by Nana Malone
“You manipulate her,” Rory accused. “You are trying to get inside her head and manipulate her affections. Turn her against her own family. But let me tell you something. Not on my watch. You are not good enough for her, and you need to stay the hell away from her. She is where she belongs. What’s the magic number? How much is it going to take to make you disappear?” He swept his hand out to point at Echo in the sitting room, chatting with a young man. Or they had been chatting. Now they were staring at him and the old man as they argued… Just like everyone else.
Bryce and Tami had arrived, and Tami poked Bryce with her elbow.
Rory was still talking, but Cole’s attention was now on Echo. The guy she was with wore a navy blazer, and had one of those haircuts that probably cost as much as the blazer. And the way he looked at Cole… That was probably the kind of guy she should go out with. Not the guy who’d taken her virginity and didn’t even know.
“Hey, Cole, I’ve been looking all over for you,” Bryce said as he walked out, reaching out and taking Cole’s hand to shake. “I was hoping we could have that talk about that foundation I’m working on. Is now a good time?”
“Actually, Bryce—” Rory tried to interject, but Bryce ignored him.
“Come on. Let’s head out front, where we won’t have to worry about getting too loud and making a scene,” Bryce insisted, as he placed a hand on Cole’s shoulder and led him through the hallway towards the kitchen and away from the rest of the party guests. Tami swooped in behind him, to see if there was anything Rory needed. A refill, something to eat? She led him in the opposite direction, towards Brent’s study.
Cole fumed quietly as he let Bryce lead him out of the house and into the garden.
“I have never…been so…” He sputtered and shrugged off Bryce’s hand.
“I’m sorry about all that,” Bryce apologized. “Gramps can be…well, the word asshole comes to mind. And when it comes to Echo… He’s…protective. He means well.”
“He does not ‘mean well,’” Cole snapped. “He means to be in control, and when he doesn’t get his way, he bullies people into submission. And you all just let him get away with it! Fuck it. I’m leaving. This was a mistake.”
“Cole!” Bryce called to him, but he had already found a way out of the garden and onto the lawn, bypassing the house altogether. Echo was clearly busy.
He was an idiot. It was true that he’d been wrong about the Coulters in general. They weren’t all money-grubbing, condescending bullies who would trample over anyone who stood in the way of them getting what they wanted. But Rory Coulter had extra of what the others lacked on those fronts.
Cole should’ve known better about the old man. He saw how little Brent and Julia paid attention to what Echo really wanted and needed. They were distracted. Brent was clearly ill, but their daughter needed them. She let them lean on her too much. But, for her own grandfather to be such a…a…royal ass. She might put up a stink to him about not wanting to do something. But if Cole hadn’t put his foot down as her coach, he was willing to bet she would have caved. She would’ve been training for the marathon or half-marathon at the expense of what she enjoyed.
But maybe Rory was right. He had crossed the line with Echo. More than once. But he fucking loved her. Shit. What?
That little mental revelation was the last thing he needed. He was her coach, and he should not be sleeping with her. The fact that they had done so before they officially met didn’t excuse it now. Whatever he and Echo had, he couldn’t really blame her for not stepping in when Rory went after him like that, because he wasn’t exactly her boyfriend. But now, whatever they did have, whatever they might have been, Rory had just tainted it.
Twenty-Four
Echo was speechless as she watched Bryce lead Cole down the hall and out to the garden.
“Excuse me,” she muttered to Duke Rankin before she slipped off after the two men.
Her grandfather was puffing his chest in the hallway, and had the nerve to mutter something about it serving Cole right as Echo approached. She wanted to slap him. Honest to God. To yell and rant at him, but she knew better than to make a scene, and she’d rather reassure Cole than give Gramps the time of day. She glared at him, her jaw tightly clenched, as she brushed past.
She got to the door leading into the garden as Cole was disappearing around the corner of the house.
“What the hell happened?” she asked Bryce. “What did Gramps say to him?”
“Calm down, Echo,” Bryce urged her gently, but she wasn’t in the mood.
“Why the hell can’t Gramps just leave well enough alone? Why does he always have to butt his nose in where he’s not wanted?”
“Echo,” Bryce said calmly. “I didn’t hear the whole thing, but I think Gramps accused Cole of…crossing the professional line and interfering with your career.”
“Interfering? Because Cole was acting as my coach instead of just giving into Gramps’ ridiculous delusion that I might have a shot at winning a marathon? Forget the fact that I have said, more times than I can count, that I have no interest in running the marathon competitively.” Echo dragged in ragged breaths, her voice rising as she vented more and more of her pent-up anger and frustration.
She did her best not to direct it at Bryce, but she was sick of everyone letting Gramps get away with his shit. “You know, no one ever actually asked me if I even wanted to try to run at the Olympics!”
“Echo!” her mother scolded behind her. She and her father had slipped out of the house moments before, careful to close the door behind them. Echo could see Gage frowning and Fox whispering something to him, while Dax, who must’ve just arrived with Asha, was pushing through the door with the other two close behind. “You mustn’t forget that we have guests right now,” her mother continued, glancing over her shoulder and sighing with relief at the fact that there weren’t more than half a dozen people watching them from the house. “If there’s something to discuss, it can wait until after the party.”
