Sorry.
It’s the word I’ve heard repeatedly from every person I’ve met since the car accident: the men who ripped me away from Molly and the burning car, the Police, EMTs, nurses, and doctors. I’m sure they won’t be the last to look at me with such pity.
“We believe it would be added stress to make you leave your room, so the ultrasound technician will be in soon. I can stay with you if you’d like.”
“No. I would rather be alone.” I shift my body until I’m on my back. Trying to scoot up in the bed, I wince from putting too much pressure on my hands. Mrs. Dubois frowns and stands to give my feet room under the sheet.
“Thank you for being so kind to me. I appreciate everything you’ve done.”
She places a business card on my table and gives a weak smile.
“You’re welcome. I’ll be back tomorrow to check on you, and if you or your family need anything at all, don’t hesitate to call me.”
“Merci beaucoup.”
She leaves, and I cry against my pillow once again. My mother can’t get here soon enough, and on top of everything else, I don’t know how I’ll tell her I’m pregnant.
Travis …
How will I break the news about our baby, and will he even want it after what happened between us?
Travis
I’m typing Alicia’s phone number into my cell when my nephew, Franklin, smacks my shoulder. Well, I often call him Link.
“Front counter–now.”
I shrug his hand off of me and turn to glare at him. He’s younger than me, and I don’t appreciate him trying to boss me around. I also don’t appreciate him embarrassing me in front of Alicia.
“I’ll call you tonight,” I say to her with a wink and a grin before I stroll over to the counter to Link.
“What do you want?”
“Are you trying to get another girl to quit? Your brothers are going to string your ass up.”
“This one won’t quit.”
“Trav, two female clerks have taken a walk in the last three weeks because you fucked them and ignored them the very next day.”
“Fine, I’ll find pussy elsewhere.”
“If there’s a man-whore anonymous, you need to attend the meetings. You’ve been out of control since Becca left.”
I point at his face. “Don’t say her fucking name.”
He shakes his head, making his way over to the other end of the counter. Feeling like a dick, I need to get out of this store, so I head to the back toward the hallway that leads to our private offices.
I’ll ask Everett if he has any work I can do away from Casteel. Maybe he’ll have a finished bike that needs delivered. I’d love to be out on the road, tearing it up on a motorcycle.
As soon as I step inside the hallway, I hear the cries. Reese. I walk up to her door to ensure she’s OK, and I spot Everett hugging her. I take a few steps back and stand right outside of it to listen.
“Reese, I’m sorry. I wish there was something I could do,” Everett says to her. “Becca’s going to recover from this, and I’m sure your mom will get her back home soon, and you can be with her then.”
Feeling the pounding of my heart, I cross through her doorway.
“What the fuck happened?”
Reese moves away from Everett and wipes her eyes.
“Oh, god, Ev, you have to tell him. I can’t do it.”
“Becca was in a car accident today. Travis, Molly didn’t make it,” my brother says.
Feeling lightheaded, I push the door closed behind me and lean against it.
“How bad is Becca hurt?”
“She has 2nd degree burns on her hands and arms from trying to save Molly, but otherwise she’s going to be fine. The doctor believes her burns will heal without grafting, but she will have a long recovery and some scarring. Trav, there’s something else you should know.”
“No, Everett!” Reese shouts. “Becca needs to tell him when she’s ready.”
“Tell me what?” My hands ball into fists, and I take shallow breaths, forcing my lungs to keep up with the rapid beat of my heart.
“These aren’t normal circumstances. He needs to know so he can be there for her.” My brother’s blue eyes are overshadowed with a sorrow I saw in them when he lost our father and Krystal.
“Becca found out after the accident that she’s pregnant,” Ev says. He closes up the short distance between us and grips my shoulder. “Bro, you’re going to be a dad.”
One Week Later
Reese
After a week from hell, impatiently waiting for my sister and mother to return from Europe, I knock on my parents’ front door.
Mom opens it and gives a faint smile before she steps aside for me to enter.
“How is she?”
“Better than I would be. She has strength I never imagined she could possess.”
“Is Dad home?”
As her eyes cast downward, she shakes her head.
“He’s fishing again. He’s not showing the same strength your sister is. Reese, we feel responsible, sending her and Molly on that trip.”
I grab my mother’s hand and squeeze it.
“Mom, no. Don’t you dare feel guilty. You two were trying to do something nice for her and Molly. It’s that reckless driver’s fault. Not Dad’s or yours. Where is she? I’ve desperately wanted to give her a hug.”
“She’s in the bathroom.” Mom begins to cry. “Reese, we were trying to distance her from Travis. It’s the main reason we sent her on that trip.
“And if those bystanders, the ones I call angels, hadn’t pulled your sister away from Molly and out from that car, she would’ve been killed, too.”
I bring her to me. The thought of how close Becca was to death is too painful to bear, and as my mother cries against my chest, I shed tears, too.”
“Mom!” Becca shouts.
We both rush down the hallway to the bathroom, and I don’t hesitate to swing open the door.
There sits Becca on the toilet seat, tears pouring from her eyes and tumbling off her sweet cheeks. She appears thinner, and her hands and arms are wrapped heavily in gauze.
