Nobody Else

by Jaxson Kidman

  “That’s all I could ever ask of you,” June said.

  “June, you fucking ruined so much when you were messed up. You never took care of your own son. And now you suddenly just show up…”

  June looked away from me and at my jacket. She grabbed it and put her coffee cup on the counter. She clutched my jacket with two hands and brought it to her nose. She took a deep breath and shut her eyes.

  “God, I forgot how good you smell, Brice,” she said.

  I gritted my teeth.

  She was going to change the subject at every turn. That was how June dealt with anything serious in life.

  “June, what are you doing here?” April asked.

  “Visiting,” June said. She put my jacket down. “You’re my sister, April. This is a time when I need you.”

  “Need me?” April asked. “I’ve been raising your son. I rearranged my entire life for Milo.”

  “Welcome to my world,” June said.

  “He’s your son,” April snapped.

  “She’s done an amazing job,” I said. “That kid loves April.”

  June looked at me with daggers in her eyes. “That’s good.” She pointed at me. “And you broke my heart.”

  “I did?” I asked.

  “We were supposed to get married. Do you not remember that?”

  “June…”

  “You never wanted to marry me. You just said anything to make me happy.”

  “To make you not hurt yourself anymore. Getting you help was the biggest priority for me.”

  “Because you were some fancy big shot who sold a company,” June said. “You had money and wanted to get rid of me.”

  My lip curled. “I’ve had a shitty day, June. I don’t need this right now.”

  “You’ve had a shitty day?” she asked. She laughed. “You can’t imagine what I’ve been living through.”

  I swallowed anything else I had to say to her.

  I looked to April, giving a nod to signal it was her turn to try and reason with things.

  “Can I get you more coffee?” April asked in a calm, forced voice.

  “No,” June said. “I’m good. Thanks. I thought I was trying to catch up with my sister and ex-fiancé.”

  “June, you could have called,” April said. “I was trying to get out of work. I texted Brice…”

  “I was working too,” I said.

  “And where do you work in this town?” June asked.

  “A bar.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah. Why?”

  “You’re a bartender?” she asked.

  “Yeah,” I said. “Something to do. Whether you realize it or not, June, I moved here to be with Milo. And to help April. Me and your sister rearranged our lives for you. The least you could do is keep in touch with us. Tell us where you are and what’s going on. Just showing up…”

  “Well, thank goodness I’m sober. Because if I went to a bar and saw you behind it, Brice, I’d piss all my money away and end up getting wasted.”

  I gritted my teeth harder.

  I lived that life with you already, June. Remember it? And it wasn't just booze you got wasted on.

  She didn’t realize how many times I had to fight my way through a crowd to save her ass. How many times I found her messing around with guys, no clue what she was doing. Or the times she was basically passed out and had some asshole groping her.

  “Okay then,” June said. “I can tell I’m not wanted here.”

  “Nobody said that,” April said, quickly blocking the exit from the kitchen.

  “Look at the way you’re acting.”

  “Did you want us to throw you a party?” April asked.

  “Maybe, yeah,” June said. “Would that be so bad? I mean, everything you did in life, April, we always celebrated. Oh, look, there’s April with perfect attendance. There’s April getting valedictorian. There’s April going to college. There’s April… just… everything.”

  “And what did you do, June?” April asked.

  “I fucked up. All the time. I skipped school. I smoked cigarettes. I got arrested. I did dumb things all the time. Fine. But this time I did something good. Really good. I cleaned up, April. I really cleaned up.” June looked back at me. “And I think I met someone who’s really good for me.”

  I showed my hands. “I’m happy for you, June. What we had…”

  “Doesn’t matter,” June said. “You two don’t care.”

  “We didn’t say that,” April said. “You showed up at my door and then called me while I was at work.”

  “And Milo…,” I said.

  “I’d better get going,” June said. “Next time I will call.”

  “June, it’s really good to see you like this,” April said. “I swear.”

  April touched June’s face.

  The two stared at each other. April’s eyes filled with tears. June hung her head for a second. “I hate that you make me cry when you cry.”

  “Sisters,” April said.

  “Sisters,” June said.

  I grabbed my jacket off the counter. “June, I’ll walk you out.”

  Outside, I touched her arm as she tried to step off the porch.

  “Wait a second,” I said.

  “What?” she asked, turning to face me.

  “You have to figure out what you’re doing here, June. This isn’t a game.”

  “A game?”

  “All this shit. What we had… that was explosive. That was a wild time in our lives. We both had some addictions and together, we fed each other’s addictions. There was no way this would have ever worked.”

  “I know that, Brice. I got help. Did you?”

  “Don’t worry about me,” I said.

  “Then what should I worry about?”

  “Start with your son. How the hell can you just walk away from him like this? And leave everyone hanging.”

  “You really moved here for Milo?” she asked.

  “Yes. April has been amazing to him, June. She takes good care of him. I help with homework. I see him as much as I can. I coached his soccer team.”

  “You coached soccer? I would have loved to have seen that. You in sexy shorts and a coach shirt. Yelling at kids.”

