The Lemon Sisters (Wildstone #3)(70)

“Hello?” the woman asked, sounding worried. “These newfangled phones . . . Hello?”

“I’m here,” Garrett said. “I just wasn’t aware I had an aunt.”

“Oh. Well, my goodness,” the woman said. “I’m your father’s older sister, Rita. He’s never mentioned me then?”

“He’s never mentioned much of anything at all,” Garrett said. “How did you find me?”

“He pops in and out of my life as it suits him, the shithead. He told me you were living in the house you grew up in. One of the men in my assisted living facility has a little hacking hobby. He got me your number.”

“Interesting,” Garrett said. “And illegal.”

“I’m an old lady on a fixed income,” she said dryly. “I’m not worried you’re going to sue me.”

“What are you worried about?”

“My idiot brother. There’re some things you need to know.”

“Such as?”

“Such as, he’s got cancer. I’m sorry,” she said more softly into Garrett’s stunned silence. “But you needed to know.”

Garrett’s face was carefully blank, but Brooke could see the war of emotions in his dark gaze.

“He’s on meds, and some of them can create dementia-like symptoms,” his aunt said. “He should be staying with someone.”

“Why isn’t he staying with you?” Garrett asked.

“Are you hard of hearing, boy? He’s an asshole and I don’t want him.” Then she disconnected.

Garrett pinched the bridge of his nose, like maybe he was getting a headache.

“You okay?” Brooke asked him.

“Yeah.”

But of course he wasn’t. “I’m so sorry, Garrett.”

He shook his head. “Not your problem.” Looking far more tense than he had when they’d come up here, he got to his feet. “Let’s go.”

They took the easy way down without speaking, and the silence continued until Garrett pulled over in front of Mindy and Linc’s house. She turned to face him only to find that his expression read Closed Off! Do Not Enter! “At the risk of repeating myself,” she said quietly, “do you want to talk about it?”

His smile was ironic and not super open. “I wonder how many times I’ve asked you that very question.”

She nodded, belatedly realizing she’d almost forgotten that even though there were still feelings between them—and chemistry, buckets of chemistry—they weren’t going to get a happily ever after. She probably needed to write that down somewhere until it sank in.





Chapter 16


“The apple and the tree and all that.”

Since his day was already screwed up, Garrett did what he knew he needed to. He took himself and his gut ache back to the convenience store. He also had heartache, which he knew was from letting Brooke walk away. She wasn’t good for him. She was leaving again soon, and she’d already destroyed him once.

But.

It was always the but that got him, and this was a big but.

He still loved her.

He was an idiot.

His dad’s beat-up old truck was in the store lot. As before, Snoop stuck his big old head out in greeting, mouthing not one but two tennis balls, which he managed to huff out a hello around.

Garrett ruffled his fur and drew a deep breath. When he walked into the store, his dad looked up from where he was stocking cigarettes behind the counter and blinked. And then smiled so bright it actually hurt. “Son,” he said, as if seeing Garrett again was the highlight of his day.

“What time do you get off?” Garrett asked. “We need to talk.”

A young guy walked into the shop wearing low-slung board shorts in a loud Hawaiian print, flip-flops, and a beater tank top advertising a local brewery. He had long surfer hair and a lazy smile on his face. His name was Ace, and Garrett had gone to school with his older brother, who’d died of an overdose a decade ago. Ace had given up all drugs but weed—“It’s a supplement, man”—and when his grandpa died and left him the store, he’d taken it over.

“Thanks for taking my shift for me,” Ace said to Garrett’s dad. “How did it go?”

“As you said it would—boring as hell.”

Ace grinned. “Right on.” He handed over some cash. “I know you’re looking for something more permanent, and if anything comes up, I’ll let you know.”

Garrett’s dad’s smile dimmed just a little bit. “Sure. I understand.”

They walked out of the store together, the two of them standing in the hot sun for a moment, taking in the day. Well, his dad was taking in the day. Garrett was arguing with himself. “Were you ever going to tell me that I’ve got an aunt?” he finally asked. “Or that you have cancer?”

His dad looked pained. “No.”

“Jesus, Dad. Why the hell not?”

“Because my sister hates me—for good reasons, obviously—and you didn’t need any help in that arena.”

“And the cancer?”

His dad shrugged. “If alcoholism and fast living didn’t kill me, I’ve got a hard time believing cancer will.”