by Dawn Brower
“Yes, you are.” Dallas held up his hand to stop Wes from speaking further. “Grow up, Wes. Life isn’t fair. No one promised it would be. Be grateful you’re alive and able to enjoy it as much as possible. Whatever your issue is with Vitoria, let it go. We both know all too well how short life can be.”
Wes understood what Dallas was trying to tell him. He didn’t have to love Vitoria—hell he didn’t even have to like her.
Some things didn’t have to be defined.
Yes, he wanted her more than a thirsty man wanted a drink of water. Perhaps he was looking at the situation in the wrong way. They could enjoy each other. People didn’t have to particularly like each other to have a sexual relationship. Clearly, they didn’t have a problem tearing off each other’s clothes the night before.
It’d been a burning inferno between them, until the embers died down and reality set in.
“I see your point…”
“Good, now tell me what’s eating at you,” Dallas demanded.
“What happened to Eric—it has been bothering me a lot lately.”
“How does this have to do with Vitoria?”
“They were dating before he died. I don’t know the details, but she was always with him. I only talked to her once when he introduced us. He called her Via.” Wes scrubbed his hand over his face as he remembered meeting her and then finding her in the arms of the man responsible for Eric's death. Wes never even got a chance to tell Eric what he saw. It had been a not so happy accident. He'd stayed at a hotel in Seattle. As he left he saw them in the lobby—apparently saying goodbye after spending the night together. "She betrayed him. I saw her with Miguel Santiago. They were—shall we say cozy. I know she's the reason that evil bastard was able to get close enough to kill Eric."
“Are you sure it was her?”
“Of course I am.” Wes stopped as the images flashed before him. Miguel's arms wrapped around her shoulders, leaning in closer, kissing her... “Vitoria is kind of hard to forget—although he used a different last name for her when he introduced us.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, I forgot about it until now. He said her name was Vitoria Martel. Why do you think she had a different name?”
“Maybe because it wasn’t the same Vitoria?”
Wes shook his head. “No, that can’t be it. Something doesn’t add up.”
Vitoria kept mentioning she had a twin. He brushed it aside as nonsense—and an attempt to acquit herself of her wrongs. It was far too fantastical and convenient to be true. Perhaps he’d been wrong. He would do what Vitoria suggested and talk to Ginnifer. They may be best friends, but Ginnifer wouldn’t lie to him.
“Maybe you should talk to her.”
“You don’t think I’ve tried?” Wes threw his hands up in the air, the handkerchief he’d been holding against his bleeding finger tumbled to the ground. He picked it up and stared at it in disgust. “I really need to go clean this before it gets infected.”
“Come on, there is a first aid kit in the barn. I’ll help you clean it up while we finish talking.”
Wes began to follow his brother. “Gee thanks, ’cause I’m incapable of taking care of myself.”
“Not my fault you’re acting like an incompetent child.”
They walked over to the barn and entered the tack room. The far side had a sink. Above it, on a shelf rested the supplies they needed to clean out the wound on Wes’s finger. Dallas opened the kit and pulled out some antiseptic ointment and bandages.
“I’m not incompetent.” Wes turned on the sink and scrubbed the dirt and grime off his hands. “I’m more than capable of taking care of myself.”
Dallas raised his eyebrow. “I notice you didn’t dispute you’re acting childish.”
“Takes one to know one.” Wes smirked.
“I’ll have you know since I met Gin, I’ve let all that go.”
Dallas was really a different man since he admitted he loved Ginnifer Zeiss. He smiled more and looked downright happy every day. If Wes didn’t love his brother, he’d want to smack the cheer off his face on a regular basis—just for the principle of it. If he had to be so damned miserable, everyone else should be too.
“What happened to you?”
Dallas and Wes looked up to see their baby sister walk into the tack room. Her cinnamon hair pulled back into a French braid, she tilted her head and studied them both. Wes held out his bleeding finger for Dallas to place the healing ointment on it.
