Letting Go (Vista Falls #3) (22 page)

“I was hoping we could talk.”

“Sounds ominous,” she said, trying to ignore the knot of dread in her stomach. She didn’t want to hear Wes plead his friend’s case. Not today, when she was feeling so lonely and vulnerable. “What’s up?”

“Are you seeing Dave again?”

She tried not to be insulted that Wes could think she was capable of getting over a broken heart so quickly. “No, we’re just friends. Why?”

“Just checking.” He shoved his hands in his pockets, looking decidedly uncomfortable, which was a new look for Wes. He was usually so confident and self-assured. “Colt’s heading back to Houston tonight.”

Gabby’s head snapped up, but she quickly returned her attention to her arrangement. “Why am I not surprised? That’s what he does, right? He leaves.”

“It’s not like you gave him a reason to stay.”

“Can you blame me after what he did?” She sighed when she realized she was shouting. That wasn’t fair. Wes wasn’t the one she was angry at.

“No, I don’t blame you at all. You have every right to be pissed. But does that mean you’ll never be able to get past it, Gab?” Before she could answer, he said, “Just remember never is a long time. A hell of a long time to live without the man you love.”

He didn’t think she knew that? Over the past month, every day without Colt had seemed longer than the last. “How would you feel if Sage cheated on you? Would you be able to forgive her? Would you ever be able to trust her again?”

“Honestly?” He rubbed the back of his neck, looking tortured, as though thinking about the possibility made him sick. “I don’t know. I do know that I can’t imagine my life without her, so I guess we’d have to find a way to get past it somehow.”

“Then I guess you’re a bigger person than I am,” Gabby said, trying to swallow her bitterness. “Because I can’t figure out how to get past it. Every night when I fall asleep, I imagine him in bed with her, and it’s…” She cleared her throat when her voice broke. “It’s killing me, Wes.”

“I know, sweetheart,” he said, his voice gentle and soothing. “And there’s no doubt he did a really shitty thing, but he’s human. He was reeling. His dad just died. He was dealing with all that crap from his past, and he did what Colt always does. He got drunk. Unfortunately, there was someone there to take advantage of his vulnerability.”

“You think this was Brenna’s fault?”

“I believe Colt when he tells me he wanted nothing to do with her and she knew that.”

“Does it really matter what he said? What matters is what he did.” Gabby knew there were extenuating circumstances, but that didn’t excuse his actions. “If he needed a warm body and someone to comfort him, he could have come to me.” That was what hurt the most—he’d turned to a stranger instead of her.

“I know that.” Wes shook his head. “And he knows that. That’s what makes this whole thing so messed up. I can’t imagine him doing that, not when I know the way he feels about you.”

“Yeah, well, he did do it. And I’m sorry, but I can’t get over it.” When Wes rolled his eyes, she said, “You can judge me all you want, but until you’ve been where I am, you don’t know how I feel!”

“Fine, but—”

“No, I’m not finished.” She’d been waiting a long time to get this off her chest. While she’d have rather been saying it to Colt than Wes, she had a feeling her ex would get the message through his friend. “It would be one thing if we’d been married for ten years and he’d always been a responsible and loving husband and father. If he’d proven to me that he was someone I could depend on, someone who’d made a mistake”—she raised her index finger—“one stupid mistake, not a series of mistakes, then maybe, just maybe I could forgive him for cheating on me one time. But we both know that’s not what we’re talking about here. Colt has never been someone I can count on. And I need that in my life, Wes. I need someone I can trust and believe in.”

Wes seemed to consider her viewpoint for a minute before he rounded the counter and pulled her into his arms. “You’re right. I know you’re right, but I can’t shake the feeling that you and Colt belong together, honey. I can’t imagine either one of you being happy with anyone else.”

“Neither can I,” she whispered, feeling even more miserable at the hopelessness of her situation. “Neither can I.”

Gabby had agreed to meet Dave for a pizza after work, but she was exhausted and texted him to cancel. Since they were just seeing each other as friends, she was sure he’d understand. She’d talked to him openly about what had happened with Colt—after he assured her it didn’t bother him—so he knew she was still having more bad days than good days.

