wrong. It doesn’t even come close.”
He had to stop her, partly because he needed to get Justin…but mostly because he didn’t want to hear her truth.
“Betty—“
“I’m talking and you need to listen to me. You need to listen very carefully. I used to think your problem was that you thought you didn’t deserve happiness. But I don’t think that’s it.”
He scowled and considered hanging up. And that damn pain was back, sliding across his temples making him wince.
“I think you’re afraid of it. Happiness, I mean. I think you’re afraid to grab it because you had it once when you were small, when your mom was still around. You had it and then you didn’t.”
Matt’s mouth was clenched together so tightly, now his jaw ached as much as his temple.
“You don’t want Grace in your life because you’re afraid you’ll lose her. I get it, Matt. I really do. But the thing is, if you don’t take that chance. If you don’t accept her love, which, trust me, you’re damn lucky to have, you’ll never know.”
“Never know what?” he asked, forcing his vocal chords to work.
“You’ll never know that all along you were wrong about pretty much everything.”
A few seconds ticked by. “I gotta go and deal with this.”
“You’re running again,” Betty Jo said softly. “Promise me you’ll think about what I said. Promise me you’ll think about being happy.”
“I’ll call you when I’m back in New Waterford.”
Matt slid the phone back into the pocket of his jeans and got out of his truck. His legs moved slowly, and he had to take a moment to get his bearings. He needed to focus.
He pushed aside his conversation with Betty Jo and made a concerted effort not to think about Grace. He could only deal with one thing at a time, and Lord knows the next few days were going to be brutal.
A small dog shot out of nowhere, barking crazily as it ran across the yard and then disappeared around the corner. Matt strode up the walkway and hesitated at the door. Did he knock? Did he just walk in? He decided to do both and was just about to knock when the door slowly opened and he found himself face to face with a much younger version of himself. It was uncanny.
The kid was tall and skinny, with dark hair that hung to his shoulders and a pale complexion that emphasized the bruises under his eyes. That told Matt a lot. The kid was walking the same path that he’d walked nearly twenty years ago.
“You been up all night, Justin? You high?”
“Who the hell are you?” The tone was belligerent, but Matt supposed the kid had ever right.
“I’m Matt.”
Justin glared at him and it was obvious he knew exactly who Matt was. “Why are you here?” Justin shot back, leaning to the side so that Matt couldn’t see into the house.
“Delilah told me to come get you. Your father is…our father…” Justin winced and Matt faltered. Shit. He had no clue how to deal with an already screwed up fifteen-year-old. “You need to come with me.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you.” His face was hard, and damn, it was like looking into a mirror. “What do you care anyway? It’s not like you ever came around before.”
Matt took a step forward and Justin had to move back. He shoved past the kid and walked into the house. “I’m going to be honest with you, Justin. I don’t really know what the hell it is that I’m doing here. It’s sad and screwed up that we’ve never gotten to know each other. I’m winging it here, and we’re both going to have to step up. To get through this, you’re going to have put aside all that shit. Because that stuff we can deal with later.”
Justin shoved his hands into the front of his pockets. He hunched his shoulders and Matt was again struck by the similarities. This kid was his brother. Justin didn’t say a word, but his posture screamed out his pain.
“My mom sent you?” he asked, his gaze meeting Matt’s once more.
“Yes. She’s at the hospice.”
Justin snorted. “I’ll believe that when I see it.”
Matt frowned. Something wasn’t right. He walked down the short hallway to the kitchen and noted the pile of dirty dishes in the sink and more on the counter. He opened the fridge which was mostly empty and than wandered down the hall to the bedrooms. He passed a laundry room overflowing with clothes