“What are you saying? Are you breaking up with me?”
She choked out a sound that was part laughter and part sob. “You can’t really break up from a one-night stand.”
“This was not a one-night stand,” he growled. He clenched his fists, wanting to haul her into his arms, toss her back onto the bed, and prove it to her.
She raised her head and gazed at him, her eyes swimming with love and pain. He caught his breath and something burned in his chest. She cupped his cheek, leaned up, and lightly kissed him. “Avery, I’m sorry. You were right. I am the marrying kind. I want to be with you, create a life with you, bear your children. But since you don’t want those things, and I refuse to pretend to myself that I’ll be able to change your mind if I stay, we are left at an impasse. I’m making it easy for us and leaving. Don’t worry about me, I can and will survive without you.”
He watched her walk away from him with a sinking feeling in his gut, telling him that while she could survive without him, he didn’t know if he would survive without her.
Chapter 18
Cat stumbled into the house. She’d kept her tears at bay until she parked in the driveway and then they started to stream, blurring her vision. She prayed she’d make it upstairs to her bedroom before anyone saw her.
“Cat?” Kennadee called from the couch in the living room. “Is that you?”
Crap. She wiped at her nose. “What are you doing up?”
It was after midnight, closer to one. Everyone should have been in bed.
“I couldn’t sleep. Dang, shoulder makes every position uncomfortable. Hey, what’s wrong?” She set down her wine glass and rose from the couch, her expression full of concern.
“Nothing, I’m fine,” Cat said, her tone pitiful. “Should you be drinking while on pain pills?”
“I never filled the prescription, remember, and I’m using wine to take the edge off so I can sleep. What happened? You are not fine. You never cry. Is there a problem with the shop? No, you wouldn’t cry about that, you’d figure a way to fix it. It’s got to be a man. Who is he?”
“Avery Dawson.” Cat deflated, falling onto the end of the couch and burying her face in her hands, hiccuping sobs shaking her shoulders.
Kennadee scooted over and placed her good arm around Cat, cradling her. “I thought you were done with him after what he pulled two years ago. When did you start seeing him again? Tell me what he did and I’ll go over there and make him pay.”
“I love him. So, I broke up with him. Well, kind of.” She straightened out of Kennadee’s hold and picked up the wine glass, drained it, and poured herself another.
“What? You aren’t making any sense.”
“I know. None of it makes sense.” She took a slower sip of the second glass of wine.
“Why would you set yourself up for more heartbreak when he dumped you two years ago? The man didn’t deserve a second chance.”
“It’s not that simple.” Cat leaned back on the cushions, cuddling her wine glass close to her chest with one hand and wiping tears from her eyes with the other. She opened her purse and pulled out a travel pack of tissues, blowing her nose. “The chemistry is off the charts. He touches me, and I melt. I never should have slept with him.”
“Wait, you slept with him and then broke up with him? Did he hurt you? Take advantage of you? I’ll kill him.”
“Nothing like that. He asked me to dinner at his place. We were going to give it another chance and then before I knew it, he was kissing me and…well…”
“You melted.” Kennadee nodded. “Been there, sister.”
“It’s all Zoe’s fault. If she hadn’t made me change into my sexy black lingerie, and I’d stayed in the old cotton ones, it would have stopped me from getting naked with him.”
“Do you really believe that?”
“No,” she said meekly. “Kennadee, he’s the one.”
“So, what’s the problem?”
“He doesn’t believe in long-term relationships, or relationships in general for that matter. Don’t even bring up the subject of marriage.”
“Did you bring up marriage? That’s a boner killer for any man.”
“No, I’m not stupid enough to declare my love for a man and then demand to know when we’re getting married. But I did tell him I loved him. I couldn’t help myself. The sex was so, so…indescribably fantastic. I was caught up in the moment, and it slipped out.”
“How did marriage come into it?”
“He went all cold and standoffish, telling me he wouldn’t marry me.”
