Destiny (11 page)

A tingle suddenly ran through her and Kelly glanced up in time to meet Nash’s stare. It was as if he knew just when she needed to feel his presence most.

“Ethan, can we talk more later?” Kelly asked.

He followed her line of sight to his brother, who despite a room full of family, stood alone. “Would you mind if I spoke to him first?” Ethan asked, tilting his head toward his middle sibling.

Kelly bit her bottom lip. “Umm, sure,” she said warily.

“Nash is lucky to have you looking out for him.” A knowing smile etched the corners of Ethan’s mouth.

This time, at the mention of Nash, Kelly blushed. “Been talking to Dare?” she asked, figuring the youngest brother had blabbed all he knew.

“Nope.” Ethan shoved his hands in his pants pockets. “But thanks for confirming the obvious.” Ethan smiled and headed over to where Nash stood by the stone mantel.

Too near the fireplace pokers for Kelly’s peace of mind.

Jealousy, anger, frustration, much of it irrational,
some of it justified, churned in Nash’s gut as he’d watched Kelly talk to his oldest brother. Now Ethan walked over to him, a determined expression on his face.

Son of a bitch,
Nash thought. Wasn’t it enough that he was here, smile plastered on his face—most of the time, anyway.

“Hey,” Ethan said, coming up beside him.

Nash nodded. Aware Tess stood not far away and Kelly watched from across the room, he forced himself to make conversation. “Welcome back. Good trip?”

Ethan nodded. “The best. I recommend you try it some time.”

“Turks and Caicos?” Nash asked, grateful for the benign topic of conversation.

“No, the honeymoon part. With the right woman, I mean,” Ethan’s gaze traveled to Kelly.

And everything inside Nash tightened in anger. “You aren’t going to tell me to stay away from her.”

Ethan let out a low growl of frustration. “That’s it. We need to talk.”

Nash raised an eyebrow, not sure he wanted to have any kind of conversation with his brother.

Ethan’s expression turned cold and stony. “Unless you want to do this in front of everyone, I suggest you follow me.” Without another word, he turned and strode out of the room.

Knowing this conversation was inevitable, Nash stormed out behind him, ending up in Ethan’s study. Nash didn’t like being on Ethan’s turf, in his office, where his brother was comfortable and had the advantage. If Nash had given in earlier and had this private talk Ethan had been pushing for since his return, maybe Nash could have chosen the time and place. Now he was stuck.

Ethan shut the door to give them privacy, which was smart. The last thing Nash needed was Tess overhearing this argument.

“Hit me,” Ethan said without preamble. He got into Nash’s face. “Go ahead. Get some of that damned anger out. Hit me.”

Nash bit the inside of his cheek and tasted blood, telling himself he had no desire to hit his brother. Or maybe he was afraid if he threw one punch he wouldn’t stop.

Nash looked away and his gaze fell to Ethan’s desk—to a small framed photo of Ethan, Nash, and Dare as kids, taken in front of the house they grew up in.

Next thing he knew, Nash’s fist connected with his brother’s jaw.

Ethan stumbled back, then righted himself, and Nash braced for a return blow. Instead, Ethan shook his head and rubbed his already bruising face.

Nash’s own hand hurt like hell.

“Feel better?” Ethan asked.

“Fuck you.”

Ethan’s gaze darkened. “You’re talking. At least now we’re getting somewhere.”

He wanted to talk? Fine. They’d talk. “How the hell could you do it?” Nash asked the question that had haunted him for years. Bile rose in his throat, this conversation a decade in the making and one Nash would never be ready to have. “How’d you get on your bike and hightail it out of town without a thought to what you left behind?”

“You really think so little of me?” Ethan asked, disgust in his voice. “I thought of you and Dare every fucking day.”

Nash narrowed his gaze. His heart beat so hard it threatened to launch out of his chest. “Yet you didn’t come home.”

“That’s right,” Ethan said, his voice rising. “Because
I
was the reason our parents were on the road that night. They were coming to the police station to bail
me
out.” He slammed his hand against his chest. “Instead, they got hit by a drunk driver and died. So no. I didn’t come home because I thought you and Dare were better off without me!” Ethan shouted at him.

