Stacey glanced out the window. It was a beautiful summer evening. “That sounds wonderful.”
“Let me straighten a few things and I’ll meet you downstairs in five.”
She stared at the empty doorway for an instant, realizing she had a silly grin on her face. As she started straightening her desk and saving computer files before logging off, it dawned on her none of her brothers had extended similar invitations during her marriage. Had even they realized something was off? She shook her head. She refused to think about Jace now.
A wonderful evening awaited her with Mason, Brandon and Lucy.
* * * *
Justin opened the door to his condo, setting his fishing gear just inside and snagging his mail off the floor. Enough renovations were finished he could stay there. More importantly, it was done enough he could sell it. Rubbing a hand over his hair, he let his gaze travel over the interior. Stacey had done an incredible job with her suggestions. Someday, he might be able to apologize to her, but he doubted it would be anytime soon. Before she could ever forgive him, he would have to reach the point where he could forgive himself.
He’d made so many mistakes since Jace had first told him he was going to marry her. They both had. He’d realized that over the past few days. Getting out on the river again where he could fish and think had helped him. Now he had to find Jace. They had to talk.
After showering and shaving, he dressed in jeans and boots. He was tired of playing city boy. If Jace wasn’t ready to make changes, Justin would get on the next flight to Denver then make a connection to Billings. From there, he’d drive to the ranch. He was done.
Punching the power button on his phone, he began to go through his messages. There were one or two from his parents and one from his older brother, but the rest were from Jace. After listening to the last one, Justin frowned and hit Save. Jace said he was ready to make changes, but there was something off in his tone. Justin shoved his phone in his pocket and hurried out his door and to his car.
Jace didn’t answer his phone, so Justin opened the GPS application they’d both downloaded. At the time, they’d laughed over being able to always know where the other one was. Now Justin hoped it would help him find Jace before he did something foolish.
* * * *
Mason was looking forward to the evening as much as Stacey. Not only would he be able to spend time in a relaxing atmosphere with Stacey, he’d also be in the company of people he considered friends. After changing, he waited in the open living room for Stacey. She’d chosen a sundress and flat sandals. He grinned. One of the things he liked about her was her confidence she could wear flats and still have great looking legs. Sure, he liked what heels did to the line of a nicely turned leg, but he detested seeing women teetering along, barely able to walk.
“Why are you staring at my feet, Hatch?”
He glanced up. “I was thinking what great-looking legs you’ve got.”
She stared at him for a moment as though surprised by the compliment. “Thanks.”
“Let’s go. I suspect the place will be packed.”
It was a pleasant walk, the waning sunlight casting long shadows along the sidewalk and the faintest of breezes lifting a tendril of Stacey’s hair now and then. He loved that about this new Stacey. No more sleek chignons and French twists. More often than not, she left her hair loose to wave about her shoulders. He snagged her around the waist and drew her to his side as they walked. Tall as she was, their strides matched, and he enjoyed being able to turn his head and look her in the face.
“Stacey, as soon as this is settled…will you marry me?”
She stopped dead in her tracks and grinned at him. “Was that seriously your proposal, Hatch? No hearts and flowers? No bended knee? Really?”
He shifted. “You want that?”
She hugged his arm and leaned her head on his shoulder. “No…and yes, I’ll marry you as soon as we get this untangled.”
They walked a few more steps.
“You want a ring?”
She shuddered. “No. I don’t need a ring to remind me of you. You’re in my mind and my heart every second of the day.”
This time it was Mason who stopped. He blinked a couple of times, slightly embarrassed by how much that touched him. Cradling her face in his hands, he leaned in and kissed her right there on the sidewalk as people walked past them and cars rolled along the street.
“Let’s find Bran and Lucy. I feel like proposing a toast…to all of us.”
* * * *
Stacey eyed the crowd of people spilling onto the sidewalk and knew it would be a while before they even got through the door. Fortunately, they spotted Brandon and Lucy arriving at the same time. She wasn’t sure they could have found each other once inside.
