For now, my bar shifts covered the basics, and I was slowly paying off my student loans. I felt at loose ends, and it seemed safer and easier just to coast along the way I was. Making a major decision about work felt like too much. Although I didn’t like to think about it often, much of my life had faded into indecision after what happened with Brad. It was like I couldn’t trust myself to make a single decision. Because I had never seen that coming.
The front door opened and Lucas came striding through. “Hey, sis,” he called as he dropped his bag by the door before crossing the room to lean against the counter that served as a divider between the kitchen and the open style living room.
“Hey. Coffee?”
“Always.”
Fetching another mug out of the cabinet, I quickly filled it and handed it over. After a sip, Lucas eyed me for a minute. Because I knew my brother well, I knew he was about to jump into a topic I might not appreciate.
“What?”
He gave me a long look. “What’s that tone for?”
“You’ve got the look that says you’re about to bring up something I won’t like.”
“That’s a specific look?”
“Yes. I’ve known you my whole life. It’s a very specific look. Cut to the chase.”
“I heard Brad showed up at the bar last night. Just wondering if you’re okay.”
“I’m fine.”
“I’m planning to go talk to him.”
I groaned. “I do not need you to go talk to him. I handled it.” I hated feeling like people thought they needed to look out for me. It scratched with sharp claws at all of my defenses. I didn’t need anyone.
“I know you did. I also know you got an assist from Walker and Jackson. According to Jackson, Walker almost started a fight with Brad.”
“So what if he did?” I countered, my tone mulish.
“Okay, I’ll talk to you later,” I heard Valentina saying to Shay.
“I’d like to hit Brad myself. I’ll have to thank Walker for having your back. Is something going on with him?”
“Oh my God,” I muttered, setting my coffee cup down. “It’s none of your business.”
Lucas’s gaze only grew more concerned. I knew I was overreacting, but ugh. I was beyond unsettled. All of this with Walker, Brad showing up and reminding me how much I couldn’t trust myself, and just how twisted up inside I felt. Now, to have my older brother coming in and pressing every single one of my giant buttons, well, it sent anger spinning into the storm of muddled emotions already brewing inside.
“I gotta go.” I spun around and snatched my purse off the chair where I’d left it earlier.
Valentina stood from the table, her eyes worried. When I looked toward Lucas, it was clear he realized he had overstepped. “Jade—” he began.
I shook my head sharply. “I know. You’re sorry. I need to go because I have a shift. Call me if you need me to babysit.”
With tears in my eyes and my throat aching and tight, I had to get the hell out of there and fast. Hurrying past both of them, I bolted out the front door.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Walker
I took off my leather gloves and tossed them on the table beside me. Reaching over, I turned off the miter saw and grabbed the water bottle sitting in the open windowsill. After drinking almost half of it, I leaned my hips against the table as I looked around the space.
Last summer before I started here, Jackson had begun adding new studio guest cabins. With Stolen Hearts Lodge flourishing and becoming busier, they needed more space. These high-end private little cabins were like catnip for the guests who wanted some sort of outdoorsy experience without actually being required to camp.
They had every bell and whistle you could imagine and were gorgeous. I’d mostly taken over handling the hardwood flooring with a little help from Lucas and Jackson. Among many things my father had done, he’d been a high-end carpenter. I knew how to lay a gorgeous hardwood floor, including creating patterns and making it almost a work of art.
I’d spent the morning designing the layout and cutting the flooring for this studio. We’d settled on a starburst pattern centered in front of the river stone fireplace that would eventually be built. For the most part, I spent most of these jobs on my own until it came time to lay the flooring. Then, I had the help of any of the guys because installing the flooring was much faster with a team.
“How’s it going in here?” a voice carried in through the open doorway.
The days were getting hot, so I preferred to get most of this done in the morning. I could handle the heavy labor with sweat dripping, but the detail work was more annoying when it was boiling hot outside.
Lucas stepped in, his gaze bouncing from me to scan around the room and settle on the neatly stacked pile of flooring ready to be installed.
“We’re ready to roll. I’m gonna head up to the lodge to grab a bite. Are you available to help me this afternoon?”
Lucas nodded, holding my gaze just long enough that a prickle of unease ran down my spine. Obviously, I hadn’t forgotten that Jade was Lucas’s younger sister. Yet, I’d basically shut that detail out of my mind whenever I happened to be around him. I liked and respected Lucas and guessed he might be pissed if he knew what was going on between Jade and me.
Whether or not he knew I was thinking about Jade, he commented, “I meant to thank you.”
“For what?” I lifted the water bottle again and took another few swallows.
“Getting that asshole away from Jade a few nights ago. Jackson mentioned what happened.”
“Of course. I’d do the same for anyone.”
On its face, that comment was entirely truthful. That said, it wasn’t likely that I would be as fired up as I’d been. Jade had come to mean far more to me than I’d been prepared to handle.
Lucas nodded. “I know you would.” He slid a hand in the pocket of his jeans, leaning out the other open windowsill and looking through the trees. The day was beginning to heat up, the air heavy with humidity. A drop of sweat rolled down my spine.
Lucas looked back at me, his gaze assessing. “What’s going on with you and my sister?”
It didn’t slip my notice that he called her “my sister” rather than simply saying her name.
Oh fuck. This was the part where I should have spoken to Jade about this possibility. Lucas was no idiot.
I didn’t look away as these thoughts spun through my mind. I finally settled on the only answer I could live with because I didn’t want to out and out lie to Lucas. “Can I take a rain check on answering?”
I knew my answer would be revealing, but it gave me the chance I needed to talk to Jade first. That was its own quagmire. I’d gone and fallen in love with her.
Holding Jade’s heart was like holding spun sugar in my hands. As feisty and guarded as she could be, I knew what lay under the surface was fragile. She’d let her doubts rule her. She was a vulnerable woman who was strong and loyal and so damn sexy I didn’t think she’d ever stop taking my breath away.
Lucas’s eyes fairly bored through me. After a very long moment, during which my heart beat out the drum line to an anxious tune, he nodded slowly. “You can.”