Yes to Everything (40 page)

Decklan gathered trash from the rooms, noting there were only a couple of shake bottles and three protein bars. The rest was Gatorade. His heart clenched in pain.

Logan straightened the house, throwing away a half-finished bottle of beer in the living room that had likely belonged to Rex. The clothes Brooke had worn to the funeral were in a trail from the front door and he imagined her that day, alone in the house and in so much emotional pain it was physical.

Mack shut down the office, checking Rex’s email and responding to a few. He set it up to forward to his account with an auto-reply about his death. He gathered important papers and opened the safe he wasn’t sure if Brooke knew about. Inside were stacks of cash, an envelope from Brooke with photos meant only for Rex, which he closed quickly and returned with an embarrassed chuckle.

There was a letter addressed to Brooke with a post-it note for Mack to make sure she got it if anything happened to him. He put all the papers inside and took the letter. Locking it back and setting the cabinet over it, he left the office after turning out the lights.

It was an hour before the three women came downstairs. Her normally form-fitting jeans hung on her, her soft white t-shirt showed the bones in her upper body. Her hair was still damp, braided down her back. She was barefoot but Sidney had her cowboy boots and socks in her hand. Jeanette carried a small duffle bag and a jacket.

They watched her move carefully, sitting down at the table where Zane put soup and hot tea in front of her, stroking her hair like he often did Becca and Molly. Mack sat beside her and handed her the envelope. She stared at it in confusion for a long moment. “There’s a safe in his office.” She nodded. “Did you have the combination, honey?”

“I…I don’t remember it. He gave it to me, I think Jeanette has it.”

“He left this in there for you. We’re going to give you a few minutes to read it. Then you need to finish at least half that soup before we take you out of here, alright?”

Everyone went in the living room, keeping her in their line of sight. Zane and Boyd went upstairs to clean the master bedroom and shut everything down. She opened the envelope with shaking hands. It was dated a little more than a week before Rex had died.

“Brooke, hey there, pretty girl. If you’re reading this, something has happened to me and I bet you’re a wreck. You stop that shit right now, honey. Don’t you dare quit on me.

“I talked to the FBI yesterday. These cockroaches after you are talking about taking me out. I hope it doesn’t happen but it could. So many years as a soldier teaches you bad things happen in the blink of an eye no matter how prepared you think you are. Since day one, I’ve suspected those boys that follow your tour as being the guys behind all this shit. We can’t nail them. I’ve sent private investigators to the place they say they live when they aren’t following you but it’s empty. Completely. It’s weird and it makes me even more suspicious. There are no vehicles registered in their names, no weapons. But that doesn’t mean they don’t have both.

“If they manage to get to me and I don’t take the little fuckers out, I want you to stay with Boyd and Zane until they’re caught. I’m not kidding. This isn’t open for negotiation, baby. Their place is safer than the Pentagon. Mack will track them. He was always the best of us at that. Don’t be fooled by their smiles and easy laughter, Brooke. They’re predators. I can feel it.

“Tell Mack he was the brother I never had and I love him. Tell Boyd and Zane how much they meant to me over so many years together. All the good memories I have in my life before I met you are with those men. They’re my brothers, my friends, my fellow soldiers. They’re the best of the very best. Make sure Jeanette and Sidney know I couldn’t have picked better women for my friends if I’d special-ordered them. Hug Jackson and tell him I’m proud of the man he’s becoming and to watch out for his sisters. Tell Molly to sing her heart out and not to develop a gambling problem with the video games. Little Becca…I think she’ll run my shop one day. She has a love for art and the human form like I did at her age. I’ll miss drawing with her. Brooke, they were the kids I never had and I love them so much. My only wish is that I could have given you your own.

“I need to make sure you know a couple of things. First, you are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met, inside and out. I’ve never even heard of a love like yours. Your love saturates every area of my universe and fills me up, making me a better man for receiving it. You changed my life the night I did your tattoo and I’ve been grateful for every day, every minute, I’ve had with you so far. I hope I’ll have fifty years more but if I don’t the time I’ve been lucky enough to have with you meant more than all of it.

