Keeping the Pieces

by Brenda Lowder

  “Oh, baby!” Derek put his arms around her. She leaned toward him, willing to be comforted flush against his solid chest, but her seatbelt restrained her from leaning farther.

  Emma sighed and unhooked her seatbelt. She climbed out of the car and surveyed their weekend home.

  The cabin was huge, set atop a hill at the end of the gravel drive they’d had to use four-wheel drive to get up. Cam hadn’t bothered to pull into any of the spaces in the three-car garage but turned the engine off where they were, in line with a lovely view of the cabin itself.

  Derek and Cam retrieved the luggage from the back and carried it themselves, eschewing Emma’s offered help. Emma trailed behind Honey to the house.

  “Cam and I’ll have the master suite, of course,” Honey said over her shoulder as she unlocked the front door. “But yours and Derek’s bedroom has its own bathroom and Jacuzzi tub too. And it’s right across the hall.” Honey smiled at Emma, and Emma was dying to know what the other woman was thinking. “Right across the hall” seemed to be a strategy. Did Honey have her own plan? Whatever it may be, Emma was sure Derek would become Honey’s conquest this weekend. He’d get that kiss he’d promised Emma he’d give Honey for sure.

  “Convenient.” Emma smiled back.

  Honey’s eyebrows went up. She looked like she was wondering how much Emma suspected about Honey’s plans for Derek this weekend.

  Emma shrugged and smiled innocently. “In case there’s a fire or something.”

  Honey turned and led the way into the house. Emma stepped over the threshold and had to keep from gasping when she caught sight of the magnificent room. A cavernous ceiling sported an enormous chandelier with strands of dazzling crystals underneath real wax tapers, which were the only nod to the rustic setting.

  Thick, cream-colored curtains flanked floor-to-ceiling windows that offered a gorgeous view of the mountains on two sides. A rough rock fireplace bigger than Emma took up a corner of the room next to a gigantic TV that was almost the size of the wall.

  Nothing in the luxe interior gave Emma the sense that she was in a cabin. The walls were real wood, sure, but instead of the rough-hewn logs Emma had expected, these were smooth, perfectly matched, and polished to such a sheen that they would be at home on an expensive yacht or the dashboard of a classic Cadillac.

  Cam and Derek came through the door behind her. Cam dumped the suitcases he was holding by the door with a thud.

  “Sweetheart, would you please put those in our rooms?” Honey asked the second the suitcases hit the floor.

  Cam exhaled heavily and picked up the dropped suitcases. “Come on,” he directed at Derek, leading the way to the hallway.

  Emma waited at the corner for Derek to catch up and wiggled her eyebrows at him when he did. There was a definite undercurrent of frustration between Cam and Honey. The pot was boiling, bubbles rising to the top. They’d be there with towels when it finally boiled over.

  Emma counted eight closed doors down the long hallway. “What are these other rooms?” she asked Honey.

  “Gym, sauna, game room, bathroom, bedroom, bathroom, master bedroom—which is ours of course, and your bedroom.” Honey opened the last door on the right at these words. A beautifully decorated room with large windows showcasing the Blue Ridge Mountains greeted them.

  “Wow,” Emma breathed.

  Derek came up behind her. “Yeah. Wow.”

  In any other house, this would easily have been the master bedroom. The large, open room had space for a sitting area of its own with a loveseat and easy chair facing a fireplace. To the left was a king-sized bed, flanked by a bedside table and another easy chair. A writing desk and chair sat against the opposite wall next to a large built-in bookcase full of expensive-looking leather volumes. Just how many people needed to sit at one time in this guest bedroom?

  “And here’s the bathroom.” Honey entered the hallway left of the desk and turned the light on. Emma ducked in behind her and saw the largest Jacuzzi tub she’d ever seen inside a house. There was more than enough room for two. There was probably room to squeeze four, but Emma wouldn’t go there.

  “We’ll leave you two lovebirds alone while we get unpacked.”

  How did Honey make that line sound so unrealistic? Like “lovebirds” were the last thing she and Derek were? Never mind that they weren’t and Honey was right. Emma and Derek could be lovebirds. They really could be lovebirds. There was enough heat between them to set a whole love nest on fire.

