And Then You Kiss (Crested Butte Cowboys Series Book 3) (22 page)

Blythe shifted so she could get her arm further around him, hold him tighter.

“All Jace said was that I needed to get here, as fast as I could, because I was about to lose my baby. What that did to me Blythe…I can’t even describe how I felt. Hope mixed with the worst kind of dread I could imagine. If something happened to our baby, because of me, I don’t think I would’ve been able to go on. I still feel that way.”

Blythe, who hadn’t said much, looked up at him. He knew she wanted to say something, but she seemed to be having trouble finding the words.

“What is it? Ask me, tell me. Whatever it is, I can take it. Even if you say you don’t want me here. I can take it Blythe.”

“Tucker—you have to trust me.”

How he wanted to believe it was that simple. He wanted to let himself love her—but the risk. That was what he struggled with. If he left now, and stayed out of their lives, she’d be okay, she’d raise the baby, find love, live a full and wonderful life. If he stayed, he didn’t know what might happen.

“I don’t see it that way at all,” she said. “I see a man who loved someone very much, who was hurt to his core, and then there was a terrible accident. And that’s what it was Tucker, it was an accident.”

He shook his head, but Blythe put her fingers to his mouth to quiet him.

“What about Rosa? Tucker, she was with another man. She loved another man. How was that your doing? Whatever she believed, or told her parents she believed, was born of her own guilt, not of who you are. You are not a violent man, there isn’t anything about you that is violent. You are deep, and complex, and mysterious—but you’re not violent.

“You’re right, I felt you, immediately. If you had told me this story that first night, when we had dinner, I would’ve said the same thing. I would’ve told you then that I didn’t believe you had that kind of anger inside you.”

“I don’t know—”

“I do.”

“How can you be so sure?”

Blythe reached for his hand. “Feel him,” she said, bringing his hand to where hers rested on their baby. “You made him, and he’s perfect. He’s everything that’s good in this world Tucker. And he lived. Against all odds, he lived.”

She kissed the tears rolling down his cheeks. “Tucker, he’s here to prove to you that you’re wrong about how you see yourself.”

“But what if I’m not wrong? What if—”

“No Tucker, there are no ‘what ifs.’ You have to trust us.”

“And what if I can’t take care of you? What if something happens to you because of me?”

“Tucker, listen to me. You have to trust us. Believe in us. It isn’t all up to you. We’ll take care of each other, all of us.”

***

Jace felt it. He knew Tucker told Blythe about Rosa. He was driving back from Crested Butte when it hit him. Now it was his turn. He had his own story to tell, and it would likely rip their lives to shreds.

Jace pulled in the driveway, and saw Bree sitting on the front porch. It looked as though she was reading a book. He didn’t know why he came here, and he didn’t know who he expected to find here when he did. Was he looking for Lyric? Or Bree?

There was something that told him Lyric would go easy on him. If he told her the story, she wouldn’t judge him. Maybe he was a fool for thinking so.

“Hey there,” he said as he got out of his truck. “Gettin’ a little cold for you to be sittin’ out here isn’t it?”

“I got caught up in my book I guess. I didn’t realize how late it was getting.”

He walked up to where she was on the porch and she stood. “Where’s Lyric?”

“She had some family stuff to take care of, but asked me to let her know if she was needed here and she’d come back.”

“Goin’ inside now?”

“Yeah, I think I will.”

He walked her to the front door, and held it open for her to go in.

“Uh, do you want to come in?”

“I would.”

Bree dropped her book on the island in the kitchen and opened the refrigerator door. “We don’t have much to eat. I could make you sandwich or something.”

“Nah, thanks, I’m not hungry.”

“Somethin’ to drink?”

“A beer would be nice, if you’ve got one.”

She pulled one out and handed it to him. There was still some white wine left in the bottle she’d opened a couple nights before. She poured herself a glass and followed him into the living room. She started to sit in one of the chairs when Jace motioned her over and patted the seat of the couch next to him.

“Come over here and sit next to me.”

“Jace—”

“Bree, come and sit down.”

When Jace woke up later, he had no idea what time it was. Bree was out cold on the couch next to him. They must’ve fallen asleep. He eased himself out from under her, reached down and picked her up. She felt as though she didn’t weigh a thing. He carried her into the bedroom and laid her on the unmade bed. When he pulled the covers over her, she stirred.

“Don’t go,” she murmured. He wondered if she knew she said it, or if she was dreaming. He stood to leave and she touched his hand. “Jace, please don’t go.”

He toed off his boots and stretched out on the bed next to her. She moved closer to him and rested her head in the crook of his arm. He held her close and they both fell back to sleep.

