chapter 26

For a woman who'd just announced that she didn't want to pursue a relationship with a

man, Julia certainly was thinking a lot about the man in question.

As she went about her day—visiting Gen's gallery to see where she worked,

strolling up and down Main Street to browse the charming shops, walking at Moonstone

Beach to take in the breathtaking views—she couldn't seem to keep Colin, or what had

happened between them the night before, out of her head.

Of course, she was thinking about him after the intimacy they'd shared. It was only

natural. But there was thinking about someone, and then there was longing for someone.

If pressed, she would have to admit that what she was doing was veering out of the first

category and dangerously deep into the second.

Looking out at the pounding surf from the Moonstone Beach boardwalk, she found

herself reliving the things he'd done to her. On Main Street, she thought she saw him, just

for a second, and her heart raced. It turned out to be a tourist carrying a bag of souvenirs

from Caren's Corner. Good thing she hadn't impulsively run up to him and leaped into

his arms, the way she'd wanted to do. That would have been embarrassing, especially

because the guy was with his wife.

She told herself she was being ridiculous. One night of great sex shouldn't be

turning her upside down this way. Even if it had been really great sex.

The day was clear and warm, so she settled in on a bench at a lovely little park at the

foot of Bridge Street, not far from the shops and restaurants.

She listened to the breeze in the trees and the gentle whoosh of the nearby creek,

which was swollen with rain. Then she pulled out her cell phone and dialed Mike.

"What can I do for you, Julia?" he asked when he answered the phone. His tone was

world-weary and cautious, as though he knew this conversation was going to meander off

into places he'd rather not go. Which it surely would, and without delay.

"I need to do girl talk, but I don't have a girl here I can talk to. Well, I do—a couple

of them, actually, but they're mostly Colin's family, and that won't work, so …"

"Fine. As long as it doesn't have anything to do with hair or makeup. Or sex."

"Well …"

"No," he said. "Forget it. Call me when you need advice on building a deck."

"Mike, come on."

"I'm hanging up now."

"No! Wait!" She thought, desperate. "Okay—a deck. I need to talk to you about

building a deck."

"A deck," he said, sounding skeptical.

"Yes." She took a deep breath and thought about her metaphor. "Colin and I … last

night … we …"

"Built a deck," he supplied.

"Right. And it was a really good deck. This was the best deck I've ever … stood on.

Redwood planks, plenty of space, a view …"

"Okay. So, what's the problem? Did it collapse while you were on it?"

"No!" She thought about what that analogy might mean in terms of sex and decided

it wasn't very flattering to Colin. "No. The deck … held up. Really well. It was a very

durable deck."

"Well, good for you. You can have a lot of parties on that deck. Barbecues and

whatnot."

"No, we can't. Because I told him I don't want to … use the deck anymore."

"Why not? You said it was a great deck."

"It is! It is. It's so great. So great. But … Drew doesn't want me to build any more

decks with Colin. Ever. And neither does Colin's brother Liam. Nobody wants me on that

deck, Mike, and I don't want to cause trouble. I don't! I don't want to hurt people or

cause fights or … I don't want to trash the house that the deck is attached to."

"Ah. Got it. Well, what does this Colin guy think?"

"I think if he had his way, he and I would be building decks all over town."

Mike sighed, and she could picture him in his living room, in sweatpants and socks,

shaking his head with weary annoyance.

"I think you should build any damned deck you want with any damned … carpenter

you want, and to hell with what anybody else thinks."

"I want to, Mike." She closed her eyes and imagined the deck-building of the

previous night. "I want to so much. I want to sand and varnish and … pound nails. Oh,

God, I want to pound nails."

"This conversation is making my head hurt," Mike said.

"I'm sorry. It's just … what should I do?"

"I think you should build whatever deck you want to build. And if the house falls

down, it wasn't a very strong house."

When Julia got back to Ryan's house, Drew was there waiting for her. He'd spent

the morning on the ranch with Ryan, and he looked a little tousled and dusty after-hours

atop a horse. They both knew how to ride—they'd grown up in Montana, after all—but

she suspected it had been a while for Drew. He moved like his ass hurt.