“The bastard.”
Cat choked on a laugh, and sipped more of the wine, liking how it helped dull her heartache. “Yes, thank you.” She needed her sister in her corner. Kennadee had spent so much time away from home getting certified as an EMT and firefighter, Cat hadn’t realized how much she’d missed their late-night talks.
“Who wouldn’t want to marry you? You’re smart, beautiful, and have a killer body. In fact, haven’t you been proposed to a few times already?”
“Right? The problem is I would really want to be his wife, not to any of the others’ who have asked.”
“That sucks.”
“Totally sucks.”
“What can I do to help?”
“Ice cream?”
“Coming up. No, you stay there. I can get it.”
“Grab another bottle of wine while you’re at it.” She planned on getting drunk. If any occasion called for it, it was getting your heart broken.
Kennadee returned with a carton of Extreme Maximum Fudge Moose Tracks and two spoons, along with another bottle of wine.
They dug in.
“So, the sex was really that good?” Kennadee asked, around a mouthful.
“So good, that it was hard to not dismiss all my scruples and sign up to be his concubine. I really wish Mom were here. It’s times like this when I miss her the most.”
“Me, too, honey. Me too.”
“What’s going on down here?” Jack asked, entering the living room wearing his flannel pajamas and t-shirt with an old terry-cloth robe. He took in the ice cream, wine, and Cat’s tear-streaked face, and his own face fell. “What did Dawson do?”
“Don’t worry about it, Dad. I’m handling it.”
“If he broke your heart, I’ll break his legs. I was positive he’d be good for you.”
Realization dawned sharp and bright and she set down her wine glass. “Oh no, you didn’t.” Cat anchored her spoon in the ice cream and stood to confront her dad. “Tell me you didn’t conspire with Hank to get Avery and me together like you and Quinn did with Sorene and Ash?”
“Uh, maybe.”
“Hank’s been working on Avery, hasn’t he?” It explained everything, especially why Avery hadn’t paid her any attention over the last two years other than his surly stares from across the room.
Jack looked for a quick escape route, and Cat rushed to block his way to freedom. “Answer me, Dad. Is that why Hank drove me all around town showing me the worst of the available properties until Jill’s looked perfect?”
“Hank thought if you were right under Dawson’s nose, so to speak, then he’d stop fighting his attraction to you.”
“Did you take into count my feelings? Or is this just about you getting grandchildren? Oh my God, it is. What’s your plan? To pimp us out one by one like we’re the Bennett daughters?”
“The who?”
“Pride and Prejudice—when the parents are trying to find husbands for their five daughters. This isn’t the eighteen hundreds. I can find my own husband, if I ever want one, and if I don’t, I can still have children on my own.”
“You tell him, sis,” Kennadee said. “I can’t believe you, Dad. Her heart is breaking, so help me God you had better never try something like this with me.”
“No, listen. It’s not like that,” he tried to smooth over.
“No, you listen.” Cat poked his chest with her finger. “Butt out of my love life. I don’t need help screwin
g it up, I can do that just fine on my own. And so help me, if you and Hank try anything with Avery, you won’t be able to escape the shit storm that will blow your way.”
“I was only trying to help.”
“I don’t need this kind of help.”
“Yes, you do. All you kids do. You aren’t moving on with your lives. I want for you what your mom and I had. Yes, I know you have your careers, but there is so much more to life than work. Family, children, they are everything, and I want that for you before I’m gone.”
Cat sucked in a breath. “What do you mean before you’re gone? Are you sick?” She couldn’t lose another parent like she’d lost her mother, watching her waste away, in pain all the time, trying to be strong for those around her. When the end came, it was a relief.
“Oh, no, baby.” Jack enfolded her in his arms. “I’m not sick. But I won’t be around forever, and I want all my kids settled with their own families. That’s all.”
“There is plenty of time for that, Dad,” Kennadee said.