Suddenly it was clear: what sounded like anger at Nash was really a burning self-hatred for his own actions. The notion, one Nash had never considered before, deflated some of his own anger. Some but not much.

A brief knock sounded on the study door. Without waiting for a reply, Faith opened it and poked her head inside. “Everything okay in here?” She stared at Ethan, love and concern in her eyes, making Nash wonder what his brother had done to get so damned lucky.

And question why he’d never been the focus of
that
kind of caring from the woman in his life. Faith wouldn’t walk out on her husband. Ever.

“We’re fine,” Ethan said, his low growl bringing Nash back to the present.

“Your jaw!” Faith pushed the door open farther, and Nash caught sight of Kelly behind him,
her
gaze on Nash, a similar warmth and concern reflected there.

Or maybe that’s what he wanted to see, since he’d been wishing for it from someone seconds earlier.

Ethan held up a hand, stopping Faith before she could launch herself across the room to check his injury. “We need more time.”

She stopped short and nodded in understanding. “Okay, but I don’t want to have to redecorate this room,” she informed him, turning to Nash as well, including him in her warning.

In other words, no more fighting.

Nash and Faith hadn’t gotten off to a good start; her father’s actions had caused consequences for Nash’s adoptive family too tragic for him to just welcome her back to town with open arms. It didn’t help that she’d immediately aligned herself with the one man Nash nursed a simmering hatred toward. But her loyalty toward his brother showed a strength of character he hadn’t given her credit for before now. Maybe she really was nothing like her criminal father or narcissistic mother. After all, Faith was the first person Tess had trusted when she’d arrived. Ethan had been the second.

The door shut behind Faith. Ethan turned to Nash and spread his hands out in front of him. “Well? What now?”

Nash ran a hand through his hair. Damned if he knew.

“As much as you don’t like it, we’re brothers. I was wrong back then, but I can’t change the past.”

“So what do you want from me?” Nash asked.

Ethan shrugged. “Get to know me. Judge me for who I am today, not who I was or what I did.”

“That much, huh?” Maybe Nash could give him a kidney too.

Ethan nodded in understanding. “Yeah. I’m asking for that much.” He let out a dark laugh. “You never know. You might just like me.”

Nash rolled his eyes. “Don’t hold your breath, big brother.” Despite himself, a smile edged the corners of his mouth as he followed Ethan out of the office and back to the party.

Sunlight streamed through the window, hitting Annie’s
face and waking her in an instant. She rolled to get away from the offending glare and immediately hit a warm body. Her eyelids flew open and she found herself staring at Joe.

Oh my God.

She shut her eyes again tight, letting the reasons he was here come back to her. The tingling in her extremities reminded her that she was having a relapse—hence the name relapsing-remitting MS. These bouts consisted of severe exhaustion along with extreme discomfort in her hands and feet, accompanied by an inability to do little more than lie in bed until it passed.

She never knew what would bring on an episode, but this time she was certain her father’s sudden illness, his being rushed to the hospital, her staying up all night when he’d had his surgery, and then the stress and worry of whether he’d be okay had all gotten to her. Yesterday she’d gone straight from Kelly’s to the hospital, ignoring the warning signs, the tingling numbness and sudden tiredness telling her she’d better slow down and relax. Only after she’d seen her dad had she listened to her body and her mother and come home to nap.

Annie had barely been able to change into something comfortable before collapsing on top of her covers, her planned date with Joe gone from her mind.

Forgetfulness, another sign of an imminent relapse, she thought in disgust. She couldn’t control the symptoms but she didn’t have to like them—or who they made her become. Since being diagnosed over two years ago, she’d put on a brave front for the world, saving her pathetic routine for when she was alone.

Except she wasn’t alone.

Joe was here.

Ten

“Ready to admit you’re awake?” Joe’s deep voice
reverberated in Annie’s ear.

She remembered him banging on her door, dragging herself off the bed, and yes, collapsing into his arms. The rest was a blur, so she assumed she slept through the night.

Forcing herself to face him, she rolled over and met his amused gaze. Sexy bedroom eyes stared back at her.