She could hear Ryan moving around upstairs—doing what, she didn't know. Gen

was at work at her gallery, and that left Julia and Drew alone in the big living room.

The awkward silence between them was heavy until Julia broke it with small talk. "I

hear you got to see the ranch this morning."

"Yeah." He stuffed his hands into his jeans pockets. "It's huge. And beautiful." He

shook his head in wonder at the situation he'd found himself in. "Ryan thought that since

I'm going to own part of it, I ought to see it."

"You and Ryan. How did that go?" She wanted to ask if he'd picked a fight with all

of the Delaney brothers and made it a perfect trifecta, but she kept that last part to herself.

Drew shrugged. "He's all right, I guess. Kind of a hard guy to be pissed at."

"Though you tried, I'm sure," Julia said.

Drew shrugged again. It seemed like his default mode of communication today.

"Look, Julia." He was fidgeting a little, and he couldn't seem to look straight at her.

"Colin wants to meet with me this afternoon. To go over the specifics of the will." He

cleared his throat. "I'm freaking out a little here. I wondered if you could come with me."

The nervous way he stood there, with an uneasy mix of fear and defiance, made Julia

see him for a moment, not as the man he was today, but as the child, he'd been when they

were growing up together. He was still her little brother, and it was still her job to protect

him.

"Of course I will."

"But then, after that"—he looked at her with a stubborn challenge in his eyes—"I

think you should go home."

Her mouth fell open slightly. "What?"

"I think … Look. I need you for this, okay? For this meeting. Because I don't think I

can handle all of this alone. But after that, I'm going to drive you to the airport, and I

want you to go back to Montana."

"But … why?"

He glared at her coldly. "You know why."

"Because of Colin?"

His silence was his answer.

She could have told him that she'd already broken things off with Colin. That would

have appeased him, surely. She could have told him that she'd chosen him—she'd chosen

her family over a man. But instead, she found herself reacting with anger over the fact

that he thought he could tell her what to do, how to live.

She crossed her arms over her chest and tipped her chin up in defiance. "Like hell.

I'm not going anywhere."

"Julia—"

"No, Drew. You do what you want, but I'll go when I'm ready."

"These people. They aren't—"

"They aren't what, Drew? Because I've got to tell you, the victim act is getting a

little old. Liam's been acting like an asshole, I'll give you that, but everyone else is doing

their best to welcome you. To welcome us. And all you can do is … is be pissed about

it!" She threw her hands into the air. "You got a raw deal when Mom lied to you and kept

you away from your biological father. Fine. We all agree on that. But now you're getting

millions of dollars! You'd think you could pull yourself together and … cope!"

"I never asked for their money. I never—"

"Fine. You never asked. But you're getting it anyway." Warming up to her topic,

Julia was rolling now, with a head of steam that was just getting hotter the further she

went with it. "You're getting the money, and you could have a new family if you would

just try! If you would just … just try to assume that maybe everyone you meet is not out

to screw you!"

It was true; Drew had the opportunity to be part of something here—part of this big,

messy family with all of the good and bad that implied. But what did Julia have? Her

relationship with her brother was rough at best, and she wasn't sure things between

herself and her mother would ever be fully repaired. And now, Drew was playing the

brother card to take away any chance she might have had to build something with Colin.

Suddenly, everything seemed so overwhelming. She'd been right to tell Colin that

she wouldn't continue seeing him. Any potential relationship simply faced too many

obstacles. From Drew, from Liam—from her own feelings that she could never really fit

into Colin's world.

"You know what?" Drew looked at her with contempt. "I think I'll just go to that

meeting alone after all."

"Yeah? Well, you know what? I think you were right. I should go home. I'll be out

of here today. Don't bother driving me to the airport; I'll take the rental car. You can get

another one."

She stalked upstairs to the guest room, tears stinging her eyes and blurring her

vision. She slammed the door behind her, used her phone to check flight times, and

started to pack her things.