“Oh yeah,” Sierra said softly and reached out her hand. “You came back.”
Shae took her hand. Held on. “Thanks for giving me time to think about it.”
“Does Ian know?”
“That I’m back? Yeah.”
Sierra glanced at Jess and saw the twisted expression. “Does he know that . . . that we talked?”
“That you came to Minneapolis to get me? That I begged you to keep this quiet? That—”
“That I lied to him, again.”
Shae swallowed, and Sierra felt her quick nod like a dagger in her chest.
“I wanted to tell him—”
“I thought you did! You told me you were going to, so I thought—but you didn’t. And Uncle Ian—”
“Oh. Wait,” Sierra said, and suddenly she caught up. Realized why everyone seemed to be avoiding her eyes, shifting their weight. “He’s here, isn’t he?”
Shae nodded. “He’s down in ICU, with Dex.”
“Is he hurt?”
“No, he’s fine. Sunburned and has some wicked scratches, but—”
“So, he’s not stuck in a hospital bed.” More silence. “And he knows . . . he knows I’m here.”
Shae bit the bottom of her lip. Glanced at Jess.
“Give him some time, honey,” Jess said softly, touching Sierra’s leg. “I’ve never seen anyone that distraught. When we picked him up, he was a disaster. Nearly went into shock. He refused to get on the chopper with Dex, made us go back to the island. He wasn’t going to stop looking for you, even after Shae told him that . . . that you knew.”
“That I betrayed him again, you mean.”
Shae frowned. “Again?”
Sierra looked at her. “I didn’t tell him about you wanting to run away with Dante. I thought . . . well, until we found Dante’s body a year ago, I thought you two were living happily ever after somewhere, and . . . when I finally told him that I knew that you two were planning on running away together, he was furious with me. And now . . .”
Shae cut her voice low. “I’m sorry I asked you to lie for me.”
“You didn’t ask me to find you—I did that part. I was just . . . I was trying to fix things.”
Shae took a breath. “I’m so sorry, Sierra. I don’t think you can fix this. Uncle Ian . . . he told me to tell you that he was glad you were okay. But . . .”
“He’s not coming to see me.”
Her mouth tightened. “No.”
She managed to keep her voice from breaking. “It’s okay. I get it.” She looked at Jess, took her hand. “See what you can do to get me out of here. I’m fine, and I want to go home.”
Pete could strangle Ian with his bare hands. He got up and pushed past Jess, out into the hall. Clasped his hands behind his head, walked in a tight circle.
“What gives?” Ty came out after him, and Pete rounded on him.
“Seriously? You don’t want to punch Ian in the face right this moment?”
Ty drew in a breath, nodded. “Yeah, okay, I do, but—”
“C’mon.” He turned and stalked down the hallway.
“Pete! I don’t think this is a good idea.” Ty scrambled after him. “Pete!”
Pete punched the elevator button, glanced at the floor indicator above, then turned and headed for the stairwell.
Ty caught his arm. “Pete—”
“I’m not going to hit him,” Pete said and yanked his arm from Ty’s grip.
“Don’t you think you’re just slightly overreacting here?” Ty followed him down the two flights to the ICU, where they’d left Ian sitting in the waiting area. “Listen, I agree with you, but the guy is just trying to figure out what to do.”
“Yeah, well, the answer is easy. He fights for the girl he loves.” Like he should be doing. What was he thinking just sending Jess on her merry way back to New York City? Back into Felipe’s arms? Had he lost his mind?
Pete wasn’t throwing away the only real, lasting relationship he’d ever had. “I choose you, Pete,” Jess had said, and maybe he should just take her at her word. Pete Brooks was right for Jess Tagg, and maybe that was all she wanted.
All she needed.
After all, she had walked away from her life. From Selene Taggert. From the drama and the headlines and the pain, and he had no right to shove her back into that world.
Not if that’s not what she wanted. Besides, Pete Brooks could be right for Selene Taggert too.
And he might just be overreacting, but seeing Sierra so miserable—he was tired of broken hearts. Especially if he could do something about it.
