Nash snorted. “Is that supposed to make me feel better?”
“Not better, but it’s a truth you can’t ignore.” Shep hesitated, his eyes squinting. “Dad would not have wanted this.”
The mention of their father tightened Nash’s chest. “Of course, Dad wouldn’t have wanted this.”
“That’s not what he means,” said Chase, obviously understanding. “He means that Dad wouldn’t want you to fight this battle for him. Especially at the cost of your happiness.”
Nash leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “Who is left to fight it? You both have your own shit going on.” Though the second the words left his mouth, he realized again he couldn’t think that way anymore. “This man is going to be the grandfather of my child. On one hand, I want him nowhere near our family and my kid. On the other hand, not to have him in our life will destroy Megan. The man she knows loves her. The memories of her father are filled with happiness. To steal that away from her seems wrong.” He ran his hands against his face again. “So, in the end, there’s a choice here. Her happiness. Or mine.”
Shep frowned. “I do not envy the position you’re in.”
Nash stared up at the ceiling fans above them on the porch, cutting through the heat of the day. He felt like the entire world pressed against him. “She said she loved me.” And that had been the reason he had gotten back into his car. Those words had blinded him, making the world somersault around him. All the anger he felt vanished under the power of those words. And suddenly all the reasons that drove him to that house didn’t matter anymore.
Only Megan mattered. Her pain mattered. Her happiness mattered. He couldn’t see past that.
Which made him question why he pushed so hard against Clint. For what, his pride? The more Nash thought about the situation, the more he felt responsible. Had he driven Clint to this? If Nash had been like Shep or Chase and kept his mouth shut, maybe Clint wouldn’t have approached Butch to ensure he won.
The worst part of all was that Megan had paid the price.
The silence around him was so heavy, he glanced back to his brothers. He gave an unamused laugh at their shock, realizing what he’d said earlier had surprised them. “Is it so unbelievable that Megan loves me?” he asked.
“Not unbelievable,” Shep stated, shoving his hands into his pockets. “But it’s about time one of you declared something.”
Fuck, that only made him feel worse. Nash should have said he loved her first.
A long, loaded silence passed while Nash shut his eyes and pressed his head back against the house.
Until Chase broke the silence again. “So, what do we do, then? Clint just gets off?”
Of course, that was the logical assumption. Nash shook his head, reopening his eyes. “There’s no fucking way that’s going to happen. I could tell Darryl my suspicions and have Clint investigated. They could push Butch, and see if he breaks, but we know if his wife is involved, he won’t, not if he’s gone this far to help her. Maybe Darryl finds a money trail, but maybe he doesn’t, or maybe Clint finds a way to explain why he’s helping Butch’s wife. Christ, maybe I’m even wrong here about Harrison’s involvement. So then not only will Megan get dragged alongside all this, so will Ma and Megan’s mother.”
Shep nodded. “We don’t want to bring this down on Ma.”
“Which is exactly what I’m sitting with now,” Nash said, frustrated. “Sure, we can drag Clint through the dirt like he deserves. But who will that hurt more: Clint or Megan, Ma, and Loretta?”
Shep studied Nash for a long moment then gave a dry laugh.
Nash glared. “You find this is funny, brother?”
“Funny?” Shep snorted and stepped forward. “Nothing about any of is funny.” He gave Nash a firm look and cupped his uninjured shoulder. “Though what amuses me is that you think you don’t know the answer to this when you obviously do.” He backed away and added, “You’ve got this handled, so go handle it. You don’t need a damn thing from us.”
Chase rose from his seat on the porch steps. “Yup, totally agree; you’ve got this covered.”
Without another look, his brothers trotted down the steps, moving toward their trucks like all this was settled.
It wasn’t. Not even close.
“That’s all I’m getting from you two?” Nash called. “When I don’t want your advice, you don’t shut up. When I actually want your advice, you give me jack shit!”
“You don’t need anything from us.” Shep waved.
Nash scoffed, rocking back on the chair. Now, he needed to figure out what they knew, and he didn’t.
* * *
Come to Shep’s place when you’
re ready.