“Yeah, sure, the sex is great. I’ll give you that. But there has to be more to a relationship than that. You basically just admitted that you’d been spending time with me, being supportive, and taking an interest in the things that interested me because you were trying to get me back.”
Had I said that? Probably in my rage-induced stupor I had. Where the hell was the rewind button when I needed it? “Fine, I shouldn’t have said that, okay? I was angry. I thought I’d be going home with you tonight, that we’d be able to tell our kids their family was back together again, and then you gave me this shit about taking it slow. We weren’t taking it slow in that bed an hour ago.” Just when I thought I couldn’t spew anymore stupidity, I surprised even myself.
She set her rings down on the console table. “This isn’t getting us anywhere. Get out of my way, Ryker.”
There were a million things I wanted to say and do. I’d never begged anyone for anything in my life, but if I thought dropping to my knees and pleading for one more chance with her would help my cause, I would. But I knew that look. She’d made up her mind and nothing I could say would change it. That didn’t mean I was giving up on her. I would never give up on her, but I would give her time to cool off before we talked again.
I opened the door and stood back for her to pass through. When she walked past me and I caught a whiff of her perfume, I wanted to haul her against my chest and beg her not to end our marriage like this. But by the time I found my voice, she was running to her car like there was a mass murderer on her heels.
Or maybe it was me she was running from, the man who’d broken her heart. Again.
When my cell phone rang as she peeled out of the drive, I lunged for the jeans I’d abandoned by the sofa, praying she had something left to say, something to give me hope.
But the call display said Daniel Anderson. I didn’t want to deal with my former neighbor tonight, but I knew he wouldn’t be calling me at this hour if it weren’t important. “Hey, Dan. What’s up?”
“I’m sorry to call so late, Ryker. But we’ve got problems. I would have called Mackenzie, but this is kind of a delicate situation, so I thought I should talk to you about it.”
I didn’t like the sound of that. I sank down on the couch, dropping my head into my hands as I asked, “What’s going on?”
“Well, Nancy and I went out for dinner tonight. Matthew was out with a friend and we left Brit at home, studying for exams.”
“Uh-huh.” I had an idea where this was going and I definitely was not going to like it. Neither was Mac.
“We came home to find Zane in her room.”
“Shit.”
“Yeah, tell me about it.”
I’d had the talk with my son about protected sex and he assured me when the time was right, he’d be smart about it, but I had no idea he and Brittany were that serious.
“Were they…?”
“I think we got here just in time.”
“Dodged a bullet this time, huh?”
“You said it.”
I didn’t know why I was getting so freaked out about this. I’d been sexually active at his age, but I’d been more mature. Without a real father figure, I had to basically raise myself and my brothers the best way I knew how while my mother worked to keep a roof over our heads. Zane had lived a sheltered life by comparison. I didn’t think he was ready for a serious relationship and the thought of him having a casual sexual relationship with our neighbor’s daughter was even worse.
“I’m sorry about this, Dan. I don’t know what to say. I thought Zane talked to me about stuff like this.”
“Yeah, well you’re not the only one who was blindsided. See, Brittany kind of already has a boyfriend.”
“What?” This was going from bad to worse.
“Yeah, she’s been seeing him for about four months. He doesn’t go to her school. She met him at the mall. You know she got a job at a jewelry store there, right?”
I didn’t know or care where the girl worked. “Uh, no, I didn’t know that.”
“Yeah, well. He seems like a nice kid. We thought he’d be good for Brit. She can be a bit of a wild child.” He chuckled, and I could just imagine the poor bastard wiping sweat from his bald head. “If I could, I’d lock her in her room until she’s twenty-five, but her mother won’t let me do that.”
“It’d be nice if we could do that, wouldn’t it? Keep our kids safe.”
I appreciated that Dan wasn’t coming after me, blaming Zane for trying to corrupt his baby girl. After what just went down with Mac, I probably would have gone postal on the poor guy.
“Listen, I’m really sorry about this, Dan. Needless to say, I’ll talk to Zane about it.”
“Your son is a good kid, Ryker. We know this isn’t his fault entirely, but we don’t want to see the kids get in over their heads. They’re too young for this.”
I happened to agree with Dan, but I knew there was nothing we could do to keep them apart if they were determined to be together. “Thanks for the heads-up. Let’s try to keep the lines of communication open. I’ll ask Zane not to go to your place while you guys are out if you think that’d help.”
“It’s worth a try,” Dan said, sounding as defeated as I felt. “Thanks, Ryker. I’ll talk to you later.”
I disconnected the call and thought about calling my son to give him a piece of my mind, but I knew my kid was almost as headstrong as I was. If I tried to tell him not to do something, it would only make him want to do it more.
I’d text him tomorrow and ask him to meet me after school so we could talk. He’d no doubt have his story all ready, claiming it wasn’t his fault or he’d never done anything like that before or they just got caught up in the moment. All of which may be true, but I knew Mac would go ballistic when she found out.
Her worst fear for the boys had always been an unwanted pregnancy screwing up their plans for the future, and while I didn’t think they were stupid enough to have sex without protection, accidents happened every day.
