Why Now? (5 page)

“Nope,” she quickly replies. “I have to go to the station to do some editing on a story I’m working on.”

Stopping in my tracks, I turn to face her. “You never go to the station at this time of day unless you’re covering for someone.”

The little liar shrugs. “Yeah, I do. Why can’t Jake come hang out with both of you?”

My mouth drops open but Heath is the one to reply. “Works for me.”

Jake’s eyes are on me when he says, “Sounds like a plan.”

If I said no at this point, they’d all think I was rude. Pressing my lips together, and plastering what I hope is a serene expression across my face, I nod. Pivoting, I turn my back to them and start walking again. I can only hope no one on the street notices my mask briefly fall to show the panic I truly feel.

Riley walks up with us so she can grab her car keys since the station isn’t within walking distance. With my eyes, I plead with her to stay.

She cringes and mouths, “Sorry,” before closing the door behind herself. That’s it; I’m interviewing candidates for a new best friend tomorrow after I murder her in her sleep tonight.

My inner hostess comes through. ”Would either of you like a drink?”

“Got any beer?” Jake asks.

Heath laughs, making me blush. Even though I have zero tolerance, I’m a total beer snob. It’s not about quantity for me; it’s about quality. I like to try out new beers and find the perfect meal to pair them with. My current favorite is a Coffee Stout. This drives Reilly nuts because I don’t drink real coffee but I’ll drink a coffee beer.

“What are you in the mood for?” I ask Jake with a smirk.

He settles himself on our couch, stretching his arm across the back of it. “Surprise me.”

Blushing, I hold his eyes and gesture towards the kitchen. “Why don’t you go look for yourself?”

He drops his hand from the back of the couch and rests it on his thigh as he unfolds from his seated position. Since I was still standing while he sat, I forgot how big he was.

Now my attention solely on him, his presence seems to dwarf everything and everyone else in the room. With an unhurried stride, he moves into our kitchen.

Will our stocked fridge surprise him? Biting the inside of my lip I curse my never ceasing desire to impress him. I’m not that that awkward little girl anymore who hung on his every word hoping for some sign of approval.

Heath moves closer to me and I jump when his hand touches my waist. In my Jake fog, I had forgotten he was here.

“Want me to grab you a beer, Kace?” He asks, thankfully not seeming to notice my nervousness.

“Oh, I can grab my own. You don’t have to get it for me.”

He leans down to press his lips to my cheek. “I don’t mind.”

Turning my head toward the kitchen I freeze when I see Jake there, watching us. In his hand is one of my IPAs. Holding my gaze, he lifts his bottle and takes a drink.

He saw Heath kiss my cheek. God, why does it feel like I’ve cheated on him?

“One of the coffee ones would be great. Thanks,” I murmur.

Heath moves away from me. On his way past Jake, he pauses to see which beer he chose. Jake lifts it for his inspection but continues to watch me. And then Heath is gone and I’m alone in my living room with Jake Whitmore.

For a small room, I’m not sure there could be more distance between our bodies than there is right now. The silence only seems to increase it. There are different types of silence. This one is unsure knowing its existence is threatened. This silence knows we both want to say something and it waits to see who will break it first.

In the battle between us, the silence wins.

“Which office are you at tomorrow?” He asks, walking right past Jake to bring me my beer.

It still has the cap on.

Heath drinks beers with twist off caps. Even if mine was, I’m slightly bothered that he didn’t remove it for me.

Resigning myself to having to go pop my own cap, I reply, “I’m in Las Basida tomorrow.”

Before I can take one step toward the kitchen, Jake is in front of me reaching for my hand.

His hold is firm. My hand may melt away from the shock of cold on my palm from my beer and the molten heat seeping from his skin onto the back of my hand.

My eyes widen and I gape up at him. He sets his bottle on the coffee table and he pops the cap off my beer.

With. His. Hand.

Holy crap.

He lets me go and steps away from me, taking the cap with him.

“But, this beer doesn’t have twist off caps,” I dumbly argue.

He smirks.

“Is your hand okay?” I take a step toward him.

“It’s good,” he replies, slipping it into his pocket.

I take another step toward him. “Let me see.”

“Kace, he said it was fine.”

Abruptly, I turn and quickly sit in the armchair. Jake returns to his spot on the couch while Heath moves to sit at the other end of it, both of them facing me.

I’m alone, in my apartment with two insanely gorgeous men. Right now, there are probably a million women dreaming about being in this position.

Their dream is my nightmare.

“Have you two set a date?”

Heath answers, “We’re aiming for next month. Will you still be in town?”

Jake doesn’t answer his question. “That soon?”

Then he shakes his head and answers his own question, “Your mom.”

“If you’re still around, will you be my best man?”

Heath did not just ask him that in front of me! How would that look? What would people think?

“I’m sorry man. I think I’ll be back on the rig.”

Heath sighs. “I figured. If you aren’t, it’s you I want standing next to me.”

Jake leans forward, his elbows on his knees and looks over at him. “I’ll see what I can do.”

Heath grins while another piece of my heart breaks away and falls to the floor. If the man I’ve loved for almost forever is there, what will I do?

How will I be able to walk down the aisle and not stare at him?

“It’s going to be a very small wedding,” I blurt.

“Too small for me?” He asks, and Heath laughs, “Of course not. You’re practically family.”

Jake looks at me, waiting for me to say something. Damn coward that I am, I look away and drink my beer.

They talk while I quietly freak the hell out. I hear the occasional sport term as Heath catches Jake up on the last six months of games he’s missed.

When the door swings open, we all turn to watch as Reilly storms in.

She looks majorly tweaked; her movements are flustered and jerky as she drops her purse and keys by the door after closing it.

Her eyes scan the three of us over and over.

