“What’s happened?”
“Nothing. I rescheduled several sales meetings due to Peyton’s son’s accident, so I’ll be out on the road for a few days.” He looked into his mother’s eyes. “But if you need me, call, or have Da call, or Mad, or Naught, and I’ll come right back. Okay?”
“What about Peyton?”
“She was Kade’s girlfriend, Ma. She has her own life now that he’s gone.”
“Brodie?”
He leaned down and kissed his mother’s cheek. “I’ll call from the road.”
“You weren’t kidding. What did you do to him?” Alex was standing in Peyton’s kitchen unpacking groceries.
“What is all that?”
“Stuff.”
“Frozen pizza? Burritos? Mac n cheese?”
“I’m hungry.”
“Is that an apple pie?”
“I’m really hungry.”
“We had an argument and I asked him to leave.”
“The state?”
“What does that mean?”
“By the size of the suitcase he had with him when he left, I think he’s planning to be gone a while.”
Alex was quiet while Peyton told her about the last conversation she and Brodie had.
“Well? You’re not saying anything.”
“You’re the one who texted me and said you think you f’d things up.”
“So you agree? You think I was wrong?”
“Wrong? I don’t know. Too tough on him? Definitely.”
“Really?”
“Go look in the mirror, Peyton. You’re still you.”
Peyton checked her phone, both to see if it was time for her to pick Jamison up from basketball practice, and also to see if she’d missed a call or text from Brodie. She hadn’t.
“You want me to go get Jamison or stay here with Finn?”
“I’ll go. Thanks for coming over, Alex.”
“I’m here almost every day, Peyton. What would I do with myself if I wasn’t here?”
“Yeah but you only have a couple days of amazing sex left before your next dry spell, so I owe you.”
Alex was sticking a spoon into what looked like a gallon of ice cream. “Whatever. I have junk food. I’m good.”
Peyton had a few minutes to kill before Jamison would be ready to go, so she walked from her house to Moonstone Beach Drive, and watched the sun going down. A week ago she met Brodie here in the morning and wound up spending the whole day with him. Now he wasn’t speaking to her, and she wasn’t sure what to do about it.
Part of her could see Alex’s point, that maybe she was too hard on him. On the other hand, he really overstepped. She was just about to jump off the rock and go get Jamison, when a familiar orange sports car pulled up.
She turned around and waited for him to get out. When he didn’t, she walked over. “Hi.”
“Hi.”
“Uh, I have to go get Jamison.”
“Please get in.”
“Brodie, did you hear me?”
“I heard you. Please, Peyton.”
Peyton climbed in, and Brodie drove to the school. Jamison was walking out the gym door when they drove up.
“Where’s Finn?”
“He’s home, honey, with Aunt Alex, who raided the junk food aisle at Louie’s.”
“Cool! Am I going to be allowed to have any?”
“If she’ll share.”
Brodie drove to Peyton’s. “Hey Jamison, can you tell Alex your mom and I had a quick errand to run?”
Jamison looked at his mom. “It’s okay, honey. We’ll be back soon.”
“Okay, I’ll tell her.”
Brodie backed up the car and drove the block and half back to the beach.
“What’s going on, Brodie?”
He parked the car, and turned to face her. “You were right. When I said I was sorry earlier, I only said it because you were mad.”
“And?”
“I was wrong. I don’t know shit about parenting, except what I learned from my own parents. When I said what I said, I was thinking about how they’d handle something with us. It took me a while to see it from your point of view. I get that I don’t know your boys, and just because something worked with me and my siblings, doesn’t mean anything.”
“I overreacted. It wasn’t bad advice, I had more of a problem with the way you said it than what you said.”
“I’m pushing too hard. I get that, and I wish I understood it enough to explain it.”
“What are you afraid of, Brodie?”
“Everything. I don’t recognize myself lately.” No one got under his skin the way Peyton Wolf had. It wasn’t a misguided sense of responsibility either. His fear was over not having her in his life. Her boys, too. He could mentally reason away the irrationality of it, but it didn’t stick.
