Take Me To The Beach
Page 25
Thanks to an upgrade to cozy first class, Mo and I were able to catch a few hours of sleep. She says she doesn’t have to be back in Heaven until early tomorrow morning, which means I’ve got her all to myself for another night, and I’m going to take full advantage of it.
Mo sighs as we come to a stop in front of the house. “I love this place.”
She slides from the truck, and I come around to meet her. Hand in hand, we walk up the stairs to the front porch. I open the door and turn to scoop Mo into my arms.
She squeals, wrapping her arms around my neck. “What are you doing?”
“I’m carrying you over the threshold.”
“But we’re not married.”
“Don’t care, Mo.” I kiss her lips and step into the house. “This is our house now.”
I lower her to the ground, and her eyes shine up at me. “Our house, huh?”
I nod. “If that’s okay with you. I know we have a lot to talk about, but I love it here, and I was thinking we could keep it.”
“I love it here too. Of course you should keep it, especially since it’s so close to your training facility.”
“About that…” I reach for her hand and lead her to the couch. She sits down next to me, and I pull her legs across my lap. “I think the doctors are right. With my history of injuries, it’s getting too dangerous for me to continue.”
Mo takes a deep breath, pulls her feet from my lap, and straddles my legs. With a knee pressed to the couch on either side of my hips, she rests her hands on my chest. I hold her waist and wait for her to talk.
“Don’t do this because of me. I’m here for you, Rhett, and I’m not going anywhere. I want you to retire because you’re ready for it.”
“That’s the thing. I am. Last night was wonderful, and it felt final. I put Lucifer in his place, and I’ve achieved all I could ever want. Before you, I didn’t have much to come home to. I think deep down I didn’t worry about getting hurt, because it was just me. But that’s different now. I don’t want to risk my future with you for eight seconds on the bull.”
“What will you do?”
“I’ve thought about training other riders, but mostly I think I’d like to take over Allen Family Ranch.”
“Really?”
I nod. “I’ve always loved working there, and Dad is getting ready to start cutting back. Trevor’s heart is in firefighting—he doesn’t want the ranch to be his career—so this is perfect timing.”
“What about your sponsors?”
“I’m not sure. I’ll have to look into that. If anything, I might have to finish out the season, but it’s almost over.”
“That wouldn’t be so bad. If you start working at the ranch, does that mean you’ll move back to Heaven?”
“Yeah. I’ll buy a house, or build one, but like I said, I’d like to keep this place, too.”
Mo’s face lights up like a Christmas tree. “I have the perfect place for you to build.”
“Us. For us to build.”
Her eyes shine with happiness, and my heart soars.
“Tell me about this perfect place,” I urge.
“You remember that spot at Animal Haven where my dad always wanted to build?”
“Yeah. By the pond. It’s gorgeous out there.”
“We can build there.”
I can’t believe we’re talking about this—making plans for a future, talking about building a house. It’s all a little surreal.
“And what about your dad?”
“I sat down with him and Sharon after you left last Friday. He’s going to move in with her just as soon as I get everything situated.”
“Wow. That’s a big step. You’re okay with this?”
“More than okay. There’s more.” She grins. “He’s giving me Animal Haven. Once I get a few things with my life figured out and get on my feet, we can build out there. It might take a couple of years, but we’ll get there.”
We’ll get there sooner than that. I have enough money saved up to build her dream home. But I also know Mo, and she won’t go for that right out of the gate. I’ll have to work her up to the idea.
“What do you have to figure out?” I ask.
“I want to go back to school.”
I can feel a smile splitting my face. “I’m so proud of you, baby. You’re going to make a great veterinarian.”
“No.” She shakes her head. “I want to take some business classes, something that will help me with what I love now. What I love now is running Animal Haven. I’d like to figure out how to hire some help so I’m not killing myself, and I want to grow it into so much more—take on more animals and offer obedience training. I’ve even looked into a program where I would team up with inmates to train dogs who can then be adopted.”
“I’ve heard of those programs.”
“It’ll take time and patience, but I’m willing to put in the effort.”
I nod. “And I’ll be there to help you. We’ll grow it together.”
“You’d want to help me with Animal Haven?”
“Have you listened to a word I’ve said over the last twenty-four hours?”
She laughs when I nibble her neck. “We’re in this together. It’s me and you moving forward. We build this life together.”
“I like the sound of that.”
“Yeah?”
She laughs. “Yeah.”
“I love you, Monroe Gallagher. I always have. Can I show you something?”
Monroe
Rhett lifts me from his lap, grabs my hand, and leads me toward the barn. We hop on the four-wheeler.
I wrap my arms around his waist and drop my chin to his shoulder. “Where are you taking me?”
“It’s a surprise.”
I squeal, tightening my grip when we take off, and when we pull up to the same lookout spot he brought me to before, I climb off.
“Sorry to disappoint you cowboy, but this isn’t really a surprise—although I do love it out here.”