  Although, on second thought, maybe that wasn’t the fact she should be focusing on proving—to herself or to Honey. Emma was here for Cam, after all. To win him. To steal him away. Because she loved him. She didn’t have to prove her attractiveness. Honey would have an idea just how irresistible Emma really was when she lost her fiancé to her.

  It’s a pity that by that point Honey probably wouldn’t care, because she’d have Derek.

  Emma dropped her purse down on the bed, claiming it. Derek shut the door behind Honey and Cam, and Emma went over to get her suitcase from him.

  He handed it to her and tossed his duffel bag on the right side of the bed.

  She jerked her chin at him. “Whoa! Just a minute there. I already claimed the bed.”

  Derek gave her a look. “It’s a big bed, Em. Plenty of room for both of us.”

  She put her hands on her hips. “Technically speaking.” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “But we are not, in fact, engaged. Nor doing any dating of any sort. You have to sleep on the couch.”

  He put his hands on his hips, imitating her posture and tone with maddening sarcastic accuracy. “But for the sake of the roles we’re playing, we’d better sleep in the bed together.”

  Her stomach flipped over. “No. Uh-uh. Not going to happen.”

  He started unpacking his duffel. “Oh, get over yourself. Do you think I won’t be able to resist you? Believe me. I will. And come on! Have you seen the size of that couch?”

  She had. It wasn’t a couch. It was a sleepless night waiting to happen. And she’d determined at first glance that he’d be the one lying awake on it, not her.

  There was no way she was sharing a bed with him. He might be trusted to keep his hands—and all other body parts—to himself, but she wasn’t going to admit to him that she couldn’t be.

  Looking at the big, fluffy bed with its thick duvet and numerous white eyelet pillow shams, her mind drifted to the thought of the two of them in the bed. Together. Doing nothing. Just sleeping, sharing the space, as he insisted he could so easily do. She’d turn over, maybe her out-slung arm would fall across his solid wall of muscled chest, and she’d linger. Let her arm absorb his warmth and firmness. Feel the heat of him so close, connected to her through this tenuous link that she could make stronger by just rolling over. Snuggling into his side. Burrowing onto his shoulder. Nuzzling his neck. Lifting her head to see him watching her through sleep-hooded eyes. Reaching for him. Mounting him. Abandoning herself to the undeniable electricity between them. Feeling him sit up and pull her closer, surrounding her with his massive arms. Stroking her. Entering her. Listening to her scream his name…

  “Emma?”

  “Huh?” Emma blinked and snapped out of her Derek sex fantasy, turning away from the bed and facing the man himself.

  “I mean, we’re two adults. We can share a bed without it being a big deal. I mean, we are in love with other people.” He whispered that last part and mock-slugged her on the arm like the friend of his she was supposed to be.

  Emma swallowed. It was a terrible idea. She had a strong work ethic and was extremely disciplined, but when it came to sex and chocolate, she had little to no willpower. She solved that by never buying chocolate and loving Cam which, so far, had resulted in no sex with him and very little sex elsewhere. Sharing a bed with Derek would be beyond stupid.

  But she wouldn’t admit it.

  “Absolutely!” She shrugged her shoulders and tilted the corners of her mouth up into the appearance of a smile. �
��Not a problem. You want the right? Great. I sleep on the left anyway. Perfect.”

  She breezed past the bed and into the palatial bathroom. She shut the powder room door behind her and leaned against it with her hand on her heart.

  Get it together. Cam is who you want. Who you’ve always wanted. Don’t blow it now when the stakes are higher than they’ve ever been. He’s getting married unless you give him a reason not to. Be the reason.

  She would be the reason.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  The cabin in the mountains was like no cabin Derek had ever seen. He didn’t even know anyone whose real house was as nice as this. Not that he knew what a vacation cabin should look like, but he hadn’t pictured this, despite Honey’s description.