He hit the doorway to the floor to the ICU, stalked down the hall to the waiting area, and found it empty. Glanced at Ty, who raised an eyebrow, then headed to the desk. “Um, we’re here to see Dex Crawford. Can we go in?”
The ICU nurse looked up. “Mr. Crawford got upgraded to stable condition and moved to a private postsurgical room.”
“What room?” Ty asked, leaning over the counter and flashing the woman a cowboy smile.
She smiled back, then glanced at Pete, her smile dimming. “Check in on the fifth floor.”
Pete headed back to the stairwell.
“We could take the elevator,” Ty said, but Pete hit the door, his heart pounding. He needed to work off some of the fury that laced his bloodstream.
Ty was breathing hard, trying to keep up behind him. “What are you going to do, Pete?”
“I’m going to tell Ian that he’s . . . that he’s throwing away the best thing that ever happened to him.”
And no, it wasn’t lost on him that he might be wanting to tell Ian exactly what he should be telling himself.
In fact, as soon as he was finished with Ian, Pete was going to go back down to the lobby, find a bouquet like the one Ty brought Sierra—only red, of course—track down Jess, pull her into some alcove, and tell her that he couldn’t live without her one more second. That he should have proposed again the moment she said she loved him. That any moment, life—a rogue wave, a cave-in, a fire, an avalanche, a freakin’ wrong turn into traffic—could completely alter their lives, and he didn’t want to live one more day without her in his arms.
He hit the fifth floor and headed down the hallway to the nurse’s desk.
Yeah, that was exactly what he was going to do. Right after he told Ian that he was—
Ian stood in the hallway, arms folded, eyes closed, right outside the door of an open room. As Pete watched, Ian raised his head, blew out a breath, and headed inside.
The action threw a little water on Pete’s fury. He slowed as he came up to the door of the room.
A different Ian stood at the end of the bed; he was smiling and nodding. Pete halted, just stared at him.
Took a breath, a beat to keep himself from storming into the room.
It barely helped. “Seriously, Ian? Do you not even care that Sierra is upstairs?”
Ian’s gaze shot in his direction and he frowned as Pete walked into the room.
Stopped.
Dex sat in the bed, his arms gripping the side rails. His face was swollen with fluids, his lips were burned and misshapen, his eyes reddened, and . . . under the covers, there was dead space where his leg had been.
It looked like they’d taken it off mid-thigh.
“Pete,” Ian said, his voice tight. “This is Dex. My best friend. Dex—Pete was one of the guys who found us.”
Dex managed a smile. “I was just telling Ian that I wasn’t going to buy his stupid boat.”
Oh.
“It’s way too expensive and doesn’t have near enough bedrooms. Besides, there’s that whole hauling it up from the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico thing.”
“Actually, it went down south of the Keys,” Ian said, raising an eyebrow.
Dex laughed, and Pete got it. They were trying to find their footing in a new reality.
“Glad to meet you, Dex.” Pete’s gaze fell to Dex’s leg. He didn’t know what else to say.
“It’ll be a conve
rsation starter,” Dex said to him. “Hey, baby, ever met a real pirate? I just need an eye patch.”
“That’s not funny, Dex,” Ian said. He looked away, clearly pained.
“I’m sorry, I guess I started the day off on the wrong foot.”
“Dex.”
Ty had come in behind them. “Wow.”
“What? Okay, I’m sorry I keep making these insensitive jokes. I know it’s prosthetic.”
Pete just stared at him. “Are you on morphine?”
“Yes, but, guys,” Dex said, shaking his head. “I’m alive. Right? We’re all alive. Sheesh, everyone just calm down. I’m the one who lost his leg. Loosen up.”
Ian looked at the floor, clearly not able to get that loose.
Pete glanced at Ian. Shook his head. “Ian. Dex is right. Sierra is alive. You’re alive. And your niece came home. You should be weeping with crazy joy. So what’s the deal—why haven’t you gone to see Sierra?”
Ian looked up at him, frowned.
Then his gaze cast past him, and Pete heard voices in the hallway.
“Dex?”