“I love it too, and there’s something else I want to show you. Something better,” he whispers.
“How can there possibly be anything better than this view?”
“See that tree over there?” he asks, pointing off to the left.
I turn my head, and he takes the opportunity to press a kiss along the side of my neck.
“That one?” I ask, pointing to a tree about thirty feet away. I didn’t notice it last time we were out here.
“That’s the one. It’s a Red Sunset maple. It’s only about twenty feet tall now, but it’ll grow to be fifty. In the fall, it turns a stunning shade of red. I planted it out here as soon as I bought the property.”
“Just because?”
Taking my hand again, Rhett moves toward the tree. We’re a couple of yards away when I see a heart engraved near the base. Pressure builds behind my eyes, but I refuse to look back at Rhett.
With a hand covering my mouth, I step away from him and kneel in front of the tree, running my fingers over our initials. They’re carved into the base of this tree, just like the ones on our old oak tree at his parents’ ranch.
“Rhett,” I breathe, finally looking up at him.
His hands are in his pockets, a thoughtful look in his eye when he smiles back at me.
“I bought this place after my first win with the PBR. Didn’t tell a soul—not Dad or Coop, not even you.”
“You were so young.”
“Age doesn’t matter. I might’ve been young and dumb, but I knew what I wanted. I planted this tree the day of the closing because I wanted to have a place to bring you…a place like our spot at the ranch.”
I blink down at our initials, trying to picture him out here carving the tree with nothing but me in mind. If he’d known I was going to break his heart, he might’ve done things differently.
“After you…” He pauses, his eyes darting to the side.
“Lied,” I finish for him. “It’s okay; you can say it.”
He smiles and reach
es for my hand, pulling me to my feet. “After that, I hated this place. I hated this tree and everything it represented, because I’d bought this place for us. I tried over and over to convince myself I could still live here, sow my wild oats, and eventually raise a family with someone else. But that never felt right. I tried to bring women here—”
“Rhett.” I hold up a hand and take a step back. “I’d really rather not hear this.”
He snags my wrist, drawing me back in. “But I need to say it. Just hear me out, okay?”
I nod.
“I tried to bring women here to prove to myself that I could move on, that you weren’t still a part of me, but I never made it farther than the driveway. Every single time, I came up with an excuse to leave or go back to their place, and do you know why, Mo?”
Swallowing past the lump in my throat, I shake my head.
“Because every time I looked at the house, I saw you. So I tried to sell it. Couldn’t do that either, because every time I put it on the market, I got physically sick. Selling it was like admitting whatever we had was gone. I believe now that my heart knew we weren’t over. That’s why I couldn’t sell the house. That’s why the only women to set foot inside have been my mom and Adley.
You and I, we were always meant to get to this place,” he says, cupping my face in his hands. “It just took us a little longer. We had a few obstacles to overcome, but we made it. I don’t regret the empty nights when I drowned myself in the bottle, or the anger I felt toward you, because all of that—all of those feelings—led me here.” His soft lips land on mine. “And here is the place I’ve always dreamed of.”
“Rhett.” My throat clogs, making it difficult to speak. I grip the soft flannel of his shirt in my fist, holding him to me as tears stream down my face. “I’m so sorry I did that to you.”
“No. Don’t do that to yourself. We’ve been through all that. I didn’t tell you this to upset you. I told you because for the last six years, you’ve gone about your life thinking I’d moved on, and that kills me. I need you to know you were always here.” He lifts my hand, placing it over his heart.
He drops his forehead to mine, kisses my nose, and then kisses away my tears.
“Thank you.” I give him a tremulous smile. “I love you so much.”
“Say it again,” he whispers.
“I love you.”
“One more time.”
“I love you,” I say with every fiber of my being. “I’m always going to love you—I always have loved you.”
“I love you, too, baby.”
* * *
Learn more about K.L. Grayson and her books at http://klgrayson.com
Bad At Love
Karina Halle
Bad at Love
A Standalone Contemporary Romance
By Karina Halle
BAD AT LOVE
Karina Halle
Copyright © 2017 Karina Halle
All Rights Reserved. This book may not be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission from the author. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. All characters and storylines are the property of the author and your support and respect are appreciated. The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
Prologue
Marina
Four Years Ago
* * *
“Dream On”
* * *
“Tonight is going to suck,” Naomi grumbles.
I give her a withering glance but quicken the pace as we walk down Pico Boulevard toward The Mint where our friend Jane is playing tonight. We’re already running a bit late and her band, Magic 8 Ball, is first up. At a place like The Mint, they could have already started and finished their set by now. Or they might not go on for another few hours. It’s always up in the air.
Not that I’ve ever seen them perform live before, but I have spent many nights at The Mint during college weekends, drinking draft beer, watching bands, and vomiting outside. Ah, the good old days.