“I said something similar to Alex.”
“I’m supposed to be on my way to the Bay Area, but when I got to Monterey, I turned around and came back.” Brodie looked at Peyton. “I’m not like this.”
“I’m not either.”
“When I left your house this morning, I convinced myself that time away from you would be the best thing for both of us. I planned to stay gone long enough that my obsession with you would abate. I couldn’t do it.” Brodie rubbed the back of his neck.
“Right or wrong, I’m in this with you, Peyton. I don’t know how to get out, mainly because I don’t want to. I want you, and that doesn’t just mean sexually, although even if we made love ten times a day for the rest of our lives, it still wouldn’t be enough for me.”
Peyton was looking out at the sea. He couldn’t see enough of her expression to know what she might be thinking, and she wasn’t talking.
“Can you please say something?”
“Your instincts are right, Brodie. Time apart will help us both get perspective.”
“I told Alex I was more into you than you’re into me.”
“I’m sorry I leaned on you as much as I did these past couple of days. It wasn’t fair to you. I gave you the wrong idea.”
“So I’m right.”
“I’m afraid so. I let you take Kade’s place in my life, because it was easy, and it felt good to have someone to lean on. You aren’t him, Brodie, and you never will be.”
“I see.”
Peyton got out of the car. “Bye, Brodie.”
“Where are you going? I can take you home.”
“I’ll walk, it isn’t that far.”
“Peyton—”
“Really, Brodie. Let me go.”
He watched as she walked away, and out of his life. Nine days, start to finish, and yet Brodie didn’t think he’d ever get over Peyton Wolf.
15
Rather than go inside, Peyton circled around, and walked back to the beach. Brodie was gone. She heard his car speed off—her ear followed the sound of the powerful engine as he turned onto the highway, and drove away.
It was time to get her head back on straight, and live the life she’d made for herself. She liked her independence, and her relationship with Kade allowed her to hang onto it. For eight weeks, he was with her, and then for eight weeks he was gone. The first few days were always difficult, but once she got past waking up at night and reaching for him, she settled back into the comfortable rhythm that she and her boys shared since Lang left them.
Jamison and Finn had no recollection of their father, living with them or otherwise. She had photos stashed away, and was willing to talk about him if they ever asked, but so far they hadn’t.
They’d have questions about Brodie. Even though he was a part of their lives such a short time, it felt like longer. Her biggest regret now was she’d allowed it to get as far as it had, at least where her boys were concerned. It became too familiar, too fast, and they’d be the ones to pay.
Brodie would move on. He said he was struggling with it, but Peyton knew better. It was about the chase. She learned that from Lang.
Kade may have thought
he wanted to marry her, but what did he know about real life? He hadn’t ever really lived it. Maybe he talked to her father about it, and his family, but Peyton wasn’t truly convinced he ever would’ve proposed.
When it came to men, her instincts sucked. What would’ve happened with Brodie had she allowed things to continue with him? He told her his plan was to leave, until his “obsession” with her went away. That meant he didn’t want whatever this was, to last. If she were alone, she might be able to risk it, but she refused to put her boys through the loss of yet another man they looked up to.
Peyton walked back into the house, and picked up the phone she left in the kitchen. “I’ll be right back,” she told Alex. She went into the bedroom, and closed the door.
“Peter? I’m glad I reached you.”
“Peyton, how’s your son?”
“He’s good. Home. Thanks for asking. I, uh, wanted to get back to you about dinner next week. I’d love it.”
“Great, I’m looking forward to it. Should I make a reservation somewhere in town?”
“We wouldn’t need it on a Monday, but I was thinking maybe we’d go down to San Luis Obispo.” From now on, she wouldn’t date in her own backyard, and whoever she was dating, would never meet her boys, because she’d never allow another relationship to get serious enough to warrant it. Before she went back out to the kitchen, she called Sam and asked if she’d babysit Monday night.
