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“You don’t have to go in there and face them—not if you don’t want to.”
Carter shook his head. “I don’t think I can. Not with what I did.”
“They’ll trust you again, in time. You just have to earn it back.”
“They shouldn’t have to be put in that position. I should have never?—”
Caleb reached out and placed his hands on his brother’s shoulders, giving him a little shake. “Carter. Listen to me. There’s a reason why you came back. I don’t know what it is. I don’t know what happened. But I do know that you listened to your gut, and this is where it landed you. Don’t ignore that.”His stomach churned as his thoughts shifted to Emma. Was he following his own instincts when it came to his feelings for her?
If anything, he was pushing them away.
He searched Carter’s eyes. “You don’t have to do anything you’re not ready for. If you want me to get you a motel room for a little while before you get up the courage to come back?—”
Carter shook his head. “No. You’re right. I should stay. No more running from my problems.
Caleb glancedat Carter from across the living room. While the family reunion had been tense, and the air around them still was, Carter had taken the first step. It was more than Caleb could say for himself.
He couldn’t stop thinking about Emma. He’d been so focused on convincing his brother to listen to his heart that he’d let himself forget about his own heartache. It was difficult not to draw some parallels to his own situation. The worst part was that Emma’s trespasses weren’t nearly as serious as what Carter had done.
Caleb couldn’t help but feel like a hypocrite.
Charlie settled onto the couch beside Carter and held up her phone, acting as if Carter had only gone out for groceries and not disappeared for a couple years. “Tickets go on sale in one hour. Can you believe it? Emma Hart is coming to Colorado Springs! And she’s debuting a new album!”
Carter offered a smile. “That’s cool, sis.”
“You want to know what’s even better? She was here! She was in Copper Creek. You totally missed it.”
He lifted his brows and glanced at Caleb, who only rolled his eyes.
Charlie scooted even closer, and her voice lowered conspiratorially. “Wanna know somethingeven better?”
“It gets better?” Carter chuckled dryly.
“Caleb dated her.”
Carter shot a surprised look at Caleb.
“It’s true,” Charlie squealed. “He did. And what’s ridiculous is that no one will go with me to the concert. Not even Caleb. Wade says I have to go with someone because it’s safer. Jokes on him because I’m an adult and I’m going to do what I want.”
Carter’s head whipped around to look at her. “You shouldn’t do that,” he said.
“Why?” Charlie demanded. “Wade isn’t the boss. We’re all adults. Just because we still live here?—”
“Because he’s trying to keep you safe,” Carter interrupted. He glanced at Caleb. “We should go with her.”
Caleb stiffened. “What? Why?”
Charlie squealed at the exact same time Caleb argued.
“Because she needs someone to go with her, and she’s not going to listen to anyone who tells her she shouldn’t. You know Emma?—”
“Absolutely not! What Charlie didn’t tell you is that Emmaliedthe entire time we were… involved.” He sat up a little straighter.
“Yeah, and she tried to apologize,” Charlie cut in. “She only lied about her name because she didn’t want the paparazzi to know where she was, but Caleb didn’t want to listen.”
Carter frowned. “That doesn’t seem so bad.”
Caleb looked away. “It doesn’t matter anymore.”
