Page 5

“Yeah, but,” I set my stuff down carefully, trying not to wake her. My mind races through all the reasons this is wrong. “We left a mess yesterday. Sawdust, loose screws, construction debris. What if she stepped on something? What if she’s been breathing that shit all night?”

This house is still very much a work site and dangerous to try to live in. Protective anger builds in my chest, but I’m not sure who I’m upset with. Her, for being reckless? Matt, for not giving a damn? Or myself, for caring this much about someone who’s not mine.

Cole leans against the doorframe, studying her sleeping form with that calculating look he gets. “Do you think Matt knows?”

“Good fucking question.” I pull out my phone and scroll to Matt’s number. The fact that I even have to ask him about his girlfriend’s whereabouts pisses me off more than it should. He treats her like crap, and she deserves better. I turn and head outside so I don’t wake Lily, and the guys follow. The morning air is crisp, carrying the scent of pine and sawdust from yesterday’s work. That only makes me more frustrated that Lily stayed the night because the furnace isn’t on and that flimsy throw blanket isn’t exactly warm.

She’s not yours, Hudson.

The phone rings four times before Matt picks up, his voice rough like he just woke up. “Yeah?”

“Matt, it’s Hudson. Where’s Lily?”

He pauses for too long before finally grumbling. “How the hell should I know?”

My jaw clenches. “She’s your girlfriend, asshole. She spent the night on the job site.” He should be here too, ready to work, but he’s always late.

“So? She broke up with me. She’s not my problem anymore.” The casual dismissal makes my free hand curl into a fist. “Look, man, I drank too much and feel like death warmed over. Whatever drama Lily has going on, I can’t deal with it today.”

“Really?” I ask, letting my disbelief color each syllable. He went out and got wasted while his girlfriend—er, ex-girlfriend—had nowhere safe to sleep? Did he kick her out? Even the thought has my blood boiling. It takes a real asshole to put a woman out on the street at night.

Matt, as always, doesn’t even seem to realize what he did is a problem. He’s been more self-absorbed than usual lately. “Yeah, man. I don’t feel good so I’m calling in sick. Listen, I’m going back to bed. As far as Lily’s concerned. . . she’s not my problem. Let her suffer.”

The line goes dead. I stare at my phone like it might give me answers. Maybe I should drive over there and knock some sense into him. If my dad were here, his ass would be fired. Shit, the only reason Matt is still employed is because I cover for him. I keep him on my jobs and far away from the projects my dad runs.

“Well?” Gage keeps his voice low, glancing at Lily through the window to make sure we haven’t woken her.

“He doesn’t give a shit.” I shove the phone back in my pocket. “Lily broke up with him last night and now Matt says she’s not his problem anymore and he’s too sick to work.”

Cole’s expression darkens. “Too sick, or too hungover?”

“Take a wild guess.” Matt has a bad habit of calling out the morning after he makes bad decisions. The guys are tired of it, and honestly, I am too. It’s not easy realizing that my childhood friend has turned into a total piece of shit.

“This is fucked up,” Gage mutters, running a hand through his short hair. “Who lets their ex-girlfriend sleep on a construction site?”

“Someone who never deserved to have that girlfriend in the first place.” Cole’s voice carries an edge I don’t hear often. For all his charm and easy smiles, he has a protective streak a mile wide.

We used to be thick as thieves with Matt, but something is different about him now. Watching the way he was with Lily was hard to swallow, and whenever I tried to say something, he’d go off on me. She definitely deserves better than Matt.

“You know why she came here instead of one of the hotels, right?” Cole asks.

I scrub my hand over my face. “Yeah, I know.” The Big Ridge gossip mill can take on a life of its own. I don’t blame Lily for wanting to avoid being the talk of the town, I only wish she had somewhere better to stay. “We can’t leave her here. Not with all the debris and dust. It’s not safe.”

“We have that spare room,” Cole suggests quietly. “At the house.”

The thought hangs between us like a loaded gun. I know he’s right. We have the space, and it’s clean and safe. Matt is supposed to be our friend, and we all know asking her to stay with us would violate bro code . . . but he has been acting like a complete dickhead lately, not just to Lily either. We all get along with Lily. She’s always nice to us, even when she’s clearly frustrated with him, and every part of me hates the thought of her staying here.

Exhaling, I shrug. “I mean, fuck Matt,” I say finally, voicing what we’re all thinking. “He’s been treating her like garbage for months.”

Gage nods. “I’ll run and grab coffee and breakfast. She’s probably starving.”

“Good idea.” I glance back through the window at her sleeping form, and something tight coils in my chest. She looks so fragile curled up on that old couch. Anyone could have walked in here last night. There are no curtains on the windows. Some creep could have been watching her.

The thought makes my hands clench into fists again. Big Ridge isn’t a crime hub, though as a tourist hot spot, we get our fair share of weirdos. This house is smack in the middle of short-term rentals. I don’t like it.

“Hudson?” Cole’s voice pulls me back to the conversation.

“Yeah?”