Easy Reunion

by Jerald, Tracey

  I should be exhausted, so why can’t I sleep?

  Probably because I’ve never had my soul branded by a woman, I muse. Nuzzling her soft hair, I take another hit from the scent I know even now, even though it’s still new, could carry me through the everyday burdens.

  Fresh regret washes through me when I think of the time wasted. How different would our lives be right now?

  Before I can travel down that path too far, a delicate hand reaches behind me and squeezes my ass. “I didn’t mean to wake you,” I murmur, though I take advantage to lay a string of kisses down Kelsey’s neck.

  “I could hear you thinking. It was like a little buzz behind me.”

  I smother my laughter and take on an affronted tone. “There’s nothing little about me.”

  “Mmmm,” she agrees.

  I can’t wait any longer to see her face lit by the promise of the morning sunlight. Shifting Kelsey to her back, I stretch out on top of her. “Good morning.” I brush stray hair away from her face.

  “I’ve been waiting for you to wake up,” she admits as she smiles up at me.

  “I’ve been waiting for you my entire life,” I tell her honestly.

  At my words, her eyes liquefy into the New Orleans sky just before an afternoon summer shower. They turn dark and stormy before a trace amount of moisture trickles out. “Ry?” My name comes out as both a question and a prayer from her sweet lips.

  I drop my head and answer the best way I know how.

  Soon, we’re awash in the early-morning golden sunlight, a tangle of arms and limbs as I again experience something I’ve never felt before.

  It might just be love.

  * * *

  “What are your plans for today?” Kelsey asks me as we’re eating some eggs I threw together. When she sets aside her portion after eating about half, I take a mental note for the next time I cook.

  Next time. I relish the thought. Lifting a mug of coffee to my lips to cover my smile, I know I don’t get away with a damn thing when her eyes narrow at me.

  “What? Do I have food somewhere on my face? My teeth?” She makes a face that resembles a braying donkey. I shake my head in silent laughter. After a moment, she glances down at her plate anxiously. “If it wasn’t that, then was it…”

  “It was the thought I had that maybe I’d get your portions right eventually. And that led me to think we’d have an eventually.”

  Her lips form a perfect O. The way her hair flutters so close to her face, I can tell a breath of air silently passed through. Stepping closer, I tangle my fingers in the loose strands that fell from the top knot on her head. Tugging gently, I tip her face up to mine to receive the gentle kiss I lay on her lips. If I believed in shapeshifters, in voodoo, in magic, I’d say she cast a spell on me from the moment I carried her to my room last night. The problem is we both know what happens in the dark, and it doesn’t always lead us to places where the worst thing that happens is losing ourselves in each other.

  Even if only one of us is talking about it.

  “The feelings I have for you…” I pause, trying to find the right words.

  “Yes?” Her voice is as weak as a newborn and as strong as a phoenix. She’s triumphed where others would have caved. Instead of cracking inside, Kelsey tapped the energy at the core of her heartache and fought her way out.

  How could I not love her?

  Kelsey’s the point on the circle where the beginning and end of the same line intersects. She represents all my mistakes, but she’s also everything I’ve ever dreamed of. And in realizing that, “I’ll never be able to escape what you make me feel,” I tell her honestly.

  Sliding her arms up and around my neck, she asks, “Are you looking to?”

  “Knowing I have this chance with you is making me crazy with fear, but it’s because it’s making me forget everything but one.”

  “What’s that?”

  I breathe into her mouth, “You,” before I capture her lips in a kiss so much more potent than the ones we shared before. Our eyes are open as we let our mouths whisper secrets our minds aren’t ready to speak yet.

  But oh, the beauty of them.

  Sliding an arm around her waist, I pull her closer to deepen the embrace. I’m just about to boost her on the kitchen counter when I hear a key in the lock.

  Ah, crap.

  Lisa’s texting on her phone when she strolls in. At my enraged growl, she hazards a glance up. “Well, this is a first and we’ve lived together for years.”

  “I sure could have done without it. I thought you were going to be out all night,” I bark.

