Hagen narrowed his eyes at Jerrik. “I can do whatever I damn well want. I don’t know why this is any of your fucking business anyway.” He turned to his truck.
“Because I’m the one who has to deal with you when she leaves.” Jerrik grabbed the back of his shirt and spun him around, pinning Hagen against the passenger door of the truck, gripping the front of his collar in one hand with the other on his chest, pressing him firmly in place. “Because she deserves to know before you break her fucking heart.”
Jerrik yanked his hands free of Hagen’s shirt and stepped back, spinning away in a short stepped pace, forking his fingers in his hair. “Have you even thought about how much it could hurt her that you kept this from her?”
He hadn’t. Not once. Not because he was heartless, but because he couldn’t. Every thought he had was how to make Rhea happy in enough other ways that she wouldn’t care. Give her causes to fight for here. Show her she can still do what she wants without living in LA. Without Stewart. Make Greenlea better, bigger. Big enough to make her willing to be here. With him.
He wasn’t going to think about it now either. Hagen stepped around the truck. “I have to go. I need to find Magni and get ready to take them back out tonight.”
“Hagen you have to tell her and you have to be willing to let her go.” Jerrik opened the passenger door as Hagen started the truck. “I know she’s special. I’m not going to argue you on that.” Jerrik leaned in, his eyes staring into the side of Hagen’s head. “That’s why you have to tell her. She deserved to know two weeks ago. She deserves to decide if she can sacrifice that to be with you.” Jerrik stood up and stepped back, the door gripped in his hand.
“And you have to decide if you’ll let her.”
****
“Miss Gail these are the best biscuits and gravy I have ever had.” Stewart shoved another forkful in his mouth and held his hand over his lips. “And that includes my momma’s but don’t tell.”
Gail smiled over the high counter separating the cooking area from the long table in the bed and breakfast’s kitchen. She gave him a wink. “If I ever meet your momma I will keep your secret.”
Stewart swung his fork around the room. “Oh she’d love it here.” He tipped his head to one side and pursed his lips. “I might have to bring her here for a weekend.” He turned to look at Chauncey. “What if we brought your mom with us?” He elbowed Chauncey gently. “I bet Big and Scary would love to take our mother’s out for a Bigfoot hunt.”
Gail’s gaze slid to Rhea at the mention of Greenlea’s tourist draw. “What about your mom Rhea? Is she as comfortable in the woods as you are?”
Rhea felt a little flush move over her skin. There was only one way for Gail to know that she wasn’t an inexperienced outdoorsman and she felt a little proud that Hagen would share that with his mother. “My family used to camp a lot when I was younger so my sister and I are used to being outside.”
“You have a sister?” Gail scooped another batch of eggs into a serving bowl and stepped around the divider to set it in the middle of the table before taking the empty one away.
“I do.” Rhea sipped at her coffee and turned her attention back to the rest of the group enjoying the brunch Gail set out, hoping it would discourage any more questions about her family.
“I didn’t know you had a sister.” Chauncey apparently didn’t get the hint. “Is she in LA too?”
He sounded a little too chipper for it to be a simple question. There was more behind it and it made her a little less annoyed at what a pain in the ass he could be.
Rhea shook her head. “No. She still lives in Wisconsin.”
“Oh.” Chauncey’s face fell. “Is your whole family in Wisconsin?”
“They are.” Rhea turned to Lance, hoping to point the conversation at someone else. “Do you live in New York?”
Lance wiped at his full mouth and chewed quickly, swallowing the bite with a sip of water. “No. I went with my mom to live in Virginia when my parents split up.”
“Virginia?” Rhea didn’t imagine anyone related to Chauncey living anywhere less than a glamorous big city.
“She works for the government. It’s near the capital.” He nodded to Chauncey. “I visit New York regularly for work but still live close to my mom.”
Rhea nodded, trying to keep her surprise off her face. Lance was a softie. The warm feelings Lance had for his mom didn’t take an empath to recognize. “I’m sure she appreciates having you nearby.”
