The Tough Love Groom

by Taylor Hart

  Kade wanted to grab her hand back and insist she come, but he knew he had to do this alone. He knew his father was in there, and he didn’t know what to expect. He pushed the door open.

  To his shock and horror, his father was standing over his brother, full-on yelling at him. “Get your butt out of that bed. Get up, boy! Do you hear me? Kincaids don’t sit. Kincaids don’t take things lying down! They get up! They do! They fight! They don’t lie there looking weak! Get up!”

  Behind him, Kade heard Felicity draw in a quick breath.

  His brother lay in bed, a neck brace fixing him in place. One of his legs was propped up in a strange-looking contraption. Kade watched his brother’s eyes flutter open.

  “Good.” His father turned to Kade, gesturing to him. “It’s about time your brother got his butt here. See, he’s walking. He’s doing it.” His father cursed and kicked the wheel of the hospital bed.

  Kade had never seen his father in such a full-on meltdown. Normally, he was pristine in his appearance, even if a little hokey. It didn’t help that he wore a five-gallon hat and had a typical mustache that made him look like he was the evil villain in a movie and a belt buckle that signaled Kincaid Oil. His father got new designs on the buckle every year and handed them out liberally. Kade had a drawer full of them.

  “He’s being unreasonable,” his father told him. “It’s like that year he had that high ankle sprain. He just babied it. Do you remember that? Sat out of practice and just …” His father clenched his fist and started yelling at Anthony again. “Get up! Get—”

  Kade grabbed his father from behind and picked him up. “Dad, we’re not doing this any longer, do you hear me?” He turned toward the door and caught it with his toe before it shut all the way. Kade kicked it open.

  “What the?” A string of curse words fell from his father’s mouth.

  Kade was able to get him out of the room, but his father turned on him like a mauling mama bear.

  “What are you doing?”

  Kade put his hands on his father’s shoulder and held him at arm’s length. He was surprised at how strong his father still was. Yes, he kept himself in shape, but he must have some adrenaline going too, because Kade had to use almost all his strength to keep him out of the room. He had become an offensive lineman. There was no way he was letting his father at the defenseless QB in that room.

  “No, Dad! No! This stops here. I should have stood up to you a long time ago.” He looked to Anthony, and then back to his father. “I should have protected Anthony from you after our mother died and he hurt his ankle, but I didn’t.” He blinked the emotion away. He would not let his father just berate his brother like that. Fierce loyalty and love and regret for all the things he hadn’t saved his brother from surged through him.

  His father kept pushing against him. They were locked in a standstill, but Kade would do this all day long if he had to. He wasn’t too high and mighty to be a lineman today, and just like his guys were the best around at protecting Kade, he would pay his brother back for not being there for him all those years ago.

  He saw Felicity’s wide eyes, and he saw her shooing the staff away and requesting they give them some space as the battle continued.

  “Leave him alone!” Kade roared, feeling emotion from the last ten years pour out of him. “Leave my brother alone!” The words were at least a decade too late, but he’d gotten them out.

  Finally, his father stopped pushing, apparently realizing he wasn’t going to get through.

  Kade saw Felicity out of the corner of his eye, and suppressed a wince. He could only imagine what she thought of him. But he couldn’t let his father treat his brother this way.

  His father looked vexed, then pissed. “Why are you doing this?

  “You can’t do this, Dad,” Kade said, calming himself. “Just let Anthony have a second to recover from a broken neck before you start in on him again.” Wow. He felt really good. It felt so freeing to tell his father this, to finally stand up for Anthony. He realized he should have done a lot more of this. “Stay out.”

  “You think you’re gonna keep me out of this room?” His father spat on the floor and gave Kade a challenging look.

  “Yeah, I am.”

  His father turned, and his gaze fell on Felicity. His eyes narrowed before he turned back to Kade. “Her? I thought she was just a paid date.”

  Kade saw Felicity didn’t even flinch, even as his father swore again.

  “Dad, just go.” Kade tried to keep his voice calm, but he could feel his jaw clenching.