  The fancy place made him feel claustrophobic. Closed in. Suddenly his clothes were too tight. His collar was making him itch. He pulled off his jacket and hung it in the closet. Emma came out of the bathroom, and he stole a glance at her. She didn’t look nearly as uncomfortable as he was. She must be used to places like this, hanging out with Cam like she had over the years. And her own life was classier than his. She may not have been rich like Cam and Honey, but she’d been nurtured by two involved parents and had everything she needed. Meanwhile he’d had to struggle for the necessities when supporting himself and his younger brothers.

  “Do you need the bathroom?” Emma unzipped her suitcase.

  He rubbed his head. “No. But didn’t you just come out of there?”

  “Yeah, but I think I might take a bath. Have you seen the tub? It’s got a waterfall.” She blinked her big eyes at him.

  He shook his head. He didn’t need a bathroom waterfall. Or a tub the size of a swimming pool. It wasn’t normal. He pulled at his collar, the neck of his T-shirt chafing.

  “Go for it.” He took his jacket back out of the closet. “I think I’ll go for a walk, look around.”

  “Great. See you later.” She gave him an excited smile—was the bathroom really that amazing?—and disappeared into the water park of a bathroom.

  As soon as Emma closed the door, his phone rang.

  Alex.

  Of course. The only brother he’d yet to talk to about Ryder’s situation.

  “Alex,” he answered the phone.

  “Derek. Hey. How’s it going?”

  “Good. You?” Derek wondered how long it would take Alex to get to the meat of the matter. Less time than Cole, he predicted. As an accountant, Alex was highly analytical.

  “Cole says you’ve gone away for the weekend on an orgy sex romp.”

  Ah, not the meat he thought they were going to discuss.

  “Cole drinks too much.”

  “Very funny. What’s going on?”

  Derek squeezed the phone, his knuckles cracking. “Nothing you need to concern yourself with.”

  “I don’t know. Sounds like two of my brothers are exhibiting erratic behavior.”

  “Just one. His name is Ryder, and he’s going to be fine.”

  “I agree.”

  “You do?”

  “Of course. Cole came over this morning, upset that you refused to do anything about Ryder, but I agree with you. There’s nothing to be done.”

  “Exactly.”

  “For him.”

  “What?”

  “Well, he’s a man now. He can make his own decisions. We all know Macey’s using him, but it’s not going to last. She’ll move on, we’ll assess the damage, and we’ll help Ryder rebuild his life. Including taking care of the child she will surely stick him with. It’s not him I’m worried about. It’s you.”

  Derek sat on the loveseat and gazed out the window at the distant mountains. “Me?”

  “This toxic situation you’re in. It’s no good. You need to leave.” Alex’s clipped words held authority. Derek may have been the older brother, but Alex had always been just as responsible.

  “You don’t know anything about it.”

  “Cole says you’re sleeping with one girl so you can make another one jealous.”

  “That’s not what—”

  “You’re playing with fire. You need to stop it, now.”

  Derek leaned back. The cushion was hard and didn’t give against his weight. He was not sleeping on this tonight. “It’s not like that. Cole’s exaggerating.”

  “So you’re not sleeping with one woman to get to another?”

  “No. Of course not.”

  “Good. That’s good.” After a second during which it sounded like he took a drink, Alex said, “So what’s really going on?”

  Derek sat up straight. He was tired of dealing with his brothers. “I don’t have time to explain now. I’ll tell you all about it when I get back.”

  “But—”

  “Later. Gotta go. Bye.” Derek ended the call and wished both Alex and Cole had girlfriends. Then they wouldn’t be so preoccupied with his love life.

  Feeling more hemmed in than ever, he left the bedroom in search of space.

  He found it outside. Walking along the exterior of the house took so long he started thinking of it as a mansion rather than a cabin.

  The property in back of the house contained the promised heated swimming pool and hot tub. There was even a tennis court. Farther out, the manicured lawn ended where a thick copse of trees started.

  Derek had passed a small woodpile against the back of the house, but here was where that wood had no doubt come from. Two flat stumps, one with an ax buried in it, were bordered by some uncut logs.

  He took off his jacket and laid it on the ground. Chopping wood would be just the physical activity he needed to relieve the stress of his brothers and his opulently oppressive surroundings.

