Nate glanced at his brother. He didn’t like the sound of this.
“I was out at the Manchester place last night. Had some tools in the shed that I needed for today. I saw your truck at Molly’s.”
Instantly on the defense, Nate sat up. “And that concerns you because?”
“Concerns a bit heavy-handed. I’m Just wondering what you’re doing there at three in the morning is all.”
“Why the hell were you getting tools at three a.m.?”
“I couldn’t sleep.” Beck’s gaze slid from Nate’s, and he shrugged. “I just found it a little odd is all.”
Nate sighed and slid back in his chair. “It’s not what you think.”
“You don’t know what I think.”
“You want to enlighten me, then?”
Beck finished his beer and tossed it into the bin between their chairs. “Molly’s not the kind of woman you fool around with, Nate. She doesn’t hook up with random guys, and she sure as shit doesn’t do casual.”
“First off, I’m not some random guy. And secondly, since when did you become an expert on Molly Malone?”
Beck glared at him. “I’ve known her since you guys were kids. You two aren’t wired the same. She’s either all in or she’s not. And let’s face it, you’re the kind of guy who thinks a relationship is spending a week in Mexico with some bikini model and coming home to a lingerie model.”
“Well, shit, Beck. I had no idea you were so invested in the women I have sex with. Look. Minka just happened to be in Mexico when I was, and she knew the drill. So did Eve. The thing between us wasn’t serious, and I was upfront about it. I’ve never lied to a woman before. When I got back to the city, Eve didn’t ask any questions, and from what I could tell, she didn’t care as long as we carried on the way we’d done before I left. I wasn’t in a relationship with either woman. Hell, I’ve never been in a damn relationship. Ever.”
“My point exactly.”
Pissed, Nathan hopped to his feet and walked the length of the dock. Clouds were beginning to form in the distance, and he smelled rain on the wind. In a few weeks, the leaves would start to turn, and the entire area would be ablaze with the colors of fall.
He’d be back in the city when it happened. Screwing women like Minka or Eve and living the life he’d carved out for himself. A life he enjoyed the hell out of, or at least he used to. But from where he was standing now, it seemed kind of empty.
“Shit,” he muttered to himself.
Beck joined him, and they stood in silence for a good long while. When Beck spoke, his voice was so low, Nate strained to hear him. “You’re both adults. I get that, and yeah, what the two of you do together is no one’s business but yours. But this is Molly, Nate. She’s not like the women you’re used to. She’s not coming out of this okay unless you’re on the same page. I’m just saying make sure you’re on the same page.”
“We’ve got it covered,” he said slowly, thinking of all the rules she’d set in place. “We know what we’re doing.” Molly was driving this train. She’d jump off if it got too complicated. He turned and headed toward the path that led up to the house, where his truck was parked. “Thanks for the beer.”
“When did you know?” Nate asked before he got into this truck. Beck stood a few feet away.
“Know what?”
“When did you know Cate was the one?”
The bleak look in Beck’s eyes made Nate wish he’d never asked the question. He knew why his brother wasn’t sleeping. Working at the house Cate grew up in had to be hard. Being around her parents had to be hard, and damn but the memories had to be excruciating. Even after all this time.
“The truth is I di
dn’t know until she was gone. Until I forgot how to breathe. Until I was left in a world where she no longer existed. That’s something I’m still working on.”
“Would you…if you knew how things would play out. That she’d be gone and you’d be here alone. Would you have ended it before it started?”
Beck slowly shook his head and then turned around. “Not a chance.”
Nate watched his brother until he disappeared down the hill that led to the boathouse. The guy was broken, and maybe he’d be that way for the rest of his life. That was some kind of love. Some kind of commitment.
The weird thing was? If it was Molly and he was Beck, Nate was pretty damn sure his answer would be the same.
So what in hell did that mean?