Easy Reunion

by Jerald, Tracey

  Ry’s brows lower at that. But before he can speak, I forge on. “Then I find everyone on your team is part of some joke that I’m the butt of.” My voice breaks at the end, and I realize where this comes from.

  Hurt, not anger. Damnit.

  The regret that crosses Ry’s face takes down my temper a few notches. “Will you let me explain?” he asks quietly. He slides his hand up my arm to my elbow to guide me to a sitting area in his large office. Now that I’ve run out of steam, my eyes widen as I take in the view of the shipyard. “Wow,” I whisper.

  “Explanations first, tour second.” Tugging me down so I’m sitting sideways on his lap, Ry begins. “Eli was waiting in my office this morning to give me crap about a meeting I missed.”

  “Oh, God, Ry. And I gave him hell in the elevator.” Guilt surges through me.

  “You did?” His smile is sinful. “Good. He deserved it because the meeting was a hoax.”

  “Wait. What? Why would he do that?”

  “Because when Lisa went out with Cade last night, they ran into Eli’s sisters.” Ry leans back, and I slide naturally against his chest. “The Boudreaux family—and in my personal opinion, Eli in particular—is a bunch of gossipy—”

  “If you end that sentence with women, I’m leaving right now,” I warn him.

  “I was going to say busybodies. Is that better?” He’s amused.

  I shrug. “Acceptable. Continue.”

  “So, Eli told Vince to let him know when I was coming up. He made it to my office minutes before I did to give me a hard time. The reality is, he just wanted to see how last night went.” Blowing out a breath, he admits, “I told you, Eli’s heard me talk about you a long time.”

  “Should I go apologize?” I ask quietly, thinking about the way I told off Ry’s boss and friend.

  “If Eli were pissed, he wouldn’t have been smiling when he got off that elevator, love. And trust me, very few things make that man smile.”

  “Oh.” Then I get frustrated all over again. “I was pissed on your behalf, Ry. I told him—”

  “Tell me later,” Ry whispers. Soon sparkling blue eyes are all I can see as he becomes everything in my vision.

  Who am I kidding—he’s just become my everything.

  Chapter 29

  Rierson

  Later that night, I have to spit the Chinese we ordered into my napkin, I’m laughing so hard at Kelsey’s play-by-play of what happened in the elevator with Eli. “Oh, God. I wish I’d known.” I’m howling. “You completely desecrated him.”

  “It wasn’t like he didn’t get a few punches of his own in there,” she mutters.

  Reaching over, I grab my phone. Scrolling through the contacts, I find Eli’s number. I press Send and put the call on speaker. “What do you want? Haven’t I taken enough abuse on your behalf today?” Eli answers grumbling.

  I don’t say a word. I start laughing.

  Eli sighs. “Fuck you, Ry. And remember, that meeting is actually tomorrow,” he says before he hangs up the phone.

  I’m still laughing when I toss the phone back onto the table.

  Kelsey’s frowning down into her steamed vegetables. “Men are really just little boys with bigger penises, aren’t they?”

  Lisa, who Kelsey asked to stay and join us for dinner, has been trying to hold in her laughter. She finally can’t contain it, and her own flows out. “If I’d known this would have happened…”

  “Yes? What would you have done?” Kelsey uses her chopsticks to stick a bite of chicken in her mouth. She chews carefully, something I notice she does with every taste, then swallows.

  “I’d have talked you up more. You’re about to become a legend, Kelsey,” Lisa declares.

  Kelsey, meanwhile, puts down her carton of Chinese and buries her face in her hands. “It was mortifying.”

  “It was quite simply the bravest thing anyone’s ever done for me,” I tell her softly.

  Her head flies up. “Really?” The same power that’s arced between us that lay dormant for fifteen years flutters in the air. The ions are almost tangible.

  Lisa stands. “And this is where I bow out.” Scooping up her carton, she stabs her chopsticks inside before tossing it onto the counter. “You’ll set the alarm?”

  I nod, not dragging my eyes from Kelsey’s face. “Good night, Lisa.”

  “Night, Ry. Night, Kelsey.”

