"Can I make it up to you now? Do you want a job here? I can find you a place in IT or--"
Max stuffed his hands in his pockets. "I don't work in IT anymore, Jude. Honestly, I think us working together is a fucking terrible idea. Especially if you're planning to marry my sister." He nailed Jude down with his gaze. "You are planning to marry my sister, right? I'd hate to have to fuck up your pretty face."
"That's what I want, but I've had no indication from her that it's what she wants. Not to mention that her life, your mother, and your daughter are all in Towle and she doesn't want to leave any of them."
Max drummed his fingers against his knee, thoughtful. "You know what? I might have an idea how you can change her mind and make it up to me about kicking me out of the company."
"I thought you said I made the right call."
Max shrugged, the charismatic playboy he'd once been shining through. "Let's consider it payment for emotional damage."
CHAPTER NINETEEN
"Higher!" Addy screamed. Bri gave a slightly harder push to the tree swing and Addy shouted with delight. Finally, her niece had lost the fear that had shrouded her and kept her indoors during the last two weeks.
Addy swung, casted arm tucked into her side, holding onto the swing with one hand.
"Don't push her too high," Maureen said, stepping up next to Bri. "I can't afford any more medical bills."
Bri smiled at her mother. "I'm being careful. I think she's getting as much of a thrill from holding on with one hand as she used to get from going higher." Before she'd broken her arm, Addy wouldn't have been happy until her toes were touching the highest branches.
"Got a call from Max," Maureen said. "He's coming to visit this weekend."
"That's great." Bri's heart swelled with hope. Max had spent three days in Colorado before taking a bus back to Vegas. It had been amazing to see him with Addy. They were still a bit tentative and careful around each other, but Addy asked about Max every day and he called every evening. Hopefully, they'd only grow closer as time went on.
"Done," Addy yelled. Bri grabbed the ropes and pulled the swing to a gentle stop. Addy leapt off with a shouted thank you and chased after a bird at the edge of the forest.
Bri followed Maureen back to the house and took a seat on the porch steps next to her.
"Honey, Max found a rental house in Vegas. It's in rough shape and it's going to need a lot of work, but it's nothing Max can't handle. If he puts in the work, the owner will sell him the house minus the cost of the labor and materials he's put in. He's intending to make it into a home for him and Addy and me."
Shock rolled through Bri, making her throat tight. How could Max afford a rental house in Vegas when he hadn't been able to contribute anything to helping Maureen save her house? Not that she'd ever say that to her mother, but she couldn't help worrying that Max was into something he shouldn't be. "What about Towle? I thought you said you'd never want to live anywhere else."
"I did say that. But I can't afford to support myself anymore and going home isn't an option without a house. Max has asked me to take care of Addy while he's at work, so she won't have to go to daycare, and I don't want to be anywhere else but with Addy."
Bri folded her hands in her lap. It was the perfect solution. Finally, Max was taking responsibility for his daughter in the form of something bigger than the occasional check. Finally, she could stop worrying about Maureen and Addy. She'd be free to figure out what she wanted, to get started on her own life. It was a proposition that should have thrilled her, instead, it chilled her to her core. "Will there be room for me in that house? It would probably be good for me to be there in case you get sick again or--"
Maureen patted Bri's shoulder. "You'll always have a room there when you visit and we'll expect you to visit often, but you need to get out of the nest, little bird. Be free, live your life, and figure out what you want, what you need, to be happy."
"What about your house?"
"I've put it up for sale, sweetie. I've paid down a good bit of the principal over the years and it's worth more now than it was when your dad and I bought it twenty-seven years ago. I'll use the money to pay down my medical bills."
"That's great," Bri said, but her throat felt tight and her eyes burned.
Maureen pulled her in for a side hug. "Oh, sweetie. We aren't trying to push you away. I know it will be hard to go out on your own, but you have so much potential. You will do amazing things."