  June smiled.

  She had an addictive smile.

  I shook my head, not falling into any old trap she so carefully set.

  “I’m serious, June.”

  “Well, it looks like you and April are good together.”

  “What?”

  “Don’t play stupid,” she said. “She gets nervous and texts you. You come running to bail her out. She hates me.”

  “Wait a second. First off, April doesn’t hate you. She’s scared to death over what’s happening to you.”

  “That’s sweet of you to defend her,” she said. “She needs someone like you in her life. I’m not mad about it anymore.”

  My anger reached a breaking point with June.

  “That’s all you can think about?”

  “I have to go, Brice.”

  “Of course you do. What about your son?”

  June leaned forward and planted her lips on mine. The kiss was all too familiar to me. I pulled back, but she quickly put a hand to my head and kept it going. Her lips parted, and the tip of her tongue flirted with my lips. I pulled her hand away and backed up.

  “No, June,” I said. “No.”

  She smiled. “That’s how I know.”

  “Know what?”

  “You’re in love. In what world would Brice turn me down, huh? There wasn’t ever a time when I’d kiss you and we wouldn’t go crazy on each other.”

  “You’re with someone.”

  “Not married. Just a casual recovery thing.”

  I rubbed my jaw. “June…”

  “I’ll always love you, Brice. And I promise, I’m doing good. You have nothing to worry about. Everything is going to be great.”

  June turned and hurried down the steps.

  She was clean, b
ut she was still the same old June. In her world, the population was a staggering one person. Herself.

  I turned back to April’s house and gave a quick knock.

  The door opened, and April stood there, her eyes glossy.

  “Hey,” I said.

  She shook her head. “What the fuck…”

  “I know. At least Milo wasn’t here.”

  “This time,” April said. “Come in, Brice.”

  “No. I need to get back to work. I’ve had a really messed up day.”

  April stared up at me, her eyes begging for me to stay.

  “Drive safe,” she said.

  “Hey, it’ll be okay.”

  “No, it won’t,” she said. “It’s June… nothing with her is ever okay.”

  April shut the door and engaged the lock.

  I turned and faced the cold winter night alone.

  All I could think about then was Ben with his arms around Kinsley. Together on their couch, in front of their fancy gas fireplace. If the guy was smart, he’d know how close he was to losing Kinsley and make damn sure it didn’t happen.

  Because that’s exactly how I felt.

  11

  All These Plans

  Ben

  I carried a coffee up to the bedroom for Kinsley. Of course, she was scrambling around, trying to get herself together for work. She made the decision the night before to open her office, which meant talking to her employees and making sure everyone who had an appointment was called. It was cute to see her working late at night. Pacing the kitchen with a notebook and pen, calling people, showing off her beautiful charm. It was no wonder why her veterinarian practice was so successful. Her personality went such a long way.

  Part of me would never get why she wanted to waste that on animals, but no matter what, I would support her career path. In fact, things were going so well, I started to conjure up the idea of opening a second location for her. Since I owned the main building she had an office in, I could easily find something similar in another town and do the same. She could help me with the buildout and we could hire more veterinarians. She was growing, but she was reaching a ceiling since she was just one person. Adding just one more veterinarian would basically double her numbers. Then add another location, it could be a really big deal for her. Instead of working as a veterinarian all day, she could be a real boss to something greater than what she had now.

  “Morning, my dear,” I said as she was putting on a white shirt.

  She turned and smiled at me. The shirt was unbuttoned, showing her sexy body. Wearing a white bra, her breasts full and pushing out from the top. The temptation was sometimes so much around her. But I still refused to share her. I wanted all or nothing and I didn’t think that was too much to ask. Considering I was the reason she had a business. And a house. And a vehicle. And the diamond ring on her finger.

  “Coffee?” I asked.

  “Thank you,” she said. “I slept in.”

  “I can see that.”

  “You should have gotten me up, Ben.”

  “You said you had your alarm set.”

  “I did. I turned it off and rolled over.”

  “Comfy bed, huh?” I asked.

  “It’s not funny. I can’t be late.”

  I closed in on her, pinning her against the closet door. “Just drink your coffee, Kinsley. Let me help…”

  I touched the bottom of her shirt. My fingertips touched the scar on her lower belly. It made me sad and jealous. My eyes didn’t leave her eyes. There was a fire between us, just like the day we met. The way she had been standing in the parking lot, unsure of what she wanted then. I had always taken the first step forward and always would with us.

  I buttoned her shirt all the way to the top as she stood there, sipping coffee, looking so fucking beautiful that I wanted to just throw everything up in the air and leave with her. Just me and her. Pick a place, pack two bags, get plane tickets, and just vanish.

  The words were on the tip of my tongue too, but I held back.

  “There,” I said. “You look perfect, Kinsley. You’re going to knock them dead today.”

  “Well, I hope I don’t do that, Ben,” she said.

  “Right. You’re going to knock them… alive…”

  She smiled.

  I got her to smile.