“Of course, I’d love to.”
Sam didn’t ask any questions, and Peyton didn’t offer any information. She could pick the boys up from school, feed them dinner, and get them into bed. If they wanted to know where she was going, she’d tell them she had to work late. Compartmentalizing was going to be her new MO.
When she came back into the kitchen, Alex pushed a piece of pizza in her direction. “You look very pleased with yourself.”
Peyton looked around to see where the boys had disappeared to.
“Both in their rooms, doing homework. I’m turning into the perfect surrogate mom lately. Maybe I’ll consider having one of my own in ten or twenty years.”
“Better make it closer to ten, Alex, or you’ll have to hire a surrogate.”
“Yeah, yeah. So what’s going on?”
“I have a date with Peter Wells Monday night.”
Alex raised her eyebrows, shook her head, and put a giant spoonful of macaroni and cheese in her mouth.
“What?”
Alex pointed to her full mouth, and shook her head again.
“Chicken shit.”
“Pot.” She pointed to Peyton, and then pointed to herself. “Meet kettle.”
What the hell had he been thinking by turning around and driving back to Cambria? If he hadn’t, he’d be all the way to San Francisco by now. Instead, he wouldn’t get there until well after midnight, which would put a damper on the plans he’d had before his misguided attempt to salvage his relationship with Peyton Wolf.
“Hey sweetheart, change of plans,” Brodie left a message on Dominique’s cell. As owner and chef of one of the hottest Michelin-starred restaurants in the city, she wouldn’t be answering her phone. Instead she’d be waiting for him to walk in the door sometime tonight, and he hated disappointing her.
“Getting a later start than I anticipated. I’ll crash at Kabuki and see you tomorrow, baby.”
Brodie and Dominique went way back. They met when he paid a sales call to her first five-star restaurant, Dom Nom, and were bed buddies since. Dominique was the one who said they’d never be more than that. She was married to her restaurants, she told him then, and he didn’t try to sway her into more. She was smart, beautiful, independent, and loved sex. If anyone could get his mind off Peyton, Dominique could.
He was just past the turnoff for Adelaida Trail, when he turned around. There was something he forgot to bring, that he needed. He pulled up to the house he shared with Naughton, went inside, and grabbed the box that was still sitting on the kitchen table.
He wasn’t sure what he’d do with it yet. Maybe he’d throw it off the Golden Gate Bridge, and really close that chapter of Kade’s life. With the box in the passenger seat, he got back on the road out of Peyton’s life.
He checked into the hotel that felt like a second home to him. Nestled in Japantown, Kabuki was a world-away departure from his life in the Paso Robles wine country. Whenever he was in the Bay Area, he booked the same suite. It had a Japanese-style, deep soaking tub, en-suite sauna, and king size bed he and Dominique made good use of.
He had everything off but his jeans when he heard a knock at the door. He opened it without looking to see who it was, and Dominique fell into his arms. “You don’t know how badly I need this.” She had her fingers on the button on his jeans before the door closed behind her.
An hour later, she rested against his knees in the sauna. “What’s her name?”
“Dom, don’t go there.”
“Come on, Brodie. In all the years I’ve known you, the sex between us has been mind-blowing. We don’t talk, Brode, we fuck. I didn’t come here to talk.”
“It was a long drive—”
Dominique threw her head back and laughed. “I don’t care, Brodie. If you’ve found someone, I’m happy for you. There is no reason to lie to me. It wasn’t the drive that turned you off.”
“You didn’t turn me off.”
“I didn’t say I did. I just didn’t turn you on.”
Brodie rubbed her shoulders, but even that simple act reminded him of having his hands on Peyton.
“Tell me about her.”
“I gotta go, Brodie,” Dominique kissed his cheek and rolled out of bed. “Dinner later?”
He nodded his head. “Sure, sweetheart. Thanks.”
“Don’t thank me, apologize to me.” She laughed.