“I’d say this place is already a hit,” Brandon observed then gave Stacey a hug before clasping hands with Mason. “How’s it going, Hatch?”
“Great.” He glanced at Lucy. “He treating you all right?”
Lucy was as tall as Stacey, but built a lot more voluptuously. Strangely enough, Stacey found that no longer bothered her. Mason had helped her gain the confidence her childhood and her marriage had damaged to the point of near destruction.
“Brandon always treats me fine,” Lucy said with a laugh. “After all, he owes me.”
Brandon gathered her close. “I thought we were even after I fished you out of the bay.”
“Okay…then he treats me fine just because.”
They settled into a discussion of artwork as they waited to get into the restaurant. Around this crowd, even Brandon’s status as COO at Barrett wasn’t opening any magic doors. Once they were finally inside, a harried waitress ushered them to a table on a side patio. It was slightly less noisy and the atmosphere was a lot more relaxed. Stacey settled in, enjoying the conversation, which swung from art back to sailing. Since Lucy was nearly as avid a sailor as the two men, it was a conversation everyone could enjoy.
God, this was so different. Stacey hated to keep making comparisons between what life had been like during her marriage and what it was like now, but she supposed that was inevitable. Living so closely with Jace had limited her viewpoint so she began to think everyone lived the same way. One glance at Mason’s laughing expression was enough to smash her misconception to smithereens.
Mason would never sit in judgment. He would be there to support her. And if they disagreed, there would be no smothering disapproval. There might be a heated argument, but never the feeling she was facing a judge and jury.
Stacey leaned back and sipped the wine she’d ordered, glancing casually around the patio. She nearly knocked her glass over as she reached for it at the same time her wandering gaze settled on Jason standing, alone, on the other side of the patio. Mason grabbed her glass, stopping it from spilling its contents right in Brandon’s lap.
“Stacey? What’s wrong?”
She could barely speak. Irrational, she knew, but her immediate gut reaction to the surprise of seeing Jace once more was to recoil in fear, to flee. Now she fought the flight response, taking a deep breath to calm herself.
“Jace… Over there.”
She cringed as the other three turned their heads as one to look.
“We can go somewhere else,” Brandon murmured.
“No,” Stacey said. “I knew this was inevitable when I chose the path I did, but I won’t go back now.”
“There’s no need to climb all your mountains at one time,” Mason said for her alone. “It’s okay if you want to leave.”
All three were watching her. “No. I won’t have my life circumscribed by him anymore.” She raised her head and smiled. “I’m sitting here with people I love, and I have nothing to make me feel ashamed.”
“Thatta girl.” Brandon reached over and patted her hand.
The conversation turned once again to Lucy’s work.
“I’ve rented space in a studio with several other potters. It was a whole lot less expensive for now. We’ve
discussed eventually getting a house out in the country, but staying right here around the district for now makes sense.”
“A little tough to get your kiln in Brandon’s townhouse,” Mason remarked.
He laughed. “Yeah, not sure the neighbors would have appreciated being so close to the heat, and we felt like Lucy’s house was a bit too cozy.”
They were talking and laughing, Mason’s arm draped around her shoulders, when a sorority sister and a fellow debutante stopped at their table. Stacey stiffened, noting immediately the way the other woman’s gaze soaked up how intimately she and Mason were positioned.
“Stacey! It’s been ages since I’ve seen you.” She glanced around the table. “I saw Jace across the way. How are you two doing?”
It was one of those moments where it seemed, to Stacey at least, the entire restaurant had stopped and was holding its breath waiting for her answer. The quickest way out of this situation would be to simply say fine and let Deirdre move on. But doing that made it seem she was somehow ashamed of her relationship with Mason, and really only delayed the inevitable. People would figure out soon enough her marriage to Jace was over.
She smiled to soften her words. “We’ve split, Dee.”
