Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 73002 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 365(@200wpm)___ 292(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73002 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 365(@200wpm)___ 292(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
“Why do you wonder that?”
He brought his lower lip between his teeth, biting down as he searched for the words he needed. “I watched him with his sister. He was a mess. But when he came out, he did it in this beautifully strong fashion. Though, as soon as Avery brought up their dad, Matty clammed up. His jaw was tight, and he broke out in a sweat. He’s scared of his dad, which is understandable, but his fear is something I don’t know how to fix.”
“You’re not supposed to fix it, though. He is,” she said in her therapist’s voice. That calm and soothing manner she probably learned when she was getting that “master’s.” “You can’t fight his battles for him, Wells. You can only be the first mate to his captain. Guide him, support him, but this is his ship, he’s gotta keep it afloat.”
Scrunching up his face, he looked down at her. “What’s up with all these analogies?”
She gave him a guilty grin. “I read this article and—”
“Say no more,” he laughed, shaking his head. She had always been reading, while he had always been moving, playing, and causing trouble. He’d calmed down a lot, but even in his wiser years and knowing she was right, he wanted so much to help Matty. To be more than Wren’s example of a first mate.
“I know you,” she said then, bringing his attention back to her. “I know you want to fix him, you want to fix everyone, but you can’t. Really, you just can’t.”
He looked away from her with a sigh, not liking her words at all, even though he knew damn well she was right. “I know.”
She nodded, leaning into him. “It’s hard.”
“It is.”
“But it will work out, Wells. I know it will.”
“I damn well hope so because I love that quiet son of a bitch.”
She laughed. “And he loves you, truly,” she added, squeezing his center. “But this is going to be an uphill battle of epic proportions.”
“Again with the analogies.”
She gave a strained grin. “Sorry?”
He laughed, holding her tighter to him. “It’s fine. I hear you.”
She exhaled hard as he laid his head on hers, watching the waves, feeling them as they crashed against his legs. He was peaceful, totally relaxed, but he’d be lying if he didn’t admit he was thinking about Matty, along with everything Wren had said.
“But I still stand by the fact that I believe you two will be okay.”
He prayed she was right.
Seventeen
Stretching in the bed, Matty extended the motion from his fingertips to his toes. It was a great stretch, but shit, what time was it? With his eyes still shut, he reached for his phone on the nightstand, bringing it to his face, blinking to see it was close to six a.m. Why in the hell was he awake? This was a vacation. He needed to fucking sleep, especially with how much all these people talked. Wells’s family was nice—Matty liked them just fine—but damn, they talked all the time. And picked on each other! He wasn’t a stranger to razzing, but for fuck’s sake, he wasn’t sure there was a moment someone wasn’t picking on someone else.
It was very entertaining.
But very new.
Or maybe that was just his fucked-up upbringing. Because in the Haverbrooke household, no one really joked or laughed for no reason when he was growing up. Or, hell, even now. Everyone was in their own rooms, doing their own thing. The only time he saw his mother and father was either at dinner or at a hockey game. They never once put him on the bus or made him breakfast; the nanny did that. That didn’t mean he didn’t love his parents. He did, very much, but they were always busy. So were his older brothers, and all he had was Avery. Until he ruined that too.
When he realized the bed was empty, he looked around the room to see that, like his teenage years, he was very alone.
Where was Wells?
Pushing off the blankets, he got out of bed, naked. The windows were open, letting in the salty air. Anyone could look in, but he wasn’t worried about that. When he looked out at the beach, he saw Wells standing in the water, his arms above his head, the muscles in his back taut and undeniably sexy. Matty reached for a pair of running shorts and watched Wells through the window while he put them on, before going out the front door, shutting it behind him. “Hey.”
Wells looked over his shoulder, his eyes softening at the sight of Matty. “Hey yourself, lazy ass.”
Matty sputtered with laughter as he walked to the shore, the water running up on his feet. “Shit, that’s cold!”
Wells rolled his eyes. “You’re such a baby. It’s great. Especially after running for an hour.”