***

Blythe woke with a start. She didn’t see Tucker, but a nurse was checking her blood pressure.

“Um, did you see, uh, my boyfriend anywhere?” she asked the nurse.

“He left about an hour ago. He said he’d be back later this morning.”

He must have wanted to sleep in a bed, not on the corner of a hospital bed. She fell back asleep.

***

Jace woke up and looked at the clock. It was a little after five in the morning. His arm was asleep where Bree rested on it. They’d fallen asleep that way, and neither of them moved. He was so stiff, he doubted he could.

Bree felt so warm against him, in contrast to the coldness he felt building in his chest. Something was wrong, and as much as he wanted to stay huddled in her warmth and ignore it, he knew he couldn’t.

He eased his arm out from under her, and off of the bed. He hated to leave her this way, but the feeling of dread was not going away. If something had happened to Blythe, or the baby, he needed to know. He hoped and prayed that wasn’t it.

***

When Bree woke up, she was alone, and in her bed. She remembered falling asleep on the couch, with Jace. Had she dreamt that he brought her into her bedroom, or had she walked in herself and didn’t remember?

She could swear she asked him to stay with her. When she closed her eyes, she could feel him holding her as she fell back asleep. She must have dreamt it. Disappointment washed over her, but why? There was nothing between her and Jace, other than a shared love of her sister. They’d comforted each other in the absence of anyone else who could. As by default.

***

Jace took the back way from Palmer Lake to Mount Herman Road. He didn’t know the way; he kept heading southwest, toward the mountain.

It wasn’t long after the road turned to gravel that he saw another truck. He pulled up behind it; it didn’t look as though anyone was in it.

This was the sight of the accident. Jace remembered this curve; he could still see the scars it had left on the hillside.

He parked, and as he climbed out, he saw Tucker further up the hill. Jace made his way up the rocky terrain to where his brother sat on a big rock, head in his hands.

“Tucker,” he said. “I’m here.”

Tucker looked up at him, but didn’t speak. He didn’t need to, Jace could feel his anguish. He sat down next to him, and waited.

It wasn’t long before Tucker spoke. “She asked me to trust her,” he said. “I want to. I want to so much. I don’t know how to let myself.”

“Let go Tuck. Quit holding on so tight to something that isn’t there anymore.”

“I don’t know if I ever loved her, or if it’s turned into something so much bigger than it was.”

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t remember?”

“I remember.”

“Then how can you say you don’t know?”

“I wasn’t sure.”

“What do you mean?”

“I wasn’t sure if it was your feelings or my own.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Tucker—”

“Fuck.”

After all these years, the truth about that night was finally working its way to the surface.

Tucker walked toward the truck. He wasn’t sure he could drive, but he knew he couldn’t stay here with Jace. The pieces were beginning to fall into place, and when they finished landing, he didn’t want Jace to be anywhere near him.

“Tucker, wait.”

He couldn’t wait. He needed to get as far away from Jace as he could, before he did something that would only make it worse.

“Don’t leave. Let’s talk about this.”

Talk about it? Was he kidding? Talk about it now? Seven years. That’s how long it had been, and Jace wanted to talk about it now? No, they wouldn’t be talking about it now.

Tucker had the truck turned around and was about to head back down the mountain when Jace stepped out in the road in front of him.

He stopped the truck, opened the driver’s door, walked to where his brother stood, and swung with everything he had in him. When his fist connected with Jace’s jaw, he fell backward. Tucker grabbed his shirt, steadied him, drew back, and hit him again. This time he was sure he’d broken Jace’s nose.

He went to grab him again, but made the mistake of looking in his brother’s eyes this time. He couldn’t stand what he saw in them.

“Get the fuck out of my way Jace, or I’ll run you over.”

He walked back to the truck, put it in gear, and pulled forward. Jace was standing near his own truck, trying to stop the blood flowing out of his nose. Tucker didn’t give a shit; he kept driving.

***

Blythe gasped when Tucker walked into the room. “Tucker…is everything okay?”

“No. It isn’t. But it doesn’t have anything to do with you.”

Tucker ran his hand through his hair, and streaked blood through it when he did.

“Tucker! Your hand is bleeding.”

He looked at his knuckles. Yep, they were bleeding. “It’s nothing. It’s fine.”

Blythe reached her hand out to him. He walked over and took it.

“How can you keep doing this?”

“What?” she asked.

“Reaching your hand out to me.”

“I’ll never stop.”

“Why not?”

“Tucker, how can you not know?”

He knew, but he needed to hear her say the words. “Tell me,” he said.