  His father sneered, looking happy he’d finally understood where he could hurt Kade. “Fine,” he said, straightening. “He can be your problem, then.”

  Kade didn’t wait for his father to ride off into the sunset. He just turned back and went into the room.

  For a few moments, he stared at his brother. Anthony couldn’t move in the neck brace with a bunch of monitors attached to him and his leg propped up. It seemed like he had an arm that was hurt too. His eyes fluttered open and closed.

  Kade moved to the chair next to the bed and scooted it closer to his brother and sat. He didn’t know how long he was there as a myriad of memories flashed through him, including the day his mother had passed away. He remembered how they’d held each other. Reaching out, he put a shaky hand on top of his brother’s. He didn’t expect anything. That was probably the biggest deal at the moment. He realized he just wanted to be there for him. That was it. There was no pressure from his dad. No competition. Nothing. It was just them.

  He closed his eyes, wishing he could help his brother. Dear God, help him. Help his neck. Help him to heal. Help him to play again. Tears washed down his cheeks, and he thought about all the things he’d wondered about for a long time. How was he? Did he like Houston? Did he like the team? Was he really dating Sheena?

  He wanted to tell him about Felicity. He wanted to tell him about everything he’d been thinking the past couple of days. But he swallowed and just let this be enough. He didn’t know if his brother was sleeping or …

  “Do you remember …”

  Kade looked at Anthony, who was looking at him with the same tired eyes. His voice was quiet and sounded old.

  Anthony kept talking. “When we were little and we would just play catch?”

  A rush of tears washed down Kade’s face, and a surge of happiness warmed him. He nodded to his brother and smiled and held his hand tighter. “Yeah. Yeah, I remember that.” He wiped his face with his other hand.

  Anthony had tears in his eyes too. “I miss that.”

  Kade thought about how being here, protecting and supporting his brother, felt so good. Felt like the best thing he’d done in a long time. A chill ran down his spine. He didn’t deserve this grace, but he was sure thankful for it. He smiled at Anthony. “I’ve missed it too, bro. I’ve missed you.”

  Chapter 25

  Two Weeks Later

  Felicity sat in her office, staring at the blue vase Kade had given her. Warmth started in her core and spread from there when she thought about Kade. He hadn’t given it to her. He’d replaced it. She debated that point for what seemed the umpteenth time.

  Kade was still in Houston with his brother, sleeping in the same room with him. It’d been such a beautiful thing, the reunion of him and his brother.

  After Mr. DaVinci realized Felicity had been with Kade when he arrived in Houston, he told her to stay there and manage the media. In a way, it’d been a fun story to manage because it had been real. Her heart warmed, thinking about Kade demanding to sleep in a bed next to his brother, to eat with his brother, and to help him start his physical therapy. The Houston Sentinel team had been up at the hospital a lot, and there’d been a lot of teasing between Kade and the guys, but Anthony had gotten a little better every day, much to everyone’s pleasure, especially Kade’s.

  Hardly a few days later, Kade was wheeling him around the hospital, laughing and joking and getting busted by the nurses. The media had eaten th
e whole thing up and even put together a whole spread on them and their loyalty to each other. It’d been one of the best times for Felicity, too, because Kade refused to hide his relationship with her, so she’d been able to start to get to know Anthony. She’d also been up front and center with a resurged media effort at KadeSong. The name was growing on her a bit.

  It made her wonder about how she’d been instantly accepted into Kade’s world and how everyone around her, including Mr. DaVinci, still took her seriously at her own job.

  Life felt amazing, and as Felicity put together a few clips of the brothers for another press release to give to the Dallas news outlets, she felt happier than she figured she had probably ever felt.

  DaVinci walked into her office, an eyebrow lifted. “Felicity, Felicity, Felicity. How are you?”

  Unable to stop the blushing, she managed a nod. “I’m good, Mr. DaVinci.”

  He tapped her desk lightly with his fingers. “Don’t you just love PR when one of your clients is getting tons and tons of free press coverage?” He looked over her shoulder at the clips she was putting together.