Lance grinned as he swiped half a biscuit through a pool of honey oozing across his plate. “I’m not so sure it’s me she’s worried about being close to.” He bit off a chunk of the honey soaked biscuit. “She’s all about Vanessa.”
“Vanessa?”
“My niece.” Chauncey held out his phone, the screen pointed at Rhea. A chubby dimple-cheeked face grinned out at her. “She’s the cutest thing ever.” Chauncey turned the phone and smiled at Vanessa’s bright eyes and dark hair. “I can’t wait to see her.”
“They’re supposed to be here at three.” Lance checked the clock on his own phone then smiled up at Hagen’s mom who was pretending not to listen to every word the group said. “Gail do you have a crib here? If not I can grab one when we go to pick them up at the airport.”
“No honey I don’t.” She wiped her hands on a dishrag. “We don’t get many little people visiting here.”
Lance gave Gail a dimpled smile that showed there was no denying who Vanessa’s daddy was and probably melted her mother’s heart. “Not a problem.” He turned to Stewart and Chauncey. “I probably won’t be able to go out with you tonight. I want to spend a little time with Vanessa and get Claire settled in.”
Chauncey leaned against the table. “How about you go out and I get to hang out with Vanessa. I haven’t seen her in weeks and I miss her face.” His brow furrowed. “What happened to Crystal?”
Lance shrugged. “She left. I think it wasn’t what she expected it to be.”
“Cause she expected to be babysitting more than your kid.” Chauncey snorted. “Maybe you should try hiring older women who don’t want to fuck you.” His eyes shot to Gail. “Sorry Gail.”
Gail raised her eyebrows and gave her head a slow shake. “I don’t know that age will have much to do with that.”
Lance’s eyes widened and Stewart busted into laughter, holding his stomach as he got up from the table and walked to Gail’s side. He lifted one hand in the air and Gail slapped her palm against his. Stewart wrapped one arm around her shoulders. “Oh yeah, my momma will love it here.”
Rhea looked at Chauncey. “So are we not going out tonight?”
Chauncey leaned back in his seat. “Nah.” He adjusted the watch wrapped around his left wrist. “We’ll probably leave here in an hour to go pick Vanessa up and by the time we get back with a crib and get it set up it will be too late to go out.” He gave one shoulder a little lift. “Not like we would see anything anyway.”
“I think you’re not going about it the right way.” Lance leaned in close to Rhea’s side to look at his brother. He tipped his head in her direction. “We need to use bait.”
Chauncey looked from Lance to Rhea and shrugged again. “I guess we can try tomorrow.”
“Don’t be upset.” Lance leaned back in his seat. “That’s why I’m here. I am going to do whatever it takes for you to get what you need.”
The connection between the two brothers was more than a little surprising, especially given how different they were. When Lance first showed up he was pushy and domineering. Rhea was pretty sure she wasn’t going to like him and she was positive Hagen and Jerrik didn’t.
Lance might still be both of those things and a whole lot more. But now she knew why. He was here for his brother. To make sure he wasn’t being taken advantage of. And now she had to like him.
Because that was how siblings should be. Supportive even if they were very different people who didn’t see eye to eye. Like Hagen and Jerrik. And Lance and Chauncey.<
br />
The unwavering support of your family was something Rhea would only experience through other people’s emotions, other people’s lives.
“What’s wrong Re-Re?” Stewart’s voice was quiet as he slipped back into his chair. His brown eyes were full of concern as they studied her, trying to see what she never had to look for. “Did Big and Scary do something?” Stewart leaned back and swung his gaze around the room as he scooted his seat closer to hers then leaned back in. “I know he’d probably kill me with one hit but I’d take him on if he did something to hurt you.”
Rhea patted his knee. “No. He didn’t do anything.” She managed a smile and a white lie to settle her friend’s mind. “I think I’m just tired.”