When he started to, she put her fingers on his lips. “It was a joke, Brodie. I’m fine. A little sexually frustrated, but fine.”
“Dom—”
“Seriously, honey, you don’t think you’re the only one who knows how to scratch my itch?”
“I know.”
“There is a sous chef at Dom Nom who I can’t stop thinking about. Maybe it’s time I gave him a performance review.”
“I’ll see you tonight, sweetheart.”
“Sit at the bar. There are a few new dishes I want to try out on you. You’re still good for eating, right?”
Brodie reached over and swatted her behind. “Watch it.”
Dominique laughed, and closed the suite door behind her.
Brodie had a full day of meetings ahead of him, but after talking to Dominique most of the night, he needed some sleep. He checked his phone. Ten in the morning, no messages, no texts. If he was lucky he’d sleep two or three hours without dreaming about Peyton.
It was as normal day, except that Finn still wasn’t ready to go back to school. He’d wanted to, but Peyton thought he should stay home one more day. She doubted that was the reason he’d been sulking all day though.
“Why isn’t he coming back today, Mom?”
“I told you, Finn. He has work to do. Just because I’m off today and tomorrow, doesn’t mean everyone has that luxury.”
“Why can’t he come for dinner?”
“Finn, stop it. Brodie has his own life. I’ve explained this. It was great that he stayed to help us as long as he did.”
Finn folded his arms and looked out the car window.
There was no reason to tell him it was worse than he thought. Both her boys would find out soon enough that it wasn’t just that Brodie wasn’t “coming back for dinner.” He wasn’t coming back at all.
Jamison wasn’t much better when she picked him up from school, although he didn’t ask about Brodie, he just sulked.
At least they weren’t heartbroken. Sulking would stop after a day or two. The heartbreak they experienced when Kade died still hadn’t stopped.
Peyton jumped when her cell phone rang. She half hoped it was Brodie, but was relieved when she saw i
t was Alex.
“Hey, girlfriend. Whatcha’ doin’?”
“The boys and I are about to make dinner.”
“Whatcha’ makin’?”
“Chicken parm.” It was one of their favorite “comfort” meals, and all three of them needed it.
“I’ll grab a Sangiovese on my way.”
“See ya, Alex.”
She’d tell the boys Alex was on her way over, but they’d already figured it out, and neither looked happy.
“They’re pissed.” Alex laughed.
“No kidding.” Peyton loaded the last of the dishes in the dishwasher. “I’m going to let Finn go to school tomorrow. It’ll be easier than having him scowl at me all day.”
“Have you heard from him?”
“No, and as much as I want to, it’s better this way.”
“Yeah, I get that.”
“What about you and Maddox?”
“Done.”
“Already? What happened?”
“I told you, it never lasts more than a week.”
“Why not?”
“Every once in a while we think we like each other, but really, we don’t.” Alex sighed. “Okay if we don’t talk about it?”
“Of course.” Peyton understood. She didn’t want to talk about Brodie either.
“Go home.” Dominique stood behind Brodie and rubbed his shoulders. “And by home, I don’t mean back to the hotel.”
“I can’t. I’m in the valley tomorrow, and then up in Mendocino on Saturday.”
“How far north are you runnin?”
“Oregon. Maybe Washington.”
Dominique sat next to him at the bar. “Brodie, go home. Talk to her.”
“It’s over, sweetheart.” He hated the sound of his own voice. He sounded like a girl.
“It isn’t.”
“You talk to her or somethin’?”
“Now there’s an idea.”
“Dom—”
“I’m kidding. Can you imagine? ‘Hi Peyton, this is Dominique, the woman whose bed Brodie ran to when you dumped him…’”
He wanted to go home. Not the hotel, and not to the house he shared with his brother. He wanted to go home to Peyton. How he could feel this way after a little over a week with her, and yet not sink into the comfort of a woman he’d known for years, he didn’t understand.
The Promise (Butler Ranch Book 1) Page 16