by Leanne Davis
“Yeah. She really could have left me out of it. For five years. It pains me I’ll never get those years back. The time I wasted. Not to mention, all the money and emotions I invested into our future. All such a waste, but I’m mostly bitter that it never stopped.”
“You sure it’s over? Things like that, maybe you just need time apart before you find a way to work through it.”
“You can’t work through being in love with another person. Using one person as a cover and a patsy so you can be with another. There is no fixing something that never existed.”
“Okay. Fair point. I am sorry.”
He nodded. “See why you should have cooked me dinner? It was good. Do you think you’re sufficiently sorry enough to cook for me tomorrow night?”
He had the smile and the ass. He flustered her with his abundance of charm, and his ability to suddenly change the topic to things like her smile. Imagine how trite and fake that had to be, but her stupid, soft heart swelled with pride under his charm. Her usually sane self ached to totally melt into a girlie crush. She was captivated by his words and his apparent fascination for her truth telling. His flattery worked and she detested her eagerness to cook for him, to want him to admit it was good, and basically behave in a way that was contrary to how she usually handled men.
Opening up about his wife seemed suddenly more intimate. Immediately after that moment, she rushed to her feet, grabbed his empty plate and her own and all but threw them into the sink. Luckily, nothing broke.
“I’ll do the dishes,” he offered.
Glad for something else to focus her way-too-mushy brain on, she shook her head. “Nah. Next time. You should get back to drinking, it’s kind of late and you haven’t started yet.”
“Ha. Ha. I deserve that. But tonight? I prefer no alcohol. Do you ever play cards?”
“Sure. Often.”
“Want to now?” he asked while turning from a drawer in the kitchen and shuffling a deck of cards.
“To keep you from drinking and having bitter thoughts about your wife?”
“Yes. And because I think you’re awesome. So you should give me some more truisms.”
Her stomach reacted with a flip and a harsh flop. His words sunk way too deeply into her head and heart. “Fine. But only because I can’t wait to see you lose.”
She avoided staying the night but did manage to swing by Reed Ranch with groceries the next day. She made another simple meal for herself. And Hunter. He waited for her, and bounded out to her vehicle to help her bring the items inside. She didn’t articulate any reason for coming there; it could have been for Asher, herself or maybe even the heartbroken Hunter. But the way he seemed to appreciate her cooking and company made it an easy decision to keep coming back each evening.
Over the next few weeks, she was the only real witness to the fact that Hunter wasn’t dealing with his situation. At least not yet. He didn’t seem to do much, although Kyomi didn’t nag him over what he chose to do with himself. He drank; she often smelled that on him. Asher complained they stayed up way too late for a few nights, playing cards and drinking. Hunter expressed some pretty harsh words about Francine, the infamous stepbrother-fucker. It was a mouthful but it was what Hunter liked to call her whenever he mentioned her.
A little offensive, too, making it hard for Kyomi not to plant her tongue in her cheek to stifle a laugh each time because it was so rude and crude. And true. So, very true.
Kyomi ate several meals with both of them. Hunter was funny, and she found it easy to make fun of him for his quirky ways that just didn’t match someone who was born in this valley.
Finally, several weeks passed that she actually never saw Asher. He worked too late and she left too early, although they chatted on the phone during her lunch hour and texted every day.
One night, after finishing a dinner of fettuccine and salad, she and Hunter were companionably doing dishes when the back door flung open and Asher entered. He slipped his boots off right beside the door, entering in his stocking feet and giving Kyomi a kiss on her cheek. He used his hips to bump her out of the way of the sink. He had to wash his hands.
“Haven’t seen you in a while. I wasn’t sure you still lived here,” Kyomi said, joking, as she stood back and waited to reclaim her former spot.
“It’s been issue after issue. But the hell with that. I decided I deserve a hot meal and your wonderful company, or you deserve mine, however you see it.” After drying his hands, he fully stepped in front of her, taking her face in his hands and leaning down. His lips covered hers in a long, solid kiss that finally had her smiling and she pulled away with a grin as she looked up at him.
