The Mistaken Read Online Free PDF

only
natural.”
    I raised one brow. “Anything else?”
    “Yes.”
    I huffed at her stubborn sense of humor. “Yes
what?”
    This time, her response was little more than a
whisper.
    “Yes, Tyler, I’ll marry you.”

Chapter Four
    Tyler
     
    Looking back now, I could see that I was too
absorbed in my relationship with Jillian and had excluded Nick to a
certain degree. Of course, he was right, and I was relieved to have
finally taken my share of the blame for his accident. But when I
came to the States, I came to live out my dream, alone and
unencumbered by my family overseas. Then Nick followed me, and I
tasted bitter resentment—that he should intrude on my ambition, on
my dreams. And when it fell on my shoulders to constantly pick up
after his messes, I grew angry and even more contentious. In
deference to my selfishness, I had learned a hard lesson in the
end. Like it or not, my brother, Nick, would be forever at my side.
Knowing now how close I had come to losing him, twice in fact, I
decided to put all that bitterness aside. He was the only family I
had left, and I loved him.
    When I opened my eyes, I turned toward Nick. He was
rolled onto his side with his palm cradling his cheek, staring at
me. It still felt like an ocean lay between us, but with all the
unspoken words and resentment now out in the open, I felt sure we
could close the gap.
    “I’m sorry, Nick. A whole year gone. I regret not
saying something earlier. Guess it was just too difficult to admit.
I hope someday you can forgive me.” I stretched out my hand.
    He gave me a lopsided grin, made more so by his fat
lip, but it was still the same foolish smirk I’d known my entire
life, a little something he borrowed from our father. “It’s already
forgotten,” he said, accepting my apology with a tender handshake.
“I’ll always be there for you, brother.”
    I smiled. “Well I’m glad to hear that because…I’d
like you to stand up for me at my wedding in the fall. Would you do
that for me?”
    Nick looked genuinely surprised, happy even. Then a
shadow fell across his features. His brow knitted together as he
dropped his eyes to his hand fidgeting with the bed sheets.
    “Um…well…I’ll have to think about it, if you don’t
mind,” he said as he peeked back up at me. “I have a few things I
need to take care of as soon as I get out of here. I’ll give you my
answer then, if that’s okay with you.”
    I was stunned. I thought this was something he would
jump all over. He was always bugging me to do things with him. It
concerned me that he didn’t accept right away, and I was curious
what things he was referring to, but he rolled over and laid his
head back with his eyes closed.
    “Right,” I replied. “Whenever you’re ready
then.”
    I excused myself and walked down the hall for a much
needed cup of coffee. Jill called my mobile and told me she was on
her way, so we met in the hospital cafeteria for a quiet lunch. She
showed up, bridal magazines in hand, and shared all the pages she
had dog-eared with a bright light glowing in her eyes. I smiled,
but only half-heartedly, and told her what Nick had said when I
asked him to be my best man.
    Sadness replaced the glowing spark, and her bottom
lip pouted. “He’ll turn around, Ty. Nick just needs a few weeks to
recover, that’s all. He’s had a very difficult year.”
    I agreed with a solemn nod and kissed her cheek as
she left for an appointment. I felt a slight grip of loneliness
tighten about my heart as I watched her leave. Sighing tiredly, I
lifted myself from the chair and left to return to my brother.
    As I walked down the long hall, stepping around the
busy nurses and technicians as they scurried between patients, two
men I didn’t recognize walked out of Nick’s private room. One was
tall with a massive build, the fabric of his sport coat stretching
tautly across his broad shoulders. The other was older with thick
silver hair, a slight build, and impeccably dressed in