  “Um, hate to break it to you big brother, but I was.” The dreamy smile on her face makes me thrilled and want to punch my best friend in the face all at the same time. “It’s after nine. I’ve got class in a few hours. I’m not sure what you have planned for today. Morning, Kelsey.” Lisa waves as she passes through the kitchen toward the stairs that lead to where her room is.

  I go to pull Kelsey back in my arms, but she slaps a hand against my chest. “Ry, didn’t you hear your sister?” she demands.

  “I get that she’s a cockblocking…” Then both Lisa and Kelsey’s words penetrate. “Holy shit, baby! It’s nine? I’m an hour late for work.” I dash off for the bedroom, expecting Kelsey to race behind me.

  The only thing that follows me is her laughter. “Why don’t you get ready, and I’ll clean up in here? I can shower when I get home. Remember? I don’t have set hours,” she calls out.

  There’s a definite smirk in her voice. I swear I’m going to have to spank her luscious ass later. But as I’m running through a thoroughly destroyed master suite, I can’t prevent the wicked smile that crosses my face. I might be facing a wrath of epic proportions at the office, but I can’t say it wasn’t worth it.

  Every second of it was.

  But still, I set the world’s record for showering and dressing, leaving Kelsey, at her insistence, to finish straightening up though I’m man enough to admit my balls draw up in fear at the idea of my woman and my sister being in the same house alone for any length of time.

  God only knows what kind of war stories they’re about to swap that I want to know nothing about.

  Pulling into my parking spot at Bayou Enterprises, I scurry into the executive elevator, my head buried into my phone, trying to catch up with everything that’s happened this morning.

  Stepping out, I rapidly make my way to my office. Vince calls out, “Ry, wait a sec!” But I blow past him.

  And immediately wish I hadn’t.

  Because an extremely pissed-off Eli Boudreaux is sitting behind my desk.

  “Want to tell me what was so important that you missed the briefing you scheduled with me, Van, and Beau for the government proposal?”

  Shit. I’m completely screwed.

  Quietly, I close the door behind me to accept the royal ass-chewing I rightfully deserve.

  Chapter 28

  Kelsey

  “Spill it.” Lisa bounds back down the stairs the second Ry’s car screeches out of the driveway. Mentally saying a quick prayer he makes it to work in one piece, I go back to scrubbing the pan he cooked in.

  “I’m certain you don’t want the details, sugar,” I drawl.

  The devilment that dances in Lisa’s eyes, so much like Ry’s, doesn’t reassure me any. “About the fun, spanky times with my brother? No. Not in the least. What left you standing in the kitchen looking a million miles away and so at home it’s as if you’ve lived here forever? Yes.”

  Startled by her observation, I rinse my hands and dry them before turning and facing her fully. “What happened between Ry and me last night was private.” I’m not even sure I could share what happened with Angel. I frown when I consider that. There’s nothing I’ve never been able to tell my best friend. But this? It’s too intimate.

  Instead, I tell her the truth and hope it will satisfy her curiosity and her need to protect her brother. “I didn’t use to dream about tomorrows unti
l I met Ry. Both times.”

  Lisa’s face transforms from teasing to buoyant. “There’s no going back?”

  “Not for me. I guess together we’ll see where this leads.”

  Lisa comes closer and wraps her arm around my shoulder. “You’ve never had anything like this? No partner or significant other to rely on?”

  I shake my head.

  “No other lover stood in front of you to protect you?”

  I laugh, and the sound comes out hollow. “Lisa, I can count on one hand the number of people who’ve ever stood up to protect me.” Pulling away, I turn and look over the beautifully manicured backyard. Absentmindedly, I note Ry was in such a hurry, he left the garage open. “Some days, I still look in the mirror and all I see is the reflection of the woman who was so obese, no one wanted to be her friend,” I whisper from a place that’s still so dark, I’m not sure that light is ever going to touch it.

  “Ry did.” The strength of conviction behind Lisa’s words plus the explanation from him goes a long way to guide me out of the blackness I was beginning to sink under. Now understanding that to be true, I merely nod in response.

