Winning the Right Brother(60)

“Just a friendly wager, Coach. If we lose Friday’s game I’ll wash the dishes for a month.”

Holly had been listening with half her attention, trying to work up the courage to tell them her news. But now she needed to speak up.

“Actually,” she said awkwardly, “the dishes aren’t going to be an issue anymore. Will and I are going to be moving out.”

Will swallowed a bite of mashed potato. “Sure, eventually. But in the meantime someone has to—”

“Not eventually. It’s done. We’re moving into Gina’s apartment tonight.”

Will and Alex both stared at her. After a minute Alex set his fork down on the table. “That was fast,” he said evenly.

“What do you mean, tonight?” Will asked, sounding bewildered. “And why? Alex doesn’t mind having us here and we—”

“We can’t trespass on Alex’s hospitality forever,” Holly interrupted. “Look, this isn’t up for discussion. I told you, it’s done. I spoke to Gina and the building superintendent and I moved our things over there today.”

Will’s fork clattered onto his plate. “I can’t believe it,” he said. “You’ve never called out of work in your entire life, but you did today so you could do this behind my back?”

“Behind your back? Will, I’m your mother. I still make the decisions for this family.”

“Got it,” Will said, pushing his chair violently back from the table. “Of course. Because you always know what’s best, right? Well, you know what? You don’t know anything. I bet you think you’re protecting me, too. That’s always your excuse when you’re actually protecting yourself.”

He was on his feet now, his expression angrier than Holly had ever seen it. She could only stare at him with her mouth open. “I’m going next door to say goodbye to Anna,” he said stiffly. “I’ve been helping her with her yard work, and I don’t want her to think I’ve just disappeared on her. Decent people don’t do that.”

“Will, you can still come by here whenever you—”

“Forget it, Mom. You can try selling it to Alex, but he’s pretty smart. I don’t think he’ll buy it any more than I do.”

Will’s outburst was so sudden and so out of character that Holly felt tears starting behind her eyes. Determined that Alex wouldn’t see her cry, she snatched up her dishes with shaking hands and took them to the sink, where she could stand with her back to the room while she tried to compose herself.

Behind her she could hear Alex’s chair scrape against the floor as he got to his feet.

“Is there a chance this doesn’t mean you’re breaking up with me?”

His voice was cold, and she couldn’t look at him. “We were never really together,” she said, hearing her own voice tremble. She turned on the water to fill the sink and held her hands under the stream. Her skin felt tight, and there was an ache at the back of her throat.

“I see.”

The water was painfully hot, but she didn’t move her hands or turn on the cold tap. If only she could burn these feelings away, burn them out of her, make them stop—

“I told you Saturday morning I’d accept any decision you made, as long as I understood why you’re making it. At the time, you said that was fair.”

She swallowed around the pain. “It is fair,” she said. “I just—”

“I’m going out for a run now. When I get back, we’re going to talk.”

He didn’t wait for a response.

She listened to his footsteps as he left the kitchen. Two tears escaped, one from each eye, slipping down her cheeks like rain. Then she took a deep breath and started to wash the dishes.





Chapter Eleven




Alex ran harder and faster than normal, trying to drive out emotion with physical activity. This was a trick he’d gotten pretty good at over the years, from the time he was a little boy dealing with his mother’s death by getting into fights with the neighborhood kids.

Football had always been an outlet for him—a source of joy, too. And it was a good thing he still had football in his life, because it didn’t look as if he was going to have Holly.

Unless he could convince her to give them a shot.

By the time he got back to the house, the sun was sinking toward the tree-covered hills to the west. He walked slowly across the front lawn, feeling his heart rate slow, using the sleeve of his sweatshirt to wipe the sweat away from his eyes.

“Alex,” he heard Holly say, and she was there in front of him, the red glory of the clouds the perfect backdrop for her fair skin and flaming hair.