Her golden blond hair is down today, but uncombed, and it’s obvious she’s been through hell.
“I–I think I’m miscarrying.”
“Oh, Becs.”
I don’t care how weird or gross it may seem. I hurry to her and drop to my knees. Circling my arms around her chest, I lean in, and she rests her head on my shoulder.
She sobs as she loses her baby, and I cry, too, for being unable to do a damn thing about it … for what she and Travis have lost.
This baby was to be her healer from this unthinkable ordeal. It was the blessing she believed would bring her and Travis back together.
Chapter Three
Labor Day
Reese
“Chin up, buttercup,” Everett whispers in my ear. Flinching from his unexpected warm breath, I continue spreading out the tablecloth I’ve placed over a picnic table in the backyard.
We’re both silent before he grasps my chin, forcing my head to turn to him.
“Tell me you’re not still dwelling on Travis’s potential reaction to our amazing news.”
I scrunch my nose. “A little.”
“I’m going to have to wait six months to marry you, so let’s not let what happened to Becca and Travis overshadow our engagement news, too. He can handle it.”
“I think you’re being optimistic.” I pull away from Everett and look over at Travis, who’s farther out in the yard. He’s straddling his dirt bike, chatting it up with his nephew, Franklin, who is more like his best friend.
His blond hair is sweaty from having worn his helmet, and his motocross suit reminds me of the few tattoos it covers.
Each time he came into work with a new one etched on his skin, I would think about it being another change Becca knew nothing about.
He’s filling out more physically, too, looking older than the man she left only a couple
of months ago. Of course, she’s changed, too, in far too many ways.
“Reese, he has to see Becca eventually, and I think it’s time they both act like adults.”
I shoot Everett a look before I go back to spreading out the wrinkles on the red and white checkered cloth, my movements more aggressive than before. Everett’s hand grips my arm.
“I’m sorry. That was insensitive of me. I know Becca was forced to grow up after what happened to her in Europe. Travis on the other hand … It’s why I think it would be therapeutic for him to see Becca.
“Maybe it’d be the closure that would straighten his ass up. Making amends with her might be what he needs to behave like a mature adult and treat women with respect again.”
When I steal another glimpse at Travis, I see he’s smiling at Franklin. The hope and images of him finding peace and feeling something again incite a smile from me. I lace my fingers behind Everett’s neck and gaze into his blue eyes.
“Both of them healing and finding love again would be wonderful. Since he’s refusing, I’ll try to get Becca to make the first move.”
Exhaling a heavy breath through his smile, Ev cradles the back of my head and brings me in closer. I bury my nose against his shoulder and breathe in the manly scent of him, his mixture of leather and pine.
“By agreeing to be my wife, you’ve made me the happiest man ever this week. I love you so damn much.”
“I love you, too, Ev.”
Travis
“Let’s eat, everyone!” Everett shouts from where he’s standing by the picnic tables. All our family is here. My brothers Sarge and Roman have joined us with their wives and kids, and Mom’s here, too.
Using my foot, I knock down the kickstand on my bike that I’ve been sitting on and follow Link toward the food. I smell it from across the yard, and I’m hoping my sister-in-law Sheryl made her famous fried chicken.
Reaching the tables, I notice Reese is staring at me as she stands next to Everett. The look she’s giving me still makes me uneasy.
It’s the same one she has given me since her sister first left for Europe. A look that has only grown more sorrowful over the last month.
Clutching Reese’s hand, Everett grins down at her before he turns back to everyone. “If you could wait just a moment to fill your plates, I have an announcement to make. We invited you here today to tell you our exciting news.
“While Reese and I were up east this week to attend the trade show, I proposed.” Bringing their entwined hands out in front of them, he points her ring in our direction. “Yep, I finally put a ring on her finger. Fancy face will be all mine soon!”
My heart begins to thunder, and my body shakes. I feel Link’s eyes on me, and this only revs up the emotions vying for first place.
The shaking, the profuse sweating … The reactions are my emotions way of trying to reveal themselves to my family so I can appear even more pathetic than I already do.
I don’t know why my body is acting surprised. I knew this day would come, and now I’ll have to be a part of some big production where I’ll be forced to be in her presence for several days.
“You act like we should be surprised,” Roman says, and our family joins in with his laughter. “Hell, we all figured it would happen sooner than this.”
“Dude, are you OK?” Link mutters low enough for only me to hear.
“Fucking fantastic. I’ve lost my appetite.” I charge toward my bike, my steps in sync with my racing heart.
My helmet hanging from one of the handlebars is thrown to the ground before I hop on and start it up.
Maybe if I’m reckless enough, I won’t be able to attend this fucking wedding, where I’ll have to face the future I lost … all that Becca lost.
I whip around the track at a dangerous speed, throwing mud up in the air and onto the racing gear I’m wearing.
When I get back around to my family, I try not to look at them, but I see in my peripheral vision that they’re staring at me, dumbfounded by my recklessness.
I start my second lap and think about her sexy petite frame and that adorable grin she’d give me every day. It lit up my whole damn world. She had so much hope and an adventurous spirit. I imagine that spirit is long gone, stripped from her when she watched Molly die.