  The first log gave him some trouble, but after that the knack of chopping wood, which he’d often done with his dad in his early teens, came back to him.

  “Whoa, there!”

  Concentrating on his task, Derek didn’t hear Cam coming until he was right in front of him. Derek lowered the ax and wiped the sweat from his brow.

  “Hey.”

  Cam scratched his chin. “Hey. I came out here to chop some wood for the fireplace.”

  “No need.”

  Cam smiled his newscaster grin. “I think there is.”

  “We’ll have enough. Between what’s by the back door and this.” Derek nodded to the pile of logs he’d cut. “In fact, you can help me carry this back to the house.”

  Cam shook his head. “I don’t think that’s going to be enough. I’ll just chop down another tree.”

  “Aren’t we just renting this place? Won’t the owners be pissed off if we start chopping their trees down?”

  Cam frowned. “That’s what they’re there for, obviously. And you already used up all the pre-cut trees.”

  Derek rolled his eyes, but handed over the ax. He had a bad feeling Cam was going to chop a tree on himself. Or him.

  “Need some help?”

  Cam cocked his head at him. “No. I’ve got it.”

  Derek stood back and crossed his arms.

  “Are you going to stand there and watch?”

  “Yeah.” He wouldn’t miss it.

  Cam huffed, but he approached the closest tree with the ax in his hands. Derek was willing to bet Cam had never chopped one down before in his life.

  Cam studied the tree from where he stood then walked around it and looked at it from the other side.

  “I’m going to start here,” he announced.

  “Shouldn’t you chop it from this side then? So it will fall that way?” Derek pointed to the empty space where the tree had room to fall.

  “Yes. That’s what I meant.”

  Derek nodded. “Yeah, I thought so.”

  Cam circled back. He stood where he could reach the spot Derek had pointed to and planted his feet wide. He swung the ax over his shoulder, readying himself.

  Derek made himself breathe. He imagined the trip to the emergency room he’d be making as soon as Cam swung the ax into himself. He
hoped Emma wouldn’t mourn the idiot long.

  Cam swung the ax toward the tree but stopped short of it. “That was just a practice swing.”

  Derek held his breath for the next one.

  Cam brought the ax back over his shoulder, hard. “Ow!” He crumpled to the ground.

  Derek ran to him and knelt at his side, searching for blood. He couldn’t find any.

  “What happened?”

  Cam turned on his left side and faced Derek. “My arm! I don’t think I can move it.” He tilted his chin to indicate his right arm.

  “Can I take a look?”

  Cam nodded.

  Derek ran his hands carefully over Cam’s forearm, feeling for breaks. “Does this hurt?”

  “No.”

  He moved to Cam’s upper arm and then shoulder. “Ow!” Cam yelled again.

  Derek sat back on his feet. “I think you pulled a muscle.”

  “I did?”

  “In your shoulder. Take it easy for a few days. Alternate hot and cool compresses, and you’ll be okay.”

  Cam blew a breath out. “Thanks.” He sat up and rotated his arm. “I guess it doesn’t feel as bad as I thought.”

  He stood, retrieved the ax from where he’d dropped it on the ground, and handed it to Derek.

  “I don’t think I’m up to finishing chopping the tree down, though. Or carrying firewood. See you later.” He waved at Derek and stalked off in the direction of the house.

  Derek carried the ax back to the stump, shaking his head. That was the man Emma loved and Honey was going to marry.

  Cole was right. Love sucked.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  So where are we going for dinner?” Cam asked.

  Emma looked up to see him standing in the doorway to the living room. She and Honey and Derek were lounging on what seemed to be brand-new living room furniture. It was so firmly stuffed that it didn’t even deflate when she sat down. And only a tiny bit of a depression was made when Derek did.

  Cam had his hands around the top of the doorframe, which he could easily reach at his height, and was pantomiming doing pull-ups. He wasn’t putting any real weight on his arms, though, which resulted in more like a stepping-swinging motion back and forth in the doorway. Emma leaned her arm on the back of the couch and put her chin in her hand to watch him.