by Erika Kelly
“How quickly can you pack a bag?” he asked.
“If I go with you now, I have to come back for the last competition.”
“What’s the point? The moment we land in New York, you’re going to hit the ground running with this new franchise. Why put off your future another day?”
It’s done.
She’s leaving.
Tick…tick…BOOM.
The explosion was cataclysmic. White-hot splinters of his heart rained down on him.
They’d given Delilah her dream. She’d get to run her family’s restaurant with her own style.
Pain ripped through him like a flash fire.
Change the channel. Change the channel. Change the goddamn channel.
But it was stuck. Fire raged around him, blocking him in. He couldn’t get out.
She’s leaving. Taking her laughter and her hands and that smile that brought the first rays of light into his heart in twenty years.
Action. Move. His feet carried him to the stairs. He’d call the pilot. Take care of his travel plans. He’d gotten an email a while back, inviting him to share a cabin with a few other guys. Should’ve responded to it. Hope it’s not too late.
Faltering on the step, he grabbed the banister. A little light-headed. Needed food. He’d get it later, after they left the kitchen. For now, he’d shower.
This is good for her. She’s happy. He’d known her brother would cave. Who wanted to lose one of their siblings to another state? Another family? Another world?
How come he was only halfway up the stairs? Shouldn’t he be in his room by now? His body felt sluggish, like walking through water. Probably from his fall on the trampoline. Should take it easy the rest of the day. Read to Ruby in the hammock by the pool.
Once in his room, he stripped off his damp T-shirt and walked into the bathroom.
Fingers under the spray of water, waiting for it to turn warm, it struck him what this overreaction to her leaving meant. He’d gotten so carried away, he might’ve given up the Olympics to be with her.
If she’d stayed, he might’ve ended his career without taking it over the finish line.
Big mistake. It wasn’t just about him. His family’s reputation had been challenged. It wasn’t fair for Fin, Brodie, Gray…or even Ruby.
And it wasn’t fair to his dad who’d rather his boys flip burgers than win by cheating.
Leaving it to his lawyer, writing a letter…winning Freefest? Not enough.
Play time was over. It was time to get back to training. With the heel of his palm, he shut off the faucet and went back out to his bedroom. He grabbed his phone and hit his pilot’s speed dial. “Sarah? I need a ride to France.”
Chapter Eighteen
Delilah stood on the driveway, scanning the meadow.
Will should’ve been home from training by now. Where is he?
“You coming?” Her brother looked like a kid on Christmas morning as he climbed onto the bright red All-Terrain vehicle.
She shook her head. “No, you go.” She had to talk to Will.
Once her brother was set, Lachlan boarded his ATV, and the two of them took off toward the mountain.
Why wasn’t Will responding to her texts? Her calls went straight to voicemail. She headed back into the house. All her life she’d dreamed of owning a franchise—to sit at the table as an equal with her siblings. Her restaurant would be the final, missing piece in the family business. But executive chef of a spin-off franchise?
God. What an honor that Dino Romano believed in her ability. With one hand, she’d hold onto her family legacy, and with the other she’d create her own. It’s a dream come true.
On the porch, she stopped to take in the wide-open Wyoming sky, the sage meadow, and the jutting mountain peaks capped with glistening snow. She’d fallen in love with Calamity. And the idea of leaving…
Her pulse fluttered in her throat, and her palms went clammy. She’d never see Will again. She’d miss out on Ruby growing up. She couldn’t imagine leaving all this splendor behind.
Checking her phone and not seeing anything from Will, she opened the door and went inside. The large fan blades stirred the air, and it felt good on her sun-heated skin. As she headed for the kitchen, she caught the low murmur of Will’s voice. Oh. When did he get home?
Anxious, she hit the stairs, not knowing what he’d think of her leaving. He’d never once asked her to stay, so maybe he’d be happy for her. Baloney. She knew him. Knew by the way he looked at her and touched her that he wanted so much more than he let on.