  Silence blankets the two of us as I think about sacrifice and redemption. What exactly would I have done differently with my life if Ry hadn’t done what he did? Not a damn thing, I realize. I still would have left Savannah behind. I would have gone to Pepperdine and met Angel. I would be writing. I can’t name one thing I would have changed.

  Except maybe never returning to face the past before now, I admit truthfully.

  And finally, I start to shed the first layer of the burden that’s been weighing me down much more so than the pounds on the scale ever did. If I keep looking back, I’m going to miss what’s ahead of me. The world I’m standing in now is spinning around with the same man again in its orbit. I can hold on to my heartache, or I can trust him to hold my heart.

  Empowered with that knowledge, I decide to make a concerted effort to stop thinking less of myself. Remembering Darin’s comment a few weeks back, I don’t choose to open my heart to Ry; I’ve already done that. Instead, I promise not to talk myself out of it, not to turn away from it, when the need to escape inevitably comes.

  Resolute, I step back from Lisa. “I need to get going myself.”

  Her face falls in disappointment. I quickly tack on, “I don’t think I can surprise Ry at work later looking like this?” Lifting my arms, I indicate the T-shirt and basketball shorts I stole from his closet earlier after setting his room to rights. They swim on me, but at least they provide some cover. I have no problem with going home like this, but I want to be the best me I can be when I show Ry I’m not running.

  Lisa gives me a critical once-over. “Yeah. That’s not exactly the dress code I’ve seen when I visit the office.”

  Even as I head toward Ry’s room to retrieve my clothes, I snicker. “I just bet.”

  “Hey, Kelsey?” I stop in my tracks. Turning, I face the person Ry would do anything for.

  Anything. Even break my heart.

  “Yes?” I ask cautiously.

  “Be everything he’s been waiting for. I think he’s been holding out a long time for you,” she says softly. With that, Lisa leaves the kitchen, and I enter Ry’s room to lose myself in a night’s worth of memories while I grab my clothes up before slipping out the back door.

  * * *

  Hours later, I’ve changed into a pair of black wide-leg pants and matching jacket in light crepe wool. I’ve paired them with another pair of shoes I picked up at Head Over Heels, these a scandalous red so bright, Dorothy would have begged to have wished on these to be able to get home to Kansas from Oz. I stride into the lobby of Bayou Enterprises and walk up to the reception desk. “Rierson Perrault,” I ask confidently.

  “One moment, please.” A lovely young woman picks up the phone and dials a number. “Vince? Yes. I have someone in the lobby asking for Mr. Perrault. One moment.” Pressing a button, she asks, “May I have your name, please?”

  Just as I’m about to give it to her, a hand slides under my arm. A familiar voice says, “I’ll escort Ms. Kennedy to Ry’s office.” Startled, I jerk my arm in Eli Boudreaux’s grip. The look on his face isn’t entirely friendly. Despite my beginning to realize this might not have been the best idea, he continues to give instructions to the efficient young woman, who is typing furiously on a computer for a visitor badge to be issued. When the lanyard is slid across the counter, Eli gestures to it.

  I quickly slip it over my head.

  “Follow me, Kelsey. Thank you, Ms. Mitchell.”

  “Certainly, Mr. Boudreaux,” she says faintly. I’m not entirely certain if it’s Eli’s impressive looks or the fact the CEO just escorted someone into the building that holds her in shock. It might be a bit of both.

  As we make our way over to a bank of elevators, Eli tells me a little about the history of Bayou Enterprises. I’m impressed not only with the history of his family’s empire but with the obvious familial love that radiates from him as he speaks about the business. I wonder if he realizes it?

  “Realize what?” When Eli asks me that as he holds the elevator for me, I blush when I realize I spoke aloud, but I soldier on.

  “If you realize the pride you speak about the work your family does with the company is only outweighed by the love you have for them.” Eli’s startled. I shrug. “When you mentioned the work your siblings do, your pride was impossible for you to contain.” Thinking I’ve overstepped my bounds, I lean against one side of the elevator. Waiting. After all, Eli Boudreaux isn’t the kind of man to allow for an armchair character analysis without having something to say about it.