“No!” Echo shouted. “You’re always saying that things can wait, things can wait, it doesn’t matter right now because there’s something that’s more important than whatever you’re doing or whatever you want to do,” she raved. “I am done with keeping your secrets and doing your bidding on everything. I have had it. I’m going to live my own life now and do the things that I want to do. You wanted me to race in the Olympics. You hired Cole without even asking me. As—as—as what? A reward for keeping my mouth shut about Dad being sick?”
Her mother paled as Echo’s words registered with everyone. Her father was pale to begin with, but now he went a little green.
“I don’t know why you’re so worried about me saying anything to anyone,” Echo continued. “It’s not like you’ve told me what’s going on. No, I just have to cover for you all the time. Make sure no one knows about the doctor’s appointments and the tests, Echo. Be perfect, Echo. Cover for us, Echo. Don’t stress anyone out, Echo. What was wrong this morning that you had to take Dad in to have the doctors check, but wasn’t enough for you to cancel a party? Heaven forbid you reschedule a party! No, you dropped the bomb that dad was sick and you needed my help when I was getting ready to tell you about getting into design school. Yup, just put aside my hopes and dreams to help you out and you can’t be bothered to tell me what the hell is going on.”
“Echo, that’s enough,” Brent said quietly.
“No, it’s not enough. It’s too much for one person’s shoulders.” She took a few deep breaths, uncomfortably aware of all the eyes that were flitting between her and her parents, waiting for someone to apologize or make a denial.
“Is it true?” Dax asked quietly.
All eyes turned to her, and Echo turned and fled the garden, bumping into Gramps as she headed back through the house to the garage. She needed to get away. She couldn’t face them, knowing what she’d just said. That she’d ruined the party. Worst of all, she didn’t regret a word of it. She wanted to feel bad for cau
sing a scene and not finding a gentler way of saying what needed to be said, but she didn’t. As she pulled out of the garage, narrowly avoiding the guests’ vehicles, and headed down the drive, she felt the urge to laugh taking over.
She had tried so many times to be gentle and easy on them, and they had used that as an excuse to ignore her and talk over her.
She’d been a buffer for so long, she was relieved to finally have some breathing room. Could her parents even handle discussing something like her father’s illness with everyone, without her there acting as a go-between?
And just like that, the euphoria passed. She still didn’t regret it, but the pain of having been put in that position still burned. She still didn’t know what was wrong with her father, or how serious it was, and the thought hit her hard. Tears spilled down her cheeks as she drove… Where? Where could she go?
She wanted Cole, but after what Bryce had said about the scene with her grandfather she doubted he wanted to see her. At least for now… she hoped.
There was really only one place she could go. The same place she could always go—Jen’s. She was supposed to be at the party, but hadn’t shown up yet…or at least, Echo hadn’t seen her yet. It didn’t matter. She needed her best friend, and would sit on the floor outside her apartment for however long it took for Jen to find her. Because there was no question that Jen would find her.
Cole thought about going to a bar or something, but his friends had other plans, and he was not in the mood to be social with strangers. So Cole went to the liquor store and bought a six-pack, then headed home to drink it. But when it came down to it, he spent at least ten minutes sitting on his sofa staring at the first unopened beer can.
He left it unopened, and went to get the paperwork and research he’d accumulated in devising his coaching plan and training strategies for Echo. Reminding himself of all the legwork he’d put into the last few months was a better way to tackle the sting of Rory’s accusations of unprofessionalism. How many people at that party might have heard what the old man had said, and how many were already contacting media outlets with the story?
His professional reputation was going to be dragged through the mud before he’d even had a chance to build one. He wondered how long it would take for Brent and Julia to call and fire him. And Echo. Fuck, what was this going to do to Echo? She didn’t need this.
There was a knock on the door. Even though he was pretty sure he would regret it, he crossed the apartment and opened it.
Bryce Coulter stood on the other side.
“Go away,” Cole said, before closing the door in Bryce’s face. Bryce then stuck his foot in the doorway so it wouldn’t close, clenching his jaw against whatever pain the door squeezing his foot caused him.
“No. You are going to hear me out,” Bryce insisted.
“After the way your family has treated me today? Fuck off.” If he was going to be cut loose by the Coulters, why not make sure it was for good.
“Gramps is a manipulative son of a bitch who’s used to getting his own way on shit, and he goes too far,” Bryce said. “If you think you’re the first person he’s acted like that toward, you’re mistaken, and if you let him get away with chasing you off like that, then you’re an idiot and don’t deserve someone like my sister.”
Cole was taken aback by Bryce’s bluntness, and loosened his grip on the door enough for Bryce to push his way into the apartment. Cole reluctantly let him through and closed the door.
“Did Echo send you?” he asked.