I should’ve been more understanding about her trip. Instead, I was an asshole, unwilling to compromise. Different actions might’ve changed her course, and maybe she wouldn’t have experienced what she did.
I come back around the track to where my family is gathered behind the house. Everett is flagging me down, and the look he’s giving me shows his anger.
Easing off the throttle some, I begin to slow, fully aware he’s going to be in my face soon enough, and I guess it’s what I want. No one could yell at me enough to punish me for what happened.
“What the fuck are you thinking?!” he shouts as I hit the kill switch. I don’t respond, but I look into his eyes. “Answer me goddammit!”
“I’m riding. What more do you want me to say?”
His finger points inches from my face.
“You know what the hell you were doing, driving like a fucking lunatic, and I taught you to have more sense than that. Are you trying to get yourself killed?”
“Maybe I am.” I drop my bike to the ground and storm toward the house. Silence falls on the property as I pass my family.
I’m tramping through the lush grass toward the front yard, acting like a childish jackass. It’s the only thing that feels right.
I jump into my Ford pickup and shift it into drive. Vehicles are parked behind me, so I back up enough to be able to squeeze between two of them.
Throwing it in gear again, I slam on the gas and spin the truck around in the front yard. I drive through the grass until I’m behind Sarge’s truck that’s parked in the rear.
I tear off, flinging gravel everywhere. Hell, I think I might’ve hit Sarge’s truck with it, which I’ll hear about later. Maybe he’ll bitch me out, too, which I will welcome. God, I couldn’t be punished enough. Never.
Reaching under my seat, I pull out my flask and take a big swig of whiskey. Maybe this will make the pain more tolerable.
Reese
I’m doing dishes, but I feel like a robot, washing them without much thought. My mind is elsewhere, reliving the nightmare Becca went through not that long ago.
I’ll never forget the look on Travis’s face, either, when I realized he’d overheard me crying and telling Everett what had happened to her.
Then only a week later, Everett had to break more devastating news to him. Travis had to learn that Becca had lost his baby.
“Let me finish those,” Everett says.
I conjure up a smile. “There’s only a few left.”
He sets some condiments down on the counter.
“This is the last of the cleanup.”
Staring into the sink, I scrub on a fork. I soon feel Ev’s arms slip around me from behind and feel his chin on my shoulder.
“Stop doing dishes and come with me.”
Tilting my head over, I lean it against his. When Ev gives me a command, instead of him asking for what he wants, it usually means I’m soon going to feel amazing.
Dropping the fork in the sink, I dry my hands on a dishtowel and follow him outside. He grabs my fingers and pulls me along until we reach our new inground pool. Workers have been installing it all summer, and it’s only been finished a few weeks.
“Ev, I don’t have on my swimsuit.”
“You don’t need one.” He looks back at me and grins before he’s removing his tennis shoes.
“What if someone stops by?”
“Then they won’t do it again without calling first. Now, get naked.”
Snickering, I step onto the spacious patio surrounding the pool. It’s covered with multiple lounge chairs and a table-and-chair set with an umbrella attached. It even has a minibar.
Everett was beyond excited to have me move in, and he’s sparing no expe
nse to get the property the way we like it. Now he’s naked and diving into the pool before I’m even undressed.
“We need to have a gate put up around this,” I say once he comes up for air. “You know, for when we have kids.”
“I like the sound of that.” He grins as he glides a hand over his light brown hair. He’s wearing it a little shorter for summer, whereas Travis’s hair is longer around his ears. I wish I could get my mind off that boy. I’m so worried about him.
“Chin up, buttercup. No time for moping. Get your fine-looking ass in this water.”
Giving my attention back to my fiancé, I dive in, and as soon as my head comes up, Ev’s grabbing my hips and pushing me backward toward the side of the pool.
My back hits it, and I grip his waist for balance. His strong hands grab the concrete where the patio meets the top of the pool, and he ducks his face down to my neck.
He wastes no time getting a taste of it, his tongue dragging its way up until it’s tracing my ear. I shiver and feel the bumps rise on my skin.
“You looked so hot in those short shorts today. It was driving me crazy. It was difficult, too, waiting to touch you.”
I giggle. “You’ve hardly waited. Your hands were all over me and my ass today.”
“Yeah, but I wasn’t in your ass,” he whispers in my ear.
“Ev!”
He laughs. “This spot is just as fantastic.” His fingers slip inside of me, and I suck in a breath. He growls in my ear and nibbles on it as his fingers move in and out.
My head falls back, and I thrust my hips forward. I want more, need more, and crave more with Everett. It’s always this way, and I don’t believe it’ll ever change.
“Fuck me,” I breathe softly.
“You’ll never have to tell me twice, baby.”
Removing his fingers, he hoists me against him, and I envelop his body with my legs. He rubs his cock over my entrance a few times before he’s plunging it inside me. His hand on my waist squeezes and pushes me down onto him so he can go deeper.
It’s heaven as his hard length fills me full. Sighing, I weave my fingers through his slick, wet hair and close my eyes.
Fail to Trust (The Casteel Trust Series Book 2) Page 2