He’s afraid to show his love. And she’d seen for herself why. His mom was horrible.
And she was about to do exactly what his mom had done—leave him. Yeah, this was going to hurt.
Both of us.
At the threshold to his room, she hesitated.
With his back to her, phone to his ear, legs braced in the stance of a highlander surveying the battle field, he said, “That’d be great. Appreciate that.” He was all business. “I just got off the phone with the agency, and Miss Kessler will move in this weekend, so you guys coming home early will give me a chance to get you all on the same page.” He paused, listening. “She’s a great kid. You’ll like her.” He paced to the balcony, the French doors already open. “Who told you that? It’s fine.” He leaned down and rubbed his right knee. “No pain at all.”
Had something happened?
“I’m fine. But he’s right, I have been distracted. I’ve been slacking off the past few weeks.” He listened for a minute, then let out a laugh she didn’t recognize. “You got that right. Being banned has a way of getting a man’s attention.”
Banned? Will had been banned?
“But don’t worry. I got my focus back.” He listened. “Yeah, you go. I’ll see you in a few days. Thanks, man.” He pitched his phone onto his mattress.
“Will?” She stepped into his room.
“Oh. Hey. Thought you’d be with your brother.”
“How’d you know he was here?”
“I saw the car out front when I got back from training.”
“You’ve been home all this time?” Why didn’t you come meet him?
He gave a curt nod.
“What’s this about you being banned?” She watched him carefully, as he stood there, a wall of muscle, locked down, and regarding her like she was some houseguest.
“Yeah, can you believe it? Damien unearthed an old photograph of my dad with the founder of Sprocket.”
“What—”
He held up a hand. “We’re taking care of it. My father was one of the original investors, but he sold out after two years. The management’s turned over several times since then. There’s no connection.”
“That’s insane.”
He moved around her—keeping his distance, like she had fleas. “I’m on it.”
“Will, you’re—”
“Where’s your brother?”
“Lachlan’s giving him a tour of the ranch.”
“Great. He’ll show him a good time.” He gave her the fakest, most insincere smile she’d ever seen. “Heard your good news.”
“You did?” This…this wasn’t her Will. This was the Will she’d met that first night, the one who followed advice from books and not his heart.
“Yeah. Got home right when he was telling you about the opportunity.” His smile looked like something he’d be forced to give with his balls in a vise. “Congratulations.”
On her twenty-sixth birthday, she’d opened an envelope with a tear sheet that had killed the dream she’d had since she was a little girl. That sense of the ground giving way beneath her feet? That stinging sensation in her limbs?
It’s happening all over again.
The man she’d fallen in love with was gone, replaced by the disciplined champion.
She understood. He’d been banned from the sport that should be erecting a statue in his honor. He needed Freefest more than ever. He needed to distance himself, so he could focus.
I get that.
“When do you leave?” he asked.
“Will, I…” She lifted her arms and let them drop to her sides.
“Sounds like you’ll skip the final competition?” He reached for his laptop on the tall dresser. “Makes sense. No point in wasting time creating a menu for a Calamity restaurant when you’re starting a kitchen in New York.”
“Will, stop it. What’re you doing?”
“Well, right now I’m organizing my travel plans. I’m printing out the pictures of the course, making arrangements with Miss Kessler. Marcella will be back tomorrow, Fin and Callie the day after.”
“That’s good. But why are you talking to me like I’m some houseguest you’ve been courteously passing in the hallway?”
He set the laptop on his desk and flipped it open, powering it up. Staring at it, like he wished it would break into a jig or breathe fire, anything to create a distraction, he drew in a breath. “Because you’re leaving. And I’m…adjusting.”
“Can you please stop adjusting and just be with me? Just sit and talk to me?”
“No, Delilah. I’m not going to do that.”
“Why?”
“Because this isn’t easy for me.”
