Left (Left 1)

He shakes his head. “Just lending support while I’m here. Times like this I hate what I do. I should be here rallying around you with the rest of the family.”

“Hey man, don’t beat yourself up about it. I know you’d be here if you could.”

“I been thinking about not re enlisting at the end of my term.”

“Shit, really?” I say shocked.

“Fifteen years is a long time, and they’ve been offering me an excellent retirement package. I don’t want Dad to be disappointed in me, but I’m ready to move on to a new stage in my life.”

“Then do that. You know I’ll back you one hundred percent,” I say.

“I appreciate that. You know I love it when we do the brotherly bonding thing, but I don’t think it’s why you asked me to take leave.”

“No, I need you to help me pick out a ring.”

“Word?” Brae asks.

“Yeah man, she’s the only thing keeping me sane at the moment, and after that fire.” I clear my throat. “I realized how devastated I’d be if anything happens to her, and how much id’ regret wasting time. I won’t ask her until the case is settled. If I do, she'll always wonder if I did it to increase my chances at winning, and I don’t want that.”

“Smart. Shit, my brothers’ getting married.”

“Again,” I say feeling the sting of embarrassment return.

“No, finally. I would’ve sewed up that fine honey ages ago.”

“Brae the nineties called, they want their slang back,” I say nudging him.

“Do you want my help or not?” He mutters.

I smirk but keep my mouth shut.

“What kind of ring are you thinking of getting her?” Brae asks.

“Something with a vintage feel, and worth at least two months of my paycheck.”

“Are you sticking to that old tradition? Do you think she’d care about that?” he asks sounding doubtful.

“I know she wouldn’t. It’s precisely why I want to do it.” I ‘d gone small and quirky with Rain, so this needed to be the total opposite.

“Any other reason?” Brae asks.

“I’m not superstitious, but I am trying to avoid any similarity between what I did with Rain.”

“Thought so,” Brae says with a nod.

“You blame me?”

“No, especially since she helped plan the last one. Life can be crazy, huh?”

“Very. Imagine living that reality instead of talking about it. There’s a jeweler around the corner I’ve heard good things about. It’s why I brought us here.”

We round the corner and Walk into Steven’s.

“Good afternoon gentleman, can I help you find something?’

“Yes, my big brother here is in the market for an engagement ring,” Braeden says with a grin.

Dick.