Breaker

"Tell me a happy something, Sutton."

I was only seven the first time Grady Bowen whispered those words to me. Cloaked by the black sky under a blanket of stars, it was easy to get lost. He didn't have any good memories of his own and needed to borrow mine. I would willingly give him anything.

Being infatuated with that boy was a beautiful curse. What could have been special didn't get the chance to bloom. He'd never see me as more than his best friend's kid sister. That was a hard lesson to learn, but not the most difficult.

Grady had always been struggling against the odds. Eventually he quit fighting and let his family's reputation own him. Try as I might, those influences were beyond my reach.

He didn't mean to break my heart. Or maybe he did. I shouldn't have made it so easy for him. Either way, our wrongs against each other carved new lines between us.

I went four years without seeing Grady-each one more painful than the last. That distance did nothing to dull my feelings toward him. But things are different now. Most noticeably is Grady. I barely recognize this man he's become. And that's the way he intends to keep it. Not that it really matters.

Grady Bowen stopped being my happy something long ago.