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That was so the wrong answer, and she was seconds away fro up when Emma stepped between the out before her "All right, everyone in their separate corners I have no idea what’s going on here, but I think we need to talk about it somewhere else" Before Ava could reply, Emma had pulled her farther into the entryway and motioned for Brant to shut the door behind him Apparently, Brant had been too rattled to realize that the door was still standing open E room and Brant folloarily behind the around?" E back and forth between Ava and Brant

Instead of answering, Ava simply handed the envelope to Emma and watched as the other woman extracted the paper and read it When she was finished, she handed it back to Ava, again without saying a word Finally, Brant, never being one to enjoy strife, spoke up "Ava, I didn’t give you that letter because I didn’t want you to be hurt again You hadso well I was afraid it would bring back a lot of bad memories that you didn’t need"

Ava stared at her normally intuitive brother, utterly amazed that he too had fallen for her smokescreen Had he never once seen the cracks in her veneer? Dropping onto the leather chair behind her, Ava shook her head, trying to hold back tears "But that’s just it, Brant I wasn’t doing well I haven’t even been in the sa well"

Brant looked alaritation One of the things she loved about her brother was his desire to fix everything If there was a problem, he didn’t rest until he found a solution She could see hiure out what he could do to make it all better The proble him "Butyou work, you date, you have friends I don’t understand"

Eentle squeeze as she said, "Tell him the truth, Ava I think you both need it" Emma released her and then stepped over to kiss Brant on the cheek before leaving the roo the chair next to hers, Ava said, "Sit down, Brant I think we need to talk, and I’d rather do it without you pacing"

Brant looked as though he wanted to argue but instead took the chair that she had indicated "Tell me what I’ve missed with you, Ava," he said quietly

Ava took a deep breath, knowing that this was going to be hard on both of them She and Brant didn’t really have heart-to-heart conversations about their feelings or personal life, so this ard, but she needed hi a normal life since myrape" She saw the flinch that Brant was unable to hide at her words, but he kept quiet, letting her continue "At first, I just buried it all deep inside because that’s what I was ordered to do by Granddad I was too scared and ashamed to talk to anyone about it anyway

"Granddad made me feel like it was all my fault and that e couldn’t tell the police the truth He made sure he let me kno humiliated I would be if our friends and family found out I felt so dirty, like I was responsible for what happened to me

"For years, I buried it away as best I could and learned to pretend that it never happened As I started getting older, it beca to wonder why I never dated or had a man in my life" When Brant shifted uncohts "So I went to a bar in hopes of h around to spend tie student instead eet and felt sorry for, I had a steady line of youngto spend a few hours withrepairs or if nothing needed fixing, atched a aht I was functioning norot my sink drains fixed anytih his hair, Brant said, "Butwhy? Ava, I’ here I was ready to kill that little fucker Kevin for what he did to you, but Grandfather told me to leave it alone He said that you never wanted itKevin thrown in jail, it would ruin your life He insisted that I honor your wishes and leave it alone Ava, I was so sick over the whole thing, but I finally agreed to do what you wanted even though I daht He said it was your idea to have Kevin and his family leave because you didn’t want to face any of it"

Dropping her head into her hands, Ava simply shook her head "It wasn’t, Brant God, I was only a scared kid I was too traumatized to knohat to do I sure wasn’t in any shape to broker a deal with Granddad to salvageattacked that I couldn’t look at you or Declan And as for Mac, it changed everything there I had loved him for ood enough for hi near him but only on my terms I couldn’t let hi the way I looked that night when I crawled onto his porch and collapsed against his door"

"But Mac has always loved you, Av," Brant added "There’s never been anyone else for hih her tears, Ava admitted, "I know that now I think I always knew that he loved me, but I couldn’t accept it I didn’t kno to be loved by hi destroyed "I never knehat you were going through Sos or just have a certain look on your face and I would think to myself that I needed to see if you were okay But then I would see you again and you would seeo back to what Grandfather told me That you didn’t want to talk about what had happened and I had to respect your wishes So I didfor years Now I feel like an unfeeling, uncaring bastard"

"Brant, don’t," she began before he held up a hand to stop her

"It’s true, Av Maybe I just didn’t want to acknowledge as right in front ofwith anyone’s feelings, and I certainly had no idea how to handle so to my baby sister It’s no excuse at all, but I had no clue how to help you I’m so sorry that I wasn’t a better brother and protector to you"