Breaking Hearts (Full Hearts #4)

by MJ Summers

  “Hey, Otis, long time no see,” Trey said, giving the dog a pat on the head.

  “Up!” Tomas demanded, shrinking back from the large animal.

  Trey reached down and plucked him off the ground, away from the licks that Otis was giving Tomas on his cheeks.

  “He’s a nice dog, Tomas. Big, though, right?”

  Tomas nodded.

  Soon the family descended, welcoming them and smiling. Ben and Alicia were the first to reach them, along with their little boy, Jake Junior. Trey’s Aunt Mary was the least enthusiastic, wearing a tight smile and staring at the boy she had once believed was her grandson. “Hello, Tomas. I haven’t seen you since you were a baby. You’re such a big boy now.”

  Fern ran a hand over Tomas’s back. “Isn’t he, though? He looks exactly like Trey at that age too.” She beamed. “Tomas, would you like to meet the other kids?” She reached her hands out to take him but he shook his head.

  “I stay with dad.”

  “Okay, honey.”

  “There you are, you ugly mutt!” Dustin’s voice sounded from the door to the barn. He strode toward them with a grin.

  “Hey, you little turd,” Trey said with a laugh, feeling relief at seeing his brother.

  The two hugged quickly, and Trey introduced Tomas to his uncle Dustin.

  A few minutes later, the party moved to the patio of the lodge restaurant and Trey was greeted by Claire, head chef and Cole’s wife. She gave him a warm smile and a hug. “How are you, Trey? You must be tuckered out after all that travelling.”

  “I am. It’s been a long few days,” Trey remarked, feeling more than a little awkward as Cole walked up behind her. Trey froze in place, watching for his cousin’s reaction to him.

  Cole gave him a sad smile and a little nod of his head. “Trey, welcome home.” He reached his hand out to shake Trey’s.

  Trey accepted, an unexpected wave of relief washing over him. “Cole, it’s good to see you.” Trey felt a lump in his throat and the two men seemed to communicate an entire conversation without saying a word. Cole was telling him that he was forgiven and Trey was conveying how very sorry he was and how grateful he was to be welcomed home.

  “You too. I was sorry to hear about Gabriela. She was far too young. Must have been such a shock for you.”

  “It was one of those moments I’ll never forget.”

  “I bet. How’s Tomas doing with all of it?” Cole looked over at the little boy.

  “He’s doing surprisingly well, actually. He asks for her once in a while, which is heartbreaking, but for the most part he’s okay. I don’t think he really understands.”

  “I’m sure it will take quite a while before that happens.”

  “Yeah, I think it will. Is that your little one there?”

  “Yes, that’s Vivian.” Claire smiled proudly at her daughter, who was sitting on her grandpa’s lap, laughing as he pretended his leg was a horse.

  “She’s adorable. She’s a perfect mixture of you two.”

  “Yup, she’s a little spitfire too,” Cole answered, putting his arm around Claire’s waist. “Fearless little thing, just like her mom.”

  Claire laughed and swatted Cole’s arm. “Oh yeah, just like me.” Her tone was sarcastic.

  “You guys look really happy. It’s nice to see.”

  “We are,” Claire said. “Speaking of happy, I heard congratulations are in order. When are we going to meet the new Mrs. Johnson?”

  Trey’s brows knit together. “Well, I’m not too sure. She’s pretty busy with work right now. She just finished law school. She’s also taking care of her grandfather.”

  “A lawyer? I never figured you’d get married to a lawyer,” Cole said, shaking his head in wonder.

  “I never figured he’d get married at all,” Dustin interjected, handing Trey and Cole each a beer.

  The evening passed pleasantly enough, with Tomas starting to warm up to and play with his new cousins. After supper, the group moved to the pool area. Mary, Jake and Alicia took the three little ones for a swim while the others got caught up. Trey watched, surprised by how relaxed he felt already. It was as though everyone had moved on from that horrible night when the truth came out. He watched Cole as he and Doug chatted as though nothing had happened. Being here felt so natural and yet it was so hard for him to believe. When he’d left here over three years ago, everything was wrong. Everyone was angry and hurt and he thought nothing would ever be the same again, and yet here they were, gathered for a noisy meal together. The only thing that could have made the evening better was having Alessandra with them. He wondered if he would get used to being away from her or if he would have this empty feeling until they were together again.