Scrubbing my hands over my face, I knew two things for sure. I wasn’t going to get any sleep tonight. And tomorrow was going to be a miserable day.
***
I’d texted Zane and told him to wait for me after school, that we needed to talk. He agreed without asking me the reason, so I knew Brittany had probably already told him that her dad called me.
When he jumped into my truck, I shot a sidelong glance in his direction when he slumped down guiltily in his seat, looking sullen. “How’d the exam go?” I didn’t want to start in on him right away. I knew if I did, this conversation could only go downhill.
“Okay, I think.”
“Good.” I turned out of the parking lot, pointing at a deli down the street. “You hungry? We could grab a sandwich or something.”
“No, I’m okay.”
I could tell by the teenagers crowding around the strip plaza he was probably worried about running into his friends and having them overhear our conversation. I couldn’t blame him. I remembered what it felt like to be his age.
“So, I guess you know by now that Mr. Anderson called me last night.”
His face turned red and he looked out the window, slumping farther as he shifted his body away from me. “We didn’t know they were gonna be home so early.”
“Evidently.” I waited, hoping he would open up to me. When he didn’t, I said, “How long have you been seeing Brittany?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. A while.”
I debated about telling him that Brittany had a boyfriend. I didn’t want to see my son get played by any girl, but I knew we had a bigger issue to deal with first. If he wasn’t hooking up with her, it would be some other girl.
“Look, Zane, I remember what it was like to be sixteen. I’m not mad about what happened last night—”
“You’re not?” he asked, looking shocked. “I thought you were gonna lay into me.”
“I’m not going to lay into you,” I said tentatively. I pulle
d into the parking lot of my factory and cut the engine before turning to face my son. “I’m just concerned. I don’t want to see you make a mistake you might regret.”
“Dad, we already had this talk,” he said, his cheeks turning ruddy as he focused on the man collecting the garbage across the street. “I’m not stupid. I know I have to use condoms.” Looking suddenly alarmed, he asked, “You haven’t told Mom about this, have you? ’Cause she was in a really pissy mood this morning and I thought maybe it was because—”
“I haven’t told her,” I said, raising my hand. Though I knew I was probably the reason for her bad mood. She was certainly the reason for mine. “But that doesn’t mean I’m not going to.”
“Dad, come on. When you were my age, would you have wanted your mom to know you were hookin’ up with some chick?”
He had a point. But I hated keeping anything from Mac, especially now, when it seemed like we were on the outs again. “I want to know where things stand with Brit before I decide anything. Was this a random thing or have you guys hooked up before?”
“We’ve never, uh…” He shrugged. “You know, gone all the way, but we’ve messed around some.”
“Look, I don’t know if Brit’s a virgin—”
“She is!” Zane’s vehemence told me he had real feelings for this girl and would likely get his heart broken if he learned he wasn’t the only guy in her life.
“Listen,” I said, sighing. “There’s no easy way to say this, so I’m just gonna say it. She has a boyfriend, Zane.”
“What?” He sat up straighter, his fists clenching on his knees. “What’re you talking about?”
“Her dad told me she’s been seeing some guy for the past four months. Apparently, he doesn’t go to your school. She met him at the mall, where she works.”
“That lying little bitch!”
I could understand his anger, but I didn’t want to encourage him to disrespect girls. “Did she ever tell you that you were the only one she was seeing?”
“Well, no but—”
“So you just assumed?”
“If her parents hadn’t come home when they did, we would have…” His blue eyes flashed with anger. “I can’t believe she’s been playing me!”
My son’s first hard lesson in dealing with the opposite sex, one he would undoubtedly remember for a long time. “Here’s the thing, Zane,” I said, trying to reframe it in a way that wouldn’t make him feel like he’d been had. “You guys are way too young to be getting serious. She should date other people, and so should you.”
“Mom said she only dated one other guy before she hooked up with you.”
He had me there. “If I’d been a better man,” I said, smirking, “I would have given her more time to explore, weigh her options.”
“Why didn’t you?”
“The truth?” Zane nodded and then I continued. “I was afraid she’d find someone better and I’d lose her. I was pretty insecure back then. I’d never dated anyone like your mom before, and I was constantly questioning whether I was good enough for her.” It still pained me to admit how long it had taken for me to accept the fact that she really loved me and wanted to spend the rest of her life with me.
“I’ve wondered about that with Brit too,” he admitted. “She’s a cheerleader, ya know? She could have any guy she wants.”
Zane didn’t have the same issues I did at his age. He didn’t have a chip on his shoulder or a bad attitude. He didn’t get into trouble at school or leave a trail of broken hearts in his wake. He was a good kid, and he had every reason to believe that any girl would want him.
“I know it’s easy to get caught up in that surface stuff at your age,” I said, removing my seat belt and shifting in my seat to face him. “But when you get a little older, you’ll realize it’s what’s inside that counts.” I chuckled when he rolled his eyes. Leaning over to mess his hair, which I knew he hated, I said, “You don’t have to believe me. But you’ll get what I mean soon enough. The most important thing is to find a girl that you connect with and believe you can trust, but just remember you’re just starting out. You have years to find the right girl, and you should take your time figuring all that out.”
