“Ants in your pants?”
“I guess. And I’m trying to keep busy and do things that keep my mind occupied. I want everything to go back to . . . before. Truth is, I’ve not stopped since I got back.” And he was tired, emotionally and physically. As nice as it was seeing all the familiar faces of his friends, it unnerved a deep-rooted part of Max. A part he hadn’t realized existed. These people, despite their smiles, were people he’d hurt, fucked over, disappointed, and even partied with.
Tate sighed. “A common mistake people can make once they get home is that they try to take on too much right away. You can’t fix all the problems in your life in one week, Max. The first couple of years of recovery are a time of recuperation. You’re still fragile, man.”
The word made Max’s molars grind, but he understood Tate wasn’t trying to patronize him. Parts of him would continue to be very fragile. He’d come a long way in Pennsylvania, but he would always be a tiny tap away from shattering again. That was the life of an addict. All he could do was stay away from anything and anyone that could cause the damage.
“Take it day at a time,” Tate repeated softly. “That’s all you can do.”
“This place looks incredible!”
Grace couldn’t hold back the squee of excitement that burst from her mouth as Kai walked through the downstairs of her no-longer-dilapidated house. It was still a long way from habitable, but with a freak week of dry weather, the builders had—once the termite problem was handled—built a brand-new roof, installed new floors and walls downstairs, and begun constructing the wide stairway up to the first level.
“Can you see it now?” she asked knowingly.
Kai laughed and tapped a palm against one of the new walls. “I can. I doubted I would, but I can.”
Grace fist-bumped the air.
“The work is really good, too,” Kai commented. “I’m impressed.”
“Of course it’s good,” Grace retorted with an eye roll. “I wouldn’t hire just anybody. I’m not entirely helpless, you know. I can make good decisions.”
Kai cocked an eyebrow and Grace immediately knew what was coming.
“Don’t start,” she warned.
The words exploded out of her brother in an incredulous blast. “Working behind a bar, Grace? With your anxiety the way it is. Really? Did you even give it a minute’s thought? Working in a place filled with strangers. Drunken strangers! The same environment where you met that piece of fuck—”
“Kai.” Grace grumbled something offensive under her breath, turned heel, and stormed out of the house into the cool early spring air. “Why can’t you just . . .”
Kai’s heavy footsteps followed her quickly.
“This has nothing to do with him,” she hissed, still marching away from him. “I wanted to see if I could step out of my comfort zone, and I’m pretty sure in the few months I’ve worked at Whiskey’s I’ve done that. I’ve not had any attacks or flashbacks—”
“Yes,” Kai agreed, still exasperated, almost falling over her when Grace came to an abrupt halt. “But you were told you needed to take things slowly”—he threw an arm back toward the house—“one crazy decision at a time.”
“Don’t patronize me, Kai,” she fumed.
Kai’s face dropped minutely, her words clearly surprising him. “That’s not my intention, Grace.” He pushed his hands into his pockets. “I just— I worry about you. I want to make sure you’re safe and I can’t do that with you so far away. After what he did to you . . .”
The anger boiling in Grace’s blood cooled considerably as she watched her baby brother’s shoulders slump in dejection. “I’m all right,” she murmured, placing her hand on his forearm and squeezing. “I know you think differently, and I love you dearly for it, but it’s not your place to protect me, Kai. Besides, he’s a long way away and I’m fine. Really. Sure, I still get nervous, jumpy, but I deal with it. Everyone has been so nice to me.”
“Especially Deputy Colin, I’m sure,” Kai remarked icily.
Grace snorted and shook her head. “It’s Deputy Caleb and he’s harmless.”
“He looks at you in a way that suggests otherwise, Grace.”
Despite the shiver of unease that slipped across her chest, Grace shrugged. “I can handle him. He knows I’m not interested in anything but being friends.”
Kai watched her carefully. “Now that you’re here doing all of this, do you think you’d ever do that, like . . . be with anyone again?”
Grace swallowed and took a deep breath. “I don’t know.”