“A discharge? Why?” I asked. “You love the military. You wanted to go career the last time we talked.”
“A lot changes in two years,” he said.
His eyes grew far-off and my broken heart shattered into a million pieces. I took his hand within mine and brought it to my lips, ripping him from his trance. He grinned at me before he cleared his throat, but I saw the tears glistening in his eyes. I could tell the last two years hadn’t been kind to my brother, and it made me sick.
At least, I thought that was what rolled my stomach with sickness.
“I’ve seen enough,” Nick said. “I haven’t taken a break from being a soldier in damn near ten years. I think it’s time to get back to the real world. To find something else to do with my life.”
“Then it sounds like you and I are in the same boat.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m back here trying to figure out something to do with my life as well,” I said. “What do you think you’ll do?”
“I don’t know. I was hoping coming home would help me figure out my next move. Seems like you’ve had the same idea.”
“Yeah,” I said with a snicker. “Seems like it.”
“What happened in Illinois, Michelle?”
“What do you mean?”
“You have that same far-off stare in your eye,” he said.
“I haven’t been to war, Nick. I just went to Stillsville.”
“Doesn’t mean it hasn’t impacted you, sis. Talk to your big brother. Maybe we can help each other out.”
I squeezed his hand and sat back, drawing in a deep breath.
“I left with a guy,” I said. “Andy. He had a job at the oil fields, then he lost it. He asked me to go with him, and like an idiot, I agreed. We headed back to his hometown of Stillsville, Illinois. A smaller, more annoying version of Williston, if you can believe it.”
“Sounds like an utter hellhole,” Nick said with a grin.
“Just about. Anyway, I made it work for a little while, then we split up and things went south very quickly. I couldn’t keep a job in a town of maybe two thousand people, so I came back home. Broken-hearted and penniless, practically.”
“What a luxury you two have, coming home and sitting on my couch.”
Nick’s face hardened and I cringed at the sound of my mother’s voice.
“Hey, Mom,” Nick said.
“You gonna say anything, Michelle?” my mother asked.
I turned around and saw her standing in the doorway, her mouth tight and her eyes narrowed. She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the frame, the sarcasm thick from her lips to her toes. I closed my eyes, and sighed, wondering if I had already made another mistake with my life.
But once I opened my gaze and looked at Nick, I knew I hadn’t. Coming home to him had been the greatest joy of the past two years of my life.
Well, except for my time with Gray. Sort of.
I didn’t really know where any of that stood with me any longer.
Chapter 5
Grayson
“This is Grayson.”