“It’s murder.” The words came out on a low growl. “It’s not like she’s been accused of shoplifting.”
“No one’s accusing her except you and the person who probably did it herself,” Ty shot back.
“You can’t know that.”
“I know it makes a hell of a lot more sense than suggesting Lucy did it. I would look at all three of them. I would take a big old look at Daddy’s will and find out where that money was going to go.” He’d thought about this the whole time they’d been sitting with Gemma. “Lucy gets nothing but trouble from this. And quite frankly, I’m offended you think she’s this dumb.”
“I never said she was dumb.”
“No, but you believe she would grind up a bunch of apple seeds to get cyanide and then take the damn drink to him herself.”
Michael had paled. “She lied to us.”
Ty rolled his eyes. “She’s explained that. She was trying to avoid confrontation. It’s a thing she’s done since she was a kid. You know you’re not the only one who has trouble trusting people. You act like you’re the only person in the world who ever got hurt. She grew up rough. She watched every mother figure she ever had walk away or die on her while her good for nothing dad sat in a lawn chair and drank his life away. I left her behind because I was too insecure to let her know how I felt. She struggles every day to feel like she’s worth something. It’s hard for her to trust you, too, but she did it and you bailed on her.”
He expected Michael to explode, to rage against him, but instead he sighed and his shoulders slumped. “I’m sorry. I told you I couldn’t love her.”
“Bullshit. You already love her. I think you’ve loved her for a long time.” He didn’t understand where Michael was coming from. “I know what happened with your fiancée fucked you up, but are you really going to let it screw over the rest of your life?”
Michael picked up his bag. “I don’t know. I would have told you I’m still angry, but honest to god, all I feel right now is tired. I’m tired of having this empty place inside me. The last couple of days, I didn’t feel it, but it’s there again. It never really went away.”
“We can’t fix you.” If there was one thing he’d learned from life to this point it was this. “No one can fix you. You have to fix yourself, and sitting on a mountain isn’t going to do it. There is nothing I want to do more than sit down and talk to you, try to convince you that you belong with us, but I can’t. I can’t because she needs me. This is her time to be surrounded by love and support, and I’m pissed as hell at you for making this about you and not her.”
“I am not trying to be selfish. Do you think I like feeling this way?”
“I think you’re doing nothing to stop feeling this way,” Ty replied. “When was the last time you talked to someone? You wouldn’t even talk to her sister, who’s done nothing wrong. You are holding on to this like you’ll die if you let it go.”
“I’m not fucking holding…” Michael stopped, his expression clearing. His hand tightened around the bag. “I’m going to go.”
Michael wasn’t ready. Not in any way. He wasn’t ready to move on or be part of a family. Ty’s heart ached because they could have had something amazing.
Michael stopped at the door, not looking back. “You’re a good man. You can be enough for her.”
He wasn’t sure about that. He’d needed Michael, too. He let Michael leave, the door closing quietly behind him.
And he was alone. Alone with the weight of protecting Lucy.
He had to be stronger than he’d ever been, better than he’d thought he could be.
“Is he going to be okay?”
Ty took a long breath to try to blow out the anxiety that threatened to explode through him. He needed to be calm for her. He needed to be her rock. He turned to her, praying his expression was as soft as he wanted it to be. “He doesn’t matter now.”
Lucy walked up to him, her hands going to his cheeks, eyes taking him in. “Of course he does. You do, too, my love. You’ll miss him as much as I will, and that’s okay. It’s okay to miss him. It’s okay to be disappointed.”
“I want to be mad.”
She shook her head. “That’s a useless emotion in this case. Michael proves that. All he’s let himself feel is anger, and he can’t move past it. We can’t force him to. He knows deep down I didn’t do this, but he can’t let himself believe in another woman, and oddly enough that’s not about me either. What he can’t believe in is that he can be happy.”