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He blew out a long sigh as he balanced his elbows on his knees, sinking his head into his hands.
“What happened?” Before she could console one of her stepchildren, she’d need to settle the other.
“My father happened. As usual. On the heels of the major screw-up with Lydia, it’s just the last thing I needed.”
Julia studied him, his behavior obviously agitated. For every step they took forward, they were shoved back ten.
“You haven’t screwed up with Lydia. I have every faith we can fix that. And if we can’t…then we can’t. Maybe it’s for the best. I don’t like what you’re doing anyway.”
He flicked his eyes up to her before he reached for her hand. “Thank you, Julia. You’re always supportive. But I feel like I failed you. Especially after what he said.”
Julia tried to wrangle her thoughts. Grant and Kyle’s relationship was tenuous at best. They often misconstrued the other’s statements. “What did he say?”
“So much.” He leapt from his seat, pacing the floor. “We’re never going to have a relationship. Ever. It just…it’s not in the cards.”
“Kyle, what did he say?”
Kyle’s fingers curled into fists as his jaw tightened. Julia sucked in a breath. He was quickly spiraling out of control, and she needed to stop it before it led to another issue that they didn’t have the time or bandwidth to handle.
She rose, stopping him from pacing. “You need to sit down and take a breath.”
“I can’t do this anymore, Julia,” he answered.
She wasn’t sure what he was referring to, but they’d have to dig into whatever happened between him and Grant to find out. “Okay, let’s sit down and talk about it.”
He glanced at her, an unknown emotion clouding his eyes before he nodded and slumped into his seat.
Julia eased into the supple leather of her office chair. “Now, what happened?”
Kyle shook his head. “He doesn’t trust me. He said it again. He thinks I’m out to get him, and this whole thing with Lydia is a farce.”
Her mind whirled as she tried to piece together the information. Grant had said the same thing while she’d been there. He may have reiterated it to him in private, but she wondered about what led to it. “Did he say why?”
Kyle stared at the floor, his jaw flexing again.
Julia sucked in a breath as she delicately tried to guide the conversation without pushing him to his boiling point. “What else was said? That’s what he led with?”
“No,” Kyle admitted. “No, he said…”
“He said what?” she prodded.
Kyle flicked his gaze to the night sky outside her window. “He said he wanted to clear the air and discuss what I’d said about not feeling like family. Things got a little…heated. And he repeated what he’d said before.”
Julia took the words as a confirmation of her assumption. Grant hadn’t accused him without some provocation, and as was usual in their relationship, they’d probably both said things that led to those words spilling out. “Things always tend to get a little heated between the two of you.”
“Yep. It’s never going to change. He’s a bastard.”
“That’s not fair.”
He snapped his eyes to hers, his features stern with disagreement. “Isn’t it? What is fair? Accepting his terrible behavior?”
“His behavior isn’t terrible. You just have a really strained relationship with him. It colors everything between the two of you.”
“I can’t stop that. I can’t unsee the stuff he’s done.”
“I know. Which is why I think you’re right.” She heaved a sigh, coming to the hard realization that she hadn’t wanted to admit even to herself.
He lifted his eyebrows, hope crossing his features. “Have you finally seen the light when it comes to Grant Harrington?”