He texted back almost immediately.

Can I stop by your place? We need to talk.

Her fingers hovered over the screen as she considered her response. She wasn’t in the mood for company, but Dave had been a good friend to her since the breakup and she didn’t want to blow him off.

Important?

Very.

Be home in 20.

See you then.

As soon as she got home, she poured herself a glass of wine and waited. She wasn’t a big drinker, but ever since the fiasco with Colt, she’d been indulging more and more. She knew that was a dangerous habit she would have to nip in the bud. Just not tonight.

She took a deep breath when the doorbell rang.

“Hey.” She forced a smile as she held up her wine. “Can I interest you in a glass?”

“No thanks.” Dave hesitated for a beat as he looked at her glass as though he wanted to say something but thought better of it. “I know you’re tired. This won’t take long. I just had to tell you this tonight, before I backed out.”

After her conversation with Wes, she was emotionally spent, and the last thing she wanted was another heavy talk, especially if it involved feelings. Dave had claimed he was fine with them being friends, but every once in a while, she caught him looking at her as though he was hoping for more, and that made her uneasy.

“Let’s go into the living room,” she said, thinking of the last time someone had told her they wanted to have an important talk with her in that room. Colt had upended her life and stolen her dreams that day. She couldn’t imagine anything Dave might say that would have the same effect.

She sat on the sofa, tucking her legs under her, while Dave sat on the chair, leaning forward.

“So you know that me and Brenna went out a couple of times before you and I started dating, right?”

“Ugh. Do we really have to talk about her?”

“Yeah, we kind of do.” Dave let his hands hang between his bent knees and laced his fingers. “So she was kind of into me. In fact, she was pretty upset when I told her I couldn’t see her anymore.”

Gabby forced a smile. “I can understand that. You’re a catch.”

“Yeah, well, here’s the thing,” Dave said, running a hand through his hair. “I guess she, uh, kind of blamed you for me ending it with her.”

“Me?” Gabby hadn’t asked Dave to end it with Brenna. He’d been free to see anyone he wanted, but she supposed she could understand why Brenna may have assumed Gabby was behind his decision.

“Yeah, I didn’t realize it until I got to talking to one of her friends recently. Apparently she’s got a real mad on for you.”

Gabby tipped her glass back, draining it. “Yeah, well. She’s not my favorite person either, so I guess we’re even.” She narrowed her eyes at Dave. “Is that why she slept with Colt, to get back at me for—”

“She didn’t sleep with Colt.”

“What?” Gabby set her empty glass down and leaned forward, clutching her arms. “What are you talking about? Of course she slept with him. Colt told me—”

“What she led him to believe happened.”

She rubbed her forehead, trying to make sense of what he was saying. Was it possible that Colt hadn’t cheated on her? And even if he hadn’t, was there any chance they could put their relationship back together after everything that had happened?

“She had an agenda, Gabby. She’d set her sights on Colt long before that night. She was interested in him not only because he was yours but because he was rich and good-looking, according to her friend.”

“I don’t believe this.” She was certain plenty of women would love to warm Colt’s bed, but to go to the lengths Brenna had was pathetic.

“She saw her opportunity, and she took it,” Dave said, staring at his feet. “Colt was messed up because of his father. He’d had too much to drink, and she knew she could take advantage of the situation.”

“That little bitch.” But as angry as she was with Brenna, she was grateful to Dave. If not for him, she would never have known the truth about what had happened that night. “Are you sure about all of this? Is there any doubt in your mind? I mean, maybe her friend could have been lying—”

“I talked to Brenna myself. There was no way I would have come to you with this if I wasn’t one hundred percent sure.”

“And she actually admitted it?”

He curled one hand into the other when he said, “I, uh, may have given her the impression that I’d be willing to give her another chance, but I told her I couldn’t be with someone I didn’t trust. I told her if she’d be honest with me about what happened that night, I could look past it.”

“And can you?”

“Hell no!”

Gabby reached for his hand as tears blurred her vision. “So you did all this for me?”

“I saw how much you were hurting. What kind of friend would I be if I didn’t try to make you feel better?”