“Oh! I’m sorry to hear that. You always seemed like such a well-matched couple.”
God, and how did she address that? Feeling as though her smile was now pasted on her face, she said, “Looks can be deceiving. Jason has taken a new direction with his life, and I have with mine. We’re both better off that way.”
She didn’t want to say too much. In fact, she wished Dee would move on, but Stacey didn’t want to be rude. The other woman’s gaze shifted to Jace, and Stacey nearly groaned aloud as she saw Justin wending his way through the crowd toward him.
“Well…how interesting.” Dee offered a generic smile. “I’m sure I’ll be seeing you around the club.”
“Not if I can help it,” Mason muttered under his breath. Stacey elbowed him as Dee finally took the hint from the lack of invitation to join them. With a mumbled “have a good evening,” she was off.
Brandon’s narrowed gaze followed her. “Is that the one who couldn’t keep her mouth shut about anything?”
“The same.” Stacey watched the other woman already bending someone else’s ear. When that person’s gaze shifted to Jace and Justin, who was now speaking intensely to him, Stacey sighed. “There’s no keeping this quiet. She’s already taking great pleasure in spreading the word as quickly as possible. We might as well have splashed it over the front of National News.”
In just a few minutes, a chill went down Stacey’s spine. She found Jace glaring at them. Justin, dressed like he was already back on the ranch, had a hand on his arm.
“Judging from the look coming our way,” Mason murmured, “I’d say your friend did a little speculation of her own on what busted your marriage.”
Brandon threw two twenties on the table. “I think we should go someplace else.” He raised a brow as he looked at Stacey. “I don’t see this as hiding or running. I see this as ratcheting down a situation with the potential to get nasty.”
“Too late,” Lucy murmured. “The trouble is headed our way.”
Jace was winding his way through the tables, his brows drawn together and his lips pinched. Stacey raised her chin, refusing to avoid his gaze. Justin followed him, but it looked, judging from his expression, like he was trying to cool Jace’s temper–to no avail.
As he reached the table, both Mason and Brandon stood. Brandon was slightly taller than Jace, and what Mason lacked in height, he made compensated for in sheer muscle. As the men glared, Stacey rose to her feet as well.
“What the hell did you say to Deirdre?” Jace snarled.
“Only that we’d split,” Stacey replied in a cool tone. This time it wasn’t her imagination, the tables around them had gone eerily quiet as Jace’s volume increased.
“I thought the agreement was to keep this quiet!” Jace’s face went from flushed to pale with anger. It reminded her so forcibly of their last argument that Stacey shrank away. She heard murmurs from the tables around them, and Justin frantically whispering at Jason to keep it down.
“She had to say something,” Brandon snapped. “Get real. The woman could see for herself Stacey was here with us while you were across the freaking room.”
“Let’s go, Stacey,” Mason said in an even tone. “You don’t need this grief.”
“So were you fucking her the entire time? Did you even stop?” Jace asked, and Stacey felt almost physically ill. She’d shaken off many of the strictures drilled into her by her mother, but this was beyond anything she’d experienced or even knew how to handle. Jace was spilling everything into far too public a forum.
“That’s enough,” Mason growled. “You seem to forget she’s done you a favor. You also seem to have difficulty recalling exactly what your part was in this entire situation.”
Stacey tugged at Mason, not wanting a repeat of the scene in Phillip’s office and terribly aware they were drawing more and more attention from other guests. Taking matters into her own hands, she turned and began walking away, relieved to feel Mason’s hand at the small of her back. She knew it was his touch, didn’t need to turn to see that. As they exited the restaurant, she was relieved to see the crowd at the door had thinned.
“I’m sorry,” Stacey said, feeling like she needed to apologize. “Why don’t we pick someplace else within walking distance…?”
“Don’t walk away from me, Stacey!” Jace’s voice cut in from behind them. He was making no attempt to lower his volume as he left the restaurant…shaking off Justin’s hand.
