I think it had something to do with Bec’s phone call, telling me she’d lost her latest patient. He was a young guy who’d lost his fight with cancer and left behind a wife and two kids. Hearing about his funeral made me realize just how short life really was, and I started thinking about my fallout with Camden.
I wanted to believe that I didn’t care about him or that he’d made a mess of things, but the fact that he came to mind proved he still meant something to me.
Hoping I might be able to set things right between us, I got off my bike and made my way up his front steps. I was about to knock when the front door opened and Camden stepped out, quickly closing the door behind him.
He feigned a smile. “I was wondering how long you were going to sit out here.”
“I was wondering the same thing myself.”
“What are you doing here?”
“I’m not exactly sure,” I scoffed. “We left a lot unsaid the last time we spoke, and I guess you could say it’s been weighing on my mind.”
“It’s been bugging me, too.” Sorrow marked my brother’s face as he admitted, “I fucked up, Thatch. I know that, and I can’t really explain why I’ve done the things I’ve done.”
“I’m gonna need you to try because none of this shit makes any fucking sense to me.”
“I didn’t set out to find myself another family.” He motioned his head towards his house. “That shit just happened. I met Callie, and she loved me in a way that Mia never did. I needed that. I wanted it. I felt like I deserved it, so I didn’t walk away.”
“And what about your wife?”
“I know it wasn’t right, but fuck, I spent years trying to be the man she wanted, and it was never enough. She always wanted you, and I resented the hell out of her for it. I resented you, too.” His words were laced with both anger and anguish as he grumbled, “You got to go off and live your life the way you wanted, not giving a flying fuck what anyone else thought while I stayed behind and busted my ass trying to be everything everyone expected. And it still wasn’t enough. That shit wasn’t right. It wasn’t fair.”
“No one expected you to do all that shit, Camden. You took all that on yourself.”
“Maybe you’re right. Maybe I really did have it all wrong.” He looked defeated as he sat down on the porch step. “Hell, we used to have a good thing. We used to be so close. I could come to you for just about anything, and then Mia came along, and all that changed. We grew apart, and this big divide came between us. We started resenting each other, and I don’t even know why.”
“We broke the ultimate brother code.” I sat down next to him as I said, “We let a woman come between us. That’s on both of us.”
“Yeah, we did. I wish I could take it back. I wish I could go back and change everything. If I could, I would.” I could hear the anguish in his voice as he said, “I’m really sorry, Thatch. I’m sorry about everything.”
“That makes two of us.”
“So, what do we do now?”
“I reckon we either keep holding grudges or we can put this whole thing behind us and get on with our lives.”
“And if we choose the latter?”
“I get my brother back.”
“I’d like that.”
“I would, too.” I patted his shoulder and said, “I can’t believe you have a son.”
“He’s really something, Thatch. You gotta meet him ... for real this time.”
“I’d like that.”
Camden stood, then led me into the house, where he introduced me once again to Callie and his son, Cason. While I didn’t agree with how he’d done things, it was good to see that my brother had finally gotten the life he’d always wanted. I didn’t stay long, but I could tell it meant a lot to both Callie and Camden that I’d come by.
It meant a great deal to me as well.
I wanted to make sure Bec had time to get back from the funeral, so I took the long way to her house. On the ride over, I thought about all the crazy shit that had gone on over the past couple of weeks. The Broken Knights had caught us off guard, and it cost us dearly.
Thankfully, we were starting to get back on track. We’d gotten the storage lot to working order again—replaced the broken locks, repaired the fence, and cleaned up units. I’d also been in contact with Dax.
He and his brothers had been keeping a lookout for any Broken Knights that might’ve made a return to their clubhouse, but none had been found. It seemed we’d dealt with all of them the night they showed up at the lot, but Dax gave me his word that they’d continue to keep an eye on things just to be safe.