over her shoulders. “I was a selfish asshole, but do you know why else?”
“Because I wouldn’t put out for you.”
“I was definitely a horny kid, but that’s not the real reason.” He leaned his forearms on his knees, worrying with his hands, and said, “You planned out our life. You said we’d both go to college, then move back to Sweetwater, where you’d make your handygirl service into a full-time job. I’d become a fireman, we’d have two kids, a boy and a girl. Is any of this ringing a bell?”
She shook her head. “Definitely not.”
“Damn,” he said with a sigh. “I must have really screwed you up. Those life plans of yours were the biggest reason I cheated. I tried to break up with you by saying I was sick of you not putting out, but you were so stubborn. You argued with me, telling me that real relationships weren’t based on sex. Do you remember that?”
It was starting to come back to her now, the pain, the challenge of getting him to love her, the hurt when he’d cheated. But apparently Marshall didn’t need an answer, because he continued telling her about who she’d been.
“You scared the hell out of me, Piper. I was a stupid kid with anxieties that I didn’t understand, and you were so organized and ready to take on the world. But no matter what I did to show you we weren’t right for each other, you held on tight.”
“Well, I never held on tight again, that’s for sure.”
“Until my brother,” he said.
She clenched her teeth, fresh tears stinging her eyes.
“I’m sorry, Piper. I’m sorry for cheating on you and for hurting you. I didn’t realize I ruined your love of romance and your dreams of marriage. I take full responsibility for ruining your past, and I’d give anything to take it all back. Every hurt I ever caused anyone. But don’t blame Harley for my mistakes. He’s a good man, and he’s loved you for as long as I can remember.”
“Nice try, but we both know he barely saw me when I was younger.”
Marshall shook his head. “What is it about you two? You’re both too damn blind to see what’s right in front of your eyes. Do you remember my Jet Ski accident?”
“Right after we broke up. You got hurt pretty bad.”
“There was no Jet Ski accident. Harley beat me up for cheating on you.”
Piper’s jaw dropped.
“Yeah, the guy who didn’t have feelings for you. Remember when I dared you to streak?”
She nodded.
“I was stupidly bragging to him when he came home that weekend, and he roughed me up pretty good. How about the boat? Did he tell you he was the one who finished it?”
She shook her head, floored at what she was hearing.
“I blew it off and went out with my friends instead of working on it. He tracked me down, beat me up again, and told me to straighten my ass out and do right by you.”
“That doesn’t make sense,” she said. “When you left it in my yard, the note said you finished it for me.”
“Harley wrote it. He didn’t want you to be hurt because I’d dropped the ball, and he knew if he told you the truth, you’d be sad. He was saving you from me.” He raked a hand through his hair and pushed to his feet.
Jiggs lifted his head, watching him.
“I take full responsibility for hurting you, Piper, and for ruining your past. I can’t fix that,” he said regretfully. “But I can do my best to learn from it and try not to hurt anyone else, including you and my brother. He’s got a hero complex, Piper.”
“Watch it, Marshall,” she warned.
He held his hands up in surrender. “That can be a horrible thing, but in Harley’s case, it’s a good thing. He’s got a big fucking heart, and I sure as hell wish I could have inherited one-tenth of it. You’ll do what you want, but I’m sure somewhere inside you that teenage girl who looked at me with hope in her eyes is trying to climb out because she realizes my brother is the best man she’ll ever know. I hope you let that girl shine, Piper, because while your hurtful past is on me, if you let Harley go, your unhappy future is on you.”
He turned to leave, and she slipped off his jacket. “Marshall.” She held it out to him and said, “Can you take Jiggs to him? He should