  I kissed her forehead and let out a deep breath.

  My body ached for her.

  I thought about last Halloween… months ago… waking up with that wild urge to ravage her. And I did. I walked down to the kitchen and just took her. But I never thought about why she was down in the kitchen alone, on her phone, in the middle of the night.

  She’d been talking to Brice then…

  It angered me. It hurt me.

  “You okay?” Kinsley asked.

  I backed away and nodded. “Yeah. I’m good.”

  “Hey. We haven’t talked about what happened. You leaving after you showed me that picture.”

  I slowly sat on the edge of the bed. “Kinsley, I don’t think I can do that anymore.”

  “Do what?”

  “Talk about the past. I told you the story. There’s nothing left to say.”

  “Okay. I’m just here for you. I mean, I know the way you work… you punish yourself, Ben.”

  “Kinsley, please,” I said. “We need to focus on ourselves here. You and me. What’s going to happen next in this…” I swallowed hard. “I’ve been thinking about what happened.”

  “Meaning?”

  “The Linda situation.”

  Kinsley’s face dropped. “Oh?”

  “I didn’t realize it was that bad for her. With her ex.”

  “Yeah. Dave is a piece of work.”

  “Piece of shit is more like it,” I said. “I still don’t think hitting him was a good idea.”

  “Ben…”

  “I’m just saying,” I said. “I was just as angry as Brice was. But you have to be smart, Kinsley. Dave could use that against Linda now. And it’ll hurt Paige too.”

  “I didn’t realize you cared,” Kinsley said.

  “Of course I do. I don’t get along with Linda, but I don’t wish harm on her. I was thinking about having one of my lawyers look at things for her. To help her case. I know she works for lawyers, but maybe outside perspective would help.”

  “You’d do that?”

  “Sure. I mean, without being an ass, Brice really screwed her.”

  “You saw what happened.”

  “Punching someone? That’s not the answer.”

  “He deserved it.”

  I stood up. “I’m not saying he didn’t deserve it.”

  “Look, I don’t want to talk about this, Ben. If you want to talk to Linda, then go ahead. I’m sure any advice would help her. She struggles more than people think. She’s tough and knows how to hide it.”

  Kinsley moved for the bathroom and I snagged her wrist. “What about you?”

  “What about me?”

  “How much are you struggling and hiding it?”

  “Ben…”

  “How long, Kinsley? I hate this game.”

  “What game is that?”

  “You’re living in my house. Sleeping in my bed. Spending your time with me. And yet, he’s going through your head all the damn time. You ran to him…”

  “He helped us,” Kinsley said. “Also, Linda and Paige were there.”

  “To see the hero, right?”

  She didn’t say a word.

  I let her go and sighed. “You know I love you. I’ve given you my heart. I’ve given you stuff. I even gave you my past. What else do you want to know about it? What else do you need to figure out, Kinsley?”

  She stood at the sink and looked at her reflection. “I have to understand everything, Ben. I’m sorry if that hurts you.”

  “Understand what?”

  “The way it all happened.”

  “With him?”

  “With everything,” she said. Her right hand touched her stomach.<
br />
  The baby.

  I swallowed hard, hating that she was in so much pain and still grieving and I couldn’t help her.

  “I’m not over it,” I said.

  “Over what?” she asked, finally looking at me.

  “I’m not over losing Chrissy and TJ.”

  She wanted to talk later.

  They were her parting words to me.

  We’ll talk later.

  She kissed my cheek and hugged me like she hadn’t hugged me in a long time. Then she vanished out the front door and left to go to work.

  I did the same, even though I couldn’t exactly focus the way I wanted to.

  I sat in my office, killing time at my desk, which was rare for me.

  My door opened, and Rich leaned in and pointed at me. “You sick?”

  “Nope.”

  “You never sit down. Hungover?”

  “Not a chance,” I said. “Not on a school night.”

  Rich laughed and stepped into my office and shut the door behind him. “Hey, did you get the proposal from Harrison?”

  I patted a folder on my desk. “Right here.”

  “Thoughts?”

  “He’s out of his fucking mind. Building right across from Jackson like that? I think it’ll start a war.”

  “Good or bad?”

  “Possibly good for the contractors and subcontractors,” I said. “If they’re smart enough to squeeze the builders more. But once all the houses are built, then what? Too much inventory…”

  I pointed down.

  “Shit,” he said. “Drives prices down.”

  “Unless we start selling shit right now,” I said. “Sight unseen.”

  “That’ll take some really good smooth talking,” he said with a grin.

  “That’s what I do best, buddy,” I said as I stood up. “But that’s a small fish to me. I would rather have got the fucking land first.” I shook my head. “I had my hand in that. I was playing both pieces off each other and I lost it.”

  “I know,” Rich said. “That was a tough one. It happens.”

  “Not to me,” I said. “I’ll make that back. And then some. Remember that.”

  “I don’t doubt it,” he said. “But, hey, are you going to Mark’s event?”

  “The I only give a shit about myself and here’s an award I won for nothing event?”