Chapter 30

The clouds rolled in, thick and heavy, as the wind blew. I rushed inside the house looking for Uncle Drew because I hadn't heard from him since he'd dropped me off at Chase's the other day. Three days had passed without work, which felt strange.

He was in his usual place on the couch, remote in hand, as he stared at his dumb talk shows. Max jumped off the sofa and ran to my side, sniffing my fingers. It was a little unusual that he hadn't greeted me at the door.

"You finally decided to come home?" Uncle Drew's voice was quiet as I crossed the room.

"Yeah. Was sort of hoping you would have called with work. When you didn't, I figured you were giving us some time."

My uncle chuckled and then got up from the couch. He grabbed his glass of water from the table and took it to the kitchen. He sat it on the counter and then leaned against it. Max remained by his side throughout, with his big dog eyes looking up at him.

The whole scene felt off. First the weather today and now my uncle wasn't acting like himself. "Are you feeling okay?" I asked, crossing the room and placing a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm just tired. I haven't been feeling my best the last couple of days. Might be coming down with something."

I nodded, let him refill his drink, and headed back into the living room. People got sick all the time, so I did my best to shake it off and went to my room to grab my laptop.

The rain started as I opened it up and pulled up the website to start job searching again.

I hadn't planned to spend a lot of time looking for jobs. The hope had been that I'd go to Uncle Drew's place, and he'd have work for us. Rest was more important for him if he wasn't feeling well. I wasn't about to harass him.

The smell of cigarette smoke wafted in through my bedroom window. I'd left it open a crack because even with the bad weather today, the rain always brought a sense of freshness. I loved the smell it brought, and the sound helped me to relax.

When I stood from my seat and looked outside, Uncle Drew was leaning against the side of the house, his smoke dangling from his fingertips with his eyes closed. He looked at peace, though I worried about him. I'd always hated that he was so alone out here, but at least I was here with him this summer. Although, with the way things had been going, I was spending less and less time with him, despite my efforts the other day.

Maybe I could talk to Mom about it. I knew she hated it as well. She and her brother had been closer when they were growing up, and she never understood why he wanted to be so far away from everything. Other than how quiet things were, I didn't always get it. Something had to have happened to my uncle.

"You think I know how to talk some sense into him?"

I huffed as I collapsed onto the bed. Uncle Drew's health hadn't gotten better in the last few days, and trying to get him to go see a doctor was like pulling teeth.

"He's your brother. I don't know."

Mom sighed. "Nathan, if I had it my way, he would have sold all those properties, taken the profits, and been here in the city with us after that stroke."

Chase stood in the doorway with his arms over his chest as he watched me on the phone with my mom. Since I'd been so worried about my uncle, he'd stayed here with me, leaving only long enough to go take care of Oreo.

"I know, but it was worth it to try. Just see if you can talk him into it."

I disconnected the call and Chase sat on the bed next to me. He grabbed the phone from my hand and set it on the nightstand before laying his body across mine. He ran his fingers through my hair and kissed my face, attempting to distract me from my swirling thoughts. For all I knew, Uncle Drew just had a bad cold, but after what happened in college, I was terrified of it being something so much worse.

"Are you okay?" Chase asked.

I groaned before leading him to kiss me on the lips. "I don't know. He's pissing me off. I don't understand the whole macho ‘I don't need to see a doctor' act. I never have."

Chase sat up and I joined him, leaning on his shoulder and threading our fingers together. It felt so damn good to be with him like this. No need for anything else in such moments. Just the simple feeling of the connection and comfort between us.

"I think it's important to remember that he's from a generation where it was ingrained in men that they needed to be tough."

I snorted. "Hell, we were all told the same thing. It's bullshit."

"It really is."

Max came into the room, rested his chin on my lap as I rubbed between his ears with my free hand. He hadn't left Uncle Drew's side since he'd gotten sick, so it felt special that he was in here now. Like he knew I needed some comfort as well.

A knock came at the front door, so I rose to answer. I was shocked to see the pretty young waitress from the other night standing there in a sky-blue sun dress holding a pot of something. That same blush was still across her cheeks, but her long brown hair was down, framing her face instead of up in the ponytail it had been in at the restaurant.

"Hi. I'm Gabriella. I heard Drew wasn't feeling well..." She looked around for a moment before holding out the pot. "I've been told that my mother's secret recipe for chicken soup could heal anyone. So I brought some."

I grinned and stood aside. "Come on in. I'm sure he'd love some soup."

Gabriella smiled widely before stepping into the house and walking to the kitchen. I'd been pretty confident my uncle hadn't seen her before that day at the restaurant, but with the way she moved around his kitchen, I wondered how true that was. And if that was the case, what the hell was on that paper he'd given her the other night?

Chase looked confused to see her as well. "What's this?"

"I think... my uncle has a secret girlfriend?"

We both laughed but watched as she warmed a bowl of soup and walked it down the hall to my uncle. She seemed safe, so Chase and I made our way back to my room.

"Are we going to hang out here all day?" Chase asked. Before Gabriella showed up, my answer would have been yes. I didn't feel right leaving the house.

I grabbed my phone and shoved it into my pocket. "I think we're safe to head out for a bit."

We made our way out the front door and started walking to the beach. The weather was better after the rain the other day. It had been needed and there was a freshness to everything.

The sand was still damp beneath our feet as we made our way to the water. There was something about the ocean that called to us. It was like coming home. Finding our peace when everything around us seemed to be falling apart.

Unlike the last few times we'd been down here, there was no running and crashing into the waves. Chase met me at the edge as we held our shoes in our hands and then the fingers of his free hand laced with mine as we walked along the shore. The water rushed over our feet and it all felt like it was meant to be. The timing felt perfect, but when I turned to tell Chase what was on the tip of my tongue, it was as if he'd read my thoughts, and it wasn't what he wanted to hear. The panic in his eyes said that he wasn't ready. It was too soon. It was clear he wasnt prepared to fully let go of the hurt despite how well things had been going.

I still needed to find a way to change his mind.