  It doesn’t take long.

  “I’m impressed, Ms. Kennedy. Most people don’t pick up on that,” his whiskey-smooth voice begins. “But if you’re so intuitive, why wouldn’t you understand how important Rierson’s job is to him?”

  Rierson, not Ry.

  The elevator continues to climb as I face off against Eli. “What makes you think I don’t?” I declare fiercely.

  “Oh, the small matter of a missed business meeting that was fairly critical this morning. While the part of me that’s been his friend for years is pleased to see things working out for both of you, his life is different than yours. He doesn’t get to float into the office when the mood strikes him.”

  My face flushes hotly as fury infiltrates every cell of my body. “You mean to tell me that you’re perfect?” Before he can respond, I raise a hand to ward off his response. “I sincerely doubt it.”

  “There are those who would disagree, I’m sure.” His voice is calm, controlled.

  Two things I’m not.

  “Mr. Boudreaux, let’s get a few things clear,” I hiss. His dark eyebrows wing upward. “My relationship with Ry is none of your damn business.”

  “Except when it impacts mine,” he chides me.

  And that’s when I blow my stack. “And second, if it were that urgent, you would have called. You would have tried his cell or his house to make certain he was all right, not sit on a holier-than-thou throne of righteousness! He was appalled when he realized the time. Do you not remember what falling in love is like?” Coldhearted bastard, I think bitterly. Poor Kate. Poor Ry. He’s had to deal with his friend acting like a miserable prick because he was late, likely the only time he was.

  Spinning, I realize the elevator doors are open. Ry’s leaning against the jamb with a massive grin on his face. “Damn, Eli. What the hell did you say to her?”

  “I think somewhere between ‘hello’ and trying to pull the same crap I did to you, I found out your woman is as protective of you as you are of her.” Eli’s amused smile makes me want to coldcock him. In fact, I can even feel my fist tightening.

  Laughing, Ry yanks me out of the elevator. I’m stiff as a board when I crash into his arms. “So, I take it there were no long-term effects for you being late this morning?”

  “Oh, there were. Eli ridiculed me for a good twenty minute
s,” Ry assures me. He leans down to kiss me, but I pull back. His eyes narrow. “Eli? Seriously? What did you say?”

  Stepping off the elevator, Eli breezes by. When he passes, he tells Ry, “Practically nothing. She went on the attack.”

  Why that makes Ry’s lips curve, I have no idea. But I won’t forget the way it feels to have him kiss me in the lobby of the executive floor with that smile being the first thing I feel against my lips since he left this morning.

  I doubt I’ll ever forget my first unannounced drop-in to Bayou Enterprises.

  Ever.

  * * *

  “Vince, this is Kelsey Kennedy. If she calls for any reason, put her through immediately.” I shake hands with a darkly handsome man who Ry introduced as being his “right and left hand. I couldn’t do a damn thing without him.”

  Although I’m thankful Ry has that kind of assistance in what appears to be an enormously stressful job, it just leaves me even more confused. If this was such a big meeting, wouldn’t someone have called him within minutes of his late arrival? But I don’t voice my opinion. I hold out my hand to the grinning man. “A pleasure to meet you.”

  “I briefly saw you across the courtyard at the Larruscain celebration the other night,” Vince surprises me. “I was trying to make my way over to be introduced then, but I guess you bailed?” He directs his question to Ry.

  “Get back to work,” Ry tells him, laughing.

  “I’ll have the mods ready for your review in about an hour.”

  Clasping my hand, he pulls me toward his office. “Then ring me when they’re ready.”

  “Will do, Ry. Nice to meet you, Ms. Kennedy,” Vince says courteously.

  Just before the door slams behind me, I call over my shoulder, “Kelsey.” Once we’re out of the sight of prying eyes, I turn on Ry. “What the hell has gone on today? I come by to see you—something I might add you said I could do at any time—and your boss accosts me.”