He set his forehead on hers. “That was sorely needed after the day I’ve had.”
“Let me get you a plate.” She instantly forgave him the kiss and tacitly agreed that maybe she needed it too. It had been a while since they had anything more than platonic talks over the phone.
Turning, he flashed Hunter a grin. “Up and not naked at seven this evening. Progress?”
He gave Asher a scowl. “You’re kind of an ass.”
Asher fell onto the plate of food she provided with such gusto, it was almost laughable. “You know I’m not that good a cook for the reaction you have. I’m basic. But I guess I’ll take it as a compliment.”
“You are a goddess. You provide the most filling, tastiest food that isn’t fancy, but the perfect end to a hard day out there.”
She gave him a shoulder bump as she accepted his ridiculous praise. “I guarantee city-boy here does not agree with that and he can’t imagine what you’re gushing about. It’s fully basic stuff anyone can prepare. I wouldn’t call it cooking.”
Asher lifted a fork and pointed at Hunter. “He sits at a desk and rots away on his chair, what does he know about the satisfaction of a full stomach with good-tasting food to replenish all the spent calories? I deserve satisfying food. So you are goddess and he’s an idiot.”
“Hey. What did I do but sit here? Why all the city-boy crap for innocently being present? I wasn’t even commenting, and I graciously thank Kyomi every night.”
Asher frowned. “Every night?” He turned to Kyomi and said, “You aren’t obligated to take care of him. He can figure it out.”
She waved her hand. “You know I come for myself only when I want to. Not for him.”
Asher nodded and faced Hunter again. “I think it’s how you dress. I think that’s why I have to make fun of you.”
“I dress with classic style. I don’t have animal dung on my pant hems. Yeah, that crazy style I insist upon.” Then he spread his arms wide, showcasing himself. “But right now? I’m only wearing your crappy clothes, so how the hell can you continue to make fun of me?”
“For your past fashion transgressions.”
They went at it a few times, kidding around. The bottle of tequila, Hunter’s current liquor of the week, was passed around before they settled in for a game of cards. They taught Kyomi how to play it. Turned out she was pretty good or had a streak of beginner’s luck. Perhaps it was because they imbibed more than she did so their judgment got looser and less wise as the evening wore on. Hunter finally crashed first.
Asher leaned across the table. “Stay over tonight?”
Kyomi’s body had enough liquor in it to make his words warm her up. Things suddenly sprang to life, indicating her interest in that regard. Yeah. Sure. She leaned across the table and set her hands on his. They grinned at each other and eventually released hands to run upstairs to his master bedroom.
Chapter 5
KYOMI WOKE UP TO an empty bed, as Asher started his day at first light. He was an incredibly hard worker, but she suspected the loss of Daisy had increased that threefold. He was putting all his effort into proving he could make his ranch work, and that his lifestyle and dream were worth losing the woman he loved. Or perhaps it was just vengeance, maligning his life innocuously.
Kyomi always woke up alone. Asher did a few chores there before leav
ing for the Rydell River Ranch. Sometimes she saw him before he left. Sometimes not. Grinning, she felt both refreshed and sated after last night. She finally dragged herself from bed, showered and put on fresh clothes, which she stored there. Only then did she wander downstairs, her hair falling in wet curls over her shoulder. Oh good, the coffee was left on, she could already smell it as she rounded the staircase newel. Entering the kitchen, she found Hunter. He twirled around with a fresh cup of coffee in his hand. Hung over, no doubt. She knew that look on him.
He frowned as he took in her appearance. Sweats and a shirt, she was casual with wet hair hanging down her back, leaving trails of wet marks. “You’re still here? You spent the night?”
His tone sounded almost disapproving. Was he for real? What did he have to disapprove of? Who was he to keep track of her? Or even remotely comment?
“He’s my boyfriend. We haven’t been alone in weeks. What? I should take the walk of shame home?”
