Naughty Little Wishes (Birthday Dare) (15 page)

“Or maybe she’s full of shit.”

“The start of a confession emerges.” Jasmine wagged a finger at Tab’s silence. “You’re the one who brought it up. Speak. What happened with you and Drew?”

“I was an idiot.” Tab sipped her coffee and set it on the table. “I had my assistant work her magic and track Shana down. I brought her to see Drew.” Tab averted from Jasmine’s look of disbelief. “He found out she’d cheated on him during their engagement. She also told him she and her father lied about him causing the accident.” Saying this aloud highlighted the two dumbest choices she’d ever made. Trusting Shana and blindsiding Drew. She’d assumed Shana wanted to apologize for what her father had done. That Drew would forgive Shana, let go of guilt, and be ready to focus on their relationship. Instead, she’d led Shana right to Drew and let her hurt him again. “I didn’t expect her to twist a knife in his chest. I thought they had issues from the accident. I knew he’d be upset, but we’d planned a trip for the weekend. I thought I could convince him to forgive me.”

“Ahh,” Jasmine nodded. “So you were going for the ‘you can’t fight naked and not be distracted by my boobs’ strategy. That’s a good one.”

“I should have known it was—”

“A dumb idea.”

“I can’t believe I was—”

“Naive and oblivious to Drew’s feelings.”

The lingering taste of coffee turned bitter in her mouth. “I don’t need help filling in the gaps.” Crawling back on the couch and hiding under her blanket grew more attractive by the minute. “He walked out and didn’t come back. I’ve tried calling him, but he won’t answer. I went to Bode-Wynn to see him, but security wouldn’t let me in the building. I honestly don’t know how to fix this.”

Jasmine halved a pastry and dropped a section on Tab’s plate. “We can fly to Florida and kick Shana’s ass.”

“As good as that sounds, let’s be real. We played each other, but she got the jump on me.”

“We can trash Drew for doubting your integrity.”

Tab flopped back in the seat. “That’s not right either. He has a right to be upset.”

“Well, well, Sherlock. You finally figured it out.”

“Don’t rub it in. I wasn’t trying to hurt him.” Emotion balled in her throat. “I wanted him to have a chance to find what Corey didn’t.”

“And that’s the big problem.” Jasmine shook her head. “Drew’s not your brother, Tab. He’s your man. You can’t get that twisted around. Think about it. You couldn’t fix what happened with Corey, so you confronted Drew with the most vulnerable time in his life? In what screwed up universe does that make sense?”

“I was trying to help.” Tab pressed against the ache in her chest.

“And you went over more shaky bridges than you ever have. You need to ask yourself why, and I don’t think it’s just about Corey.” Her eyes narrowed in thought as she sucked icing off her fingers. “You know what. I’m ready to name your birthday dare.”

“Now?” Tab sputtered. “But that’s not fair.”

“Fair.” Jasmine released a sharp laugh. “Let’s talk road trip, three years ago. I wanted to keep driving to civilization, but you thought it would be fun to stay at a motel in the middle of nowhere.”

Tab shuddered. Creaky floors, weird noises in the middle of the night. The guy from housekeeping who practically screamed “I make human-skin suits in my basement.” She waved her hands in surrender. “Stop. Let’s get this over with. What’s the dare?”

She saw it in her eyes. She’d wanted Drew to close the door on the past. It was time she did the same. Tears stung as she waited for her to say what scared her shitless and gave her hope. Jasmine’s eyes grew bright. “It’s for your own good, sweetie.” She squeezed Tab’s arm and gave her an encouraging smile. “I dare you to make things right with Drew by your birthday.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

Early morning sun warmed Tab’s skin as she stood on a hill overlooking the pasture. Regardless of what happened or how bad, coming home to the one-hundred acres of Drakewood Ranch always brought peace. Today, it didn’t come easily. She’d called, left messages, sent texts. Drew still refused to respond, and no one would tell her where he was. He’d shut her out of his life.

Tab’s mom slipped her arm through hers. Her mother’s delicate features grew even prettier with a smile, making her look years younger than fifty-three. “Every time I stand here, I think of you and your brother racing around the place from sun-up to sundown.” She smoothed her dark bangs from her eyes and her smile widened. “Of course, you were all wild pigtails, buckteeth, and knobby knees back then.”

“Don’t remind me.” Tab groaned. “I was the most awkward kid on the entire planet.”