“I sort of cut my finger on one of the fence posts,” Wes admitted.
“Really? What distracted you so much you wanted to chop your finger off?”
“Nothing.”
“I saw Tori arrived earlier.”
Damn it, what was with his nosy siblings? “Failing to see your point, squirt.”
Dallas picked up a bandage and wrapped it around Wes’s injured finger. He remained strangely silent while Emma talked. Before Emma barged into the room, he’d been full of his own well-meaning advice.
“Are you going to act like an ass while she is here?” his baby sister asked.
“Is she going to be a bitch?’
Emma sighed, frustration filling her blue eyes. “She only gets mean when you do. You reap what you sow Wes.”
“I’m not making any promises.”
“Is she the reason you sliced open your finger?” Emma raised her eyebrow questioning his ability to multitask.
“Of course not.”
Dallas finished bandaging his finger, wrapped a piece of tape to hold it in place. “You’ll live.” He tossed the wrappers in the trash, turned, and nodded toward Emma. “I’ll let you two finish your discussion.”
Wes watched in disgust as his brother vacated the room. So much for brotherly support. He was leaving him to the wolves. Okay, maybe that was a tad harsh. Emma meant well—but she didn’t get it. Did he hound her about her eternal loathing of Colt? No, he let it be and supported her. The least she could do was return the favor.
“He seems to be in a hurry to leave. Did you piss him off too?” Emma asked.
“Yeah, but not now. We cleared things up. Did you want something in particular?”
“Nope. I’m gonna go riding and saw you two huddled in here. Came by to say hello and see what you were doing.”
“I’m thinking about moving out into the middle of nowhere and becoming a hermit.”
Emma laughed. “Oh come on. We’re not that bad.”
“Eye of the beholder—you should see things from my perspective.”
“Maybe if we understood what it is about Tori you hate so much, we wouldn’t be so difficult with you.”
“I’m going to tell you what I told Dallas—leave it be.” He closed his eyes, his head beginning to pound unmercifully against his skull. “I’m not ready or willing to talk about it.”
“Fine, but if you need to, you know where to find me.” Emma placed a hand on his shoulder to get his attention.
He opened his eyes and stared into hers.
“You’ve been here every step of the way with the mess between me and Colt. I understand not wanting to talk about something. I promise I won’t judge.”
Of course she wouldn’t. His sister loved him unconditionally. Wes could be totally in the wrong, and she’d still support him. Just like he stood by her side when she decided to never get back together with Colt again. Even if Missy’s baby turned out to not be his, Emma believed he’d been unfaithful and could never trust him again.
Wes understood the feeling. He didn’t trust Vitoria. Of course not trusting her didn’t prevent him from wanting her. He wondered if Emma went through the same tumultuous feelings. Not that he’d ask her that—ever. Some things you didn’t discuss with your little sister.
“I’m fine.”
She nodded. “If you say so. My offer still stands.”
“Go ride your horse. I have chores to finish.”
She laughed. “Don’t try to cut off any more fingers.”
He couldn’t promise
he wouldn’t. If he got distracted again anything was possible, he certainly didn’t want to bleed all over the ranch over a piece of blonde fluff. Wes sighed and went back out to the fence to fix it—once and for all determined to push thoughts of Vitoria Miene out of his head.
Chapter Eighteen
Vitoria walked into the house and deposited her suitcase next to the door. She didn’t know where Ginnifer was, but it shouldn’t take her long to find her. Generally she would be busy working on some freelance article in the late morning while her fiancé, Dallas, completed chores around the ranch. Knowing her best friend, the kitchen would probably be the best place to locate her. Ginnifer loved coffee and didn’t like to be too far away from her next fix. Vitoria pushed open the door and found her sitting at the table with an orange mug cradled in her hands. She looked up as Vitoria strolled into the room.
“I thought you’d never get here.”
“I see you’re still as impatient as ever.” Vitoria rolled her eyes. “You talked to me forty-five minutes ago.”
