Crazy (The Gibson Boys #4)(46)

“How benevolent of you.”

“I try.”

He leans on the tailgate, one foot across the other. It’s odd to look into someone’s face and see something so close to what you see in the mirror.

Same blue eyes. Same face shape. Same straight hairline with a tendency for hair to fall to the left.

“You know anybody hiring around here?” he asks. “I’m working for a company out of Logansport, but they don’t work this far north.”

“I’ll keep an eye out.”

“You do that.” He scratches the top of his head. “I gotta get back down here before the whole family loses their balls.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Hell, all of you are settling down. Ran into Walker and Sienna—where’d he find her?”

I laugh at the memory of how we met Sienna. “Long story. Funny story, but long story.”

He shrugs. “And then Lance is adopting a kid. And Machlan is still Machlan for the most part, but just as the whiskey was settling in last night, he had to go home because Hadley sent him a text. Probably a nude by how fast he got out of there.” He grins. “And then there’s you.”

I stretch my arms over head and feel the sun on my face. I’m way too relaxed about this conversation to have it mean anything good.

Usually, when people start talking about significant others and projecting their ideas on me, I just go with the flow. There’s never been a real plan over here. I take things one day at a time and figure I’m happy, and if this is as good as it gets, I’m still pretty damn lucky.

But today I know he’s hinting at Dylan. And I kind of like it. I like the idea of my name and her name being roped together like Machlan and Hadley’s. I like the idea of having her be around in discussions like this.

And that can’t be a good thing.

This thing with Dylan is a microcosm of my life. It will never last. There will come a day when she leaves, and I’d be stupid not to remember that.

“You think you’ll settle down like the rest of them?” Vincent asks.

“Nah.”

“Why not?”

“Why don’t you?”

He gives me a half-grin. “I totally would if I could find the perfect woman. But usually, I don’t get one that can pass the first two levels.”

I sigh. “Which are?”

“Level one: get Sawyer’s approval. Level two: handle the dick.”

I shake my head and walk toward the driver’s side door. “You’re probably better off alone.”

He laughs as I climb in my truck. I shove the key in the ignition and start the engine before looking at my brother through the open door.

His features are void of the humor from a few moments ago. There’s a severity there that causes a shiver to ripple down my skin.

“We’re both fucked up,” he says. I can barely hear him over my diesel engine. “It’s taken me a long time to accept that. But we are, and it’s not our fault. Our parents were absolute shit. Hell, we were their parents more often than not. And then we had Molly …” His lips press together. “What’s she up to these days?”

“Being Molly.”

He blows out a breath. “I should probably go say hi to her today.”

“You do that.” I pop the door closed and roll down the window. “She’s probably pissed at me today, so be warned.”

“What happened?”

“Let’s say everything you heard about Dylan from last night happened in front of Molly. And then she came up to me and did her usual Molly shit to Dylan, and I had to tell her to back it down a little.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

Vincent blows out a breath. “You’ve always been her blankie.”

I slouch in my seat and let my wrists hang off the steering wheel. The truth of his words sinks into my brain as I stare at the green suburban parked in front of me. It’s bright with a glossy finish and reminds me of Dylan’s eyes.

“You gotta stop living your life with consideration of Molly,” he says.

“I don’t do that.”

“You do. You always have. Hell, we both did for a while, but your time is done.”

I want to argue, which is my standard response, but Vincent was there. He knows. He saw. He held her too.

But he left. And I stayed.

He grabs my shoulder and shakes it. “Remember when you were a junior in high school, and you didn’t go to the big field trip to Kings Island because you’d be gone on a Friday night during the first of the month, and that’s the weekend Molly’s dad was more of a dick than usual?”

My heart sputters as the memories of that night come back. “Yeah.”

“You’ve always worked around her. And that’s great, Peck. You’re a great fucking guy. But you’re almost thirty now, and you’re holding yourself back in a lot of things because of a woman who’s perfectly capable of living without you.”

I don’t look at him. I just keep watching the sun glimmer off the paint in front of me.

“I know she appreciates you,” he says. “But you’ve done your job. Hell, it wasn’t even your job, and you’ve done it. You’ve protected her and been her friend. And you still can. But you don’t have to sacrifice your life for her. She sure as shit isn’t returning the sentiment.”