“Enough.” Braxton glared from one brother to another. “We'll discuss this once we've all had a chance to think. Bringing up Anna won't solve the problems.”
Anna. The woman Braxton had been engaged to until she'd shown her true colors and left Braxton days before the wedding. She'd run straight into Rand Stevens's waiting arms. The two were both shallow, and Zach hoped they were miserable together for many, many years.
“I've thought of Braxton, but we can't let that situation stop us from using common sense here.” Liam came to his feet, hands on his hips and blue eyes blazing. “I'm getting that headache off our hands. We've already paid the mortgage on it this month and still have the taxes due. I'm done.”
“Fine. Then be done with it. I'll cover your part.” Good thing he had a chunk in savings, but even that would run out if he didn't come up with a plan. “Consider yourself dismissed.”
Braxton rose, holding up his hands. “This is a record. You two went five whole minutes without griping at each other. We'll give Sophie a definite answer in a week. Can we all stop and think about what Chelsea would want us to do? Leave my past out of the decision making.”
“Chelsea wouldn't want you guys fighting,” Sophie muttered.
Zach's eyes cut to her. Her face had paled, showcasing the dark circles beneath her eyes. Damn it. Why did her silent vulnerability always make him feel like a bastard?
“I'll take a week.” Zach agreed with Braxton. “But I'm not changing my mind. Selling is a bad idea right now.”
He turned to go, when Sophie called his name. Glancing over his shoulder, two sets of eyes were on him. Liam kept his back turned.
Zach raised a brow, waiting for Sophie to say something. Was that moisture in her eyes? She blinked twice, as if willing unshed tears away. Pushing away from her desk, she came to her feet and straightened her shoulders.
“Don't be stubborn about this,” she told him, her voice calm and controlled. “I know Chelsea wanted this house, and I know Braxton has issues with the mayor. The past can't be changed, and Chelsea would understand that you guys have no use for the property.”
Zach said nothing as he turned and walked out of her office. He'd barely cleared the door before he heard Braxton say, “That went well.”
Exiting the building, Zach actually agreed. He and Liam hadn't thrown punches, as they'd been known to do on the rare occasions they'd been together. And Zach had managed to avoid the giant elephant in the room.
Sliding behind the wheel of his work truck, Zach brought the engine to life. Gripping the steering wheel, he looked down at his hands. The scars crisscrossing his knuckles always reminded him how he'd fought to save those he loved and how he'd severed any bond they'd once shared.
Yeah, that went well in there, considering they were all broken people with very different views of absolutely everything.
Zach was not looking forward to more chitchats with his brothers over this, and he sure as hell wasn't wanting another encounter with Sophie. He couldn't handle being that close, not when he still wanted her despite their past.
* * *
Sophie let herself into her cottage, all while juggling four grocery bags full of total crap food that had an insane amount of calories. This day called for ice cream of epic proportions as well as salty chips to follow, for the perfect balanced diet.
Kicking her front door shut, she headed toward the back of the house and into her kitchen, where she dumped her purse and the bags on the center island. Digging through her purchases, she was torn between the chunky chocolate chip and the strawberry with the cheesecake bites.
“Decisions, decisions,” she muttered as her cat, Flynn, slithered against the back of her legs.
Choosing the chocolate for nowâbecause chocolate was a staple for emergenciesâSophie put the other ice cream away for later. She didn't have to settle for just one pint tonight, right?
Toeing off her ballet flats, she padded to the living room, where she sank onto her bright red sofa. Having all three Monroe brothers in her office had been quite an experience. They were all so different, but the stubborn trait was one common thread. She'd known calling them all in at the same time would be risky, given the ever-present tension between Zach and Liam, not to mention her own issues with Zach. She'd also known she was taking a big chance with upsetting Braxton, but she knew that of all the brothers, he was the most levelheaded and wouldn't blame her for being the messenger. She really was trying to help, not stir the proverbial pot.
Selling the estate on Sunset Lake was a perfect opportunity for them to get out from under the burden of Chelsea's property.
Sophie and Chelsea had been best friends since grade school when the Monroes adopted Chelsea. When Zach was twelve, the Monroes had taken him in as well, rounding the number of kids to four.
Mr. and Mrs. Monroe were saints. They'd adopted three boys and a girl, none of them biologically related, and had raised them as a united family.
From the beginning Zach had sparked her attention with his quiet, mysterious mannerisms. Since she'd known him he'd been a man of few words. Like today in her office, when he'd propped himself up on one shoulder against the wall and simply stared at her beneath heavy lids. Zach was the type who observed, and it was anyone's guess what went on in that head of his.
Sophie had grown up perfectly proper, with church on Sundays, her parents belonging to the right social groups, and straight A's through school. Yet everything about her life felt boring and stuffy. The moment she'd met Zach, she couldn't help but be drawn to him.
Sophie and Chelsea had instantly clicked when they'd met on the playground. They'd bonded over their schoolgirl crush on Beau Skeens. He'd had a Mohawk. A kid with a Mohawk was beyond cool, and Sophie and Chelsea had both giggled behind the swing set while they watched Beau play basketball. From then on the girls were inseparable.
And when she'd gone home with Chelsea after school one day a couple years later and saw Zach, that infatuation with the bad boy continued. He sat, scowling, at the Monroes' kitchen table until Chelsea punched him in the arm and told him to smile because this house would be the best place he'd ever want to live. Then she'd invited him to walk to the Dairy Dream for a milk shake.
Yeah. Sophie had fallen for the boy who seemed to have a chip on his shoulder, but could be talked into a double chocolate shake by his new perky sister.
While Sophie had been raised to worry what others thought, Zach didn't give a damn. As a teen, she'd wondered how well that would go over with her proper parents, if she just threw caution to the wind and worried about what made her happy and not the rest of the world. Chelsea had hinted more than once that Zach would be good for Sophie, and vice versa.