Which is probably why Naomi thinks it’s going to suck. We’re twenty-five now, not twenty-one, and what passed for good music when you’re wasted probably doesn’t when you’re (relatively) sober.
“It’s not going to suck,” I assure her. “It’ll be fun.”
She rolls her dark eyes. “Right. Fun. You know we don’t have that kind of fun anymore.”
“Always the grump,” I mumble under my breath.
“I can hear you,” she says.
“I know.” I sigh and check my phone again. We’re still a few blocks away. I wish I had my own car already instead of having to rely on the Los Angeles bus system. By the time we get to the venue, I’m going to be an even sweatier mess than usual. It may be October, but fall means nothing in LA. “This is about supporting Jane, just remember that.”
“What has Jane ever done for us?” she says. “The damn woman slept through last semester. If it hadn’t been for me stepping in and practically writing her papers for her, she would have flunked.”
“I don’t know? Professor McGill did have it pretty bad for her. I’m sure he would have given her a passing grade.”
Naomi giggles. We all study at the University of California in Riverside together, and though our fields and interests are different, we had some classes overlap and everyone knew that the Professor loved Jane.
Jane, however gorgeous she is with her tall, lithe body, killer tattoos, and long pink hair and piercings, was never the type to indulge him. Never mind the fact that he was thirty years older than her, came up to her boobs, and smelled like ham.
Finally, we get to The Mint and the bouncer is already looking the two of us up and down as we try to get ahead of the small line of smokers outside.
We tried to dress up from our usual day uniform of jeans and a tank top. I upgraded to ripped jeans and a sequin tank top with a little extra eyeliner. Naomi has me beat, wearing faux-leather pants that make a farting sound when she walks. I don’t have the heart to tell her.
“We’re on the list,” I tell the angry-looking dude with the bald head and beard down to his knees, the prerequisite bouncer uniform for music venues. I’m willing to bet he has a tattoo on him somewhere that says Mom but I’m not willing to find out.
He continues to give us the once over. “Name?”
“Marina Owens and Naomi Harris.”
He squints at Naomi. “The actress?”
“No,” she says flatly. “It’s spelled differently.” It wouldn’t kill her to smile. Because as annoying as it is to have the same name as an actress, she actually looks like said actress. And both of them are extremely beautiful, my friend even more so when she smiles.
But Naomi keeps her grump face on so I have to turn on my smile for the bouncer. Which I hate to do. It makes me look like a kid. I have a lot of teeth.
“We’re guests of Jane. Magic 8 Ball.”
“Who?”
“The band that should be playing right about now?” There’s a dull crunchy rock sound coming from inside but it doesn’t sound like they’ve hit the stage yet. Thank god.
“Let’s go.” Naomi tugs at my shirt. “Jane’s on the drums. She’s not even going to notice if we came or not.”
“No, we came all this way, we can’t just bail,” I protest, but my words sound feeble. It would be so wrong to go back home but feel so right. My bed is calling me. Comfy socks. Fluffy robe. I could have a bath and light some candles and read. I know that I’m young and your mid-twenties is about getting out there and partying and meeting guys, but both Naomi and I have accelerated to old lady status really fast. We’re like the Golden Girls over at our apartment.
“Come on,” she says, and I’m about to turn around and follow her like the weak woman I am when a tall, dashing man steps out of the door, digging a cigarette out of his po
cket.
Okay, I know I just described him as dashing but my mind is fumbling for the right words to convey what I’m seeing, and I’ve read far too many historical romances lately.
I stare at him, and while Naomi continues to tug at my tank top like a child and the bouncer waits for me to say something, I try to come up with other adjectives to describe this guy standing just to the side of me.
Handsome.
Yes, he definitely is, but that’s boring.
He’s hot. Very hot.
But that’s boring too.
He’s…enigmatic.
Yes.
Enigmatic. Mysterious, brooding…sexual. A modern Heathcliff or Mr. Rochester dressed in black jeans, a grey V-neck shirt, arms covered in tattoos. He looks sweaty, thick black hair sticking to his forehead. An eyebrow ring over a low arched brow. Wide jaw, steel-cut chin. Full lips. He’s currently biting the lower one as he stands there, looking me over as he pulls out his lighter.
And then I realize everyone is still looking at me.
“Are you in or out, lady?” the bouncer says impatiently.
I snap my attention back to him. “Lady?” I repeat while Naomi snorts. He obviously doesn’t know me.
“You say you’re with Magic 8 Ball?” the bouncer goes on.
“Um,” I say. I can feel Naomi’s eyes burning into my skull, wanting me to tell him to forget it. But then there’s this sexy stranger and I’m not normally one to fan myself over a hot guy but this guy is like my kryptonite, and he’s got my panties in a twist. Plus, he’s watching me with interest now as he lights his cigarette, his dark eyes lit up by the flame.
“Because I wasn’t told there was anyone on the list,” the bouncer adds with some finality. He crosses his arms across his chest for emphasis.