In the blink of an eye, my life crashed and burned like an old country song. Everything good was tainted. I was weak. A coward. So goddamn beat down by life and circumstance that I could barely stand to look at myself in the mirror most days.
Today, it just happened to hit harder than most. My world lost focus the moment I ran face-first into Olivia fucking Hart.
The Harts were Pinecrest royalty. Everyone knew their name, knew how much money and power came with it, and fawned over them accordingly. Even though my family lived paycheck to paycheck, I was lucky enough to consider Lukas my best friend. We were inseparable growing up, still were, but his sister? That was a different story.
God-fucking-dammit. Out of all the people I could’ve run into, it had to be her? Olivia Hart had always been a pain in my ass. From being forced to spend time together as kids, to saving her ass when she got her jeep stuck in the mud after I told her it was shit weather to cruise in. The girl was one headache after another.
“Were you able to get the milk out of your favorite New Balance sneakers, Grandpa?”
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “I don’t know what the fuck you have against them. They’re comfortable. Sorry I don’t wanna kill my feet when I’m on them all day.”
“That’s why they make inserts for your other shoes. You can be stylish and comfortable at the same time,” he mused. “A concept I know has been long since lost on you.”
His words hadn’t stung exactly, but they were another reminder of how my life had changed. My outfit was simple and to the point. I didn’t see the need to dress up when I was just going from the cabin to the bar or to Harper’s school. It wasn’t like I was going on dates or anything. Even when I had that one damn time, I knew five minutes in there wouldn’t be a number two.
“Maybe when you have a kid of your own to chase around, I’ll convert you.”
Lukas laughed. “Yeah, that’ll be the day.”
“You talking about wearing New Balances or having kids? Kinda hard to tell,” I said, grabbing a bottle of cleaner and spraying it over the counter. Harper had gotten jellyeverywhere while making herself a sandwich And while she’d tried to clean up, she ended up leaving a sticky mess along the surface that wouldn’t be conquered by anything less than industrial strength solvents.
“Both,” Lukas chuckled. “But I’m an awesome-as-fuck uncle. How is my niece doing, by the way? Haven’t seen her around much lately.”
My hand faltered as I let out a sigh. Lukas always offered to watch Harper when I needed him to, and she loved going out there to visit his hoard of animals. “Yeah, it’s rough this time of year, ya know? This is about the time Sarah?—”
“Walked out,” Lukas finished quietly. He knew every sordid detail of my ex and I splitting. He’d been there to take care of Harper when I physically couldn’t get out of bed, and he’d made sure I ate when I’d rather have wasted away. “No, I get it. Losing a parent is rough. When my dad died… Well, it wasn’t his choice to leave us. I knew that. Could rationalize it, even.”
“Can’t really rationalize this, though. Makes no goddamn sense, walking away from your own kid,” I groused.
Ever since the divorce, my daughter had struggled to find balance. Her life had been uprooted, torn from her childhood home because I couldn’t afford the mortgage payment by myself anymore, and her mom wanted nothing to do with us. Sarah moved to the city, choosing to follow dreams of her own, which apparently didn’t include her husband or her child. These days, Harper was lucky to get a text on her birthday. Her mom never called. Never sent gifts. It was like we didn’t exist. While I wasn’t wasting my days pining for a woman who, looking back, I knew was never going to stay with me, our daughter felt the absence of her mother something fierce.
“You know I’m always here for you,” Lukas said after a beat. “Y’all can stay in the guest house?—”
Before he could finish, I was already shaking my head. We’dhad this argument more times than I could count. “We’re good here, Luke. Told you that.”
“You’re sleeping on your goddamn couch, Duke. A couch I know damn well isn’t comfortable.”
He was right, but I wasn’t about to admit it and acknowledge another failure. Another thing I couldn’t fix.
Six months ago, Harper and I moved into the small cabin behind Frank’s bar. It came with the property, so I figured I ought to make use of the damn thing. There was only one bedroom, which meant I was, in fact, sleeping on the too-small couch every night so my daughter could have her privacy. I thought it might help get her back to her old self, but it only seemed to make her sadder. The only time I saw her smile these days was when she was around her best friend.
“How goes things with you?” I asked, changing the subject. If there was one thing Lukas wouldn’t do, it was push things after I’d drawn a line in the sand.
Lukas blew out a long breath. “John’s sick.”
“Aw man, I’m sorry. What’s he got? The flu or something? Heard that’s going around.”
“No,” Lukas said after a long moment. “End stage liver failure. He’s declined all treatment. Doc said three to six months.”
My eyes closed as I processed the news. John Hart was a stand-up guy. Literally one of the best I’d ever known. After Lukas’ dad died, he took on the parental role Lukas and Olivia needed while their mother lost herself to grief. Not only that, but John had helped my uncle since he was elected mayor of Pinecrest over fifteen years ago. Together, they’d helped transform our little town into the tight-knit community it was today.
Why did the worst things happen to the best people?
“Christ, man. I’m so sorry. What can I do?”
Lukas laughed, but there was no warmth to it. “Want to see if you can convince the old bastard to do a liver transplant?”
“He refused?” I asked in shock. “Why the fuck would he do that?”