Nearly a decade had passed since she and Zach had finally stopped dancing around each other. They were heading toward something that could've been remarkable, when all of their lives changed in an instant. Since then, Zach Monroe treated her as if she had the plague, as if he couldn't stand to be in the same room with her. He'd pushed most people away and nearly worked himself to death . . . and all of that was after he'd gotten out of jail.
Swearing off bad boys, silent seducers, and that pull toward the mysterious, no matter how heavy the temptation, Sophie had opted to move on. For a while she'd been afraid to date, afraid for a man to see the scars she had hidden beneath her clothes. Eventually she realized the scars weren't going away and she needed a social life. She'd been dating Martin for six months, and they were quite compatible when they could squeeze in dates between their busy schedules. Well, they weren't so much compatible as they shared similar backgrounds and Sophie's parents loved him.
But lately she'd been wondering if there should be more to a relationship. Shouldn't there be sparks or . . . something?
Flynn jumped onto the sofa and curled up next to Sophie.
“Great, I'm the cat lady,” she muttered against the next bite of ice cream. “I'll die old and alone. You'll probably outlive me.”
She sighed as she dug in for another spoonful. She needed to call Martin and let him know the guys were going to think about the offer. With the way Zach had left abruptly, and Liam still dead set on selling, she truly had no idea which way this decision would go.
Sophie's cell chimed from her purse she'd left in the kitchen. Normally she'd ignore it, but she had several new listings and she was known for being prompt and professional.
Eyeing the carton of ice cream, she silently promised to return soon. Running as quick as she could allow herself, she pulled the phone from her purse and smiled at the name lighting up her screen.
“Hey, Braxton,” she answered.
“Hey, Sophie. Are you busy?”
His rich tone flooded the line. Of all the Monroe boys, Braxton was the peacemaker, the comforter, the “brainy” one. Braxton and Liam had always been like brothers to Sophie. They'd always treated her as family, and their friendship ran deeper than any bond she'd ever had with her own family.
Then there was Zach. Regardless of the anger she held toward him, there was always some nugget of attraction. After all this time, she figured it was just something she'd have to live with.
And her anger didn't stem from the accident. Her years of rage stemmed from him blocking out those who cared for him, those who needed to get through the emotional mess with him. Did he even wonder how she was doing, after all that happened? Did he even care that she'd cried and cursed and broken things when he wouldn't see her?
Gripping the phone, she focused on Braxton and pushed his frustrating brother to the back of her mind.
“Just digging into a dinner of chocolate-chunk ice cream.” She made her way back to the couch. “I'm good at multitasking, though.”
“I cannot figure out how you live on junk and don't weighâ”
“I'd watch what I said about a woman's weight,” she warned with a laugh. “I assume you didn't call to discuss my pounds or my warped version of dinner.”
“Yeah.” Braxton's sigh came through loud and clear. “I wanted to apologize for everything earlier. I know you're just trying to help.”
Propping her feet on the low coffee table, Sophie settled deeper into the corner of her couch. “You may be the most considerate man I know. I put you in an awkward position and you're calling to apologize to me?”
“You were just giving us all the information so we could do what we wanted,” he told her. “I actually appreciate that you didn't dance around whatever I would be feeling. It's Zach and Liam's behavior that I'm apologizing for, though.”
“I know what I'm getting into with you guys. Liam already texted me and said he was sorry.”
“And Zach?”
Sophie laughed. “I think you know the answer to that.”
Even though she hadn't expected anything from Zach, his dismissal of her still stung. Did he honestly think he was the only one grieving? Not just Chelsea but years of emotions he held on to were surely going to break him at some point.
Not her problem. She'd moved on.
“I've backed out of playing the middleman with those two,” Braxton went on. “They'll have to actually discuss this if they want to come to an agreement.”
Sophie cringed. “Without you between them as referee, how will they have a conversation without shouting and one of them storming off?”
“They're adults. They'll figure it out.”
“As long as I can tell Martin something by next week, that's fine.”
“You'll have an answer,” he promised. “One way or another. I need to get to class, so I'll talk to you later. Just wanted to apologize for my asshole brother.”
“Can I ask what you're leaning toward?” Silence answered her question, followed by a sigh. “It's okay. Just think about it. I'm not judging you guys either way. I know this is hard for everybody.”
“Yeah, it is. That still doesn't give my brothers the right to go at it in your office. It also doesn't give Zach the right to be a jerk just because he can't get a grip on his emotions.”
Sophie dropped her spoon into the carton and set it on the table. “No worries. The animosity with Zach isn't new.”
“Sophâ”
“No.” She came to her feet, sending Flynn to the floor. “It's fine. I mean, it's not fine, but it is what it is. Zach has problems he needs to work out on his own. Apparently he's perfectly content to live inside that shell.”
“I wish someone would knock some sense into him,” Braxton muttered. “I'll call you in a couple days. Gotta run.”
Placing her cell on the arm of the couch, Sophie couldn't help but wonder what it would take to get Zach to see that life hadn't ended that night. Yes, mistakes were made, lives were altered. Why did he feel it was okay to hate the world, to push away those who only wanted to help him?
She had hoped the one silver lining to come from Chelsea's death would be Zach waking up and seeing that life was fleeting and he still had people here who cared what happened to him.
Chelsea passed away four months ago, and the man was just as introverted and closed up as ever. How long could one person keep so much locked inside? Not to mention his past, before he ever came to live with the Monroes. Zach was a walking bundle of angst when he'd arrived in Haven, Georgia. Then life happened and added even more.
One of these days his emotions were going to explode. Sophie found herself wondering who would be there to catch him when he broke.