She looked him in the eye and pulled him closer to her.

“Tucker, the reason I won’t ever stop is because I love you. And when you love someone, you never stop reaching out to them.”

***

Jace wasn’t sure what to do. He’d never felt so lost. All these years he hoped Tucker would move on from that night, find a way to get over it. He should have known he wouldn’t. At first, Jace waited to tell him until he was out of the hospital. He told himself it would be easier after some time passed.

Each time he decided to tell him the truth, he found another excuse to put it off. Soon it seemed as though it was too late. He’d put it off so many times, that it got to the point that he couldn’t explain to Tucker why he’d waited so long.

He should have a doctor check out his broken nose, but he didn’t know where to go. There was only one person he could think of to call who he figured wouldn’t make him answer many questions about what had happened. He hoped he could reach her. And that she was close enough to help him.

“Hey, it’s Jace,” he said when Lyric answered. “Sorry to call so early.”

“It’s okay, I’m up. Uh, you don’t sound too good.”

“Yeah, that’s why I’m calling. I think my nose is broken.”

“Oh my lanta! What happened? You practicin’ at six in the morning or somethin’?”

“Nah. This had nothin’ to do with a horse.”

“Uh oh. That doesn’t sound good either. Okay, where you at?”

“It might be better if I came to you. Where are you?”

“I’m at the house.”

“You are? I didn’t see your car when I left.”

“I got here a few minutes ago, but now I’m dying to know when you left that you didn’t see my car. Damn, did I ever hook up with the right folks. Followin’ along with all your drama makes my life look like a walk in the park.”

“You ain’t heard nothin’ yet.”

Jace hadn’t thought there would ever come a time that he’d willingly tell anyone what happened the night of Tucker’s accident, but for some reason, he knew Lyric was the first person he was going to tell.

“Let’s meet at the Speedtrap. Know where that is?”

He did. It was a coffee place only a couple doors down from O’Malley’s, right on the main drag.

“I’ll be waiting out front,” Lyric said before she disconnected the call.

“Hey there,” said Bree. “I didn’t know you were here.”

“Yeah, I just got here. And, uh, sorry ’bout this, but I’m leavin’ again.”

“Now? You’re leaving again now?” Bree looked over at the clock on the stove. “But it’s six in the morning.”

“Had a friend call. In a bit of trouble, gotta go bail him out.”

“Of jail?”

“No, not that kind of trouble. But, I don’t have time to get into it right now. I gotta go get him.”

“Uh, okay. Well, bye then.” Bree was pouting.

“Sorry Bree. I’ll see you later though. I’m going to see Blythe, at least that’s what I was planning on.”

“She’d like that.”

“Okay, I’ll catch up with you later. And, by the way, you don’t look so good. I think maybe you should go back to bed for a few hours. Get some more rest.”

Bree laughed. “Thanks Lyric. Nice to know I can always depend on you to tell it like it is.”

“Tell like I see it. Bye!” Lyric was out the door before Bree decided she wanted to come with her or something equally disastrous.

“Holy smokes!” she said when she saw Jace. “You aren’t kidding your nose is broken. Jeez! What’s the other guy look like?”

“Not a scratch on him, except maybe where his hand connected with my face.”

Jace’s nose was swollen to the point where Lyric might not have recognized him. “We gotta get you to an emergency room.”

“Uh, okay. But is there another hospital other than Memorial?”

“I think so, but why? Wait, you know what? Never mind, forget I asked. Get in the truck, and I’ll see if I can figure out the next closest.”

Jace wanted to thank her, but it hurt so much to talk, he didn’t want to keep trying.

“Thanks,” he managed.

“You got it. I tell ya, someday I am gonna write a book about you crazy Rice boys, might even throw Patterson into the story.”

“Not funny.”

“Wasn’t tryin’ to be. I am gonna write a book. You guys are too good of characters to pass up. Mark my words, it’ll be a runaway best seller.”

Jace added Lyric’s book to the long list of things he didn’t want to think about right then. In fact, he’d love it if he could stop thinking completely.

***

The next closest hospital wasn’t that far from the one Blythe was in. Lyric pulled up to the emergency room door and told Jace she’d park while he checked in.

Her phone pinged, this was turning into a very busy morning. She checked the number. It was Bullet’s. She didn’t have time for her brother right now, she was busy dealing with another twin. Bullet really screwed up this time, and even though Lyric told him she wasn’t going to help him out, she had. He’d have to try to handle things on his own for a little while. If she didn’t force him to, he might rely on her for the rest of their lives. He needed to grow up, and her stepping in all the time was keeping him from doing so.