  Fern sat down next to Trey and put her hand on his shoulder. “So, you still mad we brought you?”

  “Nah. I’m glad you did.”

  “I wasn’t sure if I should but then I thought about how when you were a kid, you always needed me to rip off your Band-Aids for you. No matter what, you could never bring yourself to do it, but I knew you’d feel better having it over with.”

  Trey chuckled. “Mothers always know best, right?”

  “Don’t you forget that.”

  Their conversation was interrupted by Ben. “Say, Trey, I heard you’ve been bullfighting!”

  Everyone laughed, obviously having heard the story.

  “Yes, I’ve got my cape in the car if you want a demo,” Trey answered with a grin.

  Ben’s face changed to a more serious expression. “I heard you made the pro tour.”

  “Yeah, can you believe it? It hasn’t even been six months since the first time I got on a bull. It’s crazy.”

  “Crazy is right. Trey’s going to get himself killed!” Dustin chimed in.

  Tomas stared at his uncle with wide eyes. He had been standing at the edge of the pool in a life jacket, about to jump back in. He turned to his dad instead and made a beeline for him, his lip quivering.

  “Oh, no, Tomas,” Trey said soothingly. “Uncle Dustin was just joking around.” He shot Dustin a dirty look, receiving a sheepish expression in return.

  Trey gave Tomas a reassuring smile. “Don’t you worry about that. He was just teasing your dad. I’d like to see you jump in again and make a big splash this time. See if you can soak Uncle Dustin’s ball cap.”

  Tomas looked over at his uncle with a determined look before hurrying back to the pool and jumping in.

  Ben went on, “Well, anyway, good for you, Trey. That’s big news.”

  Fern spoke up. “Don’t encourage him. I don’t like it one bit. What he should be doing is finding a job in his field. He didn’t graduate with honours from economics just to go to the rodeo!”

  “Looks like he did!” Dustin laughed.

  “It’s temporary. I’m just going to do this until I can get myself established, then I’m aiming to get a real job,” Trey said.

  * * *

  Trey crawled into bed late that night with a huge sigh. It was after 2 a.m. in Bebedouro, and he couldn’t remember a time when he’d been more tired. Tomas had fallen asleep on the way home and Trey had carried him upstairs at his parents’ house and tucked him into a little toddler bed that had been squeezed in next to Trey’s old double bed. Trey looked around the room, realizing that everything was exactly the way he’d left it years ago when he’d gone back to college after the last Christmas he’d spent at home. He took a minute to send Alessandra a text to apologize for not calling her and then set his phone down on the night table and immediately dropped off to sleep.

  Thirty-Eight

  Bebedouro, Brazil

  Alessandra lay in bed wide awake, even thought it was the middle of the night. Her cellphone had woken her with a buzzing sound and she’d reached for it, hoping it was Trey. She had been expecting to hear from him many hours earlier and had worried until she finally drifted off, wondering why she hadn’t gotten a call to let her know they had arrived safely.

  Hi, Alessa. So
rry for not getting a hold of you sooner. We went straight from the airport to my cousin’s ranch for a big family dinner. Just got to my parents’ now. I hope you’re doing well. Tomas handled the trip well and is one tired little boy. We both miss you lots.

  She texted him back immediately.

  Glad to know you’re safe. I miss you both more than words can say. Xoxo

  Her relief was quickly washed away by hurt that he hadn’t bothered to contact her sooner. There must have been a minute or two in which he could have sent her a quick text, and the fact that he hadn’t made her think he might already be pulling away from her. After the horrible way they’d left things, she knew she wasn’t going to relax until they were together again. Getting up, she walked over to the window and watched as a cloud drifted lazily past the moon. She ached for Trey and Tomas to come home again. At the moment, a few months might as well be years. “Go back to bed,” she told herself as she climbed back under the covers and checked her phone again. He hadn’t answered her yet and she wondered if he was asleep, wherever he was. Staying up all night wasn’t going to do anything other than make her useless at work later.