  She smiled. “I do.”

  “It appears that John Kincaid wants some help with a new spin on one of his companies. He wants to expand our role with his firm. Wants someone to go to his office this afternoon and get the details.” He flashed a smile. “I know you have those Kincaid men wrapped around your finger, so I’m going to let you handle this.”

  Angst stirred through her as she thought of the last time she’d seen John Kincaid. He’d looked like a wild bear about to attack. Had attacked, truthfully. She didn’t think this was a coincidence. There was no way this could be a coincidence. “Sure,” she said lightly.

  Mr. DaVinci didn’t look like he was up to anything. Of course, she knew the Kincaids were big clients of his. “Great. Head over to his office ASAP.”

  Walking into downtown Kincaid Oil headquarters was a bit intimidating. It wasn’t just that he had major holdings in real estate, oil, and mortgage companies, all in this huge downtown building. It was the huge lions out in front of the building. The gothic look was a little over-the-top. Very intimidating.

  Felicity thought about what she knew about John. From her research on Kade, she knew he was determined, ruthless, and would stop at nothing once he set his eyes on something. A nervous flutter went through her. She didn’t know if she wanted to be the point person for him.

  She thought about her relationship with Kade. His father had seen her that night, though she could say she’d just been representing Kade or something, handling something for him. Yet the moment she was escorted into his twenty-second-floor office by the secretary, after she’d waited twenty minutes, she knew she couldn’t tell him a lie.

  He stood facing the city, his cowboy hat on along with the token white shirt, black hat, and cowboy boots. An intimidating man in an intimidating business. She thought of how many times she’d seen his face on billboards, ads at the stadium, car dealerships. This man was a billionaire, and he had earned it.

  “Hello.” She felt small as she stared at the floor-to-ceiling high-rise windows.

  “Oh.” He turned, and there was a hop to his step as he moved to her. “Ms. Song, glad you could make it over today.” He pumped her hand, and she wondered for a second if maybe he wasn’t expecting the same woman here as he’d seen at the hospital.

  When their eyes met and she saw the sharp look in his despite having the same brown of Anthony’s eyes, her heart nearly stopped. Taking her hand back, she forced herself to suck in a breath. She’d thought Kade’s laser-like focus on the field was intense, but now, staring at his father, she realized that focus wasn’t half of what his father commanded. “Mr. Kincaid.” She kept her voice light.

  “Take a seat,” he said grandly, gesturing to the furniture that was next to the window. White furniture. Clean. Not a speck on it. She couldn’t stop herself from thinking that even the furniture was almost daring you to make a mess on it.

  “Thank you,” she said, moving to the couches.

  He sat across from her in a black leather chair, casually crossing his leg, and he stroked his mustache. She’d seen him do this gesture a lot on television, on the field. She wondered what the body language meant. “I have a project I need your expertise with.” He leaned back.

  “Really?” She should have asked Mr. DaVinci for more details.

  “I have an oil company in Nevada that needs a bit of a PR makeover. Gotten some bad press recently, and I want to send in a crack shot and really overhaul the whole image of the company.” He nodded and licked his lips quickly. He was a fast-talking, type-A salesman at heart. It was hard for him to keep his butt on the chair and talk to her. That’s why he’d been standing when she entered. That’s why this office was so large, so he could pace. “Yeah. I want you to go to Nevada and meet with my people. I want a new logo. I want a whole new campaign, commercials, billboards, website. This could take you away for quite a while.”

  Her heart beat faster, and she felt like an animal caught in a net. The more it moved, the more tangled it got.

  “Yes, you can stay in Reno.” He waved a hand into the air. “Of course, I’ll pay for everything. We’ll set ya up good. Maybe you could even get an apartment there. We’ll pay for that. You’ll be there a lot, and a hotel is a bit of an inconvenience.”