“Yeah, but I had to talk to you about something. I didn’t want to do it over the phone.”
“Well I’m here now, what’s on your mind?”
“Do you want something to drink?” Ginnifer asked.
“Really?” Vitoria raised her eyebrow. “You’ve been going insane waiting for me to ask if I wanted a drink?”
“No, of course not, don’t be silly.” Ginnifer waved her hand in the air. “I thought it might be better to get something to drink so we could get comfortable and talk.”
Vitoria sighed. “No, I’m good. Why don’t we discuss what is bothering you.”
“Oh nothing is bothering me.” Ginnifer pinned her with her eyes. “You on the other hand clearly have something on your mind. Do you want to talk about it?”
“No. What I think is you’re stalling.”
In truth, Vitoria was the one putting off what she didn't want to discuss. She didn’t want Ginnifer to get to the root of her issues. Wes damaged something innate inside of her with his actions. Something snapped, broke in half, when he ran away from her. Yes, she knew Wes believed she did something horrible. Still he shouldn’t have treated her so abysmally.
Ginnifer shook her head. “No, I’m not. I will get to what I want to talk about.” Ginnifer paused, picked up her mug, and took a drink. She twisted it in her hand, frowning at Vitoria. “I’m worried about you. You’re forgetting I know you. Talk to me.”
What should she tell her? How could she get her off this line of questioning? The easiest way was to give her something else to latch onto. The real issue, Wes, she could not and would not talk about.
Not until she came to peace with it herself.
It would be a little while before she could open herself up willingly to the hurt. She was too raw, an open wound still pulsating with emotional turmoil. Vitoria bit her lip and considered her options. Talking about Wes and how she felt about him—maybe there was another topic she could bring up instead. It would be enough to get Ginnifer to leave her be, give her a small reprieve. There would be plenty of time to dissect her feelings concerning Wes.
“I saw Vivian.”
“Yes, I was with you remember? After we had lunch.”
Vitoria forgot they’d both seen Vivian as they were leaving the French bistro. She’d been rushing to get in the cab and gain distance between her and Vitoria. She didn’t know the why of it—but it had been her goal. Especially considering her reaction when Vitoria walked into the gallery.
“No, I’m not talking about when we saw her get in the cab.”
Ginnifer leaned back into her chair and tilted her head. “Okay, where did you see her?”
“At a gallery.”
“You might need to explain it a little bit more. I’m not following you. Why were you in a gallery?”
The easiest thing to do was to start at the beginning. Vitoria placed her elbows on the table and rested her forehead on her hands as she recalled her reaction to finding her sister in the gallery. She had been surprised, but it also didn’t really leave much of an impression on her. Not to the extent that she planned on portraying it to Ginny.
Yes, she did want to figure out what the hell was going on with her sister, but it wasn’t as huge of a blip on her radar as her emotional upheaval concerning Wes. Vitoria looked up at her best friend and saw concern in her green eyes.
“I went into this furniture store…”
Ginnifer held up her hand halting her. “Wait a minute stop right there. Why would you even go to a furniture store? You need to back up a little bit.”
Damn, she forgot she hadn’t told Ginny about her plans to move to Seattle yet. She was right she needed to back track even further. “Shoot with everything going on, I forgot to tell you.”
“Tell me what?”
“I’m moving my office to Seattle.”
A loud squeal of surprise filled the room. “You are? When? How could you have kept this from me?”
“Now. I’m not going back to New York, and I wanted to surprise you.”
Astonishment filled Ginnifer’s face, her mouth hanging open. After several seconds, she managed to regain her composure. “Where will you stay? Didn’t you check out of the hotel?”
Vitoria nodded. “Yes I did.”
“So?”
“I purchased a condo on Melrose Avenue. I’ve signed the papers and have the keys. I’m waiting for the contents of my apartment in New York to arrive so I can move in.” Vitoria grinned. “I can’t wait for you to see it. There is this fabulous fireplace, and it has two balconies. I can see across Seattle. It’s an awesome view. Oh, that reminds me, I have a spare key for my office and my condo I want you to hold on to and use if you ever need to.”