Stewart looked unconvinced. “Mmm-hmm.” He raised his eyebrows. “Then I guess it’s a good thing we’re not going out tonight. It’ll give you two lovebirds time to rest up.” He gave her an exaggerated wink. “Maybe you can start deciding how you’ll redecorate casa de Big and Scary.”
“Is that what you’re planning?” Chauncey slapped Stewart’s shoulder. “To redecorate my whole place?”
Stewart’s eyes opened wide while the rest of him remained frozen in place.
Deep inside, part of Rhea expected this was coming but hearing confirmation was a knife to her gut. Stewart was leaving her. Moving to New York to live with Chauncey and start a new life.
Without her.
Chauncey continued on, oblivious to the fact that the life she knew was coming to an end because of him. He didn’t realize that the first person in the world to accept and love her just as she was would only be with him because he would no longer be with her.
And she sort of hated him for it.
“I guess I’ll let you freshen up my apartment.” Chauncey’s joking tone and teasing grin was lost on Stewart who was still staring at Rhea.
“I didn’t know how to tell you Re-Re.” His eyes were watery and the regret in his voice was as evident as the sadness surrounding her.
Rhea pushed her chair back. “I think I need some air.”
She hurried from the room, rushing out the back door and into the garden, moving her feet as fast as she could to put distance between her and the new life she was being forced into.
Or the old one she was being forced out of.
Tears burned the corners of her eyes as she made her way past the gazebo where she learned about Christine’s vision for her life. Where Christine urged her to explore what she was capable of. To discover what she really was and learn to control it.
Everyone around Rhea was certain it was time for her life to change.
Everyone but her.
The edge of town was quickly behind her, and before she realized it Rhea was in the woods, pushing through the trees and into the brush. She just needed a little more space. More room to breathe without what everyone else wanted and what everyone else felt closing in around her.
Suddenly the cover of trees broke, opening into a small clearing. She stopped and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath, trying to get herself back together. Rhea listened, forcing herself to focus on something besides her own feelings. Water flowed nearby, the trickling sound joining the birds chirping and the rustling trees.
It was what she did as a child. What she was taught to do. Use nature as an escape from reality. Her parents used it to escape the self-inflicted stress of their jobs and she used it to escape the burden of other people and the emotions they unwittingly dumped on her.
Rhea opened her eyes and stepped into the open space, moving toward the sound of water. Was it a sound?
She looked around, spinning slowly.
There was no water anywhere.
But there had to be. She could feel it moving. Feel the energy it created as it went, pushing its way along, falling, swirling, rushing...
Under her feet.
The water was underground.
Rhea crouched down and put her hand to the dirt, letting her fingers spread as the warmth of the earth’s energy moved into her, like the water flowing through the mountains. It soothed her, temporarily easing the pain of losing Stewart.
But she knew it was just that. Temporary. It didn’t change anything. It couldn’t.
She was about to lose the life she had.
And there was nothing she could do about it.
18
Hagen stepped into the foyer of the bed and breakfast. The house was quiet. No Chauncey with a list of things to whine about. No Lance trying to strong arm his way into the position of top dog. Worst of all, no Rhea to soothe the beast pacing inside him, agitated by his conversation with Jerrik.
She was supposed to be here, waiting for him. He growled his way down the hall to the kitchen, shoving his way through the swinging door as the beast started to climb from his nest, its agitation growing with every second that passed.
The kitchen was empty. The breakfast Hagen left Rhea to enjoy with her friends cleared away and the table wiped clean. The smell of bacon hung heavy in the air, but it couldn’t mask her scent. The soft, sweetly earthy scent teased him and stabbed at his already irritated state.
His mind began to race with nonsensical reasons Rhea wasn’t where she should be. Injuries, kidnappings and every possibility in between flashed through his brain. He needed to see her. Feel her. Know she was safe.
Hagen burst back through the kitchen door and raced up the stairs toward Stewart’s room. That’s where she was. Where she had to be. As he reached the door it flew open and Hagen collided with Stewart, knocking the smaller man back a few steps.
