Beloved by Brothers (Doms of Destiny, Colorado 6)

“When Lucas called me this morning about him being with you, he told me that he had explained everything to you. Do you understand why we turned Shane over to Jason back then?” He held his breath as he waited for her answer.

“You thought it was the right thing to do.” Her voice was barely a whisper. “I get that now.”

“Phoebe, what happened to Shane broke my heart. I’ve always loved him like my own brother. But when Lucas and I found the marijuana in his sleeping bag, we honestly did not know what to do. We’d never experienced anything like it before. We felt we could fix this before you had to know about it, not realizing the whole thing was going to blow up sky high. Our whole plan, our whole intention, was just to get him help. It turned out all wrong.” If he could go back in time and change the way he handled it, he would. Unfortunately, life didn’t work that way.

“I know, Mitchell. You all meant well.”

“Lucas and I only went to Jason because we knew he would know what steps to take to get Shane into rehab. Had we thought Jason was going to throw the book at him, we wouldn’t have. I swear.” He still didn’t understand Jason’s actions.

Tears rolled down Phoebe’s cheeks. “It was such an emotional time. I let my mind convince me that you never really cared for me. If you did, I thought, how could you hurt my brother that way? Hurt me that way?”

“I’m sorry we handled it all wrong. I hate that I hurt you.” She had to accept his apology. His whole world depended on it.

“We all did things we regret,” she said softly. “I was so convinced I closed the door on all of you. When Shane came back from prison, my heart started to change. I realized I let the three men I loved most in the world walk right out of my life. For three years, I kept telling myself I was doing the right thing. But every time I saw any of you, my heart broke a little more.”

“I believe all of our hearts were broken, sweetheart.” He reached out and touched her hand. “It’s been far too long.”

Her delicate fingers curled around his, filling him with such joy.

He leaned forward and kissed her tenderly.

She returned the kiss but suddenly pushed him back.

“What’s wrong?” Was it too soon?

“I’m not here to break up you and Kaylyn.”

What was she talking about? “Kaylyn? Kaylyn Anderson?”

“Yes. Mitchell, I saw you two together last night at the O’Learys’ Halloween party. And the closeness between the two of you was obvious.” She leaned back, folding her arms over her chest, reminding him of how stubborn she could be.

He laughed, realizing what Phoebe had seen at the party. “You’ve mixed things up in your pretty little head.”

“I know what I saw. This is a mistake. You have every right to move on. Three years. I can’t expect you not to go on with your life. That’s not fair.”

He couldn’t move on with his life without her. “It’s the sound, baby.”

She shook her head. “What? Sound? How tired are you? Maybe we should talk about this later.”

“Honey, remember that night you and I made love under the stars.”

She smiled. “I’ll never forget. It was our first time together.”

“You fell asleep in my arms. God, that was a great night.”

“It was, Mitchell, but I still don’t understand what that has to do with Kaylyn.”

He grabbed her hands. “That night I told you about the sound I heard in my mind. Remember?”

She nodded.

“You, lovely lady, are the music. You always have been my muse.” Overwhelmed by his love for her, he pulled her in close and squeezed her tightly. “Though some know I’ve been seeking out our sound, you alone know how long I’ve been searching.”

“I do,” she said sweetly. “Since Lover’s Beach.”

“Last night, I heard Kaylyn singing and I knew I’d found it, Phoebe. I found our sound—our music.” Again, there were no words to express what he was feeling for her. Only the music—our music. “You have to hear it. The band practiced all night with Kaylyn. It’s amazing.”

“Oh my God, Mitchell. I had no idea Kaylyn could sing. I’m so happy for you.”