  Now she was in Pretty Woman. Or strike that. Was there a movie made about rich people sending the poor girl away? She’d seen it done about poor guys being sent away or offered money in exchange for leaving a daughter alone, but were there reverse ones? It made her smile when she thought about it, because Kade would think it was funny.

  “Excuse me, Ms. Song?”

  Oh. She’d let her mind wander. “Yes?”

  “I’ll have my secretary give you your flight and itinerary and everything.”

  Feeling like she was in a different world, she nodded, then stood. Her heart beat out of control.

  “Great. I’ll have my people send over some files for you to look at and get an idea of what we’re looking for.” He moved to her and shook her hand, holding it longer than necessary. “Ms. Song, have you told my son?”

  “What?” she asked.

  “That you’re dying? That you will probably die with your heart condition, and you’re not even on the transplant list?”

  She didn’t know what to say. Everything in her world felt like it was slowing down. Every part of her shook.

  He stood too, whipping out a checkbook. “Tell me your price.”

  “What?” She really must be in a movie.

  His teeth flashed. “Name your price to stay away from my son, because we can’t have anything messing with his head. Of course, after I pay you, you’ll break up with him. I’m guessing it will be somewhat difficult given all the time you’ve been spending together, but it’ll help re-focus him too. My son does best when he’s angry. I should know.”

  She blinked and couldn’t stop the moisture in her eyes. This man might be a horrible person, but he was right about one thing—she shouldn’t be with Kade.

  “How much?” he pressed.

  Glaring at him, she turned on her heel. “You’re one sad man.”

  “What?” he yelled after her.

  She swung back to him. “You should be ashamed of putting your arrogance ahead of your sons. You should be ashamed of hurting them like this.”

  A sneer tugged up his lip. “I would do anything for my sons. That’s why I’m saving him from this.” He pointed at her. “I only have Kade left to make his life into something. He’s not going to waste it on a woman like you. You’re broken.”

  He’d hit below the belt, exactly where it hurt the most. All of her insecurities ached. She wanted to rip his head off, but all she could do was turn and run.

  She wasn’t sure how she finally arrived home, because when she turned off the engine she didn’t remember the trip. Pulling out her phone, she dialed Mr. DaVinci’s number.

  �
��Hello?”

  “Mr. DaVinci.” She tried to keep her voice calm.

  “Felicity. Yes, how did it go with Kincaid?”

  She sucked in a breath. “I’m sorry, sir. I’m going to have to put in my resignation.”

  “What?”

  Ending the call, she got out of the car and tried to calm her frantic heartbeat, but she couldn’t. She stumbled toward the house, feeling faint before her vision blurred. “Crap.”

  Chapter 26

  Kade landed the helicopter and shut it off. There had been good winds, so it had been an easy trip. He hadn’t planned on spending the last two weeks with his brother, but it felt like those were the best two weeks he’d spent in a long time. To have Felicity there and be part of it had been priceless to him. All he wanted to do was talk to her, see her.

  Anthony adored her and had endured all of Kade’s rambling about her. It’d been nice to listen to Anthony too. Find out about his life. Find out how Sheena had taken him on a ride and then left him without a word as to why.

  Kade was grateful he’d come to be with Anthony. He felt closer to him than ever. At this point, his brother had a neck injury. A career-ending injury, everyone was saying. It might be. But he was hopeful. His brother was doing better than they had thought. Better than anyone had predicted. Already they were doing the therapy.

  Kade didn’t want Anthony to play again. In many players’ cases, once you were injured you were more prone to being injured again. Especially with a neck injury. As a quarterback, he would become a target. At this point, if Anthony was lucky, he would walk again. But what if he hadn’t been so lucky?

  Kade hadn’t said anything the whole time because he knew that he, like his brother, would want to play again. Anthony hadn’t needed Dad there to get him up and improving. That drive came from inside both brothers.

  Both brothers found it strange that they hadn’t heard from their father. Kade planned to be home for a day or two, see Felicity, and go back and be with Anthony. They were hopeful he could go home soon. Kade had talked him into possibly coming to Dallas, where Kade could help him with his recovery.