“Is that my apron?” I asked, fighting a smirk as I looked at Brody’s hulking frame covered with the pink ruffles.
“It is.” He gave me a cautious smile, “Lex told me my shirt smelled. I hope you don’t mind.”
I hated the divide down the middle of the room as Brody turned his gaze to Knox, who still hadn’t moved at my side.
Lex moved first, wiping her hands on a towel and coming over toward us. I met her halfway, welcoming the tension relief in the shape of her lips pressing to mine.
“Good morning.” She whispered against my lips as she gently combed her fingers through my hair affectionately. “Is it okay that I’m here for this?”
“Of course.” I frowned and kissed her again. “You belong here, Lex.”
“Okay.” She smiled and looked behind me. “Morning, handsome.”
I let her go as she moved toward Knox, and I faced Brody.
He looked so unsure and uncomfortable, not a single time in our entire relationship had I seen him looking so hopeless. He was a part of my heart and I needed to soothe that part, just as I did with Knox. So I walked forward and the fear in his eyes nearly broke me.
“Welcome home.” I smiled up at him and he wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me tight to his chest, peppering my neck with kisses. He physically trembled in my arms and my nose burned with tears. “Make this right, Brody.” I whispered, “I can’t live without both of you.”
“I can’t either.” He replied, pulling back and looking over my shoulder where Knox had Lex locked in a passionate kiss. “I need all three of you.”
“Then prove it to him,” I said, patting his arm as I moved to the coffee pot and poured myself a cup.
Brody wrung a towel in his hands as he stood there, waiting for Lex and Knox to part, when they finally did Lex looked guilty as she glanced over at Brody before joining my side at the counter.
Brody cleared his throat, “Hi.”
Knox’s jaw clenched, but he didn’t reply, though they stared at each other.
“I owe you an apology that can’t even begin to heal the pain I caused you.” Brody tried again, “But I’m asking that you at least let me share something with you that I’ve never told another soul before. And maybe you’ll understand me a little better when I’m done, and then you can decide if you ever want to see me again.”
“I know you, Brody.” Knox squinted, “At least I thought I did.”
Brody nodded his head and then tossed the towel down on the counter, looking at me and forging on.
“Do you remember that night I showed up at your house, beaten?” My chest constricted, remembering what he was talking about. I had been so scared, he was so wounded I didn’t know how to help him. So I called Knox.
“Yes.” I nodded, and Knox remained silent as Brody turned to him.
“We were supposed to go to the drag races that night. But you didn’t show up. Do you remember why?” Brody asked.
Knox huffed, “What does that have to do with this now?”
“Please.” Brody implored, “It’s important, and I’d like to know why you didn’t show up.”
Knox shook his head. “I don’t know!” He snapped, “Someone said you had to pick up a tow in Clearstead.”
“My dad?” Brody’s voice was thick, and I covered my lips in fear of the whole thing boiling over and ending before they got the resolution they needed.
“Yeah, I guess. Why? What does that have to do with this?”
“My dad is the one who beat me up that night. And it wasn’t the first time, but I’d been able to hide it from you guys mostly until then.”
Lex’s hand found mine, and she squeezed as we both watched on in horror.
“That’s what you said the other night, but that doesn’t make any sense to me.” Knox’s shoulders deflated.
“He accused me of being gay.” Brody cleared his throat, “Evidently, the guys at the garage had been watching us and picked up on something changing between us and ridiculed him for it. He lied to you that night about me being on a tow, to keep us apart. And then he attacked me as soon as I walked through the door after you didn’t show up at the races.”
I watched Knox’s defensive stance soften as the pieces started clicking for him as they did for me, while Brody continued.
“He beat me unconscious and when I came to, he told me to leave you and Hannah or leave his house, because he refused to have a gay son. I begged him not to do it.” Brody’s voice broke, and he held his hands out at his side in exasperation, “I begged him to love me enough not to care who I dated, but he wouldn’t. So, I crawled out of his front door, and he never allowed me back.”
Knox paled.
“I chose you, even without knowing what our future looked like.” Brody swallowed, “When I said that your love trapped me, I meant I loved you first. And I didn’t understand it, but I couldn’t walk away from you or Hannah because it would have hurt just as much as you asking me to walk away today.”
“You said you regretted me!” Knox shook his head in agony.
Brody stepped forward, “I regret that I have nieces and nephews I’ve never met who have no idea I exist. I regret all the big moments I missed over the years, both good and bad. I regret that I never got to tell my mother goodbye.” His face crumbled as the emotions took over.
“Oh my god,” I whispered, remembering the day I brought home her obituary and the way he shut down after that.
Brody continued on, “I regret that I didn’t know my last hug with her was my last until it was too late to reconcile. She died before I felt secure enough to tell her I still needed her in my life!” He licked his lips as tears pooled in his dark, bottomless eyes. “I regret that she never saw me with you and Hannah because she never got to see how loved I was.” The tears spilled over his lashes and ran down his cheeks. “I regret that she died, thinking I didn’t love her enough to stay.”
“Brody,” Knox’s face fell.
“I never regretted you.” Brody took a hesitant step forward, pulled the frilly apron off, and put his hand over his heart where both of our names were written in permanent ink. “I regret that all I have left of her are eyes that look like hers when I look in the mirror and memories of a happy childhood that only existed because of her love amidst my father’s hate.”