He turned just in time to see Noelly Crawford push past Ty. “Dex!”
She rushed to her brother, wrapped her arms around him.
Behind her came Hayes Buoye and Vanessa White. “Dude,” Hayes said. “You freaked us all out good.”
Pete noticed his eyes falling on the bed, the empty blanket.
Vanessa cupped her hand over her mouth. “Oh, Dex, I’m so sorry.”
Ian had stepped back, and Pete glanced at him. Ian’s gaze fixed on him, his mouth a tight line.
Yeah, well, Pete had meant every word.
“For the love of—seriously?”
Pete had nearly forgotten Ty standing behind him, but now his exclamation made him turn.
Ty pushed past him, out into the hallway. “Felipe?”
What?
Pete followed Ty out of the room and caught him shaking the hand of a taller man with short dark hair groomed with gel, a day’s growth of dark whiskers across his chin, and high cheekbones. He wore a pair of skinny black pants, dress shoes, and a too-tight V-neck pullover.
Very French.
Pale brown eyes glanced over Pete before they focused back on Ty. “Ty! I never dreamed I’d see you here.”
“What are you doing here?”
Felipe glanced again at Pete, and this time Ty turned. “Oh, this is . . . uh . . . my friend, Pete Brooks.”
Felipe gave him a spare, thin smile and held out his hand. “Felipe St. Augustine.”
Feminine hands, if you asked Pete. Smooth, not much of a grip. “Glad to meet you,” he lied.
Felipe let him go, turned back to Ty. “Vanessa called me—can you believe it?” He gripped Ty’s shoulders. “Selene is here, with . . . oh yes. With you, I think?”
Ty nodded, drew in a breath. “Yeah, actually, she’s with one of our team members.”
“It’s like a miracle. I thought I’d never see her again, and now . . . I can’t believe it. What happened to her?”
“You’ll need to talk to her,” Ty said.
“She started a new life,” Pete said quietly.
Felipe looked at him. “Are you on this rescue team my fiancée works for?”
Pete nodded.
“I know Selene wanted to be a doctor, but to see that she is actually rescuing people—it’s beautiful.”
“You mean Jess,” Pete said. “And yes, it is beautiful.”
“Pete—” Ty started.
Pete didn’t know exactly what was wrong with him, but . . . “And she’s not your fiancée anymore.”
Felipe frowned. “Who are you?”
“Felipe?”
The voice shut Pete up even as he’d been about to retort. But what could he say? Her . . . other fiancé?
What a mess.
Especially when Felipe turned and spotted Jess standing just down the hall. She stared wide-eyed at Felipe. “What are you—”
“Selene!” Felipe rushed at her, caught her up.
Held her so tight, Pete had to turn away before he ran to pry the guy’s arms off her.
Felipe finally put her down. Caught her face in his hands. “Where have you been?”
Pete walked up to stand beside her. Longed to catch her hand.
But the guy actually had tears in his eyes and, shoot, Pete couldn’t hate him quite so much. He’d probably feel the same way—well, he had felt the same way when he’d rescued Jess from the fire.
“I’ve been in Montana, with . . . Ty,” Jess said. Her gaze flicked to Pete, back to Felipe.
“Why didn’t you come to me? I would have helped you.” Felipe’s voice lowered. “I am your fiancé. Je t’aime, ma chérie.”
Pete couldn’t speak French, but he could figure those words out. It stirred up his ire. “Former fiancé,” Pete snapped. “Right, Jess?”
She looked so stricken, he just wanted to pull her into his arms.
“Jess?”
Her eyes welled. “Yeah, that’s right,” she said, but her words came out in a pained whisper.
A fist tightened around his heart.
Aw, he didn’t want her this way. “I choose you, Pete.” He wanted her to mean it. Every part of her—Jess and Selene—to mean it.
“I didn’t get a ring back,” Felipe said tersely.
Pete wanted to punch him. “C’mere,” he said quietly to Jess. He didn’t spare Felipe a glance as he took her hand. She turned to him, and he took her face in his hands, met her eyes.
