. I didn’t know what Logan and Knox thought they were going to accomplish, but I wasn’t interested in finding out.
“I’ve got work to do,” I declared.
“Work can wait a minute,” Logan shot back.
“No, it can’t,” I insisted. “This fucking car, which was already a pain in my ass, just became an even bigger pain in my ass.”
“That’s not what this is about, though,” Knox debated.
“It is,” I maintained. “I just got through fixing a truckload of problems left on this thing by another shop, which needs no mentioning, and just came to the realization that I get the lovely honor of building a whole new engine harness because they fucked that up, too.”
Knox and Logan stared at me like I was crazy.
I was boiling, though, so I didn’t hold back. “Of course, it’s a Supra that I can no longer just buy a new OEM harness and modify for this particular setup. Nope. I’ve got to rip out the shit harness that’s in it now and build a new one from scratch. That’s days of work I’ve got ahead of me. And it’s completely unnecessary. Days wasted because people who shouldn’t be touching cars keep doing it. So no, work can’t wait a minute.”
“It’s the off-season,” Logan pointed out. His tone indicated he was losing his patience when he repeated, “Work can wait a minute.”
I let out a frustrated sigh and dropped my head back to look up at the ceiling. I didn’t need a lecture right now. After taking a few moments to breathe and calm myself down, I returned my attention to them and apologized. “I’m sorry. I’ll cool it. I’ve got it under control now.”
“We’re not looking for an apology or for you to have it under control,” Logan shared.
“We’re coming to you about this because it’s your best option,” Knox added.
My brows pulled together. “What?” I asked.
Holding his hands up in surrender, Knox said, “Look, if you don’t want to talk to us, fine. But be prepared because the girls do, and they’re planning an intervention.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “What’s that supposed to mean?” I questioned him.
“Kendall and Avery are worried,” Logan answered. “They’re concerned for you and want to help you.”
“I don’t need help, so if you don’t want me getting nasty with them, I’d suggest you both find a way to keep them out of it,” I warned them.
“You won’t get nasty,” Knox called my bluff. “You might get pissed off and angry with us, but you won’t do that to Kendall or Avery, and you know it.”
He was right. I wouldn’t. It still didn’t mean I wanted them trying to do anything to help me.
“They feel like they owe you a debt of gratitude, Ryker,” Logan put in. “You stepped in to help when we were going through our stuff, and the girls want to return the favor. Knox and I had a feeling you wouldn’t be really keen on that, so we’re coming to you so we can help you work this out.”
“There’s nothing to work out,” I clipped. “And remind me never to get involved if Kieran and Nash ever find themselves in a situation in the future.”
“Nothing to work out?” Knox asked.
“Nothing.”
“Are you sure about that?” he pressed.
“Yep.”
“How is that possible?” Logan wondered.
“Because she needs time,” I snapped.
Confusion washed over them. I expected that because I was still just as confused about it myself. How Scarlet could feel like she needed more time when we’d already had so many years apart was baffling to me.
“What?”
I shook my head. “Your guess is as good as mine,” I replied. “I’ve been trying to figure that one out for weeks now.”