They laughed, and Heath told her about how he’d started taking his class on nature walks around Fair Haven, pointing out local flora and fauna. The kids had loved it, and everyone looked forward to having Mr. DiMarco for fifth grade. It helped that he was handsome: the girls all loved him and would blush when he’d smile at them.
“I’m glad you’re happy. You were meant to be a teacher.” Rose smiled as Heath rubbed his neck in embarrassment.
“It almost didn’t happen.” He seemed far away right then, and she knew they were both thinking about how it had almost ended so quickly. She closed her eyes for a brief second before pushing away the memories.
Heath walked Rose home a few hours later, neither of them saying much. The sun shone brightly, the trees bursting with color. Rose watched a seagull glide across the sky before landing unceremoniously on the corner of an apartment complex’s dumpster.
She laughed. “What did you used to call seagulls?”
Heath looked a little startled. She wondered how far away his thoughts had been. “Seagulls? I think I called them trash parrots.”
“That’s right! Trash parrots. I loved that.”
He smiled, slinging an arm around her shoulders.
That was how they ran into Seth only ten minutes later. When Heath spotted Seth, he stiffened, his arm drawing her close. Seth looked wary, and Rose couldn’t help but think of them both as dogs, circling the same bone.
If I’m lucky, they won’t pee on me to mark their territory, she thought wryly.
Seth eyed Heath DiMarco, while Heath’s expression was one of open hostility. Seth didn’t know what Heath’s problem was: he’d done nothing to merit that kind of look. And he wasn’t the one letting his sister live in an apartment without a damn bed while he sat in his cushy house.
Well, cushy apartment, maybe. It wasn’t like teachers made a ton of money.
“Hi, Seth,” Rose said.
She glanced at Heath, and Seth almost laughed when she rolled her eyes.
“Hey,” Heath said; Seth just nodded.
“We just saw your sister, actually, down at The Rise and Shine.”
“Which one?” Seth asked.
That earned him another full eye roll. “Which do you think? The one who works there. Jubilee is so sweet. I wonder where she gets it from?” Rose batted her lashes.
Seth grunted. “My sisters are a pain in the ass,” he said, his tone at odds with his words.
“Where do you work these days?” Heath inquired. “Now that you’re out of the Marines.”
“I do woodworking and carpentry. And I’m not totally out of the Marines.”
He didn’t know why Heath was irritating him so much, but there it was. Maybe because he seemed like Seth would pounce on Rose if he so much as turned his back. You were the same way when Trent was sniffing around Lizzie, his mind reminded him.
He told his mind to shut the hell up.
“You’re not totally done? I thought you were,” said Rose.
“I’m on inactive duty. I could be called up at any time.”
“Does that really happen?”
He hesitated. “Not usually. It’s pretty rare.”
At Heath’s smug look, Seth barely restrained himself from punching him in the jaw. But then he saw the resemblance between the two siblings, and he realized it’d be like punching Rose in a way.
Besides, he wanted to stay on Rose’s good side, right? So no punching older brothers.
At the strained silence, Rose huffed. “Well, I need to take Callie out and get ready for work. See you later, Heath.” She kissed her brother’s cheek, leaving the two men to stare each other down in the warm June sunshine.
Although Seth was taller than Heath, Seth had a feeling the man could put up a decent fight. There was an edge to Heath DiMarco that Seth recognized. He wasn’t just some elementary school teacher, that was for sure.
“I want you to leave my sister alone,” Heath said without preamble. “She’s been through enough already.”
So there it was. Seth schooled his expression, anger filling him. Did Heath even know what his sister had been through? That she carried a damn gun with her everywhere she went because she was so afraid?
He wanted to throw that little fact in Heath’s face, but he stopped himself just in time. He didn’t have a right to share what he knew was probably Rose’s secret.
“Has Rose said that she wants me to leave her alone?” Seth countered.
“Not in so many words.”
“That’s a no, then.”
Heath scowled. “Like I said: she’s been through enough.” He stepped closer until they were only inches apart. “I just got her back, Thornton. Don’t make her run again.”
Seth’s brows flew up. Now, there’s a story. “And like I said: if she tells me that she wants me to leave her alone, I will. But I don’t take well to empty threats.”
“They’re not empty, believe me.”
“And what kind of a brother are you? Letting your little sister live in an apartment without a bed? Eating probably only ramen noodles?” Seth’s voice hardened. “Why act like you care when you clearly don’t give a shit?”
Heath flinched, and Seth knew he’d made a direct hit. Something dark lurked in Heath’s eyes, and Seth almost expected a fist to his gut. It had been a low blow.
“You think I don’t know that?” Heath growled, shaking his head. “She won’t accept my help. She won’t accept anyone’s help. What makes you think you’re so different? Rose keeps to herself and she always has.”
Seth instantly felt guilty, hearing the pain in Heath’s voice. There was a history there that he couldn’t begin to fathom. Lizzie had been the same way, when she’d been hurting: Seth had wanted to help, tried to help, but sometimes there’s truly nothing a person can do.
“Just leave my sister alone. She needs to get a life for herself, not have some other guy sniffing around her and screwing her over again.” Heath shook his head and went toward Rose’s apartment, probably to make sure Seth didn’t try anything.
Seth walked to the park he and Lizzie would go to when she’d lived with him in the apartment. Gazing off into the distance, Seth heard Heath’s words over and over again, the pain—and the guilt—so obvious in them.
Seth understood pain, and he sure as hell felt guilt. He’d failed Lizzie, he’d failed Max. Was he drawn to Rose because he thought he could save her? Was she his redemption in a twisted way?
He rubbed his temples. A headache threatened to take over; it didn’t help that he couldn’t stop clenching his jaw until his entire head pounded.
“I thought I’d find you here,” Lizzie said quietly as she came to stand in front of him. She smiled down at him, although it was a sad smile. “What’s up, buttercup?”
“Hey, Lizard. What are you doing here?”
“Trent has Bea, and I wanted to come see you, but you weren’t home. I put two and two together.” She gestured at the bench. “May I?”
He nodded.
He and Lizzie had been inseparable as kids: being twins, it had been like they could read each other’s minds. Although Lizzie was technically older, Seth had always felt protective of her.