Beautiful Oblivion (33 page)

“
Reese
.” Her father grits it out like a threat.

“I’m going to get my things.” She leans into my chest a moment. “I’ll be staying with Ace. He’s the one I care about, not Warren. It was never Warren.” She looks up at me with tenderness locked in her eyes. “I’m in love with Ace Waterman, and I always have been.”

Her stepmother crops up just in time to hear Reese’s declaration, and her face bleaches out. I’m sorry if it’s not the news she wanted, but in truth, it’s exactly what I needed to hear and it feels damn good.

I follow Reese up to her bedroom as she throws a few things in her backpack. She kneels at the foot of her bed and slips her hand into the mattresses, retrieving a small stack of letters.

“They’re from my mom.” She bows her head a moment before stuffing them into the bag. She gets up and lands her arms around my waist. A sad smile pulls on her lips. “Um, I guess I sort of invited myself, but can I stay with you tonight? If not I can find Bry—”

I touch my finger to her lips. “Tonight and forever.” I land a gentle kiss over her cheek and we leave the Westfield house through the back, away from the noise, the accusations and one seriously jacked up Warren McCarthy.

I’m taking Reese home, and I never want her to leave.

The lights are all on at the cabin despite the fact it’s well past two in the morning. As soon as Reese and I walk through the door, Neva wastes no time in scowling at us before barreling down the hall to her room.

“What the hell?” Dad stomps out in his boxers with his BB gun at the ready.

Shit.

I fill him in on what happened, and he heads toward the door and cranes his neck out at the lake.

“I’d better get out there to see if you killed anyone tonight.” He shoves the BB gun in my chest with a wry smile. “How many times have I told you to keep your nose clean? But”—he looks to Reese and his features soften—“I’m glad you’re okay, Reese. I don’t want anyone forcing themselves on you. Excuse me while I throw on some clothes.” He heads back down the hall at a quickened pace.

“Come here.” I press a kiss over her head and lead her to my bedroom. I snap on the tiny desk lamp next to my bed in hopes she won’t see that my closet has vomited out into the four corners of the room. “You can take the bed. I’ll sleep on the floor.”

“No way.” She rubs her hands up over my back and settles her eyes on me with the look of genuine affection. “If you don’t mind I’d like to jump in the shower—wash Warren off—but when I get out, I want to find you warming the sheets for me.”

“For you? I’d set myself on fire to keep you warm.” I wrap my arms back around her waist and gaze down at her with a pinch of grief. “Tell me what he did to you.”

“Nothing.” Her lips press together, white as plaster. “He tried to kiss me, and I artfully deflected his efforts.” She glances away a moment. “Then he tried to, you know—and he couldn’t.”

“Shit.” An instant rage pumps through me. “If I didn’t kill him, I’ll have to rectify that tomorrow.” I’m not fucking kidding.

“Please don’t.” Her lips curve up one side, and her tiny dimple goes off like a comma. “I don’t want you in prison because then we can’t do this.” She leans up on her tiptoes and lands a careful kiss over my lips. “God—Ace.” Her lids flutter a moment. “You saved me.” She tightens her grip around my waist and gives a hard sniff. “I’d better hop in the shower.” She wipes the tears from her eyes. “I want to scrape him off my body.”

“Take your time.” I land another kiss on her lips, and this time we linger.

“I love you, Ace Waterman.” She blinks up at me with those expectant blue eyes.

“I love you, too, Reese Westfield.”

She takes off for the bathroom, and I flop down on my bed. My back is still broken from hacking down a forest, not to mention rolling out a window.

A gentle knock erupts at my door before Neva pokes her head in. She glances around for signs of Reese, and I nod toward the bathroom.

“Did he hurt her?” Her eyes glisten with tears. She’s wearing a Winnie the Pooh oversized T-shirt, and her hair is combed back. Neva looks all of twelve, and a part of me is relieved she has the ability to morph back anytime she wants.

“Yes—almost,” I say, pulling up on my elbows. “I want you to stay away from him. He’s gutter trash.”

Neva averts her eyes as if she knows better.

“I know,” I grunt as I pick up my laptop. “He probably said the same thing about me.”

“He didn’t.” She looks nervously over at my bathroom. “He said he liked you. He said he liked Reese, that he
loved
her. He thought she was his—like he owned her or something. Look, Warren is a really nice guy once you get to know him.”

“He attacked her. He broke into her room and tried to force himself on her—
in
her. He’s not a nice guy. And I know him pretty damn well, Neva—so does Reese.”

“He was just wasted.”

“
Neva
.”

The water turns off, and any second now Reese is going to find me pelting my sister with a pillow to knock some sense into her. “He tried to fuck her without her permission.” I stare her down, confused as hell as to why she would stick up for his sorry ass. “You’re into him, aren’t you?” There’s no way I’ll even hint at the fact she might be in love with Warren. A thought comes to me, and I’m blindsided with rage. Warren said he was boning someone on the side, someone who was an expert at exactly what she was doing to him earlier. “Shit,” I seethe. “He’s using you, Neva.”

“You wish.” Her voice shakes. “Look, he had his reasons to overreact tonight. I filled him in on the fact she was whoring around behind his back with
you
of all people.”

“What the hell is that suppose to mean?” I get up and charge at the door.

