Chapter 1
Trey Brimmer
It had been a few months since I lost her.
My Rachel.
I’d spent years beside her—through hospital visits, countless doctors, and every high and low that came with the disease. It became our life. Mine and hers. A routine built around fighting something neither of us could win.
And I loved her.
God, I did.
But somewhere along the way… things changed.
Not all at once. Not in some moment I could point to and say that’s when it happened. It was slower than that. Quieter. Like watching someone slip away piece by piece while you’re still standing right there, holding on.
The girl I fell in love with… she faded.
And in her place was someone I still cared about, still protected, still would’ve done anything for—but it wasn’t the same.
I hated myself for that.
Hated that part of me that noticed the difference. That felt it.
Because when she got sick—really sick—none of that mattered anymore.
I stayed.
Not because I had to… but because I promised her I would. Back when she was still her. Back when she looked at me like I was her forever.
So I stayed through all of it.
Every appointment. Every bad day. Every moment I wanted to break but didn’t.
I held her hand. I told her I loved her—and I meant it. Even if it didn’t feel the same as it once had.
And now she was gone. And all that was left was the silence… and the guilt that maybe I should’ve been more. Loved her better. Held on tighter.
Like somehow, if I had… things might have ended differently.
I had been staring at headstone for while now just trying to process this all. Like how do I move on now.
The guys and their wives and now little ones were all gathered around the cemetery for me and for her.
Chloe and Allie never met Rachel at her best, so they both were here for me. The boys and Andrea were here for us both. Austin knew Rachel a good bit of her life, where she was her. Colt knew her the whole time, we grew up and hung around each other our whole life.
I finally noticed Colt, Allie and their little daughter approach me.
My eyes dropped to the little girl in Colt's arms which is so weird. Colt used to be anti him having a family and being monogamous with a girl. “She has gotten bigger,” I said quietly.
“Too big,” Colt muttered. “Pretty sure she grows overnight just to mess with me.”
A faint smile played on my lips.I am so happy for my guys and their happy lives. I love seeing their families grow.
Allie reached out, brushing her fingers gently along the top of the headstone.
“Rachel would have loved all this chaos,” she said softly, glancing toward the kids and the now extended Kidd’s family.
I followed her gaze. Hunter and Chloe’s twins Emerson and Rose, were now trying to pull their cousin Harmony, who is Austin and Andrea's little one, into their game of tag, the three of them collapsing into giggles on the floor. The twins and Harmony were around 7 months apart.
I smiled, it was so funny how fast things change.
I let out a quiet breath. “Yeah,” I said. My voice rough. “She would have.”
Silence settled over us again. The wind stirred through the trees overhead, carrying the faint rustle of leaves.
After a moment, I crouched down and placed the bouquet I had been holding at the base of Rachel’s stone.
“Miss you, Rach,” I murmured.
When I stood again, my gaze drifted toward the path leading through the cemetery.
There was someone there. A woman. Dark hair fell over her shoulders, and her hands were clasped nervously in front of her like she wasn’t sure if she should interrupt.
I hadn’t expected to see her again.
Hell, part of me had convinced myself she wasn’t real. Just some quiet, steady presence that my mind had created to get me through those last few days. Someone calm in the middle of machines beeping and doctors talking too fast and everything slipping through his fingers.
But there she was.
Standing just inside the archway like she didn’t quite belong there—like she was debating turning around and leaving before anyone noticed.
I noticed. Of course I did.
My body went still before my brain could catch up, fingers tightening slightly around my wrist. The noise around him—the guys talking, Colt laughing about something—faded into the background like someone had turned the volume down.
Hailey.
I didn’t even know her last name. Didn’t know anything about her, really. Except the way she spoke softly when things got bad.
The way she never looked at me with pity—just… understanding. The way she’d been there when—
I swallowed hard, jaw tightening. Don’t go there. Couldn’t. Because she moved. Just a step. Small. Careful. Like she wasn’t sure she was allowed to be in my space anymore.
And something in my chest shifted. Not sharp like the grief. Not heavy like the guilt. Just… different.
And for the first time since everything fell apart… I felt something that didn’t hurt.
Then I gave her a small nod. Not much, just enough to acknowledge her.
She hesitated just, her gaze flicking around like she was looking for an escape route. Cole squeezed my shoulder and him and Allie went over towards the other group of our friends.
Everything in my chest tightened.
For a second, neither of them moved.
Then, slowly, like it took more effort than it should, I walked toward her.
The noise came rushing back in around him, but it felt distant. Muffled. Like I was moving through water.
By the time I stopped in front of her, I was close enough to see the slight tension in her shoulders… the way her fingers curled into the hem of her sleeve.
“Hey,” I said, my voice lower than usual. Rougher, defiantly rougher.
Smooth, Trey. Real smooth.
Her lips parted like she wasn’t sure what she was going to say until the last second. “Hi.”
God. It hit me all over again—how calm she sounded, even when she clearly wasn’t. That is the one thing that always drew me to her. When I was not calm, she was. She eased me and I had not had that in so long, and it scared me and still does.
I did not have that with Rachel, shit it's been so many years since I felt that calmness, and Hailey has been only one to allow that calmness to seep back into my sole and make me feel.... happy?
I shoved a hand through my dark messy hair, exhaling through my nose. “I… uh—” I huffed a short laugh at myself. “Didn’t expect to see you here.”
“Yeah,” she said, glancing briefly over my shoulder at my band and their families, before looking back at me. “I almost didn’t come.”
That shouldn’t have done anything to me. It did though.
My jaw tightened slightly. “But you did.”
Her gaze softened just a fraction. “I did.”
A beat of silence stretched between us—thick, loaded, not quite uncomfortable but not easy either.
I shifted my weight, lowering my voice. “You—everything okay?”
It wasn’t a throwaway question.
You could see it in the way her expression changed, something more real slipping through before she smoothed it over.
“I could ask you the same thing,” she replied quietly.
Fair. She did always know how to dish it back out to me.
He let out a breath, nodding once. “Yeah. That’s… fair.”
Another pause. Longer this time.
Like both of us were circling something neither of us quite knew how to say out loud.
Hailey glanced down for a second before looking back up at me. “I didn’t know if you’d… want me here.”
I frowned instantly, the reaction automatic. “Why wouldn’t I?”
Her shoulders lifted slightly, uncertain. “We didn’t exactly—” She trailed off, searching for the right word. “Talk. After.”
Right. That. Guilt flickered sharp and quick in my chest.
“Yeah,” I said, quieter now. “That’s on me.”
Her brows pulled together just a little. “Trey—”
“I mean it,” I cut in, not harsh, just… firm. Honest. “Things got… messy. And I should’ve—” I exhaled, shaking my head. “I should’ve checked in. At least.”
She studied me, her green eyes watching me intently, for a second like she was trying to decide if I actually meant that.
I held her gaze. I didn’t look away. After a moment, some of the tension in her shoulders eased.
“Okay,” she said softly.
Not forgiveness. But not rejection either.
And for some reason, that felt bigger than it should’ve.
I swallowed, glancing around briefly before leaning in just enough to keep their conversation between them. “You want to go out of the way somewhere, here for a minute? Talk?”
Her eyes flickered with surprise. “Out of here?”
I nodded. Looking off towards the end of the cemetery, away from prying eyes and ears. “It’s quieter. Less…” I gestured vaguely to the chaos of my band and their families, my family. “All this.”
Hailey hesitated. Not long.
Just enough to make my chest tighten again.
Then she nodded. “Okay.”
And yeah— That did something to me too.
