by C. M. Owens
That thought has me smiling ever so slightly for the first time since I heard about my father’s death.
Aunt Melanie hands me a rose, and I lean away from Kode as I slowly take it and make my way toward the grave. Rain drops hers in with a sad look, but there are no tears. I’ve already reached the point of not caring how messy my sobs have gotten. So I don’t bother wiping the few tears that fall when I drop in my own rose.
Mom moves toward the grave as I walk back toward Kode. I turn around when I reach him, and he wraps both arms around me and tugs my back flush against his front. I watch with a fractured heart as Mom breaks, her tears bursting free as she shakes with her sobs.
“You son of a bitch!” she yells, dropping to her knees.
Kode moves with me, and my aunts reach her just as I do. Kode helps her back to her feet, and she turns in his arms to sob against his chest. He looks uneasy and uncomfortable while he tries to console her. Just minutes ago he was soothing me with effortless ease.
Dane comes over, and Mom turns to grab him, gripping the lapels of his suit coat while burrowing her face into his chest. Kode looks relieved while coming to my side again.
For two days, Rain and I have slept in Mom’s bed like we were little kids that were afraid of the dark. Only we were there to keep her from being afraid of the dark instead of the other way around.
They start covering the hole while Mom continues to unravel on Dane, and he does all he can to ease her pain with his gentle touch. Kode’s hand slides back around my waist, tugging me to him and kissing my hair.
“Are you staying with Eleanor tonight?” he asks softly as people start to disperse.
“My aunts are staying with her tonight. I was hoping I could stay with you.”
His arms tighten around me, and he nuzzles me gently. “You’re welcome to stay as long as you want to, Tria. I didn’t want you leaving just because Pete was gone.”
For the second time in a long two days, I smile. That’s exactly what I needed to hear right now.
“Can we go now?” I ask, looking up at him.
He smiles down at me with those soft eyes no one else ever gets to see. “Anything you want.”
Chapter 24
KODE
“Where’s Tria?” Dane asks as he steps inside my house.
I’ve been dreading this conversation since the funeral five days ago. I’m surprised it has taken him this long.
“She had a business meeting with her new team. She’ll be back soon.”
He looks around as we near the living room, his eyes falling on the several items that prove a girl is living with me. Tria’s lip gloss is on the coffee table, her running shoes are setting by the glass doors, and her girly candles are here and there in certain places. If he thinks this is obvious, then he should see the master bathroom.
“I talked to Dale and the guys. They apparently figured it out a while back. Call me stupid or blind.” His face is expressionless, and his voice is even, which makes it impossible to read his mood.
“You’re about to get married. Your mind is a little preoccupied,” I say mildly, trying not to be the one to spark a feud first.
He leans back, propping his ass on the back of my sofa, and stuffs his hands into his jean pockets while studying me.
“Dale seems to think you’re in love with her. Why Tria, Kode? You fucking hated her. Why would you go after Tria?”
He’s obviously reining in his anger, because he’s definitely not happy with the fact I have the other Noles sister. The one actually made for me.
“Well, you kind of can’t help who you fall for, Dane. Falls aren’t usually planned. If they’re planned, they’re called jumps.”
I expect a grin or something, but I get nothing besides crickets. Well, this conversation is going great.
“Dane, I’m not going to apologize for—”
“Do you love her?” he asks, interrupting me.
Though I really don’t want to have this conversation with him before I have it with my girl, I guess I sort of owe him an explanation.
With a heavy sigh, I prop up beside him and stare at the wall. There’s now a picture hanging there—Tria and me in bed. It’s just a face shot with me kissing her cheek while she snaps the picture. But it’s probably my favorite thing in the house right now.
“Yeah. I do. And I get it now, Dane. I don’t know how you didn’t kill me when you found out about what I did.”
His eyes widen in surprise, and to my astonishment, he laughs. It’s a low, rumble of a laugh that seems to vibrate from his chest.
“Man, you really do love her.”