She pushed his body, which seemed frozen in place, to get him out of the way. She was aiming for the half-full pot of coffee. Reaching overhead, she found her favorite mug and placed it on the counter.
“No. No, of course not. I just didn’t know you stayed the night.”
She poured a cup, blew on it and sipped some. Turning, she glanced up at him while blowing on it. “Ever?”
“Well, in the name of honesty no matter what, he loves someone else, you know all that and get it… so it didn’t seem like you guys were actually… you know…”
“Having sex?” she supplied when his tone drifted off.
“Yes.”
“Why is it you can’t say the word? My God, you’re a complete priss, Hunter Rydell.”
“I’m not. Not at all. I just didn’t realize you’d be here.”
Frowning, she started to feel offended. He really seemed confused and then miffed that she was there. Did he not understand that she and Asher were physically involved? But even if he didn’t think so and found out they were, why would he act so strangely about it? Why not simply tease her some more? That was more his MO with her, instead of acting so judgmental and unnatural.
“Sorry, you have to deal with me,” she mumbled as she started to rise up to grab her things and leave. But Hunter reached out and touched her arm with his left hand. She sighed. Another damn zing! in his presence; his touch specifically did it to her.
“Don’t go. It’s not dealing with you that’s hard, it’s dealing with a new day. Another damn twenty-four hours. I’m the most sober at this time of day. I’m not coping well. I know that. I just didn’t know you were still here. But…” His gaze darted to her and then quickly away. “I’m really glad you are though.”
She slowly slid back into the chair she’d vacated and set her hot drink down before her. “You were drunk every single time I’ve shown up here?”
“Yes.” He stared down with deep, dark contemplation of the table. It wasn’t the usual Hunter, always kidding, sparring, sarcastic, charming and honest. Now he was very different. Contemplative. Sad. So damn sad.
“A lot?”
“Yes.”
“I feel like I’ve seen you drunk and you act distinctly different. But you’re saying…”
“That’s when I’m an incoherent drunk. When I’m just an ordinary drunk, you might not notice so much.”
“Oh, Hunter… this is the real you in the mornings?”
Biting his lip, he shook his head. “I’m useless. I can’t stand to face the day. I don’t want another one to pass. I wake up with hideous hangovers some mornings but I prefer the physical pain because it keeps the emotional stuff from moving to the forefront, you know?” Setting his elbows on the table, he rubbed his forehead with his hands, pressing slightly harder at his temples. “I can’t stand the images of her and him; they continually fill my brain.”
“You can’t stand it. So you drink to blur it.”
“Yeah.”
She stared at him with sympathy and dismay. “What have you done about it?”
“What do you mean?”
She sipped her coffee, contemplating his profile and his captivation with the table. “I mean, you caught them in the act, what did you do at that moment?”
“I—” His head shook. “Why would you ask me to repeat that?”
“I think you need to. Just answer my questions. Let’s work through some of this. See what you’ve done and where you’re at, but more importantly: what do you do next? There has to be another move you can choose besides drinking alcohol all day. That is a recipe for a pretty disastrous outcome. So humor me. What did you do the moment you caught them?”
His mouth compressed and he blinked several times, as if seeing something behind his eyelids. “I stood there. I honestly stood there for more than a moment. Just watching them. But it was like I wasn’t there. I was so stunned; I swear to you I didn’t believe it. No way. No way would my wife, my Francine, be doing that. With another man. But her brother?”
“Well, stepbrother. That’s a pretty important detail. Don’t get me wrong, it’s all part of the gross factor, but with her full brother makes it incest. So… yeah, pretty important.”
“I wasn’t gawking or enjoying it in some kinky fashion. I was so shaken up. I mean—”
“Where were you coming from? How did you happen to come home that night?”