“With the way you kids are going, you’ll be in your forties before you settle down. If you actually do. I’ll be in my sixties. I want time with the next generation.”
“You can’t force it to happen,” Cat said.
“No, but I can help it along,” he grumbled under his breath.
“Dad!” they both hollered.
“All right, all right. I’ll tone it down.”
“You’ll tone it off,” Cat said. “Starting right now.”
A hard glint entered his eyes.
“Promise me, Dad.”
“I love you, Wild Cat, but I can’t promise you that.” He smoothed a lock of hair behind her ear. “I’m a parent. It’s my job to butt in.”
“We are all grown up. We don’t need you butting in.”
“Yes, you do. Just because you’re adults doesn’t mean you don’t need a parent watching out for you. In fact, you need it more now than when you were younger. Get used to it.”
Chapter 19
“Wasting away in Margaritaville?” Ash asked.
Avery looked up from studying the amber liquid in his glass. “More like wasting away in Whiskyville.”
Ash sat in the chair across from Avery’s desk where Avery had hidden himself in his office, not being able to stay in his apartment with memories of Cat being there.
“It’s a little early to take that trip isn’t it?” Ash pointed out.
“I started my voyage after midnight last night. I haven’t decided when I’ll return from this vacation.”
“I take it a Wilde woman drove you to numbing your sorrows in a bottle.”
“How’d you guess?”
“It wasn’t too long ago when I tried to do the same, and you tried to help me, though it didn’t stop me from making a fool of myself in front of the whole town.”
Avery raised his glass to toast Ash. “But you got the girl.”
“I’m sure if you gave it some effort you could talk Cat around.”
The last thing he wanted to do was talk her around. He’d followed her home last night to make sure she arrived safely, and it had about killed him to watch her walk into the house, wiping at tears. He’d made her cry and that pained him to know he’d caused her so much grief. It also told him he was glad she called off what was between them before he caused her any more pain.
“What can I do for you, Ash?” He couldn’t talk about Cat anymore.
“I was hoping to schedule in a practice since we’re playing the old men tomorrow, but you are obviously not up to it. Will you be sober enough to play tomorrow?”
He really didn’t care about the hockey game, not now when it felt like his life was over.
“We’ll have to forfeit if you can’t play,” Ash continued. “If that happens, we won’t live it down.”
“I’ll be there.” Hockey had always helped him in the past to work out his frustrations concerning Cat.
“If you’ve been drinking since last night, you might want to hydrate starting now.”
“I’ll get on it.” As soon as he finished a bottle or two more. Anything to blur the memory of Cat in his bed. Cat crying. Cat telling him she loved him.
So far what he’d consumed hadn’t done the trick, but he wasn’t a quitter—though he actually felt like one regarding his situation with Cat. What situation? There wasn’t one anymore and knowing he wouldn’t be seeing her, talking with her, touching her, sent a stabbing pain right through his heart.
Chapter 20
Jack met Hank at Puck Pond early the next morning. It was too warm for hockey. The temperatures had risen over the last few days, letting them know Break Up was right around the corner. This would probably be the last game they’d get to play before the ice broke.
“What the hell did your son do to my daughter?” Jack demanded. “I found her in tears, drowning her sorrows in wine and chocolate ice cream the other night. She’s also on to us and mad as hell about it.”
“I don’t know what to do about that pigheaded son of mine,” Hank said. “He’s been like a bear with a thorn in his paw. He loves her—I know he does. Did you get anything out of Cat on what happened?”
“No, once she figured out that we were working together, she clammed up. She’s barely speaking to me now. We have to fix this. You have to work on Dawson. I don’t know what fool-headed thing he did, but I know he’s the one keeping them apart.”
“I’ll get to the bottom of this,” Hank said, donning his helmet. “First, we need to wipe the ice with these kids.”
“Damn right, we do,” Quinn Bleu piped up, joining them. “Your boy doesn’t look too good.” Quinn gestured to Avery, looking a bit green in his hockey gear.