It’s almost painful to look back at all the time I wasted thinking I was in love with Rain. It’s easy to get confused, but after you’ve had a taste of the real thing, there’s no mistaking it ever again.
“Yeah, well, I haven’t told her that yet. Her dad just died five days ago, so I don’t think it’s the best time.”
Dane nods slowly, and then he reaches into his back pocket to extract the envelope that is hanging out. He hands it to me, and I read the messy handwriting on the front that has my girl’s name on it.
“What’s this?”
“Edward wrote a letter to Tria, Eleanor, and Rain. I told Eleanor I would deliver Tria’s. It gave me an excuse to come talk to you about this beehive you stirred. But if you seriously love her, then I’m not going to say anything other than… What the fuck? You hated Tria worse than anyone.”
His lips curl up in a smile, and for the first time in too long, I feel like my brother is looking at me with something other than hatred. I just laugh, unable to help myself.
“Wish I knew. Dale says I got sucker punched.” I rub my jaw to feign a hit I didn’t see coming, and Dane laughs hard—harder than I’ve heard him laugh in so damn long.
As his laughter tapers off, he stares at the picture of Tria and me on the wall. He studies it for a moment, probably noting the stupid smiles on our faces.
“Corbin said he knew you were serious when you mentioned telling Rain about the letter.”
The others have spoken about this since Dane and I had this fight, but we’ve never talked about it. Not since the day he shoved his fist into my face.
“Yeah. I still want to, but I want to wait until after the wedding.”
He frowns while continuing to study the picture. “The wedding has been moved back two weeks. It was a pain in the ass to do, but Rain didn’t want her father’s death messing with our day. She feels that will be sufficient time for people to get over the son of a bitch. Personally, I don’t understand grieving him at all.”
That has me tightening my lips and trying not to piss him off when we’re finally starting to be on good terms again. I thought this thing with Tria would tear us apart, not push us closer.
“That’s because he treated Rain like shit from day one. Tria knew him as a father for eighteen years of her life. Eleanor loved him for a really long time, even when he tried to make her hate him. Any idea what’s in these letters?”
He shakes his head. “Rain wasn’t ready to read hers just yet. She wanted to wait until she had some liquor. Eleanor retreated to her room after giving me Tria’s, and Rain hugged her goodbye. I figured I’d give her space to get drunk and read it.”
I nod, because there’s nothing to really say. Bashing the guy now that he’s dead seems pointless.
“I don’t think we should tell the truth. Rain will be devastated. I don’t want her to lose her best friend. Would you want Tria to lose someone she has thought of as her best friend for six years?”
Looking down shamefully, I stare at my feet, unable to even face the picture of Tria now.
“I was only her best friend because I knocked you out of the picture.”
Dane sighs long and loud. “No, Kode. You didn’t do that on your own. You provided a speed bump. That’s all it should have been. She and I were ridiculous by letting our pride get in the way. But we were eighteen. And sometimes, as you
know, you make stupid decisions when you’re young based on immature emotions, and then you stick with them because you rationalize the reasons in your mind. It’s a hell of a lot harder to swallow your pride and face something after time begins to pass.”
That’s the fucking truth.
“I wish I had never gone back out to the car that day.”
Dane laughs humorlessly. “That makes two of us.”
The door opens and closes, silencing us as Tria walks in, her eyes wide. Apparently she has already seen Dane’s car in the driveway.
“Tria,” Dane says, standing and fidgeting nervously before pocketing his hands again.
“Dane.” She stands taller, keeping his gaze. I’m pretty sure she’s on the defensive right now, considering she won’t let anyone run their mouths about us. She knows how real we are, and she’s got my back.
I’ll never forget the day she stuck Maverick in his place. He won’t ever forget it either.
“I wanted to apologize about what happened at the funeral,” Dane continues, looking as shameful as I’ve ever seen him look before. “It was sure as hell the wrong place and time, and I acted like an idiot kid instead of an adult. I’m sorry.”
