“We always covered for you.”
“Stay out of this, Evan,” Jake roared, as his younger brother stood. “You’re the poster boy for the perfect kid, you have no idea—”
“Really, I have no idea? Who’s the one who had to watch Mom cry because of you? You have no idea what she went through at night when you were out, looking out the window for you, waiting for the phone to ring. You put them through hell. Every time you came through that door with a cop beside you, your face bloody, a little piece of Mom died.”
“Back off.”
“Hey you guys, calm down.” Holly’s gentle, worried voice clashed with their angry ones. Jake stared at his brothers, feeling so far removed from them and their memory of what life had been like in their house that he stepped away from the table. That’s how they saw him. And now that’s how Claire saw him. “You’re going to wake Ella up.”
“Jake,” Quinn said, his voice slightly calmer. “Do this for your kid.”
“I just bought W.W. Custom Homes.” He knew this would be one of those moments he’d regret in his life, seeing the incredulous shock in his brother’s eyes. Quinn literally backed away from the table.
“What the hell are you talking about?”
Jake finally met his cold stare, trying his best to convey something his brother would never be able to understand without knowing the truth. He never should have allowed himself to get drawn into this battle of the past.
“I was in negotiations with them for a while. William’s got no kids who want to take over his business and he’s too old to run—”
“I’m not talking about him. Why the hell would my own brother buy the competition? And I’m sure you’re not going to tell me we’re going to join the companies.”
“I didn’t buy it to compete with you. I bought it to have my own company. I’ve got no intention of running it as a commercial building company like Manning. It’s going to be custom homes—”
“You stood with me in that town house and I asked you about hiring some of William’s’s guys. Did you know then?”
Jake gave him a short nod. Quinn gave him a look he’d never seen. Not when he’d gotten back after disappearing for a year. Not when he was a teenager. Not even when Claire had stabbed his burger.
“Say something. Say something that will convince me my own brother didn’t just stab me in the back.”
Jake held his chin up higher and held his brother’s stare. He wanted to tell him. He looked over at Evan. No one was going to give him the benefit of the doubt anymore. Jake opened his mouth and then shut it. He’d rather they thought this. Being disloyal was better than the reality of what he was.
“What, are you going to poach my crew, too?”
“I’d never do that,” he said.
“Really? How the hell do I know that? I don’t get you. I never have. Sometimes I think I know you and then…”
Censure oozed into the air and Jake felt like he was going to choke on it. And he couldn’t bring himself to look at Claire. Right now he needed a few stiff drinks, in a bar, by himself, right where he was most comfortable.
“I told you to drop it,” Jake said under his breath and moved away from the table.
“Run away, just like you always do,” he heard his brother’s voice trailing after him as he walked out the front door. Away from his brothers, his family.
And Claire.
Chapter Ten
Claire walked to the front door on legs that felt like jelly. She left the tension at the table, the hurt, in search of Jake. The moment he got into it with his brothers, his hand had left hers and any feeling of unity disappeared. Jake’s rebellious teen years had obviously been a lot worse than she had thought, and yet when Evan had yelled at him, she sensed an undercurrent from Jake.
Something didn’t add up.
She couldn’t picture him willingly hurting anyone he loved. She had stared at his profile as he’d stood there—every part of his body had been so tightly wound with rage she wondered how he had kept it under control. He had obviously kept things from her, but she knew no matter what things his brothers accused him of, there had to be more to the story.
Claire stepped out onto the veranda, her eyes scanning for a sign of Jake. Half of her thought he would have been long gone by now, but the other half held out hope. Her heart stopped for a second when she spotted him on his bike. And then she felt her eyes burn with the sting of tears when she noticed he was holding a second helmet. He was waiting for her.
She walked down the driveway. He must have heard her approaching and turned around to look at her. His firm jaw was clenched tight and his blue eyes were as cloudy as the country sky overhead.