A tear slipped down Bri's cheek. "I didn't expect . . . I have no idea what I even want to do."
Maureen gave her another squeeze. "I think you do know, honey. I expect that, in your free moments, you imagined a future for yourself. What did you see there?"
Bri closed her eyes. She'd imagined going back to college, getting a job, what sort of job she couldn't even imagine, and working with kids like Addy who didn't have any family. Foster kids and runaways, kids who needed someone to care for them. But she'd never imagined it might come true. Had never worked out exactly how to make it all happen.
"Take that money you made in Vegas, honey, and get started on the life you could have had if you'd never had to take care of me and Addy. I want you to have everything you've ever wanted."
Across the yard, Addy knelt to watch a beetle climb a blade of grass, and Bri sighed. "Are you sure we can trust Max this time? Are you sure he won't bail again?"
"We can't predict the future, sweetheart. Max is Addy's father and we have to give him every chance we can to be in her life."
Bri's eyes filled with tears at the thought of not seeing Addy and Maureen every day, not being the person they both looked to for support and comfort. Underneath the sadness, though, was a bubble of hope and excitement. Bri could do anything, go anywhere, she had the whole world at her feet. "I want you to have the money I made working for Jude. It'll help with your debts." It hurt to say his name, hurt to think of him. She couldn't figure out a way forward for them, but now . . . Now, maybe, there was a chance for something more.
Maureen cupped Bri's face in her hands. "You keep that money, honey, and you use it to get started on whatever new life you choose. I know something happened in Vegas, something that made you sad. I understand you might not want to share that story with your mother, even if she is dying of curiosity. I'll even understand if you ignore my advice, but I'm going to give it to you anyway. You keep that money. You use it to get started on the next step of your life and you remember you worked for it. You earned that money and you're going to use it for great things to make up for whatever sadness you feel now."
"I fell in love," she said, her voice cracking. "I fell in love with the enemy."
"Fell in love?" Maureen scoffed. "Honey, you've been in love with Jude Cassidy since he first walked through our front door." She nudged her shoulder against Bri's. "And you might not have seen it, but he was just as smitten with you. I was always sorry about what happened between him and Max because it meant you would never forgive Jude, the two of you would never give that love a try."
"It never would have worked, Mom. You and Max both hate him, and I can't be with a guy my own family can't stand to be around." Nor could she leave Maureen to care for Addy alone, but she wouldn't say anything to make her mother feel bad about their situation.
Maureen's eyes darkened with sadness. "I love Max more than my own breath, sweetheart, but anyone could see he was looking for a way to get rich quick, to beat the system. I was furious when Max told us what had happened between them and I've never said a kind word about Jude in front of either you or Max, but after the anger faded . . . I let a little doubt creep in. I'm not saying I couldn't believe Jude would do Max wrong, but Jude's always been so careful, so precise in everything he does, and he's always been kind. He took the blame for your brother on more than one occasion in high school." Maureen shook her head. "I hated to see your friendship with Jude end because of something that happened between him and Max, but you were righteous in your anger for your brother. You'v
e always believed your brother could walk on water."
Maybe that had been true, but seeing Max walk away from Addy had opened her eyes a bit. Finding out the truth about what had gone down five years before had opened them the rest of the way. "You wouldn't have a problem with me dating him? Not that it matters now, I doubt he'll ever want to see me again."
Her mother rubbed her back. "I'd be happy for you, sweetheart, as long as he loves you the way he should. And if he loves you, there's nothing you could have done he won't be able to forgive. Just give him some time, maybe. Figure out what you want and go to him when you're ready. Loving another person isn't easy when you've gotten used to controlling situations like Jude has. I expect you flipped him and his life on its head." She watched Addy for a few moments in silence, but Bri could tell her mother was working up to saying something more. "I love you so much, Bri, and I hate that you've had to sacrifice so much. You deserve some pampering, honey. You deserve to be taken care of, but if the way you react to me when I try to baby you is any indication, you've forgotten how to accept it. If I know Jude, I know he'll want to take care of you, Bri. It's his gift to you and, if you reject that, you reject him in a way." She must have seen something in Bri's expression, because she chuckled and shook her head. "I don't know what happened between you two, honey. I'd just like to see you taken care of the way you've taken care of Addy and of me, and I hope Jude is the man who will do that. You just have to let him."