  “Night, Lisa. I’ll see you later in the morning,” Kelsey says in her soft voice.

  The lights in the hallway go out as Lisa turns them off one by one. Kelsey’s beautiful eyes are only left illuminated by overhead pendants in the kitchen where we’re both still seated staring at one another. Putting my carton of Mongolian beef down, I stand and walk around the island. Kelsey follows my every movement, yet her breath still catches when I trap her between my arms. “I missed you today.” I lean down to nuzzle just behind her ear, and she lets out a long, slow moan.

  Suddenly a voice yells from the hallway. “We had an agreement, big brother! No sex in common areas of the house!”

  “But it’s my damn house,” I mutter like an adolescent boy.

  Kelsey giggles before pushing me back slightly. “That reminds me. I have something for you. I need to run out to my car.”

  My eyes narrow as she ducks under my arms and heads toward the back door. I asked her earlier to park next to the garage after I gave her the extra remote to open the back gate. I want to know that Kelsey is as protected as Lisa—no, I need that.

  “Do you need help?” I question as I start to follow her.

  “No,” she calls back. “Wait for me right where you are!” The back door slams behind her.

  Right. Like that’s going to happen. I watch out the window. Kelsey is reaching into the trunk of her BMW, carefully lifting an awkward rectangle from the back while she has a bag swung over her shoulder. She steps back under the weight of both.

  I fly out the back door. “Don’t argue. Hand it over,” I demand.

  Glaring at me, she says, “You suck at surprises.”

  I fall back a step. “This is for me?” At her sharp nod, I right myself and lift the massive rectangular wrapped package out of her arms. “Then I’ll carry it.”

  “Be careful,” she warns me. “Don’t bump it into anything.”

  A fissure of awareness goes through me like a bolt of lightning. “Okay.”

  She darts ahead of me. “Let me get the door.”

  I follow behind her at a slower pace, careful not to jostle the package on the railing. I brush up against her as I pass her by, causing her breath to catch. The combustible burn that we sated only the night before is already reaching up between us, demanding to be satisfied again. “Where do you want me to put this down?” My voice comes out huskily.

  Kelsey doesn’t respond at first. When I look over to see what she’s doing, she’s rooting around in her purse for something. Triumphantly, she holds a bag of Sharpies aloft. “I need to borrow your desk if that’s okay?” Her face takes on an anxious cast.

  Mutely, I nod, before picking up what I’ve deduced is a frame and following her.

  Entering the sanctuary of my study, I kick the door shut behind me. Kelsey sets the bag down in the center of my desk with a little laugh. “You’re rough on doors.”

  I shrug before setting the frame down on the sofa and making my way over to her. She’s leaning against my desk, her fingers clasped in front of her. Her posture is filled with anxiety. “What is it, Kels?”

  “I wanted you to know what last night—no, yesterday—meant to me. And there was only one way I knew to do that.” Closing her eyes briefly, she fights an internal war with herself before she reaches into the bag. “When I was looking around yesterday before I had my breakdown…” The look she shoots me is full of sad acknowledgment that her own perception drove her understanding of the situation. “I realized you were missing something on your shelves.”

  My heart begins to pump in my chest as she pulls out the first book. S
he caresses the cover. “Angel could never understand why I wrote the dedication the way I did. I guess deep down, I always knew.” She hands me a copy of Betrayal, and I clutch it tightly.

  Once again, Kelsey’s giving me her words. The significance isn’t lost on me. I open my mouth to thank her, but before I can, she shatters me by reciting the words aloud without opening the cover.

  “The truth about betrayals is that they happen for a reason. Sooner or later, you’ll understand the reason behind them. So, this book is dedicated to Angel and Ry. May you each find the moment of happiness that gives you the strength to conquer any harm thrown at you, much as the lessons you taught me did.”

  I can’t stop the tears falling down my face. Even when she thought I’d betrayed her, believing I’d deliberately left her broken, she still rose above it to give her heart to the millions of children who needed her compassion.

  A crooked smile crosses her face as she wipes the tears from her face. “They’re all here. All the Pilar Martell series.”