He started for them, and Stacey suddenly found both Brandon and Mason standing between her and Jace. In the distance, the faint whine of sirens punctuated the pause in what was going on.
“It’s time to back off, Winchester,” Mason warned, his tone now a deadly monotone she’d never heard before.
The sirens grew louder. Had someone called the police? Stacey squeezed her eyes shut for a moment in sheer mortification. They would have been better off to simply take the entire thing through the courts at this rate and invite the media into front row seats.
“Stay the fuck out of it, Hatch. You think I don’t know how you sabotaged us? You couldn’t leave her alone could you?”
Stacey had endured enough. She pushed between Brandon and Mason and faced Jace. He was obviously drunk. The man she’d known would never create a scene like this on a public street. “Don’t lay the blame at Mason’s door. You created this situation. No one else. You blackmailed my parents and blackmailed me into a marriage I never wanted. And for what?’ Stacey raked him from head to toes with her gaze, then looked beyond to Justin. “So you could continue to carry on your own affair. You want to make this a public scene, Jason? Then suck it up big time because I can air a whole lot more dirty laundry than you.”
The police sirens had cut off, but she barely registered the fact.
“I tried to keep this quiet. I gave you the opportunity to get away without any penalty for what you did, but you’re the one choosing to air this now, not me. I’m done, Jason. Those papers you signed? They don’t mean squat. My next call is to the police, so maybe you need to hock the Winchester diamond and hire yourself a good attorney.”
“You can’t do that!” Before she could walk away, Jason had pulled a small pistol from his pocket. Stacey stared at a bore that loomed so large she thought it would swallow her. Everything happened at once. As her mind registered the metallic slide and click of the semi-automatic cocking, Brandon and Mason both shouted.
Doors slammed. Additional shouts now from officers who had arrived at the scene. Their words didn’t register. Time slowed so even the voices sounded sluggish and from afar. Jace raised the pistol, aiming at her. Stacey’s gaze was glued to the barrel’s gaping hole and then Mason was there between them at the same time several cracks split the air.
To her side, she watched Br
andon pull Lucy to the ground beneath him. Several uniformed officers rushed forward, but it was Mason and Jace she watched in horror. As Mason twisted, grimacing, she caught a glimpse of Jace behind him. Jace jerked a couple of times. It appeared at least one of the cops’ shots had struck him. His gun clattered to the pavement, and Jace crumpled to the ground.
Justin fell to his knees beside him, and Stacey turned away from them. Her only thoughts now were for Mason, down on one knee and gasping.
“Mason! Oh my God. Are you hurt?”
He closed his eyes, nodding, his hands clasping his side. More sirens whined, tires screeched and suddenly they were surrounded by police. As an officer tried to pull her away, Stacey shouted at him and yanked her arm from his grasp.
“No! Let me stay with him. He’s hurt!”
Brandon pushed his way to her side. Words were exchanged that she paid no attention to, her eyes on Mason and the blood darkening his shirt and his hands. A gap opened in the wall of police and emergency personnel. Now she was being helped to his side. He sat on the pavement, his face pale and his thick hair escaping from the ponytail at his nape.
He’d taken a bullet meant for her.
“Oh, Mason. God, I’m so sorry…”
His gaze was filled with pain. “Are you all right?”
“Yes. Oh how can you even ask that?”
“He was going to shoot you. Christ Almighty! I had to do something.” Mason turned his head, looking at where Justin was crouched next to Jace. “Is he dead?”
“I don’t know. I…”
Paramedics arrived. One team went over to Jason, and the remaining two began working on Mason.
“We need you to step back, ma’am.”
“No. I…”
“She stays,” Mason growled. “She stays or I’m outta here, even if I have to crawl to do it.”
Brandon and Lucy were on either side of her. Stacey looked at both of them, trying to assure herself they were all right. Brandon wrapped her in a hug, holding her tight. She heard his sigh of relief, a sigh that sounded as though it had come from the deepest part of him.
Broken Heart Page 21