As soon as he caught his balance, Stewart smacked Hagen in the chest, pushing at him as he tried to step past. “I don’t have time for you right now.”
Stewart swiped at his face with a mangled tissue, doing his best to push his way through the doorway that Hagen occupied. He shoved at him again. “Move your big ass.” Rhea’s friend sniffed, sucking in air through his running nose. “I am not in the mood to deal with you.”
Hagen grabbed the door jam, completely blocking Stewart’s escape. “I don’t care what you’re in the mood for.”
Stewart’s head jerked back and for the first time he looked at Hagen, his puffy eyes widening. “What in the hell is wrong with you?”
“Where is Rhea?”
Stewart’s chin started to quiver and he pressed his lips into a thin line, taking a deep breath. “I don’t know.”
Hagen leaned down to look Stewart square in the eye. “What do you mean you don’t know? She was with you when I left.”
“I mean I don’t know.” Stewart narrowed his eyes at Hagen, obviously not as intimidated as he once was. “I’m not her keeper.”
Hagen looked Stewart over. He was going about this all wrong. “What are you upset about?” He glanced into the empty room. “Where’s Chauncey?”
Stewart seemed to relax a little. “He went with his brother to pick up his niece.”
That was only half the question. Something told him the first half was the part he would be interested in. “Is that why you’re upset?”
Stewart squinted and tipped his head to one side. “No.” His tone was more annoyed than upset. That was good. An annoyed Stewart was easier to get answers from. And he wanted answers.
Answer.
“Where is Rhea?”
“I. Don’t.’ Know.” Stewart glared at him for a few seconds.
Hagen held his stare. Waiting.
Slowly, Stewart’s face began to collapse, puckering into an ugly, pinched cry. “She’s mad at me.” Stewart collapsed against him, sniffling against his chest.
Fuck.
Hagen patted Stewart awkwardly on the back, not sure how to deal with this sort of situation. Normally he wouldn’t have. At the first sight of Stewart he would have turned and left, letting his mother deal with whatever emotional mess this was unfolding all over his shirt.
But whatever happened involved Rhea and if she was half as upset as Stewart—
“Where did
she go?” Hagen tried to keep the growl from his voice but the idea that Rhea was upset somewhere was more than he could handle. He swallowed hard, fighting down the beast within. “I need to find her and make sure she’s okay.”
Stewart pulled back, his eyes watery.
“I can fix this but I have to know where she went.” Hagen held his breath, hoping the empty promise would get him the information he needed.
“She found out I was moving to New York with Chauncey.” Stewart’s words were so quiet Hagen almost didn’t hear them.
Hagen felt the color drain from his face.
Stewart took a shaky breath and reached for him. “It’s not like that. Change is hard for her, that’s all.”
His skin went cold. Rhea was upset that Stewart was moving.
That meant she thought they would still be living together until this morning. In LA.
Hagen took a step back.
“She went out the back door. Through the garden.” Stewart stepped after him. “I tried to follow her but I wasn’t fast enough.”
Stewart’s words barely registered as Hagen stumbled down the stairs. He went down the hall and through the kitchen, then out the back door. The air outside was heavy, pushing in on him as he walked through the garden.
He didn’t want to go to her. Didn’t want to hear the truth. But he had to. He had to see that she was okay, even if it meant knowing she didn’t want what he wanted.
Rhea didn’t want to stay in Greenlea.
She didn’t want to stay with him.
Hagen stopped at the back of the garden and looked out into the thick line of trees that marked the edge of town. Rhea was there. He could feel it, feel her, stronger than ever before. Her energy was pulsating, rippling around him.
His feet felt like lead as he forced one step after another, dreading the next five minutes of his life in a way he’d never dreaded anything before. But still all he wanted was her. He needed her even though what she might say would end him.
Jerrik was right. He was gone. Ruined.
It was too late to save himself from her. If Rhea left him he would never recover.
And she deserved the whole truth anyway.
Hagen Page 20