“Thank you,” Gabby whispered, reaching across to hug him. “Thank you so much.”

***

Gabby felt guilty for ringing Wes and Sage’s doorbell after ten o’clock at night, but this couldn’t wait ‘til morning.

When Wes answered, looking confused, she pushed past him. “I need Colt’s address in Houston. You said that’s where he went, right?” She could have called to get it, but she had to see the look on their faces when she told them what she’d learned.

“Uh, yeah. He went back to his house to—”

“He didn’t sleep with her.” Gabby hadn’t intended to blurt it out like that, but she couldn’t hold it in any longer. She didn’t know what this news meant for her and Colt, but it felt so good to say it aloud.

“What are you talking about?” Sage asked, walking into the room in a short white bathrobe.

Then Gabby noticed Wes was shirtless, wearing only flannel bottoms. They had probably been getting busy working on that baby they both wanted. But Gabby didn’t feel too guilty. They’d have plenty of time to get back to that while she was on the red-eye to Houston.

“Colt didn’t sleep with Brenna. She admitted it to Dave.”

Sage tightened the sash on her robe, looking perplexed. “But why would she—”

“She wanted to get back at me for ‘stealing’ Dave from her,” Gabby said, making air quotes around the word. “And she wanted Colt. She figured she could kill three birds if he believed he slept with her. It would hurt me, break us up, and she’d be on the fast track to being his next girlfriend.”

“I can’t believe her!” Sage shouted. “She honestly thought Colt would want anything to do with her after—”

“Doesn’t matter,” Gabby said, raising her hands as she shook her head. “I’m not going to waste any more energy on her. She’s already done enough damage.” She looked at Wes, who’d been suspiciously quiet. “Wes, I need to go to him, to explain, to…” She wasn’t sure if she owed Colt an apology for not giving him the benefit of the doubt, but they definitely needed to talk face-to-face. “I don’t know. I just need to see him.”

“Yeah, sure.” He walked over to his phone on the coffee table in the adjoining living room. “I’ll text you the address.”

Gabby watched him typing on his phone for a second before she said, “Tell me what you’re thinking. Is it a bad idea to go to him? Would he not want to see me?”

“No, I wasn’t thinking that,” Wes said, setting his phone back down. “You two need to talk, no doubt about that.”

“But?” She’d known Wes a long time, and he read like an open book when there was something on his mind he wasn’t sharing.

“I just don’t know how he’ll react to this news. He could be really pissed, and I don’t want you to step into the crossfire. I’m wondering if maybe I should call and give him a heads-up before you get there. That way he’ll have a chance to react without you witnessing it.”

“His temper doesn’t scare me, Wes.”

“It should,” he replied, looking grim. “Especially now. He’s had a lot to deal with lately. He’s probably feeling overwhelmed, and finding out that someone intentionally screwed him over and broke you two up… well, let’s just say it’s not going to be pretty. For the last few weeks, he’s turned all that anger inward. Now he’s going to have another target.”

Gabby got a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. “You don’t think he’d ever come after Brenna and try to hurt her, do you?”

Wes and Sage both gaped at her before Wes said, “No. God, no. How can you even think that? He’s not his old man, Gabby.”

“Yeah, but—”

“Look, I think you guys are good for each other,” Wes said, wrapping his arms around Sage from behind. “But you have some real issues to work through. You need to learn how to make a commitment and stick to it, give each other the benefit of the doubt, trust each other, and communicate. No matter how much he might want to cut and run, you’ve got to talk it out instead.”

“You’re a relationship guru now?” Gabby pursed her lips to hide her amusement. She knew that Wes loved them both and only wanted what was best for them, so any advice he gave was coming from the heart. She couldn’t be mad at him for caring enough to voice his opinion.

“No, I’m a guy who’s made mistakes.” He kissed Sage’s cheek. “And learned from them. If you love Colt enough, you won’t let anything or anyone come between you. That’s what making a real commitment is about. It’s for life. It’s knowing that things won’t always be easy, but you’ll figure out a way to get through it together.”

“Wes is right,” Sage said, squeezing the forearm her husband had wrapped around her waist. “So you think you and Colt are ready to make that kind of commitment to each other?”