Fallen Crest Public (Fallen Crest High #3)(99)

I was just happy that I never saw her again. I was also happy that no one knew who set Budd’s truck on fire. Ben and Kate kept quiet. I was relieved, and I wasn’t going to start questioning her motives. If she talked, I’d set her truck on fire, too. I was done dealing with her.

“You got a visitor.”

I glanced up from the register. Heather had a tense smile on her face. She was standing with her back to where the guys were. Mason, Logan, Channing, and Gus were all lined up on barstools in front of Brandon. A baseball game was on the television, and Logan was goading Gus into betting against his favorite team.

“Who?”

“Ssh.” She leaned closer and rolled her eyes to the back of her head. “You have a visitor.”

There was a message in there somewhere, but I couldn’t decipher it. Mason was leaving in a few months, and I was already dreading his graduation in a week. All emotional energy was spent towards that, not figuring out cryptic messages from my friend.

“Spell the name,” I said instead of guessing. I wasn’t going to go and see. It could be Kate, or worse, one of her friends trying to apologize again. I wasn’t having any of it.

“Just go,” she hissed before expelling a frustrated sound and grabbing my hand. She pulled me through the side door, and announced as she passed the bar, “Smoke break. No boys allowed.” No one moved, but then we were through the doors before anyone had the chance. Before the screen door could slam shut, she caught it and reached inside for the main door. Both were pulled shut.

I glanced around the alley, but no one was there.

Heather dropped down in a chair and pulled out her cigarettes. I started to sit as well, but she waved me away. “No. Go.”

“Where?”

“Oh.” She glanced around and frowned. “Where’d he go?” Then her eyes lit up, and she pointed to the back end of Manny’s, right next to her house. “There. I see him.”

Uh … I was putting my trust in my friend as I started to the back. When I got there, I relaxed. Slightly. “Brett.”

He was leaning against a tree with his hands stuffed inside his front pockets. As he stood, his goliath-sized body unfolded and grew again in front of me. If he hadn’t asked me out and if he hadn’t protected me from Budd, I would’ve been pissing my pants. All I did was wipe my hands off on my pants and give him a relieved grin.

He grinned back, but grimaced. “I’m sorry for not doing this earlier.”

Oh whoa. That wasn’t what I expected to hear. “Do what?”

“Come to apologize.”

“Apologize? For what?”

“For my brother and what he must’ve put you through. For me too.” He glanced down as his shoulders lifted when he took in a deep breath. “I should’ve stopped him a long time ago, but I didn’t. I never had incentive to, and I guess it was easier to let Shannon get in his ear. This all started because my sister told us Mason Kade used her for sex. I know what she did wasn’t right.”

“Shannon?”

“She lied all those years ago.”

Oh, whoa again. “You knew?”

“Not then, but I found out the truth a few months ago. I never told Budd.” He shrugged, reaching up to scratch his face. As he did, his arm doubled in size, and I gulped again. It was the size of a tree trunk. Then he added, “My brother doesn’t work like that. Once he hears something, it’s it in his mind. Your man knows that, too.”

I flushed at the memory. The image of Kate writhing on top of Mason had my stomach churning, but I shrugged it off. It was over and done. He had his revenge. She got her due. I helped her out in the end. My conscience was clear when it came to Kate.

I cleared my throat. “What do you want, Brett?”

“Just to extend an olive branch, I suppose.” His jaw hardened, and he glanced to the side. Lifting his arms, he folded them across his chest. If it was possible, it made him look even bigger. “And to let you know that the beef is over between my town and this one. As far as I’m concerned, we got no problem with Fallen Crest folk anymore.”

“Oh.”

“Is that right?”

I stiffened, but I couldn’t deny the relief that went through me. Mason came up behind me and stood next to me. He didn’t touch me or pull me against him. For some reason, I was thankful.

Brett stiffened too, but he jerked his head in a nod. “I was telling your woman that I consider the rivalry done. Budd’s in jail. Whoever set his truck on fire made that possible.”

“You make it sound like you wanted him in jail?”

He frowned at Mason, and the two engaged in some unspoken message between them before Brett slowly lifted his head up and down. “My brother was hurting a girl. He needs to take the punishment for it. That’s all I’m saying.”

Mason didn’t respond. The two continued to stare at each other.

I shifted next to him, unsure of what to do. The air had filled with tension when Mason spoke up, but I didn’t feel that it was nearing any violence. I hoped not. “So,” I gave each a forced smile, “Brett came to say that Budd’s in jail, and Shannon lied all those years ago. We’ve made progress, I think.”

Faint grins came over both of them, but disappeared instantly.

Mason spoke, “You know Shannon lied? That I never slept with your sister and used her?”