“It means she’s using you. She thinks
you’re
gutter trash. That’s all we’ve ever been to her. And you can forget your fantasy that Warren is using me. What we have is special.” She rushes out of the room and slams the door in my face.

Reese comes out just in time to cool my temper. Her hair is slicked back, and she’s wearing nothing but a towel. I lock the door to avert another Neva inspired disaster tonight.

Reese glides on my bed and pats a spot next to her so I comply.

“It’s my birthday.” She lays her head on my chest, and I pull her into my lap.

“I would have bought you a thousand gifts if I knew. Some best friend I am.” I bring her hand to my lips and kiss it.

“You’re all the gift I need.” She glances down and interlaces our fingers. “I have something to confess.”

“What’s that?”

“That night we went skinny dipping, and I asked you to be my fling?” She lowers her lids a moment.

“Yes.” My heart thumps against my chest like a caged gorilla.

“I think maybe I misled you.” Her eyes needle into mine, and she doesn’t let up her gaze.

Oh shit. I hope this goes in the right direction, but if not, I’ll love Reese no matter what. I’m just glad she’s safe.

“I wasn’t totally honest with you that night.” She gives my hand a squeeze as a smile plays on her lips. “You see, for as long as I can remember I’ve been madly, achingly, desperately in love with you, Ace Waterman.”

I blow out a breath I didn’t even know I was holding. Every muscle in my body relaxes.

“I’m in love with you too, Reese. From the moment my hormones kicked into gear, I have been.” I brush my lips over her neck. “All that time, all this summer it’s been killing me not to tell you. I wanted to. Hell, I started to, but I would have bet my life this was a friends only deal, and I didn’t want to ruin anything for you. I would die if I lost you as a friend, Reese.” I stroke my fingers through her wet hair. “And I’m glad I didn’t.”

“I want to be with you, Ace.” She blinks back tears. “Out loud, in public, at home and at school. I want everyone to know that I’m with you and nobody else.” She tucks a smile into her cheek. “Is that taking things too far?”

“Not at all.” A dull laugh beats over my chest. “In fact, it’s not enough because I want the world”—I dot her cheek with a kiss—“the water, the forest, the fucking sky to know that we’re together. I want every person on the planet to know how much I love you, Reese.” My voice breaks with that last part, and I bite down hard on my lip.

“Really?” She shakes her head in disbelief, her eyes glossed with tears.

“Really.” I land my mouth over hers and indulge in an achingly sweet exchange. Her tongue touches mine, and I lose it. Reese and I lounge this way for what feels like hours. I dot kisses all the way to her ear. “This is real. What we have is something special.”

“Something special, for sure.” Reese presses out a mile-wide smile. “I want to share something with you. I hope it doesn’t freak you out.” She reaches down to her bag and pulls out a stack of envelopes.

“Did you get your letter?” A spike of adrenaline courses through my veins, and I’m happy for Reese more than I would be if it were me.

“Yup.” She plucks one out from the pile and waves it in the air. “My dad left it on my pillow before I went to bed. I saved it. I wanted to read it with you—safe in your arms.”

I tighten my grip around her, and my throat locks up with a knot the size of a fist.

Reese pulls the letter out and smooths over it with her hand.

“
Dear
Reese
,” her voice breaks as she starts, and I rock her into me.

“
Another year is under your wing and you’re already so much wiser. I’m sure with your father’s guidance, you’re shaping up to be the woman I always knew you were destined to be, strong, independent—knowing yourself so well you’d follow your heart to the ends of the earth if you thought it was the right thing to do. Sometimes in life we’re asked to make hard choices, sometimes that means not agreeing with what everyone else thinks and going out on your own to do the things you need to do, to be with the people you need to be with. A long time ago, I had two great loves. I followed my heart and chose one over the other because I knew he was the one I was truly meant to be with. I broke the other boy’s heart. He accused me of not loving him because he didn’t have the nice things your father did, but that wasn’t true. At the end of the day, your father’s warm heart and kind smile won out over the dark-haired boy who was a little rough around the edges. Some days it felt as if he liked the bottle more than he liked me.
The reason I’m telling you this is because you might find yourself between a tender hearted boy and someone else, and I won’t be there to tell you to follow your heart and do the right thing—to pick the boy with the kind smile because he will always love you best. Never compromise who you give your heart to. Once you give it away it’s hard to get it back. Give your heart away once and to the right person
—
to the one who loves you more than himself and lets you know how amazing you are each day, because if I can’t be there to say those very things then it’s my wish for you to find someone who will.

Be strong.

Be brave in all you do.

Put school first. Prepare yourself to be the success I know you will be. I’ll be watching over you, until we meet again.

I love you with my whole heart baby girl,

Love,

Mommy”

Reese breaks down and sobs into my chest, and I cry silent tears right along with her. I pull up the sheets, holding her all night like that, the letter folded in her hand as if it were a part of her mother herself.

A light knock vibrates over the door, and I rouse to find Reese in my arms, the early morning sun spraying over her beautiful face.

“Ace?” Dad’s voice thumps from the other side. “Mr. Westfield is here to see her.”

“Got it,” I moan, sealing a kiss over Reese’s temple. Her towel dislodged in the night, and she’s lying naked in my arms like a work of art. My boner tries to pop up to greet her just as she blinks into me. “Your dad’s here.”

“Crap.” She scrambles out of bed and throws on her dress from the night before. She rakes my comb through her hair and steps into her shoes.