“Babe. You know I’d fight this guy for you. Gladly. But . . .” He felt himself rip apart as he forced the words free. “That’s not what you . . . what you need.”
Tears ran down her cheeks.
“I love you,” he whispered.
“I love you too.” Her voice emerged just above a breath.
And he couldn’t do it. Couldn’t make her choose right here, in the midst of the aftermath, her emotions all wadded up with shock and regret and longings and . . . no, this was not the time to make a stand and fight for his girl. Even if everything inside Pete wanted to sink his fist into Felipe’s pretty-boy face. In fact, Pete nearly trembled with the overpowering urge. But he swallowed, tamped it down. Pressed his forehead to hers. “Okay, this is going to kill me, but . . . take your time. Decide. And when you do . . .”
“I’ll come back to you,” she whispered.
He closed his eyes and pressed a long kiss to her forehead.
Then, without a look at Ty, he simply walked away. Kept his eyes forward, his feet moving.
His heart beating.
Pete opened the stairwell door and once he hit the landing, took the stairs two at a time.
He hit the street level without taking a breath. Strode through the parking lot, out across the grass to the breakwater, where the waves thundered against the cement wall.
And there, Pete sank down on the edge, stared out to the sea, and finally let his heart break.
17
“OKAY, what’s going on?”
Dex scooted himself up in the bed, wincing.
“What? Lay down, bro—you’ll start bleeding and your sister will kill me.” Ian came over, put his hands on Dex’s shoulders.
“I might let her,” Dex said.
Thankfully, Noelly and the others had left to secure hotel rooms. Jess had come in briefly to say good-bye. Apparently, Nessa had brought in a friend of Jess’s. Small world, it seemed.
It got smaller when Noelly, after reassuring herself that Dex would live, came over to Ian, wrapped her arms around his neck, and held on to him longer than he liked.
Still, he closed his eyes, hugged her back.
“I was so scared,” she said into his ear, her voice shaky.
“Me too,” he whispered. She released him and pressed a kiss to his mouth.
He didn’t kiss her back, but didn’t hurt her by pulling away, either.
Dex was watching him, frowning. He stayed silent, however, until
Noelly left with promises to return with real food.
Now Dex seemed to have one thing on his mind. “Fine, I’ll lay down, but you have to catch me up. What was your friend Pete all lathered about?”
Ian ran a hand behind his neck. “Sierra.”
“She’s okay, right?”
The urgency in Dex’s voice stirred the old heat inside Ian. The very reason he was alive. Because if he hadn’t left the bridge to tell his friend to keep his hands off his girl, he might have been trapped inside and gone down with his ship.
“I think you should take a look at all the times God has given you a divine offer to trust him.”
He hardened his jaw.
“Ian, Sierra is okay, right?” Dex asked again.
“Yeah. Sunburned. Dehydrated.” This report he had gotten from Ty. “She’s fine.”
Dex shook his head. “I . . . don’t remember much, I admit. But I do remember Sierra sitting on the beach with my head in her lap. She was praying for me.”
Ian stared at him. “Really?”
“Yeah. And it did make me feel better. I don’t know, bro, but maybe for once we need to consider that there was a higher power intervening.”
Ian gave an involuntary glance at Dex’s missing leg.
“Seriously, dude, calm down. I know it’s gone. And yeah, I’m upset about it. But I could be paralyzed. Or dead. Besides, I’m going to get a super leg, be bionic.”
“Okay, we’re cutting off the morphine.”
“What? Don’t touch that pump. But, listen, I’m not so out of it that I can’t remember Pete’s words. You haven’t been up to see Sierra? What gives?”
Ian walked to the window. “I don’t want to see her.”
“What is going on with you? Because did he also say that Esme is back? You found your niece?”
Ian stared outside at the surf crashing against the cement breakers. “Sierra found her, convinced her to come home.”
“Really? Wow. That’s just . . . she really cares about you to do that. Which, of course, I knew.”
Ian looked at him over his shoulder. “What?”
“Sierra—she’s totally in love with you. I tried to offer her a job, and she refused. Said it would bother you too much for her to work for me.”
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