“It isn’t easy for me, either. Will, I love you.” It was like peeling away a layer of grime and seeing clearly for the very first time. “I love you so much. I—”
With a pained expression, he held up a hand. “Let’s not do this.”
She took in the pajama shorts he’d stripped off her last night and flung onto the chair, the mound of dirty laundry in the closet they hadn’t gotten around to washing because they’d spent every free moment they could together, and the snow globes she’d barely begun to discover. “You have to know how much this is tearing me apart. If my brother had offered me my franchise, I would’ve turned it down.” She hadn’t known that until this moment, but it was absolutely true. “But this is Dino Romano. He believes in me enough to let me run with my own vision for Da Nonna’s.”
“I know. And I know what that means to you. I’m genuinely happy for you. But, right now, you’re going to have to give me some time to…adjust.”
“I don’t want to do that. I want to talk to you. Because I love you, and I…”
“You what, Delilah? I don’t know what you want me to do with this information. You tell me you love me now, when you’re leaving? What is it you’re looking for? Do you want to have a dramatic scene where we confess our love for each other, reminisce on all the good times we’ve had, and have some long, drawn-out goodbye? Because I don’t want that.” He stalked towards her. “I want you to be happy, and there’s nothing that’ll make you happier than this amazing opportunity that’s dropped into your lap. So, go. Go and live your dream.”
She’d seen Will conflicted. Seen him angry, happy, and ecstatic. Defeated, sad, determined, and disgusted. She’d seen him filled with hope, and she’d watched him crash.
But she’d never seen him with a pain so intense it ravaged his features. “I don’t have to decide anything right now. I’ll be back for the final event, and we can talk then.”
“I won’t be here.”
“I’ll wait until you come back.” Only, saying those words out loud drove it all home. If she stayed in Calamity, she’d be doing a lot of waiting. Will would be off chasing Olympic gold, and she’d be checking her phone every few minutes, hoping they could make a long distance relationship work.
Her sister’s words flew up into her face like a swarm of gnats. You’ll have given everything up for nothing.
Delilah didn’t know what she’d do if she gave up the chance to run a franchise backed by Dino Romano, only to have Will’s feelings for her change with time and distance.
He snapped his laptop closed and tossed it onto the bed. “What I feel for you…I’ve never felt it before, and I’m pretty damn sure I’m never going to feel it again. So, I’m going to ask you one last time, and if you can’t give me the answer I need, then I want you to be kind enough to walk out that door without looking back.” He drew in a shaky breath. “If you brother showed up today and offered you the chance to run your own Da Nonna’s, just the way you want to do it, would you take it?”
Sorrow burned like a razor’s slash across her chest. Her soul literally felt like it was being ripped in half. She truly, deeply wanted to stay. But how did she pass up a chance to grow her family’s business, while doing what she loved?
If she didn’t win the competition, she’d get a sous chef job in town, while Will went off on his competition season. Was she willing to give up an executive chef job with Dino Romano to find out if their relationship would last?
Her muscles wouldn’t move. Her lungs wouldn’t pull in oxygen. Nothing felt right. She wanted to stay with him as much as she wanted to run with this new opportunity. But her indecision was killing the man she loved, and she couldn’t do that to him.
With her limbs barely functioning, she turned and walked out the door.
Asleep on her stomach, rump up in the air and face squished by the pillow, making her lips pucker, Ruby slept peacefully. Squawk’s big yellow legs stuck out because of the arm wrapped tightly around its middle.
Her bedroom smelled of raspberry jam and crayons, and images of their roughhousing earlier that evening echoed through him. With his back against the wall, Will stretched out alongside her, feet dangling off the edge of her mattress. He had a palm on her back just to feel her steady breathing.
The only thing missing was Delilah to close the Ruby sandwich. He missed the electric connection, missed seeing her smiling face—that aren’t we the luckiest bastards in the whole damn world sense of togetherness. But she’d left with her brother yesterday morning, and his world had gone quiet and still. Colorless.