  * * *

  Five days later, Alessandra sat at the kitchen table waiting for Trey to call. Sighing, she looked at the clock. It was after eleven at night and she was tired from a long day at work. Trey was going to call her on Skype after he’d gotten Tomas to bed for the night, and she guessed he must still be having trouble falling asleep. When they’d spoken a few days earlier, Trey had said the time difference and new environment weren’t easy for Tomas to adjust to. He had become surprisingly clingy, not wanting to let Trey out of his sight for a minute.

  Her cellphone chimed, indicating that Trey was calling. She sat up straight and smiled as she answered. Finally his handsome face was in view and the sight of him filled her with longing.

  “Hi. Did you get him to sleep?”

  “Yeah, finally. Sorry that took so long. He’s really off schedule. It must be late there.”

  “Not so bad. It’s so nice to see you. How did it go today?”

  “Really well. Hank introduced me to a rep from a new energy drink company here called HD Ice. She said they want to sign me!”

  “Wow, that’s amazing!” She forced the words out, hoping they sounded sincere. “What does that mean?”

  “We’d sign a one-year deal. I get paid a hundred grand if I make it to more than seventy-five percent of the events in the pro tour.”

  “One hundred thousand dollars?”

  “I know, right? It’s a hell of a lot of money!”

  “It is . . . And you’d have to stay there for one year?”

  “No, I could come back to Brazil from November to early January. Then back here until the end of May, when that part of the season wraps up. Then back to the US again at the beginning of August, until November. It’s not exactly what we thought was going to happen, is it?”

  “No, it’s not.” Alessandra’s face fell. She wasn’t going to pretend to be happy. “What are you going to do?”

  “I think I should take it. It would set us up real nicely.” He looked worried as he said it.

  “What about Tomas?”

  “I’d want him to come with me. He’s too young for school, so I think the best place for him would be with me, right? My mom said she’d come along and look after him when I’m busy.”

  Alessandra wrinkled up her nose. “You’re going to drag him around from city to city for month after month? What kind of life is that for a child?”

  “I think it’ll be fun for him. There will always be something new to see and do. He’ll be with me, which is the important thing, isn’t it?”

  “Stability is also important.”

  “Any routine can become familiar. We’ll be home during the week and I’ll have all kinds of time to spend with him. Then on the weekends, we’ll have a little adventure. Besides, it’s not forever, it’s just for a year.”

  Alessandra listened to Trey and watched him closely, knowing he’d made up his mind already. He was acting as though he wouldn’t do it if she didn’t want him to, but she knew in her heart that the decision was already made. “What about bringing him back here? Maybe he would be better off here with me?”

  Trey narrowed his eyes at her. “I don’t want to leave him for that long again, Alessa. I’ve already missed so much of his life. I can’t stand the idea of missing another year.”

  “I can’t either.”

  “Well, maybe you should come here, then. You could put your career on hold while I do this. That way we’d all be together. You can still be a lawyer a year from now, can’t you?”

  Alessandra sighed. “Maybe when my mom comes home, I could ask for a leave from work. But for Judge Bathory to lose me, with our heavy caseload, would be a big burden for him. Leaving might be really bad for my career.”

  Trey scrubbed his hand over his hair, looking frustrated. “It’s a bit of a no-win situation, isn’t it? I don’t want to cost you your dreams in exchange for mine.”

  “I know you don’t. I feel the same way.”

  “Well, you know, it’s really all about how we look at it, isn’t it? We’re young and we have some amazing opportunities in front of us. Now’s the time to take chances and get ourselves set up for life. We can make this work, can’t we?”

  Alessandra tried to smile but she knew there was nothing convincing about the look on her face. “Yes. We’ll find a way. It’s good news. You’ve been offered a huge sponsorship deal. We should be celebrating. I want to hear more about it.”