“Second, I know you’ll grieve if anything happens to me but you can’t stop living. You’re so young, baby. Don’t you give up on life to mourn. Thinking of you without your smile, without your spark…that is a thought much worse than death. I can hardly bear to write because the thought of you crying in sorrow makes me physically ache.

“Remember to eat, drink plenty of fluids, laugh with the kids all the time and help them grow up to be like you, let ‘Buzz’ handle your accounts (you’re so bad with that), let Jeanette and Mack keep you organized, let Sidney fuss over your beauty.

“And when the time is right, when you can open your heart again, think about giving the twins another chance. I’ve been watching them and they’ve been trying so hard. You’ll need both of them to replace me (ha ha) and I think they’ve learned how stupid they were to let you get away the first time…not that I mind in the slightest. In fact, I often send a little prayer to heaven on their behalf for being immature and selfish. They gave me my shot and I’m so glad I took you home with me that night.

“Thank you for letting me love you Brooke, and thank you for how hard you loved me back. Go live, pretty baby. All my love, Rex

She doubled over and sobbed her heart out. When they gathered around her, she handed the letter to Mack while Sidney wiped her tears, sitting on the floor at her feet. He handed the letter to Boyd, who handed it to Zane and so on since all of them were in it. As each person read Rex’s words, they cried together. By the time each person had read it, they were all crying. Sidney and Jeanette held Brooke as her body was wracked with sobs hard enough to rattle her body and heart apart.

Mack carried her out to the street and put her in the huge SUV they’d driven in. Zane and Sidney climbed on the back of his Harley, Boyd rode Rex’s which had been parked in front of his house since they’d had it cleaned.

Reporters who’d waited in shifts over the past two weeks to catch a glimpse of Brooke Kincaid, America’s Country Sweetheart, were in shock at her gaunt appearance. The twins climbed in on either side of her and she was asleep on Logan within seconds. At the warehouse, they drove inside the hidden garage and Decklan carried her upstairs. Jackson and her sisters were waiting in the living room watching a country music special about Broken Bronco and the recent tragedy.

Her siblings followed them into the bedroom and the girls climbed up to lay on each side of her. She wrapped her arms around them and fell back to sleep. Jackson lay down behind Becca and stared at his hurting older sister. The twins sat in chairs on the other side of the room and watched over them. When she opened her eyes later, she told each of them what Rex had said in his letter and how much he’d loved them.

Becca said sadly, “It’s like losing Daddy all over again only Rex was never too tired to draw with me or listen to a song Molly wrote. Or goof off with Jackson. He was so patient, so nice to me. I miss him very much because no one else draws like I do. You all sing and I don’t love it like you do.” Molly was playing with Brooke’s braid and Jackson was twirling a lock of Becca’s hair in his fingers.

Swallowing past her tears, she said, “Becca, I’m sorry I’ve been so selfish and caught up in being sad myself. I had no right to forget about you. I know you loved him, too. Please forgive me.” Brooke’s voice was hoarse and tired.

“Brooke, you hurt so bad. It’s worse for you. We all know how much you loved him. It was different for you.”

Molly hugged her hard and added, “It’s okay Brooke. You’re going to be strong again soon. You have to eat, sissy. You look like you’ve lost a lot of weight. Jeanette is going to have you on a special diet now. We’re here for you, we love you. You’ve always been so strong for us. We can be strong for you now.”

When Jackson stroked her face, there were tears in his eyes, but he said firmly, “He was a good man, one of the best, Brooke. But he wouldn’t want you to waste away. He would want you to keep going. We should head down to the ranch, bring the horses. Sidney and Jeanette have each other here, so do the guys. You change the girls to our old school. Hire some bodyguards and a driver. We can outfit the house to be safe. Take some time off and remember who you were first, then go back to music. Once you’re strong, you get the hell back in the studio and do what you were born to do. You were born to make music and you make it best with the twins. For now, get your strength up and let’s go home, Brooke.”

Everyone waited for her to consider Jackson’s plan.