Thank God for Ruby.
Awareness hit like a shock of ice cold water. After he came back from Freefest, Ruby would be in Fin’s care. Over time, she’d bond with his brothers, Marcella, Lachlan, and Miss Kessler. She’d barely remember him.
Strange how what mattered—what gripped his heart and squeezed—wasn’t his career but his girls.
At least he saw a path back to skiing. If he won Freefest, the League might lift the ban against him. That would clear him to make the Olympic team. His attorney had set a lot in motion, and since he hadn’t done anything wrong, he suspected he’d be vindicated.
And that meant his life would go back to what it had been before he’d met Delilah and Ruby. Only, he had met them, and his life would never feel the same again. He’d liked plenty of people in his twenty-eight years but, other than his brothers, they’d all come and gone, everyone on his own path in life. He might’ve only known Delilah for five weeks, but she’d imprinted. On a cellular level, she’d become part of him.
He’d tried to turn the channel. That’s what I do best. But it hadn’t worked. Maybe when he got on the plane, got his head in competition-mode, started hanging out with his buddies, maybe being busy would edge out the space she’d taken.
He visualized the papers still in the printer, the passport he needed to get out of the safe, the wool socks he’d forgotten to pack. See? Once he had other things to focus on, he’d stop hurting.
Gently, he lifted his hand off Ruby’s back and hitched up on an elbow to take in her sleeping form. All that crazy hair and those bare baby toes…damn, she was adorable.
When he lifted all the way up, she blinked and sat up on her knees. “Stay wif me.”
How could he resist that sleepy voice and those questioning eyes?
But, of course, he had to. His plane left at four AM. He was leaving the country, for Christ’s sake. He still had to get that damn passport. He tested his knee—no pain. Good. “I have to go, Rubes. You sleep. Remember, when you wake up, Fin’s going to make you his famous sweet potato pancakes.”
“No, fanks.” Ruby shoved hair out of her eyes. “Go Wheel.”
His lungs compressed like sponges in big fists. “I’ll be home in a
week.” She doesn’t even know what that means. “And you’re going to the lake with Miss Kessler.”
She leaned in and wrapped her arms around his neck.
Christ. He patted her hands, before prying them off. “Hey, look at me. I’m going to miss you, but I’m coming back.”
Her lower lip wobbled. “Go wif you.”
“No, Ruby. Not on this trip. But you’re going to have fun with Fin and Callie, Marcella and Miss Kessler. And then, before you know it, I’ll be back.”
He got off the bed. He didn’t want to crush her spirit. He didn’t want to hurt her. He didn’t want…
He didn’t want to leave her.
She got up on her feet, looking so fragile in her little cotton pajama set. “Go wif you, Wheel.”
His heart pounded furiously. “Sweetheart, I have to go to work. I have to get on a plane and work for a week. But I’ll be back after that.”
“Pease, Wheel?” She stomped her feet, clearly agitated. “Pease?”
“No, I…” Shit. Fuck. He’d drawn that line in the beginning for this very reason, knowing if she got too attached, she’d be destroyed when he left.
She lifted her hands, turning her palms upward and hunching her shoulders. “I dus wike you, Wheel. I dus do.”
Oh, Jesus. Oh, fucking hell. She was apologizing for being too needy. For wanting to be with him. Pain landed like a spike into the center of his heart.
It was the worst thing he could’ve done to her. He scooped her into his arms. “I like you, too Ruby.” He forced words through the hard knot in his throat. “You’re my best buddy, and I love spending time with you. I like it better than anything.”
Then why aren’t you staying with her?
Because I’m not her damn dad.
“But I have to go to work. And, this week, my work is far away. But when I’m done, I’ll come home and hang out with you again. Okay?”
But he knew from her expression she didn’t believe him.
And she was right. Her whole damn life was about to change, and she’d have to learn to trust someone else.