“I will, Dad.” He hesitated. “Thanks for not freakin’ out and tellin’ Mom about what happened last night.”
Zane’s trust was important to me. I wanted him to feel he could talk to me about anything, even when it was awkward or embarrassing, so I decided to keep this under wraps for now. Telling Mac would only put her on high alert and cause tension between her and Zane.
“Just promise me something?”
“What?” he asked, looking wary.
“When the time comes, you’ll make sure you’re doing it for the right reasons, with the right girl, and you’ll use protection.”
He nodded. “I promise.”
“Good.” I hooked a thumb at the vintage muscle car beside me. “Looks like your Uncle Nex is still here. You wanna come in and say hi? I have to grab my laptop and then I can drop you off at home.”
“Yeah, I just want to make a call first.”
I knew he was probably calling Brittany to have it out with her about the secret boyfriend. Whether it happened now or later was irrelevant. I knew it would happen. “Sure, just come on up when you’re done.”
I would give him some time and privacy to deal with this. Hopefully after he talked to her, he would have some resolution, maybe even realize she wasn’t the right girl for him after all.
I punched in my security code to open the front door leading to the upper level offices. Most of my employees were still here since first shift didn’t end for another hour.
“There he is!” Nex called out when I passed by his office. “Ronnie was lookin’ for you.”
Ronnie was our production manager. In other words, the guy who helped me maintain my sanity. “You know what he wanted?” I asked, pausing in the doorway.
“Yeah, the painter wanted to know which shade of purple you wanted for that doctor’s bike. I had it on file, so I gave him the info.” He frowned. “You okay, bro? You don’t look so hot.”
I could always rely on my kid brother to give it to me straight. Even when I wished he’d sugar coat it every once in a while. I slammed his door before sinking into his guest chair and propping my boots up on his desk. “Where do I begin?”
Nex laced his hands behind his head and kicked his boots up on the opposite side of the desk. “At the beginning. I got nowhere else to be.”
I didn’t bother reminding him I paid him seven figures to be my V.P. Right now I needed to bend his ear more than I needed his business acumen. “Mac and I…” I thought of my talk with Zane. No way would I disrespect Mac by saying we’d hooked up. It was so much more than that.
“You what?” A cocky grin slipped over Nex’s face. “Ah, say no more. Congrats. So, why do you look like somebody pissed in your cornflakes?”
“We got into a fight after.” I’d had a lot of time to think about it, while I was channel surfing instead of sleeping, and realized I’d overreacted. I put too much pressure on her instead of just being easy about it and letting things evolve naturally.
“Ah, man,” Nex said. “How could you be so stupid? It took you six months to get her back into bed, and when you finally do, you screw it up by arguing with her?”
“I know I’m an idiot,” I said, sighing. “What I don’t know is what I should do about it.”
Nex laughed. “You’re asking the wrong guy. I’m usually trying to get rid of them, not figure out how to keep ’em.”
Sad, but true. My brother was pushing thirty, but I was beginning to think he’d never want to settle down. “You’re no help,” I muttered.
“When was the last time you sent her flowers?”
I rolled my eyes. “Flowers, Nex? Seriously? How original.”
“Women dig shit like that. Makes ’em feel special.”
“You’re an idiot if you think I’m going to fix this with flo
wers.”
“Okay,” Nex said, looking smug as he folded his arms over his chest. “What’s your bright idea?”
“I don’t have any ideas yet.”
“By the time you come up with one, she’ll be serving you with divorce papers.”
“Shut the hell up, asshole. Don’t say shit like that.” Even though Mac had left her wedding rings behind, I still refused to believe it was over. Maybe I was deluding myself, but hope was the only thing I had left.
“It’s a start,” Nex said, his tone softening. “Send her flowers with a card saying you’re sorry about last night. I’m not saying it won’t take a hell of a lot more than that to fix whatever the hell you did, but it might get you a foot in the door.”
I supposed he was right. It couldn’t hurt to try. “Okay, thanks.”
“Hey, I’m meeting up with our lame-ass brothers at the bar tonight. You wanna come for a drink? We haven’t gotten together in a while.”
“When you say the bar…”
Nex grinned. “Yeah, the one your favorite bartender works at.”
I guessed I could kill two birds with one stone: reconnect with my brothers and tell Natalie I wasn’t interested. Apparently, ignoring a dozen texts and half a dozen voice mail messages wasn’t clear enough.
“What time?”
“Around nine?”
“Cool. See you then.”
I was back in my office when I heard Zane talking to his uncle Nex about the car our brother was restoring. My brother Sebastian was a master at classic car restoration, attracting clients from around the globe. It reminded me that I should call and ask him if he could fit me into his schedule. I had a little surprise for my son if all went according to plan and he managed to stay out of trouble.
“Hey, Dad.” I looked up when Zane tapped his knuckles on the door. “Can I come in?”
“Sure. I was just packing up,” I said, grabbing my leather case from under the desk and shoving my laptop inside. “You reached your… friend?”
“Uh, yeah.” He shoved his hands into the pockets of his baggy jeans. “I don’t think I’ll be seein’ Brit again, so you don’t have to worry.”
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