“Don’t be so hard on yourself. Look at you, now, all gorgeous and sophisticated. It’s amazing how people change.” Tab’s mom cupped her cheek. The familiar soothing smells of Ivory Soap and lilac-scented perfume brought comfort. “But you haven’t changed so much that I don’t know when something’s bothering you. What’s going on? Your birthday is in three days. Why aren’t you on some big adventure with Jasmine or one of your other friends?”

Tab willed herself not to look away. “What? I’m not allowed to come home and celebrate my birthday with you anymore?”

“Don’t be cute. You know you can always come home, but you’re answering a question with a question. That means you’re holding something back. What is it?”

Her mom’s probing gaze held Tab’s. A lump formed in her throat. “I made someone angry.”

“It’s not Jasmine is it?” Carolyn chuckled. “I’ll never forget when the two of you got in a fight because you left her Barbie on the back porch and Mittenhead buried it in the backyard. When the two of you got back together, the way you both cried, you would have thought fifty years had gone by instead of one whole day.”

“She still brings it up, you know.” Tab laughed but sadness swept in. “It’s not Jasmine.” She poked the toe of her cowboy boot into the dirt. “I involved myself in something. He’s right. I shouldn’t have. I overstepped.”

“He?” Her mom frowned and then her brows rose. “Oh, I see.”

She pulled Tab to a fallen tree trunk. Bark pressed into the back of Tab’s jean-clad thighs when she sat down.

“Well, I can’t say that I’m surprised.” Her mom sighed. “You’ve always been a bit of a nosey busy-body.”

“That doesn’t make me feel better.”

“And it shouldn’t. What will make you feel better is if you’re honest about why you did it.” Her mom nudged her. “Does this ‘he’ we’re talking about have a name?”

“Drew. At the time, I honestly thought what I did was right, but I let someone hurt him. Now he won’t speak to me.” Tab kicked at a rock wedged into the ground. “He and Jasmine think I got involved because of what happened to Corey.”

“Was it?”

Tab loosened another rock with her boot. “Drew felt guilty about his past. I tracked down the person I thought could absolve him of his guilt.”

“Like you wanted for your brother.”

“Yes.” Tab’s chest tightened. “I thought Corey was okay after the accident. I didn’t know guilt was eating away at him until it was too late. I should have made time for him. If I had, Corey would have turned to me instead of pills and alcohol. I could have made him see it wasn’t his fault. If I had, he’d be here today. He’s gone, and it’s my fault.”

“Now you listen to me Tabitha Lynn.” The command in her mom’s tone snagged her attention. “Don’t you dare blame yourself for what happened to him. Corey chose not to see the truth, and he made his choices. You could have put him in a room with you and a hundred other people telling him he wasn’t to blame for what happened to Luke, but it wouldn’t have mattered.” Sorrow clouded her mom’s eyes. “We all tried. He just wasn’t ready. If you would have tried to force him into facing the issue, he would have pushed you away. Maybe even out of his life.”

Tab averted her eyes to the rolling pasture. An image of Corey, handsome, young and strong, bloomed in her mind. It wasn’t fair. He’d lived too full a life for it to end in a meaningless death. She blinked against sunlight and tears rapidly welled. “But he was my brother.” She heaved a breath. “He always looked out for me. I should have done a better job of taking care of him.”

“Oh, Sweet Pea.” Her mom wrapped her arm around Tab’s trembling shoulders. “You did what you could. You never stopped believing in him, and he knew you loved him. Had he lived to see the day when he was ready to believe in himself, you would have been the first person he reached out to.”

A sob escaped from Tab’s lips. “Oh, Mom, I miss him so much.” She buried her face into her mother’s chambray shirt.

“I know you do, baby. I do, too.” Her mom held her closer and inhaled a shaky breath. “But you have to let him go. If you don’t, you’ll keep making the same mistake you did with Drew. You’ll miss out on the good things in life. Corey wouldn’t have wanted that for you.”

A swell of sadness pushed out the tears she’d held back for years. She missed him not looking out for her, having Corey’s shoulder to lean on when she’d worn herself out and needed a safe haven. The day she’d gotten sick, Drew made her feel the same way. Inherently, she knew she could trust him with her fears, her secrets. She wanted to give him her heart, but with Shana in the way, it felt like there wasn’t room for her in his life. She wanted her gone and she’d pushed too far.

Her mom smoothed her hand up-and-down Tab’s back. “So what are you going to do about your guy?”

“What can I do?” Tab sniffed and wiped her eyes. “Jasmine said I stomped on his man-pride.”