Bri hugged her arms tight around herself. Maureen saw so much more than Bri had ever given her credit for. "I'm not sure it's that simple, Mom. I shut him out when he was trying to love me. It's entirely possible he's already decided I'm more trouble than I'm worth."
"I doubt that, sweetie. But if he won't give your love another chance, I'll baby you until you've gotten over him." She smirked at Bri. "I'll baby you no matter how hard you fight it."
"And if I can't let him go?" she asked, voicing her worst fear. "What if I can't get over him?"
Maureen smiled. "I've never seen you fail at anything you've put your mind to, honey. When you got cut from the tennis team freshman year, you were out there every day after school until it got too dark to see, practicing. You didn't just make the team the next year, you made top seed. If you want to forget him, you will. But, if you decide you don't want to forget him, consider that the ways you two are different, as crazy as they make you, might just be what make you good together, might just make you each better as individuals."
She stood and called Addy in for lunch. Bri sat on the porch, drinking in the sunshine and the beautiful scenery, thinking over what her mother had said. She wondered what Jude might be doing, wondered if he missed her at all or if he already had a new woman in his bed.
She dwelled on thoughts of him for a bit, and then she shook them off. She had to get her own life figured out before she could even consider a relationship with anyone. She'd focus on herself for a while, find her own happiness, and figure out the rest later.
Before she could do any of that, though, she had a call to make.
Max answered on the first ring. "Hello, Bri. Everything okay?"
"I think so," she said. "It depends on how you explain how you're able to afford a rental house that requires labor and materials when just a couple weeks ago you were supposedly dead broke."
"Is it too much to ask for you to believe I earned the money the old-fashioned way?"
She said nothing and waited.
He blew out a breath. "Look, Jude felt guilty about kicking me out of the company we'd built together, and Sebastian found the place for me. I am going to buy it outright at some point, and I'll do all the work, but they're fronting the funds. I swear to you, I'm not doing anything illegal."
Bri's jaw tightened and she felt a headache begin to pulse in her right temple. "You took advantage of Jude's--"
"The deal is between me and Jude," he said. "All you need to know is that I did nothing illegal to get the house. Now I can be the father Addy deserves and you can be free. As soon as the house is bought, I'll pay for whatever college classes you want to take."
"No. I want you to use everything you earn for Addy." She paused. "Does this mean you and Jude are friends again?"
"We're going hiking this weekend."
"Okay. Um, did he--"
"Look, Bri, I gotta go. I'll call you later this week, okay?"
"Sure. Bye."
She hung up and stared at her phone. What in the actual flounder? Jude and Max were such good friends that Jude had helped Max get a home? Why did that seem so hard to believe? And why did it scare her to realize that all the obstacles to a relationship between her and Jude were gone?
With a sigh, she stood, stretched, and went inside to find out what had Addy laughing with such delighted glee.
CHAPTER TWENTY
"I still can't believe you're going to be living down the hall," Isla said. She helped Bri bring her last box into the small efficiency apartment two doors down from Isla's.
Bri had used the money she'd made working with Jude for a deposit and first month's rent as soon as she'd found out it was available. It would seem as though fate wanted her to live near Isla.
She'd decided four days ago, as soon as she'd found out that Addy and Maureen would be moving to Vegas, that she at least needed to live in the same city as Addy. Isla had let her know that same night that there was an apartment available in her building. Max had gotten Bri a job as an office assistant at one of Sebastian's build sites, and she'd signed up to volunteer at a local community center for teens, teaching tennis and helping out. She still wasn't sure exactly what she wanted to do long-term, maybe coach high school tennis and teach or work in social services, but she knew for sure she needed to save money so she could finally finish college.
