2. Nash

2

NASH

" W ell?" Summer finally manages to say.

Those are her first words? No hello?

Summer's eyes blaze open, and a thin line draws on her lips that are a shade of pink with a glaze of lip balm. Realizing that I'm glancing at her lips, I snap my sight up to study her brown eyes and the way her dark blonde hair forms a trail around her face, hiding the small scar on her forehead.

Shaking my need to soak in the image of her and the fact my chest constricts, I stay firm in my stance and decide to get right to it. Where do we pick up, anyhow? "I met with the lawyer."

"No shit. Not really news." Sass? That's the emotion she's choosing to give me right now?

But it causes the corner of my mouth to tug slightly from amusement. "I've been made executor of Zac's will." The document that we were told to wait to open.

It should have been an old game collection he left me or asking me to put money aside for Bo's college fund. Or he could've left me his stocks, but my brother always had thoughts that he kept to himself. It's just the logic behind this request that has me muddled, with no clear reasoning in my brain.

Summer stands tall, with her arms crossed around her chest, and with that t-shirt, it causes her breasts to lift, which I notice because I'm apparently an immoral person when it comes to this situation.

Creases form between her brows. "He never shared that with me."

I nod subtly once and swallow because the start of our rollercoaster of what-the-fuck moments is about to begin. "And also..."

She gawks at me. "Care to elaborate?" Summer has her feisty A-game on today.

"He requested that I move in… with you… for six weeks."

Her body completely freezes.

She's shocked, and quite frankly, so am I. This is not the news I imagined I would be delivering today.

A croak escapes Summer's throat as her mouth cracks open; she seems to be digesting the news.

"No," she states firmly her delayed response to my bombshell.

"Yes," I sigh.

"No," she repeats.

"Yes," I volley back.

Look at us, already quarrelling. She throws her hands up into the air. "Why the hell would he request that?"

I scan the area and wonder why it is so quiet today at the Dizzy Duck. I should probably take more interest in my tiny investment. My parents sold off the Dizzy Duck under the contingency that a small part was kept in the family. Since Zac had no interest, I kept 10%. Two other hockey guys completely took over the place, and I already knew them well enough.

Pinching my nose, I'm reminded that the only route of escape is turning my back on Summer. I mean, maybe jumping on a rowboat could be an option, but that seems kind of extreme. Hesitantly, I take a few steps in her direction to close our distance. Closer is my undoing around her.

"It's his request," I recap.

"I'll contest it," she says tightly.

I glide my tongue along my inner cheek, doing my best to stay calm. "Really? Of all the things, that's what you want to waste your time on? You know your desire to honor his wishes will only stop you from picking up the phone to call a lawyer anyhow."

Summer rolls her eyes while her shoulders drop, knowing damn well I'm right. "Are you going to follow it?"

Scratching the back of my neck, I go over the thoughts I had running through my head on the drive over. Zac was my little brother; I always felt a protective nature over him, but now he has asked me to take care of what he held so precious and close to his heart.

But it's Summer…

"My hockey career finished a year ago," I highlight.

I never played for the Spinners, the team that practices here in town, my career mostly took me to Michigan. Not to say I haven't spent many hours on the ice here in Lake Spark. "Besides, I have a tiny stake in the inn, too."

She chirps a laugh. "Now you want to take interest in the inn? That's rich, considering you didn't seem to have a lot of time for your family before."

I step forward, feeling a charge of regret and anger. "That's not true," I defend. But I'm not sure why I'm attempting. I've been a little more than absent over the past few years.

Summer stands with her hands in fists hanging at her sides. "Really? At the funeral you hid in the back. When Bo was born, you didn't even visit." Nor could I watch Zac and Summer together after they eloped or while they held their son together. "Just like you didn't when Zac was sick. How many times did you visit him then?"

My palm soars up to calm her. "More than you realize. Damn, Summer, you know I saw him a few times in private."

Just not enough.

She scoffs at me. "Away from my watch, right?" Her voice is soft and subdued, her eyes dropping low.

A long silence floats in the air as we both relay the facts of history in our head.

"He loved you." More than I could, or at least that's what I tell myself to dull the pain.

She strikes her glance up to me with tears pooling in her eyes. "He did love me, and I loved him… but you know it's not…" She hesitates doesn't finish her sentence.

It's Summer. She and Zac were close friends since they were probably thirteen. She always looked out for him when they were teenagers. And for that, she held a high position in our hearts.

In high school, she ignored social hierarchy and was kind to everyone. Zac had been sick, in and out of the hospital for cancer treatment more times than I care to count, and every single time she showed up with the right movie or care package to make him happy. They were always friends, until recently.

The only thing Summer has ever done wrong is…

Stopping myself, I divert my thoughts away from facts that nobody knows except her .

"We're both in a situation we never planned on. You're a widow now and?—"

"Don't you dare say it, Nash." She walks past me, and I follow her trail before she turns back to me, frustrated. "What? Am I not playing the part of a grieving widow enough? Do I look like someone who needs a man to sweep in and save her?"

I bring my hand to my hip while I swipe the other across my stubbled jaw. "It's his request," I reiterate.

Way to go, Nash, saying that for the thousandth time.

"You were his wife, he… I also spoke with my mom."

She eases a smidgen. "I'm in contact with Walter and Gail, update them a few times a week via text about Bo. I guess they need space to mourn, and that's why they're staying at their vacation house in North Carolina."

