“Okay.”
“Work things out, Kyle. I’d really like to count you as someone who can lead jobs for this company, but I can’t do that if your emotions are going to rule you on the site.” He paused. “Think about it.” And with a small wave, he left.
It took Kyle a solid five minutes before he walked out of the room. He wanted to be sure Jake was gone. And once he was outside in his truck, he felt like he could breathe freely for the first time all day.
The thing was, Jake was right. He did need to clear his head and try to get out of this funk. He’d avoided his family and pretty much anyone who knew him for the last week because he didn’t want to talk.
Like at all.
And he was pretty sure all he’d done is grunt at people at work all week so…
There was no way he could go on like this. The whole family was going to his father’s for dinner on Sunday and he was expected to be there. Then there was the wedding the following weekend and tons to do between now and then—especially as the best man.
He just had no idea how to put on his game face and act like he was fine.
Because he wasn’t.
When he and Sydney broke up all those years ago, he’d been devastated but spiteful and went out and partied and dated tons of girls to prove some stupid point. Right now, all he wanted was to be by himself and howl and yell and scream and pound on something to get all his aggression out. That’s why he’d volunteered to do most of the demo this week. It had been a great source of stress relief but he still could use more.
Every night, he had to fight the urge to go over to Sydney’s and beg her for another chance—or to talk to Haley and try to work things out. He’d even gone so far as to look up their therapist’s phone number and thought about calling her for advice. But in the end, he’d done nothing except work long hours and then sit home alone wishing his life didn’t feel like it was over.
He’d meant what he said to Sydney; he didn’t want another woman. She was it for him. All the years they were apart, he would have sworn he was over her.
But he never had been and now he knew he never would be.
And that left him totally screwed.
The drive back to Magnolia took thirty minutes. He considered stopping to pick up some pizza, but opted to just go home and call for something to be delivered so he wouldn’t potentially run into anyone.
When he pulled up to his house, however, he realized all his plans were for nothing because both his brothers were waiting for him.
“Probably too late to turn around,” he muttered as he parked. Slamming the truck into park, he got out with as much attitude as he could muster and hoped they took the hint that he wasn’t in the mood for company.
“Looks like we got here just in time,” Hunter said, following him up to the front door.
“Agreed,” Dean said.
Kyle didn’t bother asking why they were there, he just hoped if he ignored them long enough that they’d leave.
So he walked into the house and went right to his bathroom—slamming the door so hard the whole house shook—and took a hot shower.
A long, hot shower.
Unfortunately, they were both waiting for him when he came out and now had a couple of pizzas waiting on his kitchen table. One whiff and his stomach growled loudly. Rather than pretend no one heard it, he simply sat down and flipped open the first box and grabbed a slice.
Hunter sat on his left, Dean on his right, and somehow a six-pack of beer appeared.
He grabbed one of those too.
Neither brother made a move to grab any pizza or beer and that was fine with him. Staring at his plate, he finished his first slice before reaching for another.
Ten minutes later, Dean was the one who broke first.
“Okay, this is ridiculous, Kyle. We all know something happened between you and Sydney, so…let’s hear it. What did you do?”
With a mirthless laugh, he reached for his beer. “Wasn’t me this time,” he said before taking a long pull of his drink.
And yeah, he noticed the shocked look his brothers exchanged.
“Why don’t you make this easier and just tell us what happened?” Hunter suggested.
So he did. His tone was void of any emotion, and when he was done, he took a large bite of his pizza and just…waited.
Dean let out a mild curse while Hunter leaned back in his chair, raking a hand through his hair.
“Maybe with a little time…”
Kyle shook his head. “Not gonna happen.”
“Yeah, but…”
He shook his head again. “I suggested the same thing and she shot me down. There isn’t a damn thing I can do.”
“That’s bullshit,” Hunter said. “Haley was essentially throwing a temper tantrum. All kids do. She can’t seriously expect Sydney to just give up her entire life, and Sydney should know better than to cave to a kid’s demands!”
“You don’t get it,” Kyle said, his voice almost deadly calm. “Sydney doesn’t know any better because she was thrown into this whole parenting thing. All she’s trying to do is make things easier for Haley.” Tossing the remains of his pizza down, he shook his head. “The kid is pissed and hurting and…and I’m a particularly sore spot with her.”
“Or just a convenient target,” Dean offered.
“I remember being so mad after Mom died,” Kyle went on. “Not right away, but it happened. I was mad that Dad was still here and Mom wasn’t. I would say some hateful stuff to him because he didn’t know how to do the things that Mom did.”
“To be fair, I think we all did that a time or two,” Dean commented.
“So then we all know where Haley’s coming from.”
“Wow,” Dean said, finally reaching for a slice of pizza. “I never would have thought you’d be the mature voice of reason.”
“Yeah,” he said miserably. “Yay, me.”
“Have you talked to Sydney at all since it happened?” Hunter asked.
“No. She told me she couldn’t handle all of this.” Pausing, he shook his head and tried not to think about the tremble in her voice or how completely defeated she’d looked. “I wanted to call and just make sure she’s alright, but…” He shrugged. “I can’t add any more stress to her life.”
“There’s got to be something you can do. Eventually Haley’s going to settle in and start to feel a little less resentful,” Dean reasoned. “Like you said, we’ve all been there and we all did. Maybe in a month…”
“I’m not going to beg her,” Kyle stated firmly. “It is what it is. Things will go much better for the two of them if I’m not there interfering.”
“Agree to disagree,” Dean replied before taking a bite of his pizza.
Looking at the two of them, he sighed. “So, how’d you know that something happened?”
“I ran into Jake yesterday,” Hunter said. “He mentioned how word on the job site was that you were a nightmare to work with and clearly something was wrong. Then he called me after he saw you earlier and confirmed it. We know there’s nothing else going on that could get you this pissed off and so I put two and two together.”
All he did was nod. He may have been annoyed that they’d been here waiting for him, but now that he had calmed down, he realized he appreciated them for taking the time. They each had lives of their own and better things to do than sit here listening to him cry because a broken-hearted twelve-year-old essentially ruined his life.