  Flinging the book over the package to land safely on the couch, I rush her. I bury my head into her shoulder and breathe in the light floral scent of her perfume.

  We stand together, holding each other and letting the hurts of the past go, allowing our hearts to heal.

  I don’t know how many minutes go by before Kelsey draws back. Pressing a kiss to the underside of my chin, she whispers, “Go open the package, Ry.”

  I don’t want to move out of her arms, but I sense the importance of this to her. Her heart is pounding against mine furiously. Sliding an arm around her waist, I tug her along with me as we make our way to the sofa. Spotting the book I tossed there, I tease, “Are you going to sign them?”

  Her peaceful face morphs into one of humor. “I’ll sign them now. When you read them, I’ll leave your inscription in them.”

  Fair enough. Carefully placing the book on the side table, I sit down, pulling Kelsey down close next to me. I lift the package on my lap. “So, it’s a frame.”

  She hauls off and punches me in the arm. “Are you going to be like this around your birthday? Christmas? Speaking of which, when is your birthday?”

  “August tenth,” I tell her, my mouth dry. Because what she just said implied she planned on being around for both of those events. “Yours?”

  “December fifteenth.” I make a mental note to spoil the living crap out of her starting around Thanksgiving for the entire month as I tear into the paper holding the frame.

  And then every thought leaves my head except one.

  “Where did you get this?” I trace over the black-and-white photo of Kelsey and me studying in Professor Wiley’s class. A picture I never knew existed but one she obviously did. But as soon as I see it, I’m transported back to that moment. We’d just been laughing over my high-pitched imitation of my mother scolding Lisa breaking curfew. Kelsey was trying to tell me that kind of humor was what that week’s creative writing assignment lacked. Someone captured us with our heads tilted toward one another, laughing. Even as overweight as she was, her cheeks were flushed and her smile was dazzling. And mine… I squint harder, looking at myself. I was holding a piece of Kelsey’s dark hair back so I could grin down into her face. My heart stutters; I looked much like I probably do when I look at her now.

  “Professor Wiley contacted my publisher a few years ago after I dedicated a book to her,” she responds quietly. “President Adams was hoping I’d come back to speak at Forsyth at a graduation ceremony.” My head whirls around in shock at the audacity. She shrugs as if it’s something she’s had to deal with a million times since her writing made her a household name. Angrily, I realize it likely has. “Even though I declined, we’ve kept up a correspondence. She sent me this photo and a few more.” Her fingertips trace the masculine filigree along the frame’s edge. Her face tips up with a small smile. “I see the picture shocked you from reading the plaques beneath it.”

  In confusion, I scan the frame again searching to find…

  Oh. My. God.

  Side by side are two carefully stamped plaques. Beneath Kelsey’s image are the words she wrote so long ago: “The worst thing that’s happening to you is the best thing that will ever happen to someone else. All you can do is move past it. After all, if life were meant to be easy, I’d have already won the game.” But what has me frozen in shock are the ones next to it. Words I’d completely forgotten about, but the woman next to me hadn’t. My heart pounding, I read aloud, “In the cool blue of the water, nothing can touch us here. Not pain or shame, not hate, nor fear. All that can be felt is comfort and confidence.” I gape at her.

  Her trembling hand rests on mine. “You left a part of yourself behind with me as well, Ry. A big part.”

  Carefully, I lay the frame on the floor in front of us before gathering her into my arms. We both hurt each other emotionally, we’re both broken, but underneath it all is a foundation of understanding that’s going to carry us through.

  I’m sure of it.

  “You know, I’ve got just the spot to put this,” I say softly.

  Kelsey lets out a watery laugh.

  With the knuckles of one hand, I lift her chin. “Thank you, sweetheart.”

  Brushing a hand against my cheek, she brushes a kiss on the underside of my jaw. “Thank you for being the kind of man who can stop a woman from coming apart, help put her back together, and still be able to reach the corners of her heart.”

  Pressing Kelsey gently back, I cover her body with mine as I can’t answer her comment with words.

  But there are other ways to show her how hers affect me.