She crosses her arms over her chest, staring at him like she’ll rip him in half if he’s says the wrong thing right now. It’s so fucking hot.
“Rain is really excited about this,” she tells him. “I wish everyone could have that reaction.”
Surprisingly, Rain is the biggest fan out there of our relationship. Maybe Dane is right about letting our past bullshit die with the lie.
“I know Rain is happy,” Dane says, smiling at her. “So am I. But I’m also a self-centered jerk sometimes. I’m human, after all. Never said I was perfect.”
She tenses noticeably, like there’s something in there she didn’t like to hear. “No one is perfect,” she finally says, letting her eyes meet mine briefly, but then she returns her gaze to my brother. “Sorry I flipped you off in the cemetery.”
Dane bursts out laughing, and I smother my snickers with my hand while Tria bites back a grin.
“I deserved it,” Dane says when at last his laughter fades.
She shrugs, seeming to agree with him, and she reduces the distance between us quickly, moving to my side where I wrap my arms around her and pull her to me. Dane turns to smile at us.
“I’ll be taking off. I guess I’ll see you two soon.”
“Yeah,” I say as he walks away.
Tria sighs as the door shuts behind him, and she angles her head to look up at me.
“I didn’t know what I’d be walking into when I saw his car.”
Obviously I’m just as relieved.
“The guys got to him. They told him how I really feel about you. I actually think we’re cool again for the first time in a while.”
I’m careful not to bring Rain’s name into anything. It’s the smartest thing to do.
“Did he tell you the wedding has been pushed back two weeks? It’ll be a total of three weeks before we can officially go public,” she teases, smiling up at me with her long lashes looking close to her cheeks.
“Ha. I think we’re very much public now.” Sighing, I hand her the envelope before I change my mind and do something stupid like rip it up—been there, done that, not a good idea. I’d love to save her some pain, but I’ve learned my lesson about interfering with damn letters.
“What’s this?” she asks, looking down at the crisp white envelope.
“It’s from your dad. Dane brought it over.”
Her breath comes out harsh, and she takes a minute to just stare at it. I wait patiently, ready to do whatever I can to make it better no matter what that damn thing says.
“Here,” she says, handing it back to me. “Hold on to it for me. I’m not ready to see what it says.”
I take it, though I’m a little confused. “You’re sure?”
Her dark hair falls over her shoulder, going down past her breasts and touching her top few ribs.
“Positive. If he’s telling me he’s sorry and that he loves me, it’s going to break my heart. It’ll make me feel guilty for all the time we lost because I didn’t try harder. If it’s something cold and indifferent, then it’ll break my heart in a different way. He doesn’t get to speak to me from the grave until I’m ready to listen.”
I nod, folding the envelope and sliding it into my pocket. “Then I’ll keep it until you ask for it.”
She smiles, even though it seems forced now.
“Thank you. Now, I got three movies. You can choose which one we watch.”
I flip through them and choose the only one that doesn’t look like a damn romance. She rolls her eyes at my selection, and then she heads to the kitchen to retrieve a bottle of wine and two glasses.
“How’d the meeting go?” I ask, watching her hips sway in her sexy skirt that hugs her hips and legs all the way down to her knees. Her white shirt is tucked in, and she looks like a dirty dream I want to have.
“Great. You really know how to find some incredible people. It’s going to be a well-oiled machine. They already have all the plans worked out, and they essentially just needed me to sign off. I was so impressed that I almost lost my cool and bounced up and down.”
Her smile is infectious, and I find myself grinning, too, while tossing the movie in. She heads into the bedroom as I drop to the couch and start pouring our wine. She emerges just as the movie previews start, and I waggle my eyebrows at her new attire—just my shirt.
“There’s something to be said about ordering in,” I murmur, trying not to be too pushy.
“Definitely,” she says in agreement, winking at me.
