Free Finding Gavin (Southern Boys #2) by C.A. Harms

feel horrible,” I told him.
    “Momma said that Reed’s best friend and his wife have been taking care of things. They got it, baby girl, don’t worry,” he said, and I only felt guiltier. Leann and Ben had their own life; they didn’t need to be filling in for me.
    Everyone had been so kind and caring. Well, everyone but Gavin. I still hadn’t heard from him. Everybody seemed sort of hush-hush about him when I was around.
    “Let’s go, just for a few days. Hell, we can go longer if ya want.  I just think getting away would be good for you. Let’s go somewhere where we can soak up the sun and forget about all the bad for a little while.”
    Colt scooted forward and tilted my chin up. “Let me do this. Let me be here for you. You and I have never had the chance to really form a relationship. I’d like that to change, Mar. I want be the big brother who steps up when he needs to. Let me help you begin to heal from all of this.”
    Colt wasn’t the sappy type—he was more of the ‘stand back and quietly observe’ kind of man. It meant a lot to me that he was here. He was right, we had never had that chance.
    “Okay, big brother. What’s your plan?” I asked with a small, forced smile.
    His face lit up and he stood from the bed. “You just pack. I’ll take care of everything else.” He walked to the door, and just before he exited the room, he looked back. “Warm weather, beach, and lots of booze coming your way.”
    He chuckled and I just shook my head. What had I gotten myself into?
     
    ***
     
    Colt really had taken care of everything. He rented a cute little beach house in the Gulf Shores, and we spent three days basking in the sun. Over those three days, I learned a lot about my brother.
I found out how hard it was on him while he was living with my dad. He tried to explain why he had chosen to stay with him for years, taking all his bitterness. He felt like he owed my father to stick it out.
    When my dad began to bury himself only deeper in debt, both Jake and Colt would just work harder. They would get their heads above water, only to have my daddy once again take them under. Slowly they watched as everything they had worked for began to disappear.
    Colt and Jake went their separate ways and got jobs elsewhere, while they continued to watch my dad drift away.
    I could see the pain in Colt’s eyes as he remembered the years that had passed. I really had no idea what they had gone through with my dad. I could just see it in his eyes that life was anything but perfect. In fact, I’m sure at times it was misery.
    I learned that Colt had a fiancée once. They were young and in love—promising a future of kids with a big ole’ house on a hill.
    She went off to college and then things changed. She realized she had so many other things she wanted more.
    So she ended things abruptly over the phone, taking the coward’s way out, and leaving my brother behind, broken hearted, to pick up the pieces alone. After that, he kind of let go of the life he hoped for.
    He said it wasn’t worth the heartache in the end. Staying unattached and just randomly dating kept his heart safe. The thought of my brother spending his life alone, without love, was sad.
     
    ***
     
    Returning home was hard. Kori herself had returned the day before, and I knew I would be forced to relive my recent devastation. I honestly just wanted to hide away and bury it all so deep. Talking about it would only bring back the hurt of it all.
    So instead of calling Kori, like I told her I would, I crawled into bed and lay motionless in my dark room.

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter Twelve
     
     
    I woke to the sound of my door creaking open and light spilling into the room from the hall. It had to be early evening, because the setting of the sun barely showed through my window blinds.
    I looked up as Kori crept into my room, closing the door quietly behind her. I never spoke. I just closed my eyes once again and pretended to be