Come Back for Me (Arrowood Brothers #1)(45)

“I gave Dec his number.”

I huff and curse under my breath. Declan is just as bad lately at calling me back. In fact, the three of them can kiss my fucking ass. I’ve been here a month, busting my ass, with absolutely no help other than Declan getting funds to me, which was something I had to call ten times about, while they live their lives, oblivious to the shit I’m dealing with.

“A lot of good that does me, asshole. I need some help. All of you guys were supposed to do something, and instead, I’m doing it all on my own—like always.”

“What crawled up your ass? You’re even more of an asshole than usual.”

I sit on the bale of hay, rubbing my fingers across my forehead. I could tell him everything. A part of me wants to, and Sean is the only brother who knows about my angel, but even telling him a sliver of what’s going on will force me to answer too many questions.

Still, my brothers are all I’ve ever had.

They’re family.

They have never turned their backs on me and to be honest, I feel like I’m drowning right now.

“Connor?”

“I found her,” I say before I have a chance to think better of it.

“Found who?”

“Her.”

Sean goes silent for a second and then lets out a breathy laugh. “No shit?”

“She’s here . . . in fucking Sugarloaf, and that’s not even all of it . . .”

I tell him everything. I talk and talk, probably saying more in this one conversation than I’ve said to my brother in the last ten years. He doesn’t say a word as I unload the last few weeks and all the revelations. I even go over details that I don’t want to remember but can’t seem to forget.

I tell him about Ellie, Hadley, the tree, the house, the beating, and how they’re living here.

Once I’m done, I feel like I’ve completed a workout and can’t catch my breath. My heart aches, head pounds, and I’m winded.

“So, it seems you’ve been rather busy, baby brother.”

“That’s all you have to say?”

“No, but . . . I’m not really sure I can gather anything more than that.”

A lot of help he is. “Thanks, Sean.”

“Look, you just told me that the girl you spent the last eight years dreaming about, who is apparently some ethereal being who walks on water, is staying with you because she just left an abusive husband. On top of that, you might have a kid with said woman? Give me a fucking second to digest all this.”

I release a heavy breath through my nose and then look up at the ceiling. What a damn mess. “I’m not sure what to do.”

“Do?”

“About Ellie. I can’t get my head straight. I look at her, and my heart races. I think about her, and I fight the urge to find her. It’s ridiculous. Then there’s the fact that all I want is more.”

I’ve tried to deny my growing feelings. Ellie isn’t ready to even think about anything with me. I’ve waited for her for so long that the last thing I want is for it to fall apart because I pushed her too hard. I want her to want me. I don’t want it to be because of her ex.

“Tell me that you haven’t . . .”

“What?”

He hesitates, which is very unlike him. “You didn’t do anything . . . with her . . . like after her attack?”

If he were in front of me, I’d lay his ass out. “If you’re asking if I’ve slept with Ellie again, the answer is no. No, I am not a selfish asshole who would take advantage of a woman who is in the middle of hell.”

“I didn’t mean it like that. Simmer the fuck down. I’m saying that this situation is pretty nuts, and I also know what it’s like to feel something, even when it’s wrong.”

Sean has been in love with his best friend for the last twelve years. The problem is, she’s in love with someone else. His only saving grace is that she lives here and he doesn’t have to see her anymore.

“I didn’t say there aren’t feelings.”

“I figured. And then there’s the kid.”

Yeah, then there’s Hadley. “If she’s mine . . .”

“You need to find out.”

I blow out a deep breath and get to my feet. “The chances are that she’s not.”

“Okay, and there’s a chance she is. You said she has the Arrowood eyes, right?”

“Even Syd noticed it,” I tell him.

Sean bursts out laughing. “Sydney . . . like Declan’s Sydney?”

“The same one.”

“How the fuck are you handling all this on your own, Connor? You’re back in Sugarloaf, which is bad enough, but now you’ve got this girl, a possible daughter, and Sydney. Hell, next you’re going to tell me that Devney and her boyfriend are coming for dinner.”

I smirk. “That’s your mess, brother.”

“Yeah, well, I guess we all have shit to deal with, huh?”

“Some more than others.”

I’m not sure how I feel at this point. More than anything, I want to know if Hadley is mine, but there’s a lot of things that could happen once that knowledge is revealed. Right now, I’m not her father. I don’t have to parent her. I get to enjoy spending time with her. Then there are feelings for Ellie that are unexplainable.