  Besides, mine aren’t as good as hers are anyway.

  Chapter 30

  Rierson

  “Am I ever going to be forgiven for not knowing how to cook until I met you?” Kelsey grumbles good-naturedly to Angel. A few weeks after Kelsey gave me the frame, we’re gathered in the Macondos’ backyard for an impromptu barbecue after work. Kelsey’s been working on her newest book while I’m back to my ten-hour days. Typically she meets me at my house when I’m finished. Today, we wrapped early. I threw my entire team out. You could hear the war whoops as I walked up and down the Legal floor to ensure everyone got the message. Once I got back up to my office, I called to see if she could make it over early. Angel screamed through the phone, “Get your fine ass over here for the bestie inquisition, Ry. It’s time! Bring hamburger rolls.”

  I laughed as Kelsey shrieked at her best friend before telling them I’d be over in an hour, which would give me time to change out of my suit into something more comfortable.

  Kelsey opened the door red-faced. I handed her the bag from Whole Foods before yanking her into my arms for a kiss that lasted until Angel yelled about the burgers burning and, “I’m too damn pregnant to wait for food!”

  Now, we’re gathered around the patio table as Kelsey sets down a platter of fixings before taking a seat next to me. “Here you go. Now dig in before you deprive my niece of nutrients,” Kelsey sasses.

  Angel shudders before reaching for a bun, burger, and piles of lettuce. Kelsey, I notice, skips the bun. “Not a fan of bread?”

  “I can eat more if I forgo the bread. It fills my stomach up too fast. And I know what we’re having for dessert,” she says smugly.

  “Is it something decadent?” Darin asks eagerly.

  Kelsey laughs. “It will taste that way. Courtesy of that one.” She nods at Angel, who has a hamburger wedged in her mouth like she’s just been gagged with it. “I actually know how to cook delicious and healthy. Everything Nana cooked was fried in both butter and oil. Or glazed in sugar.” Thoughtfully, she forks up a bite of her burger and chews. She swallows before adding with a slightly dreamy look, “I do have to admit, I miss her chocolate pecan pie.”

  I glance over at Darin, who shrugs. I bravely open my mouth. “That sounds…”

  “Fucking delicious. Do you know what I’d do to have Kelsey’s grandmother cook for me again? Jesus, she came o
ut to visit in California, and I swear, half the basketball team was ready to propose,” Darin grumbles.

  I raise a brow before taking a bite of my overloaded burger. “To her grandmother?”

  “Hell no, man. To Kelsey. The guys figured they’d get her grandmother as a bonus,” Darin hoots.

  I choke.

  Kelsey rolls her eyes as she whacks me on the back. Setting down the burger, I loop an arm over her shoulder. “You weren’t interested?” I question her curiously. Surely by then, her self-confidence would have begun to repair itself from the machinations at Forsyth.

  Blushing, she darts a look at me before she glares at Angel, who’s hooting louder than the barn owls you can spot in the predawn at City Park. “I had a thing for swimmers,” she mutters.

  Angel’s wiping her eyes against her sleeve as she gasps, “Still do, sister.” My hand squeezes her shoulder in reflex at the apparent slip of her best friend’s tongue.

  Kelsey narrows her eyes before turning to Darin. “So, Darin, tell me you made your extra-special margaritas since we have company.”

  Angel sobers up quickly. “Now that’s just mean. Mean, I say. I’m pregnant for another million years…”

  “Four more months,” both Darin and Kelsey correct her in unison. I lean back against the bench seat, amused at the byplay.

  “Fine. Four more months. And here you all are talking about Darin’s Miracle Margaritas? That’s just low, sister. Even if I gave you up to your man.”

  “Oh, for Christ’s sake!” Kelsey exclaims. She’s laughing so hard at her best friend, she’s dropped her utensils.

  “Um, for those of us not in the know, what’s a miracle margarita?” I ask, hoping my lawyer skills might help diffuse whatever situation might be brewing.

  “It’s a Kool-Aid margarita! Tell me you wouldn’t miss them if you were pregnant,” Angel challenges.