“He’s hungover,” Hank said, his tone cheering up.
“That he is,” Jack agreed. “Now, if that isn’t telling.”
“Right.”
“I take it Cat and Dawson have hit a bump in the road,” Quinn said. “Need any help in that department?”
“We’ll let you know if we do,” Hank said. “Lord knows these kids need a kick in the ass.”
“First, we need to kick asses on the ice. No way, we’re losing to them.” Jack stood in line with Quinn and Hank, studying the competition.
“Steer clear of Bart, he’s got a wicked check.” Quinn rubbed his shoulder. “I’m still feeling the hit from him last time we played.”
“Who else is showing up?” Jack asked. There would be no game if they didn’t have at least two other players show.
“Vance Hunter, Trip’s dad, and I conned Pete Rasmussen into joining us since Bart’s pa is working on the slope this week. They were driving together and should be here any minute. True enough, Vance and Pete parked and climbed out of the pickup.
They greeted the others with slaps on the back and fists bumps.
“I hear your son has found a medical practice in town,” Jack said to Pete. Gideon had recently returned home after working in the big city. When Quinn had been faking sick to help get Ash and Sorene together, Ash had asked Gideon for a second opinion concerning Quinn’s “heart” condition and Gideon had called them on their bullshit con.
“That’s right,” Pete beamed. “Which will be good for Heartbreak to have a doctor in residence. Depending how this game goes, we all might be paying him a visit afterward.”
“Hey, no talk like that. If anyone’s going to the clinic, it’ll be one of them,” Quinn said.
“Damn right,” Vance said. “Don’t count us out yet. There’s still a lot of game to be had in this hot bod.”
“That isn’t what Jodi says,” Pete piped up.
“I have to admit, I cut and ran after our last date. She wanted to do Fifty Shades of Grey. I walked in her bedroom to find whips and chains. My feet couldn’t get me out of there fast enough. What happened to women wanting to be wooed, courted, seduced? Now, they want to be whipped. It’s a crazy world out there.”
“I don’t know,” Pete said. “I’m not adverse to
some kink in the bedroom.”
“Then Jodi is your girl,” Vance said. “Just get a tetanus shot first.”
“Hey, Jack,” Pete said. “Now that Gideon’s back in town, he and Kennadee would make a good pair.”
Jack smiled. “I’ve always wanted a doctor in the family. Let’s get together next week and talk.”
The game got under way, and Jack was pitted against Avery, both of them playing center.
“You’re not looking so hot, Dawson,” Jack said as they faced off, waiting for the puck to drop. “What? Nothing to say? Has Cat got your tongue?”
The puck dropped, and Avery swung and missed. Jack grabbed the puck and skated it down the ice, passing it off to Quinn who sent it home into the net.
Hank skated up to Jack. “What did you say to Avery? He went sheet-white.”
“Just a little dig about Cat getting his tongue. You’re right, that boy is so in love, he’s sick with it. What’s he fighting?”
“Don’t know, but before this game is over, I’ll get to the bottom of it.”
They fist bumped and resumed playing.
Chapter 21
The game ended with a score of three to one in favor of the over-forty. Hank sat down next to Avery on one of the benches placed around the pond. “While we enjoyed the win, Avery, I’ve never seen you off your game like this. What’s up?”
“Stay out of it, Dad.”
“Does your hangover have Catriona Wilde’s name on it?”
“Dad,” Avery said in a warning tone.
“I thought you liked her.”
“I do like her.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
“I’m not the right man for her,” he muttered.
“Who says?”
“I do.”
“And why is that? Any man would be lucky to have Cat’s attention and I’ve seen the way she looks at you. It wouldn’t take much to have her falling in love with you.” Avery’s face blanched, and Hank sat up straighter. “She loves you, doesn’t she?”
“She deserves more than I can give her.” He looked down at his hockey stick, twirling it back and forth in his hands.
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