“You okay Reils?” Jake asks, standing.

She nods. “I need a drink.”

I follow her into the kitchen with both Heath and Jake on my heels. She doesn’t say a word as she pulls a bottle of vodka from our freezer and pours herself a shot. After throwing it back, she pours herself another.

“Reilly, what happened?” I ask, moving to stand next to her and stopping her from pouring another shot.

Pressing her lips together, she shakes her head.

Jake moves in front of her. “Reilly.”

Gulping, she pushes at him. “I need to talk to Kacey.”

He lifts his hands to rest them on her shoulders. “I’m not okay with leaving you like this.”

She pushes at him again. “I’ll be fine if you just go.”

“Reilly,” he argues.

“Go,” she snaps.

Tipping his head to the ceiling, he inhales before stepping away. Heath moves out of the doorway as Jake approaches.

Jake pauses there. “I’m here if you need to talk.”

She nods and they leave. Once I hear the door to our place close behind them I turn back to her.

“What’s wrong?”

She sets both of her hands on the counter and then leans over to rest her forehead on them. “I liked him.”

I blink. “Who?”

“Tad,” she moans.

“The news anchor?” I ask in disbelief.

He’s a good fifteen years older than us, uses way too much hair product, and does that creepy wink while shooting a pretend finger pistol thing.

“Really?” I can’t help it.

She lifts her head and pouts. “Yes, and I thought he liked me too.”

“What happened?”

“Last week he kissed me.”

“Um, wow,” I mumble.

She rolls her eyes. “l didn’t tell you because I knew you didn’t like him and I was waiting for him to ask me on a date.”

“So, he didn’t ask you out?”

Her pout returns. “No, and I just walked in on him having sex with a producer.”

My lip curls. “At the station?”

She nods. “I lied earlier about needing to work. I’m sorry about that.”

I rub her arm. “It’s okay.”

“I thought he liked me. Why was he having sex with someone else?”

Shaking my head, I murmur, “He’s clearly an idiot.”

Reilly laugh sniffles and nods. “It was awful. I’ll never be able to look at him the same way again.”

Scrunching my nose I ask, “Did he have a hairy butt?”

She pulls me into a hug as she laughs before pulling back and answering, “No, it wasn’t a bad looking ass. It’s the realization that the man attached to it is a complete dick that’s the problem.”

“Seriously,” I agree. “How could he kiss you last week and be having sex with someone else now.”

Her eyes go squinty. “He even flirted with me yesterday.”

“Ugh, I’m glad I thought he was creepy. What a jerk.”

She pours herself another shot and raises it. “Here’s to saving myself months of drama over a total asshole that isn’t worth it. I deserve a man who won’t flirt with me one minute and fuck someone else the next.”

“Here, here,” I encourage as she throws her shot back.

Setting her shot glass down with a bang, she levels her gaze at me. “Now, what do you deserve?”

“What do you think that was about with Reilly?” Heath asks.

Glancing back to their apartment, I shrug. “Probably something to do with some guy.”

“I didn’t know she was seeing anyone.”

“Every time I talk to her she’s dating someone new.”

Dating is fine, still not sure about her getting Facebook chummy with Erik. He might be my brother on the rig but if he ever made Reilly upset, I’d have to kill him. It’s safer for him to stay platonic with her. He’s one of the four people I’d take a bullet for and I’d like it to stay that way.

“Good for her. She’s too young to settle down.”

We turn onto the street his building is on. “She’s the same age as Kacey.”

“Ace is different.” He pauses. “Not that I’m saying there’s anything wrong with Reilly. Kacey is constant, settled. There are no surprises with her.”

I wonder if we’re talking about the same person but hold my tongue. We have another beer once we’re back at his place.

There’s a question I asked him earlier that I want to push him on but don’t.

Why Kacey?

Why now?

Why wasn’t there any other girl he could have asked?

Consciously not asking those questions kept me quiet as we drank. Since he has work tomorrow, and I plan to meet with my realtor as early as possible, we stick to one beer.

Normally, my first night off the rig is always a hard one. The noises are different. While Ferncliff is no major city, the sound of the traffic is nothing like the ocean. Also, by the time I go to sleep on the rig, I’ve just pulled a twelve-hour day and I’m bone tired. Exhaustion is my cure to insomnia. On the rig, I eat, I sleep, and I work my ass off. All thoughts of the outside world don’t exist until I’m a part of it again. My paychecks get swept automatically. While Reilly was still in school, they went to two places, her school tuition and Gram and Gramps debt. Now that her tuition is paid off, ninety percent of my pay goes to their debt.

It’s taken years paying off all the medical bills and the loans they took out to try and stay afloat. Now I’m down to only owing on the house.

Considering they lived in this house my entire life, it should have been paid off by now. Too bad they mortgaged it to the hilt. Whoever approved those loans for an elderly couple with a pension and social security as their only income should be fired.

The overall housing market hasn’t helped. For too long I’ve owed more on the house than what it’s worth.

Thoughts plague my falling asleep. Once I sell this house, if I can, will there even be a reason for me to leave the rig again? There’s always Reilly, not that she needs her big brother anymore.

It’s strange knowing that in a little under two years she’ll be thirty. Our mother was twenty-five when she had me, our father twenty-nine.

If things were different, Reilly or Kacey could be a mother by now.

Kacey, a mother.

She’d make a good one, my little Killer; she’d take on the whole world to protect her loved ones.

I can still picture it clear as a bell, Kacey taking on three boys all twice her size. They were hurting a stray dog, burning it with a lighter but I didn’t know that part until after the fact.

By the time I came upon them, it was Kacey they were hurting. She fought like hell, though, screaming and kicking at them. I didn’t know why she wasn’t running away, not until I saw the dog she protected, shielding him with her body.