“I’m asking you to try and understand how I feel. I’m asking you to let me go.” Her words were punctuated by a dramatic explosion of fireworks. “I need you to do that.”
Without waiting for him to answer, she walked away from him, picking a route that led away from the crowd. She slipped into the snowy forest with so little fuss it was unlikely anyone but him noticed her departure.
He watched until her blue hat was swallowed up by darkness, until he could no longer see her.
He felt numb with shock. Paralyzed by the brutal reality of her words.
I’m asking you to let me go.
“You look like someone stole the last beer from your fridge.” Jackson was standing beside him, a couple of beers in his hand, his gaze fixed on the trail Brenna had taken back to Lake House. “You two had a fight?”
“No.” A fight would have been easier. A fight could be fixed with an apology and make-up sex. This was far more serious.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
Tyler, who considered talking about his feelings to be one step up from wearing pink, shook his head. “Nothing to talk about.”
Jackson gave him a beer and lifted his hand to a family who was waving to him from the other side of the fire pit. “She’s in love with you, Ty.”
Tyler ground his teeth. “I remember a time when the conversation around here involved other things apart from love.”
“Yeah, we used to talk about debt and whether we’d lose the business. Those were fun times. I miss them.”
Tyler rubbed his fingers over his forehead. “This isn’t about what I want, it’s about what Jess wants.”
“Stop making excuses. You know Jess loves Brenna. There’s no doubt about what Jess wants, and I’d say Brenna is pretty clear on what she wants, too. From where I’m standing, it seems as though you’re the one who needs to make a decision.” Jackson paused as more fireworks erupted above their heads. “Is it really so hard?”
“Yes, it’s hard,” Tyler snapped. “I’m scared of hurting Brenna.”
“Why would you hurt her?”
“I’m not like you. You’re the stable, strong, dependable one. I’m—” he ran his hand over his jaw “—I’m not. I’ve never had a long relationship.”
“Not true. For a start, there is Jess.”
“I don’t mean that sort of relationship.”
“The principles are the same. You’ve been there for Jess every step of the way.”
“She’s my daughter. I love her.”
“You’ve been here for all of us, even if you complain all the time. So what’s the problem?”
Tyler didn’t smile. “I’m scared! There, I admit it. The whole idea of saying ‘I love you’ to a woman scares the crap out of me. I’ve never been in a relationship that’s lasted longer than a month.”
“You’ve been in a relationship with Brenna for most of your life, Ty. Think about that.”
“That doesn’t count. It’s different. She’s a friend.”
“That’s why it’s different. It’s not enough to want to bone a woman into next week. Eventually, you have to get dressed and have a conversation. Spend time together. And when that happens, it helps if the woman is someone you like.” Jackson put his hand on Tyler’s shoulder. “But if you really don’t have those feelings, if you really don’t love her and can’t say those words, then you have to let her go. I can help her find a job in Europe. I’m not saying it won’t be tough on her, but in the end she’ll be fine. Brenna’s the whole package. Sweet, sexy, loyal, loving—if she moves away and builds a new life, she’ll find someone else eventually.”
The thought of it made him want to double up.
Something that felt like panic rose inside him. “Do you want a black eye for Christmas?”
“No. I want you to see sense.” Jackson gave him an exasperated look. “You’ve skied down slopes that the rest of us wouldn’t touch, at speeds that most of us can’t hit without the help of an engine and this is what scares you?”
“Skiing is different. I trust myself on the mountain.”