“Well, if that’s the case, it probably will take a minute or two for him to get over feeling like you took a swipe at his gonads with a weed whacker.”

“Mom—not a good visual.”

“Did you apologize?”

“I tried.” Misery brought fresh tears. It was too late. She’d ruined everything. She’d even managed to screw up a birthday dare.

“Give Drew a little longer.” Her mom gave her a squeeze. “Pride is a fragile thing, and sometimes men need a while before they see reason.”

“But what if he doesn’t?”

Her mom shot her an admonishing look. “Baby girl, I raised you better than that. When you put your mind to it, you always find a way to work it out. Stop feeling sorry for yourself.” She tipped up Tab’s chin and looked directly in her eyes. “If you care about him in the way I think you do, don’t give up. Find another way.”

Chapter Twenty-Three

“Not good enough.” Drew stared down the five staff members sitting around the conference table. “This is an analysis of a volatile country, not a travel guide for a luxury vacation. Get your details straight, cut the irrelevant crap, and rewrite it. I expect a clean copy on my desk in the morning.”

His staff silently gathered their things and left. Drew sifted through the reports they hadn’t made it to because this one wasn’t done. An oil company sending executives near Somalia, cargo the government wanted delivered to Iraq, support needed in Afghanistan. Harrison Global was also on the list. Bob had finally agreed to send someone in to shadow his daughter in South America. They didn’t have time for do-overs and mess-ups, and he had a plane to catch in less than twenty-four hours. With all the work facing them, he shouldn’t go, but he needed this race to clear his mind.

He’d barred Tab from Bode-Wynn, but he couldn’t walk through his house without seeing her. Every time he did, it felt like a sucker punch. A scrunchie in the guest bathroom, a note she’d written to herself on his desk. A pizza takeout menu stuffed in a drawer, her box of Fruit Loops sitting on the shelf next to his oatmeal.

“Looks like I’m just in time.” Devin strolled into the conference room carrying two cardboard cups. Dressed in a crisp, white polo shirt emblemized with Bode-Wynn’s blue and red world logo and dark slacks, he appeared relaxed. He sat down, and the scent of Kona-blend permeated the air. “Which one—sugar, or sugar and cream?”

What the hell was Devin doing here? Did Margo forget to give him the message he was coming back to town? Worse, had the deal in California gone bust? Last time they’d talked, Devin had said he’d made progress getting the permits they needed to open their new facility.

“The first.” Drew took the cup. “You’re not supposed to be back until next week.”

“Plans change.”

He connected with his partner’s gray-eyed gaze. Irritation brewed hotter than the coffee in his hand. Bullshit. Someone had called him. “Who’s whining now? Forget it. I don’t want to know. Whatever the problem is, handle it. I have enough on my plate.”

“You don’t get a choice.” Devin planted his loafers wide and leaned back in the chair. A neatly trimmed mustache and beard framed the smile tipping up his mouth, but the angles of his light-brown face hardened with an implacable expression. “You’re the problem. Mitch called me. Before you throw the boss card, remember our friend’s agreement. We gave him and Ethan permission to speak up if they noticed an issue, and don’t say yours is the race. Yeah, you usually turn into an asshole right before you leave, but from what I’ve heard, you’ve turned into a straight up bastard.”

Drew took a sip of coffee and it scalded his tongue. “It comes with the job description, remember?”

“And sometimes you’re full of it, like now. He told me you and Tab hooked up, but something happened to piss you off.”

Devin had known him long enough to anticipate his thoughts, next moves, and what tore at his gut. They’d met eight years ago at a mutual friend’s house in D.C. A hypothetical conversation about the ideal government-security firm had started during a poker game and finished three months later over beers one night after a training exercise at Fort Bragg. The notes they’d scribbled on a napkin had actually made sense. Once their hitches in the military ended two years later, they decided to serve their country in a different way and started Bode-Wynn.

They’d barely gotten their footing when the accident happened. He’d walked out of the hospital, but it had taken time to get back up to speed mentally and fully pull his weight in the company. Devin had held things together.

Drew forced a deep breath. He couldn’t let Tab get in his headspace the same way Shana had. “We’re not going there.”

“Yes, we are.” A vein pulsed in Devin’s temple near the precisely cut edge of his ultra short fade. “Half the staff is set to quit and the rest want a transfer to Montana. Even Margo is shook up. The wrath of Drew is turning into a bad movie no one wants to stick around to watch. Tab’s your problem, and for a guy to be as angry as you are means one of two things. She lied or she cheated, so which is it?”