  “It is a huge deal, actually. It’s almost unheard of to get as far as I have so quickly. Hank said he’s only seen a handful of guys come out of nowhere like this and do what I’ve done. He also said the sponsorship money isn’t even close to what I could earn. The event I’m going to this weekend in Montana has a forty-thousand-dollar prize for the guy who comes in first. Think of that. Forty grand in one weekend.”

  “It would be amazing.”

  “It will be amazing, Alessandra. I’m going to get in there, make what I can, and get us set up for life.”

  “Okay, then.”

  “It’s going to be hard, I know that. But nothing in life worth having comes for free, does it?”

  “No, you’re right. Nothing comes free. Everything has its price.”

  Trey stared at her. “We’ll be alright, Alessandra, as long as you don’t give up on us.”

  She nodded. “I won’t,” she whispered, unable to find her voice. Tears sprang to her eyes.

  Trey’s shoulders dropped. “I’m sorry. I know this isn’t the way either of us wanted to start our life together. But we can’t think of it as a full year, okay? Tomas and I will be back in early November for two months. Maybe your mom will be home by then and things will look up as far as you coming here for a while. In that case, we might just be apart for another seven weeks.”

  “Let’s hope so.”

  “I love you, Alessa.”

  “I love you, too. Please give my rapazinho a big hug from me.”

  “I will.”

  “Good. I should get some sleep. Good night, Trey. Congratulations.”

  “Thanks, honey. Good night.”

  * * *

  Alessandra dragged herself to her bedroom. Closing the door behind her, she waited until her face was buried in her pillow before she let the sobbing begin. A year. And now he wanted her to give up her career to follow him around. And poor Tomas, living out of a suitcase. She didn’t know who she’d married, didn’t know he had these reckless dreams inside him. He was no different than her own father. She had managed to make the same mistake as her mother. History was repeating itself, only she wouldn’t be left with two small children to look after. Only herself, very much alone.

  She cried herself to sleep that night and woke the next morning feeling hungover even though she’d had nothing to drink. Getting up, she quickly got ready for work, wishing she could crawl back under the cove
rs instead.

  Thirty-Nine

  Tucson, Arizona

  One Month Later

  Trey sat with his right arm in a bucket of ice water in a dressing room at the back of the stadium. He sucked back a cold beer, hoping that when he took his arm out of the water in a few minutes, it wouldn’t have that shooting pain anymore.

  “You’ve had a hell of a good night, Trey!” Hank remarked from the doorway. “How’s that arm?”

  “Cold,” Trey answered with a smile.

  “You going to be okay for tomorrow?”

  “Nothing could stop me.”

  “That’s what I thought.” Hank walked over and sat down next to Trey. “I’ve got some good news that’ll take the pain away. I was just sitting with Nadine from HD Ice. They’re moving into Australia and New Zealand, and they want you to lead the charge.”

  “What? Seriously?”

  “Yeah. You’ve blown up here and they’d like you to go down there and do the same.” He beamed at his client.

  “Wow, Hank! That’s huge!”

  “It is, Trey. You won’t believe what they’re offering. They want to send you there to compete as soon as the Worlds are finished here. They’ll give you thirty grand plus all expenses paid to hit one event each weekend in November and December. You’ll even get a spot in the New Zealand Cup. You’d be back in time to start the season here in January.”

  Trey took his arm out of the ice and patted it with a towel. “Geez, that sounds amazing and all, but I’m supposed to go back to Brazil to spend Christmas with Alessandra. Tomas is really missing her something fierce and, to be honest, so am I.”

  “Bring her. Bring them both. They’ll love it there.”

  “Yeah, maybe. I don’t know if she’d be able to get away, though. Can I think on it?”

  “Not too long, I’m afraid. Because it’s all so last minute, I need to give Nadine an answer by tomorrow morning. If you don’t want it, they’re going to ask Hunter Rockwell.”

  Trey nodded. “Okay.”

  “Hey, try not to look so upset when you get great news. If your wife can’t meet you there, I’m sure she’ll understand. It’s a hell of a lot of money to turn down. You’ll have Christmases together for the rest of your life.” Hank patted Trey on the leg then stood up, hitching his belt up under his belly.