Total pages in book: 133
Estimated words: 132332 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 662(@200wpm)___ 529(@250wpm)___ 441(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 132332 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 662(@200wpm)___ 529(@250wpm)___ 441(@300wpm)
He drops his gaze to the blacktop.
“You couldn’t talk about this for fucking months,” I grumble, throwing my bag onto the passenger side. “Now, all of a sudden, you gotta hunt me down at work?”
Teller
Maybe ambushing Blake at work isn’t fair. At least I waited until the gym was closed.
“What can I do to fix this?” I ask, fighting all my natural instincts to respond with something snarky.
“What’s there to fix, Marcel?”
He may be trying to hide it, but I sense the hurt and distrust in his question. Wrath’s words return to me. But no matter what he said, this rift goes deeper than the club and our roles in it.
“You’re my best friend. My brother in every way that matters. I should’ve told you when I found out. But I didn’t know how to say it. I wasn’t sure how to tell Heidi. And I didn’t want to make things awkward for you two.”
“Well, at least you finally respect our relationship. So, I guess that’s something.” His words hang heavy.
“Give me some credit. I’m not as obnoxious as I used to be.”
“I guess,” he grumbles.
“Are you mad because I kept the truth from Heidi or from you?”
“Does it matter? I’m pissed I was on death’s doorstep in the hospital, and you lied to my face.”
“I didn’t lie. I just told you a different secret.”
“Yeah, way to throw Charlotte under the bus, you dick.”
I love that he’s so protective of Charlotte. Even if it means he calls me a dick on a regular basis.
“It was the more painful secret,” I say quietly.
“Fuck,” he mutters.
“I’m sorry. I hated hiding it from you. We’ve never kept secrets from each other.”
“How was it easier to tell that undertaker dude but not me? That’s really fucked up.”
“What?” My face contorts in confusion. Then I realize he means Cedarwood. “I didn’t tell him. He assumed. Shocked me too.” I shrug.
He frowns as if he doesn’t quite believe me.
“Why would I lie about it now?” I throw my hand in the space between us. “You even made a mini-me joke.”
One corner of his mouth twitches. “I guess so.”
“Everything I thought I knew about myself—my family, my history, my damn identity, was flipped upside down, Blake.” I frantically think of the best way to explain it. “Thinking of Rock as a father figure then having him actually be my father was a real fucked-up pill to swallow.” There’s the reason I needed to have this reckoning with Blake away from Rock.
“Yeah,” he says with slow sarcasm. “You’re a regular Luke Skywalker.”
I scratch the side of my head and frown at him. “Are you comparing Rock to Darth Vader?”
Finally, he cracks a smile. “No.”
We stare at each other.
I got nothing left to say. No more explanations to give.
“I wish…” He jams his hands in his pockets and looks away. “I hate that you went through that alone.”
I open my mouth to protest. Rock, Hope, and Charlotte all knew.
“Yeah, yeah, Rock and Hope knew. Your girl knew,” he says, as if he’s read my mind. “But I know you couldn’t be honest with them the way you can be with me.” He shrugs. “I hate that you dealt with that on your own.”
My throat tightens. “If you make me cry, motherfucker…”
“What?” He throws his arms out wide. “You gonna punch me?”
“Maybe.” He’s asking for it with his arms wide open, so I grab him and yank him in for a hug.
For a second, he freezes. Then he returns the hug. “I’m sorry I didn’t take it well at first,” he says against my shoulder.
I release him and shrug. “Hey, I hightailed it to Canada when I found out.”
He dips his chin. “That was when, huh?”
“Yeah.” Shit, I don’t want him doing the math again. “Thank you for doing what Heidi needed. Being there for her. It tore me up, thinking about how to tell her.”
He releases a long, slow breath, his gaze falling somewhere over my shoulder. “She loves you. I think she’s happy for you but a little sad for herself. It is what it is though.”
One of my least-favorite phrases. But he’s right. “Are you okay if we tell the club, now?”
Blake takes longer to answer than I expected. “Yeah, it’s your news to share. Not mine.”
“I know. I don’t want to spring anything on you again.”
“Jesus, Marcel, you don’t have to run everything by me now.”
I slap his shoulder. “Yeah, I kinda do. You’re my VP.”
He scowls and shakes his head. “I gotta get home.”
“All right. I’ll follow you.”
I breathe a sigh of relief as I straddle my bike. Things aren’t back to normal yet, but this is progress.
CHAPTER THIRTY
Rock
“Before we leave the table, I’d like everyone’s attention.” I bow my head, considering all the ways to say this. Not that I haven’t thought about it endlessly for months.