Finally, she nodded slowly, “Okay, we’ll go home.”

Two years later…Fall 2011

One thing about living in Idabel, Oklahoma…you could see the reporters coming for miles. Further along the rural road was a van belonging to one of the biggest celebrity magazines. They were only able to get so close to the house with the new eight-foot iron fencing topped with spikes Brooke ordered built around their entire property and the security gate blocking the long drive.

Since Rex’s death, the media had treated her more carefully and Brooke appreciated it more than they likely realized. She granted sporadic interviews and limited questions about her personal life. Raising her hand in a friendly wave, the photographer standing on top of the van with a telephoto lens-equipped camera waved back.

She smiled to herself as she sat on Buttercup’s back, her horse snorting with the need to run as they once had. Though she rode her faithful companion daily, she didn’t let her loose, didn’t let the wind take them like she’d done when her heart was free of sadness. Wearing jeans and a t-shirt, boots and a light jacket, her hair flowed around her in the cool breeze of early fall.

There were cameras scattered over her acreage that were monitored inside the communications room over the barn. It had been fully renovated and converted for the team of four bodyguards who watched over them in shifts.

Each man covering her had been vetted and briefed on their responsibilities by Rex’s friends. There were four fully furnished efficiency apartments and a tactical room to monitor the cameras and other security equipment. The system had been designed, built-out, and staffed by Boyd and Zane before they’d allowed her to leave Chicago. They frequently reviewed and upgraded her equipment during their regular trips down with Sidney.

A temporary stable sat beside the barn that was heated and air-conditioned for their horses. The new stable foundation had been poured over the summer and workers came daily to complete the structure that would feature a large loft apartment for Jackson when it was finished.

Brooke had arranged the renovation of the old farmhouse at the same time she’d done the barn. She’d added an addition to the first floor that housed her bedroom, bathroom, office, and personal recording studio. It had been made to mimic the original lines of the house while almost doubling the square footage.

A new roof, flooring, and fresh paint inside and out had been finished within weeks of their decision to return to Oklahoma. Once they’d returned, the four Kincaids had systematically gone through the house and decided what furniture they would keep and what would be replaced. The end result had been a meshing of old and new that just fit somehow.

The men who’d done all the renovations on her property were local so Brooke could interact with the crew without being gawked at. She kept them supplied with drinks and snacks while they worked and often joined them during lunch breaks to catch up on local happenings.

In the months this crew had been working on her house, building out her barn, assembling her fencing, and erecting the new stables, there hadn’t been one story sold to the tabloids about her. For that she was grateful and it reminded her of what life had been like before she became a country music star. Next summer, she planned to put in a pool and build a guest house while they were on tour. She wanted more room for when her friends came to visit.

Their new housekeeper and nanny lived in one of the five bedrooms on the second floor. The woman had quickly proven herself indispensable to their family. Jeanette still ran her professional life and Kate kept her personal life running smoothly. She handled most of the cooking and oversaw the two local girls who assisted with cleaning twice a week.

Every morning during the school year, she drove the girls back and forth to school with a bodyguard in a fortified SUV. Though the girls were getting too old for a traditional nanny, Brooke noticed the older woman’s positive influence on her sometimes mischievous younger sisters. They respected her and she seemed to genuinely adore Becca and Molly.

She turned from examining the main grounds of her property, and the list of changes she still had to implement, and nudged Buttercup onto the trail that wound through the old cattle pastures. In the distance, she saw one of her bodyguards on an ATV, watching everything around her.

She thought it was probably Peyton but couldn’t be sure. Evan was sitting the saddle of another mount, keeping a distance of no more than a dozen feet behind her. They liked to give her the illusion of privacy.

Brooke had been saddened when Jackson informed her he wasn’t going to college. At first, she’d fought it but he’d been right in everything he’d pointed out. “Brooke, I’ve known exactly what I wanted to do with my life for years. I already make a living in my chosen field and I stuck with high school when I really didn’t want to. I’m not stupid. I have the basics and it’s killing me trying to split my time between the family, my music, and school. Be fair. You know college isn’t for me.”