“Actually, my wife suggested I come talk to you. Tami was busy giving Gramps a piece of her mind about his habit of butting in on the rest of our lives. You know, the first time I invited Tami to a party to meet my family, Gramps had invited every ex-girlfriend of mine he could find to try and get me back together with one of them. Like I said, he’s crossed the line before. I don’t know how much of it is him actually being a bully and how much of it is him testing the rest of us. And oh boy, does he know how to test us. But Tami refused to be intimidated. Though she had plenty of reasons to walk away. And I think you’ve got it in you to give as good as you get.”
“So you’re telling me she didn’t like being called a gold digger? Having people say she was using you and your fame to get famous herself?” Cole threw out.
Bryce just laughed. “No, she didn’t. She did everything she could to make sure people knew she wasn’t after my money, and all it took was a few matches before people saw that she didn’t need me to make her famous. She had the talent for that on her own.”
“So why’d she put up with your family?”
“She loves me,” Bryce answered with a prideful smile. “She doesn’t let the Coulter name define her. Doesn’t use it at all, actually. She still goes by Ivey. And as for Gramps, let’s not get started on the racist shit he still says about Asha. Now look, it’s clear that something has happened between you and Echo—”
Cole started to shake his head, but Bryce’s expression stopped it before it started.
“The fact that you’re worried about it getting out shows that you care—about yourself, about her, whatever. But I promise you it isn’t as big a deal as you think it will be. And if you do like her, or maybe more than just like her, you deserve to be as miserable as you will be if you let Gramps drive you away. That’ll be on you.”
“What makes you think she even cares at all?”
“You missed the telling off she gave to everyone after you left,” Bryce chuckled with a somber smile. “She, uh…she reminded us of how much we can take her for granted. Especially Mom and Dad. I guess she’s been bearing more from them than any of the rest of us knew. Or maybe we were just too thick to see what was really going on…or didn’t want to see it. I guess…I owe her. And you mean a lot to her, so that’s part of why I’m here. On behalf of my grandfather, I would like to apologize to you for his…wildly inappropriate and unwarranted behavior.”
“What do you think the odds are that he’ll ever apologize to me himself? Not that I don’t appreciate your embarrassment on his behalf, but…”
Bryce nodded appreciatively. “I get it. And honestly…if Echo wins a medal, you probably will get that apology. For whatever that’s worth to you. But fuck what he thinks.” Bryce grinned.
Cole snorted. “Yeah, I guess it isn’t worth that much.”
“But Echo is.”
Cole sighed and flopped down on the couch glancing at the unopened beer.
“Or is that…part of the problem?” Bryce asked, his tone unsure.
“I’m not using her to make a name for myself, if that’s what you’re implying. It was certainly one of your grandfather’s concerns,” Cole said hastily.
“You clearly have some…issues with people of wealth, people who have had certain…opportunities or…advantages that not everyone does,” Bryce spoke carefully. “And you’re not wrong about a lot of it. There are definitely people with money like our family that don’t always appreciate what we have, or who let it go to their heads. But you also know we aren’t all like that and you know Echo isn’t, so…maybe you’re feeling a tad…insecure? Or maybe just guilty for having assumed that about her?”
When Cole shot him a dubious look, Bryce laughed and held his hands up in mock surrender. “Hey, you’re the psychologist. You figure out what your issue is so you can get over it. Echo’s going to need someone to be there for her, and if you can’t figure out what’s going on with you…”
“She’ll be fine for the games. Any coach could take over with her at this point and she’d stand a good shot at winning something. Especially in the 800 meters.”
“I was talking about our father and his health,” Bryce informed Cole, catching his attention. “Apparently, he’s been sick for a while, and the only ones who knew were Mom and Echo. They roped her into helping them keep it from the rest of us.”
Cole stayed silent, staring at the beer and kicking himself. He’d believed her. “You’ve been good for her so far,” Bryc
e continued. “She’s never stood up to anyone in the family quite as effectively as she did today, so that’s definitely something.”
“I just…I don’t feel like I belong at things like the party today,” Cole confessed. “This guy started talking to me about consulting on sports drinks…I don’t know how to do that. I’m a coach. I work with runners. I don’t…” He let out an exasperated sigh.
“You’re way overthinking it. Sure, you’re not comfortable with that kind of thing now, but it’s something you should be able to learn if you give it a try. You didn’t just become a coach without taking classes first, or develop Echo’s training strategy without doing a bit of research first.” Bryce pointed out. “And these parties are stuffy snooze fests. Come to our place. Booze, music, dancing. That’s the real party.”
Cole rolled his eyes as he laughed at himself. Bryce apparently shared Echo’s knack for making him feel like an overthinking and yet oblivious idiot, though he didn’t feel like he was being judged for it.
“Echo will help you get to a place where you’re comfortable, if you let her, that is.”
Cole opened his mouth to reply, but another knock on the door interrupted him.
Twenty-Five
Echo sat on the floor outside Jen’s apartment for a while before Jen reappeared to let her in. She must have arrived at the party just before Echo left, or maybe she’d driven past her friend on her way over.
“Dude, I heard what happened,” Jen said, as Echo rolled onto her knees and used the wall to help raise herself from the floor. “Tami, Dax, and Asha filled me in on…well, probably not everything, but enough. You okay?”