My lips twitch from the fact that they are hurting, too. Zac, the favorite son. They always had a better relationship with him, I can't deny that. "They want to stay there for a change of scene, and they've decided to sell their house here and want me to handle that." Her mouth forms an O shape. "And… they are worried about you. You're alone in taking care of their grandson."

Her sound of anger hits my ears at record speed. "Don't," she barks out. "They wouldn't try to take him from me, would they?"

I'm quick to clarify. "Absolutely not. It's just… they also want me to ensure that you and Bo are okay."

She tosses her arms up in the air. "Can everyone in your family get a grip? My family too. My brother checks in nearly every day in place of my parents who are always MIA. I'm fine, not made of glass. I've mourned, and I refuse to feel guilty for finding a routine again."

It's a long pause because I'm mulling over if I believe her. " They care. I ca— Watching out for you is what your husband would have wanted."

Her eyes shoot to mine. "Nash, I don't want to talk about my marriage or my late husband."

But he got you, and you had a baby with him.

"You two were always going to be something."

She begins to pace back and forth. "That makes it easier for you, doesn't it?"

That boil begins inside of me, and only she can cause it. "This isn't about me."

"It is. Because you know Zac and I always cared for one another?—"

"He was madly in love with you," I state the truth, and it was my downfall too.

She laughs cynically to herself. "Maybe so, but he and I…"

"What? Just roommates who shared a bed?" Now I sound like a jealous son of a bitch.

Her jaw drops, as it should because my sentence came from the offside, even for me.

"You would think that, wouldn't you," she snarls.

"No point in arguing this. We have a wish to fulfill."

She shakes her head once, twice, with astonishment flooding her face. "You're really going to do it, aren't you? Move into the home Zac left me. You feel some sort of guilt and now here we are."

Now I'm fuming, and I step toward her, towering over her petite frame with her eyes sliding up to meet mine. She smells of mango, a peculiar smell, but that's always been her shampoo… always.

"It's not guilt."

Summer jabs her finger against my chest, her stare carving into me. "It is. Because you're the one who let me go— You changed the path."

I'm quick to grab Summer's wrist, and her breath catches. I swear my chest is about to burst from the spike of my pulse, and I do at least 100 reps on the bench press on a daily basis to raise my heart rate. "Now isn't the time to rehash events," I warn her.

Crap. Are we having a confrontation for the whole world to see? The guests on the second floor must be getting a show.

A sly smirk begins to form on her beautiful mouth, and it concerns me but sucks me in all the same. "We'll have to eventually if you plan on living back in Lake Spark."

"But not today." Our eyes are in a tight latch again, and the air seems to evaporate around us. This is why I've stayed away. "Does it matter anyhow?"

"Nash, what have we been thrown into? What has your brother done?" Her voice grows delicate.

"Damage, without even knowing it," I rasp.

The joke's on us, it has to be.

"He always loved games." Everything softens inside of her. "Gosh, remember how he insisted on playing the old-school version of that video game where the kid is a paperboy for like a week?" she reflects and has a small wry smile.

My entire body eases. "Such a geek like that. He should have been dating, he had the looks. Instead, he could master every single card game and boardgame, too. I do remember that he nearly lost it when you informed him that there was a second version of the game. And remember how he had those ridiculous drawings?"

We both chuckle softly, and the air around us lightens.

But then her eyes abandon me to glance down to see my hand still wrapped around her wrist. I drop my fingers away like a burn to the skin then clear my throat, and we both step back to create some distance.

She clears her throat. "Fine." Her tone is curt.

"Fine what?"

"If you suddenly feel like you owe something to Zac, then move your bags on in and get to know your nephew." She doesn't sound thrilled, more deflated. "That's the only reason. To honor Zac's wishes because he loved Bo, and he wants you to know your nephew. For Zac and Bo," she clarifies.

My tongue darts to the corner of my mouth. I could scream that Zac owes me more. Alas, right now, it's about Summer who just received the bombshell she was never warned about.

"I'm moving in." That's my answer.

Against all better judgment.

"Honorable," she snipes as she shuffles her feet and walks a few paces with her back facing me as she looks at the water along the side of the dock.

I go from zero to a hundred around this woman. Tormented, angered, then hopelessly at her mercy; if only she knew. "It will be good for Bo, and you'll get a little relief."

A bitter noise rumbles from her throat. "Relief? You've got to be kidding me. You've stormed back into my life on a full-time basis."

Staring up at the sky, I then bow my head from exhaustion. "Like you were with my brother on a full-time basis?"

Her head darts in my direction, with her fumed expression cannonballing into me. "Listen." She clenches her fists in pure anger. "Let's be super clear from the get-go. We all were close at one time. You and me? We were supposed…" Summer can't muster the words, and I don't want her to.

The pain drips from every word. "But you were a coward. Your brother and I were friends. He did feel more, and I loved him differently. I wouldn't change the fact that our marriage…" She keeps doing that, as if she realizes what she is about to say but she doesn't want to. "Zac got to experience a marriage and fatherhood," she simply states.

Only because I let him have you.

I close my lids tightly, only to open them, wishing I could turn the clock back. "Don't say anything more."

"Fine." She's not impressed.

I can't even respond, which she takes as her cue to end this conversation. Summer pivots and grumbles as she leaves. "See you at home ."

I can't help feeling that something isn't right. She's holding onto something she doesn't want me to know.