“Get off your butt, and go get her back,” said Mariah.
“Don’t you dare!” Harper scowled down at him, no longer resembling an adoring fan. “Don’t go after her now and get her hopes up, just so you can dump her again in a few weeks.”
“You make it sound like I’ve broken our agreement,” he said, irritated at her accusing tone. “This was never about long-term. From day one, it was a short-term commitment, and I stuck to it. But after all this time, she still doesn’t trust me. I don’t know what she told you, but she accused me of lying to her.”
“Yeah, I heard. You’ll be happy to know she blames it all on herself,” said Harper, with emphatic hand gestures. “The same thing she did every time Nathan walked out on her. He’d disappear for hours or days at a time. She never knew if or when she’d see him again. And every time, she’d apologize for making him angry, and he’d waltz back in like he was doing her a favor.”
His righteous anger fizzled out like air from a balloon. “She never told me that.”
“Would it have made a difference?” Mariah asked.
“I didn’t mean to stay gone so long last night. I accidentally fell asleep, and the truck battery died.”
He found no sympathy in his sister’s eyes.
“Look, Cole,” said Harper, “I was totally in favor of this relationship at the beginning, but I was wrong. My sister was on the rebound. You were too nice to her, and she couldn’t help wanting more.”
Wanting more? What does that mean?
“Now I’m in trouble for being too nice?” Cole banged the back of his head against the wall to accent his next words. “This. Isn’t. Fair.”
Harper sighed. “I know you didn’t mean to, but you made her hope for things she can’t have.”
“Are you talking about marriage?” He gave an involuntary shudder. Even saying the word made him break out in a cold sweat. “Because I never said anything to make her think that was going to happen.”
“Then let her go.” Harper’s jaw hardened. “She’s already hurting. The more you drag it out, the worse it’s going to be. As it is, I’ll never forgive myself for supporting this screwed up relationship in the first place.”
How had this happened? They’d both known it was going to be temporary. When had Brooke changed her mind? Harper was right. He needed to let Brooke go before he hurt her any more. Why did he feel so empty?
Harper left, her sagging body language indicating she was almost as depressed as he was. Alone with Mariah, he cringed at the scary snake-eyed glare she sent his way.
“Tell me the truth, Cole. Are you in love with Brooke?”
“Me? In lo—” He choked, coughing into his hand. “No way. We’re friends, and that’s all.”
“Like you and Bran and Finn and Jarrett?”
“Yes.” Except for the physical attraction, but that was none of Mariah’s business.
“So it won’t bother you when Brooke gets married one day and her new husband adopts her baby girl?”
That was exactly what Brooke needed. Deserved. A man who would be a loving and supportive husband and father. Cole had known that from the start. Why did the idea suddenly make him feel like punching the wall?
Too bad I can’t be that man for her.
“I have a different question for you… a rhetorical one.” Mariah startled him out of his reverie. “What’s the difference between your left arm and mine?”
“This is stupid—”
“Just answer the question.” Mariah glared down her nose.
He would never understand his sister, but sometimes it was easier to go along with her. Or maybe most of the time it was easier. And right now, he’d rather talk about anything but Brooke.
“You were born with yours. Someone made mine.”
“What else?”
What did she want him to say? “Yours works better than mine.”
“Does it?” she asked, smirking as if she’d caught him in a lie.
“No, but I had to learn how to make mine work right.”
“So did I. That’s no different.”
“You learned naturally, though, like I did with my right hand,” he argued. “My left arm took a lot of work. It felt alien at first, but I practiced until it felt like part of me. I can’t imagine my life without it.”
A slow smile worked its way onto her lips.
“And what would you do if it broke? Would you throw it away?”
Where was she going with this? “Of course I wouldn’t throw it away. It’s irreplaceable. It cost a small fortune.”
“So what would you do?” she asked again. “What if your arm broke? Would you toss it? Do without? Or maybe trade it in for a bright blue one?”
“What do you think I would do?” he asked, irritated with her questions. “I’d fix it.”
“Exactly.”