“Business trip in Atlanta.” He dropped his hands to the table and stared at them. “Believe it or not, I used to be busy. Important even. Anyway, we succeeded in the negotiations we were there for. Ended early. Huge contract. Huge rewards down the line. I was so excited to go home and tell her. She’d be so proud since she knew all about the reason I was there. She seemed, or pretended to be, as invested in my career as I was. She lived through it with me. Kind of old- fashioned, I know. She didn’t work. Never had to. The kind of money her stepdad made eliminated the need for her to work and she had zero ambition. She was a born shopper, but she did show a huge interest in my daily routine. It was the main topic of our conversations. It was flattering to me how much she was invested; she supported and encouraged all my ambitious notions. They were practically limitless. Becoming the CEO of a multi-national, multi-billion-dollar corporation, be it her stepdad’s or not, I was cocky in my aspirations. Ridiculously so. And she wanted all of it too. All the perks. The money and power, we both wanted them.” His head shook. “I guess I was her vessel to financial support and Stanley was the fuck she needed? I don’t know.”
“What is he like?”
“Not ambitious. Doesn’t work. Had a job once at the corporation but he no more worked than she did. Might be sexist of me but I found him lazy and I justified her resistance to employment by saying she was just not into working.”
“It sounds like they were both lazy, spoiled, and not ashamed to live off their stepdad-slash-dad’s laurels. I have no use for that type. Do something constructive with your life. Some good deed. Find your passion and joy and do that. Just do something. But yes, that was sexist to let her get away with it but not Stanley. However, being your wife, you had every right to expect her to honor her fidelity as well as offering her unconditional support.”
“That night, I came home sooner than expected. I took an early flight, and didn’t tell her. I intended to surprise her. I did that, all right. Only the surprise backfired on me.”
“She was full-on having sex with her stepbrother?”
“Yes. He was on top of her. It was horrifying. I still can’t get it out of my head.”
Kyomi’s sympathy was undeniable. She leaned over and set her hand on his. “No kidding? Honestly, just no kidding. So you saw them. What did you finally do? Walk away? Interrupt them? Yell? What?”
He shook his head and shut his eyes as if to stop the horrifying images. “I attacked him. They didn’t know I was there. So far into their blissful moment, anticipating their mutual orgasms, they literally had no idea I was right there. I ran at him, grabbing his naked, ugly body and slamming him
to the floor on the far side of the bed. I lost my mind. I hit him over and over until she planted herself between us. She put her naked body right over his head to stop me from getting to him. I stopped, but damn, Kyomi, I was so close to hitting her. Closer than I could have ever imagined. I wanted too so badly. I mean, with an aching horror, everything in me screamed to do it. Just do it. She was fucking him. Right there. In our bed. Ours. I thought…” His head shook some more. His hands covered his face and he groaned into them. “Listen to me.”
“I am.” Speaking softly, almost quietly with solemnity and sympathy, Hunter realized he’d never heard Kyomi like this before. “I am listening to you. I think you need to have someone listen so you can really talk about it. Not just call her the stepbrother-fucker, but Francine and accept exactly what she did to you. What they did to you. You considered him your friend as well, right?”
“Stupid, gullible mother-fucker that I am. Yes. I did. He made sure to befriend me. I thought he was nice enough, kind of shallow, like a piece of fluff, but fun and fine. You know? Never that.”
“So after you almost hit her but did not, what happened?”
“She was screaming and begging me to stop. Screaming loud and hard, the way I wanted to scream at her. I swear to you, my voice should have been the one screaming, but she got to do that. She got to do all the screaming. At me. I stood up and took a picture of them, on the floor, naked together, clearly indicating how I unexpectedly interrupted their sex. I texted the picture to her stepdad. Which makes me kind of throw up in my mouth when she called him simply, Dad.”
Kyomi shuddered. “Okay. It’s kind of gross. Picture-sharing the same dad. Even if they’re not blood-related, that’s pretty taboo.”
“Gross, right? People are into that taboo stuff, huh?”
“Well, they have every right to be, but not to include you in it. All she had to do was not marry you. Pretending and faking it with you was cruel. Awful. Truly.”