We’ve only had sex a couple of times since she heard about her father. I’m trying to give her whatever she needs right now. If it’s sex, then it’s hers. If it’s quiet time, then I shut the hell up. If she needs a bath, I’m turning on the water.
She sits down beside me and slides a leg over my waist while taking her glass. When she cuddles up against me and rests her head on my arm that is draped over the back of the sofa, it feels so right that it’s almost suffocating me.
“Tria?” I look at her while she sips the wine, her body slowly tangling around mine like she can’t get close enough.
“Mm?”
Instead of saying anything, I just kiss her, a firm kiss that has me wanting more, but not pushing for it. Our glasses go to the table, becoming forgotten as I hold her to me. When she kisses me back and starts pulling me backwards with her, slowly lying down on the sofa while keeping me between her legs, I fight not to rip the buttons off the shirt.
“I’m glad you’re here,” I finally say against her lips.
“So am I,” she says, smiling.
Yeah… I’m pretty fucking in love with Tria Noles.
The damn doorbell rings, announcing the food is here, and Tria laughs as I growl and adjust myself in my jeans. I don’t think it’s funny. At all.
She sits back up, and I go and pay the douche waiting with our food.
We eat and talk about her meeting, and she fills me in on all the details while we both ignore the movie. She’s far more interesting than the screen right now.
When the doorbell rings again, we exchange a confused look. “Kode, Tria, it’s Rain. Open up.”
Rain’s voice is breaking, and Tria scrambles up, stopping by the bedroom to grab shorts while I jog to the front door. Damn glad I didn’t give Rain a key.
I open the door, and a wave of blonde hair is all I see before Rain disappears around the corner, more than likely going to find her sister. The strong scent of alcohol wafts toward me, causing me to frown. Did she drive drunk? That’s not like her.
“Hello to you, too, Rain,” I mumble, sticking my head out the door just in time to see a cab pulling out. Thank fuck she didn’t drive. Now I don’t have to kick her ass.
When I get back into the living room, Rain is crying, and Tria is hugging her, looking over at me with as
much confusion as I feel. What the hell? Dane was just here a few hours ago, and everything was… Oh shit. Her dad’s letter.
“Rain, tell me what’s going on,” Tria soothes, hugging her sister as Rain unravels on her. She never does this.
“The wedding is off.”
Cold sweat forms all over my body, and I immediately grab my phone to text Dane while Tria gasps in surprise.
“Why?” Tria asks hoarsely. “What the hell happened?”
Rain sniffles while drawing back, and I tell Dane that she’s here via a few key strokes. Something isn’t right.
“It’s amazing that our asshole father can even ruin my life from the grave. But he did it. That bastard managed to do it. And I hate him even more in death than I did while he was alive.”
Edward didn’t like Dane?
“Rain, calm down and tell me what’s going on.” My voice draws the attention of both of them, and Rain dives into my arms like she always has.
Tria moves to sit down on the arm of the chair, now wearing a pair of shorts under my shirt. It’s awkward again. Trying to comfort anyone besides Tria just feels weird.
“Edward wrote me a letter, telling me how he has a lot of regrets in life and all that cheap ass shit. Then he has the balls to say that he wishes he could have been a good man. A man good enough to face me and be there for me during everything I went through. He shouldn’t get to clean his conscience before his grave. It’s wrong. It’s cheap. It’s so fucking cowardly!”
Her voice is loud and distorted from her tears. I’ve never seen her so hysterical before.
“What’s that got to do with your wedding and Dane?”
She hugs me tighter, and I try to think of what to say. Nothing. I really suck at this.
She finally pulls back while wiping her eyes, and she moves to join Tria on the sofa arm. Tria squeezes her hand, trying to comfort her.
“Life is short. You only have a few glimpses of amazing things. Beauty fades. Life moves at a pace that gives you whiplash. I read that letter, and realized that jerk got to answer questions without actually answering them. So, I did something I told myself I’d never do. I wanted answers. I didn’t think it mattered, but it does. I deserve to frigging know.”