She hoped to be able to attend classes at University of Las Vegas or a local community college as soon as she had a reliable stream of money coming in. After seeing how debt had limited her mother's choices, Bri wanted to avoid school loans or financial aid if at all possible.
It had been hard to leave Addy and Maureen, but she hadn't had many other options. She couldn't sleep on her aunt's couch forever. It was time to start working toward building a life for herself.
"I don't know how much you'll actually see of me," Bri said. "If everything goes as planned, I'm going to be working about a billion hours a week."
Isla threw her arms around Bri and hugged her tight. "It doesn't matter. Just knowing you're so close makes me happier than you can know." She rubbed her flat stomach. "I'm starving, let's go eat. I'll help you unpack later."
Bri looked at her two bags and three boxes. They barely took up a quarter of her tiny place, though they'd taken up most of Isla's car. Isla had driven to Colorado, picked up Bri, taken her to Towle, and helped her pack up for the move. Well, Isla had helped after she'd yelled at Bri for not telling her everything that had happened between her and Jude and making Bri promise never to keep secrets from Isla again. "I think we should probably get an air mattress before we do anything else." Of course, she had a bed in Towle, but it wouldn't have been worth the price of renting a truck to move it to her new place.
"Good plan," Isla said, smile wide. She grabbed Bri's hand and dragged her back to Isla's apartment.
"You sit," Isla said, going into bossy, hostess mode. "I'll nuke leftovers and you can tell me all about your new job while we eat."
Bri, not in the mood to be bossed, possibly because it reminded her of Jude and thoughts of him still hurt, walked around the small space looking at the new photos on Isla's walls. Isla's work got better every time Bri saw it, and she marveled at her friend's effortless talent. She opened her mouth to say something about an amazing photo of a little girl with a sunset as a backdrop when she saw a poster-sized print-out of the plan Isla had created: How to Lasso a Billionaire.
She ran a finger over the words, smiling at the memories it brought up - the good ones. Smiling so hard, her teeth were in danger of cra
cking. "You planning to go after a billionaire, Issy?"
"What?" Isla stepped out of the kitchen, plates in hand. "Oh, I put that up to annoy Jude."
Bri took the plate and sat next to Isla on the edge of her bed. "He's not the one you should be mad at, Isla. I'm the one who screwed up."
"About that," she said. "When are you going to talk to him? I know you still care about him, are you ever going to give him another chance?"
"I just want a little more time. I need to figure out who I am, so that when I see him, we can be on an equal footing and I . . . Shit, I'm terrified he won't give me another chance, Isla. I need to have a back-up plan for when he tells me to get the hell out of his life."
"I don't think that's going to happen, honey. Just go talk to him."
"I will. I promise. I just need to get into a good routine with work and volunteering first." She chewed and looked around the room again. The list might have been there to annoy Jude, but it was in the corner near the bathroom, the perfect place to see it from the bed, but not from the doorway. "You sure you aren't planning to use it?"
Isla smiled, delighted. "You have always been able to see right through me. Especially when I don't want you to."
"Tell me a beautiful lie. It's what we do best anyway."
Isla sucked a long noodle slowly and thoughtfully into her mouth. "Yeah. I'm thinking maybe that hasn't worked out so well for us." She sighed. "The truth is I put it there as a reminder that I'm young and the world is full of exciting experiences. I'm not like you, Bri. I'm not as brave as you. I'm afraid of everything, but the thing I'm most afraid of is getting close to someone. The billionaire plan seems like the perfect solution to my problem."
"I'm not brave," Bri said. "I was too scared to be honest with Jude, too scared to let him in, too scared to take a risk with him, and now I'm too scared to pick up the phone, call him, and apologize." She swallowed hard, the thought of him saying he never wanted to see her again making her a bit sick.
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