Ginnifer clapped her hands excitedly. “Oh, how wonderful. What about your public relations firm. Are you going to lose clients by moving out here?”
“Already handled. Alison has been a blessing. She’s managing the office and is supervising. It, along with my apartment and hers, are being packed up. This is truly good for my business. I’ve picked up a lot of clients on the west coast. The ones I already have decided to maintain their contract. If needed, I’ll fly back East, but for the most part I will be here and once again close to my best friend.”
“Oh Alison is moving out here too? I’m glad, I really liked her. I’m also ecstatic to have you in the same time zone as me again. I’ve missed having you around all the time, bugging me.”
“Yes. I made it worth her while. She is the best assistant I’ve ever had.” Vitoria pulled Ginnifer into a quick hug. She sat down in her chair with a smile on her face. “I needed to do this. I was lost without you. You’re my only friend, and I couldn’t not be where you are.”
“All right, so why did you go to a furniture store?”
So far so good. Ginnifer was completely distracted. She would focus on her move and what it meant. “I needed to order a couple of things for the office.”
“And the gallery?”
“It was next to the furniture store. It had some cool paintings on display in the window so I walked inside to get a closer look at their various pieces.”
“That’s where you saw Vivian?” Ginnifer asked.
“Yes, the look on her face—she was so shocked to see me there.”
“What was she doing there?”
That was the mystery of it all. Vitoria could play it to her advantage now. Ginnifer now had two things to focus on—Vitoria’s move and her twin. “She worked there.”
Startled, Ginnifer asked, “Wait what? I thought she worked for a law firm?”
Vitoria shook her head. “So did I, but it’s not like I’ve kept in touch with her over the past couple of years. I only know what my parents throw in my face when I have the misfortune of spending time with them.”
“Did seeing her upset you?”
“Yes and no. It was clear she didn’t want to see me, but strangely, all I really could feel inside was numb.
We have always had an odd relationship.”
“Did you ask her why she ran away?”
“We didn’t get into it, but here’s the thing. I couldn’t shake the feeling she wanted to get me out of the gallery as fast as possible.” Vitoria tapped her fingers on the table. “She was skittish and off putting, a lot more than normal.”
Ginnifer tilted her head a faraway expression on her face. “I’m having trouble picturing it. Granted, I don’t know your sister well, but why would she be acting so erratic?”
“I didn’t have time to deal with it. With the move and the upcoming trial with Colt, I waved it aside, but it’s bugging me. I want to find out what’s going on with her.”
Ginnifer nodded her head. “I agree. If you want, I can help, use my investigative skills to good use. I have a few contacts that might be able to shed some light on it.”
Vitoria raised her eyebrow. “Investigative skills? Ginny, you write travel articles.”
“And I’ve developed contacts on my many travels. Do you want my help or not?”
If it would give her something to focus on, yes absolutely. “Sure, knock yourself out.”
“Good. Now that we got your stuff out of the way, I have something to tell you.”
Ginnifer looked excited, her green eyes sparkled, and her butterscotch hair glowed. Vitoria hadn’t noticed how happy her best friend looked when she walked into the kitchen. Now though, she could see a radiance brightly shining around her. “What is it?”
“I’m pregnant,” she exclaimed.
“Wow! Really?” She shouldn’t be surprised, but she couldn’t help it. Ginnifer and Dallas seemed so blissfully in love, of course they’d want to start a family. “When? How? Never mind, I know how, but you know what I mean.”
Ginnifer laughed. “I found out yesterday for sure. I’m only about six weeks along.”
“I’m happy for you.” And she was; she wanted Ginnifer to be happy, but she couldn’t help feeling a little left out. “I can’t wait to meet your little peanut.”
Ginnifer patted her belly, beaming with happiness. “Me either. You’re going to be his or her godmother so be prepared. With Dallas as a father, this baby is bound to be a hell raiser.”