“I don’t know what to say first. I’m sorry about the date? Thank you for staying?” She swallowed hard. “Or I’m okay now, so you can go without feeling guilty?”

He exhaled and shook his head. “No problem about the date, I should have called to make sure we were still on. You’re welcome. I wasn’t going anywhere. As for guilt, that’s the dumbest thing I ever heard.”

She blinked. “Okay, sorry for being dumb.”

“Did you ask me to stay? Take me away from something? No,” he answered for her. “So, no guilt. How are you feeling?”

“Less exhausted,” she said. At least that was honest. She was tired, not up for running a marathon, let alone simple errands, but she wasn’t in danger of passing out.

“That’s good.” He hesitated, then asked, “What else are you feeling?” He propped himself up on one arm, looking into her eyes as he waited for an answer.

Joe’s voice was calm and steady, and she forced herself to talk about the thing that had changed her life. “It starts as tingling, sometimes in my hands, my feet, or both. Like a warning. Combined with the absolute exhaustion, I can become pretty useless.”

She glanced away, knowing she’d ended any chance of anything with this man and being more disappointed than she would have thought at the notion. She expected him to bolt. If not for Nash’s commitment to her through marriage and to her family, she was sure he’d have run far and fast too.

“Does it hurt?” Joe asked, his voice tinged with curiosity and compassion.

Not pity, she realized, and that had her meeting his gaze. “Depends on the severity. Pain’s a weird thing. It’s subjective, you know?”

He nodded.

“And how long until you feel better?”

“Should be soon,” she said lightly.

From experience, she knew it could be a day or two, or even weeks. It was the reason she’d quit her job at a large accounting firm in the neighboring town to work her own hours. But he didn’t need to know how debilitating the disease could be.

“Joe, I’m grateful you’re here. I am. But you didn’t sign on for anything more than a date, and I slept—probably snored—through it. I’m sure you have more important things to do this morning.” More fun things.

Her stomach chose that moment to let out a growl, reminding her she hadn’t eaten since lunch yesterday.

“Hungry?” he asked with a devastating grin.

“Yeah. And I’m sure you are too, which is another reason you should leave. So you can go get breakfast.” She rolled over and pushed herself to a sitting position, fighting the tiredness with everything in her.

“Where are you off to?” he asked.

“To wash my face and brush my teeth,” she muttered, and headed for the bathroom. In all probability he’d be gone by the time she was finished and she could make herself a bowl of cereal slowly and in peace.

Except when she finally washed up, changed into fresh lounge wear, and made her way down the stairs, the smell of bacon assaulted her senses along with that of French toast.

She stepped into her kitchen to find a sexy man standing at her stove. “What are you doing?”

He raised an eyebrow and grinned.

Stupid question, since he was using a spatula to put delicious-looking pieces of crisp bacon on her plate.

She’d told him to leave and he hadn’t listened. She should be mad, but her stomach was so empty that all she felt was extreme gratitude. Besides, how could she be angry at a man who’d made himself at home in her house so he could take such good care of her?

Despite having told herself she didn’t want a caretaker, the sight of him sent warm happy feelings spiraling through her.

Ten minutes later, she’d devoured everything on her plate and was licking her sticky fingers when she caught him staring. Her hunger for food was gone, only to be replaced by a hunger of an entirely different kind.

“What would you have done if I hadn’t been here?” he asked seriously.

She didn’t want him to think she was too needy. “If I’d thought to call, my mom’s housekeeper would have come over and helped me out,” she admitted.

That was the agreement she’d made with her parents after her divorce. If she didn’t want to move home, she’d admit whenever she couldn’t care for herself. She’d hated it as much as she understood the necessity and so she’d agreed.

He nodded, as if glad there was a plan of action. “But what if you hadn’t called at all? And I hadn’t shown up?”

“Enough.” She held up a hand to cut him off.

“Okay, then, what’s on today’s agenda?” he asked, readily accepting her change of subject.

“You’re looking at it,” she said. Surely now that he understood just what a burden she was, he’d take off.

Sure enough, he rose and she clamped down on the disappointment churning inside her. She liked having him here way too much.

To her surprise, he picked up her finished plate and cleaned up quickly and efficiently.

She released a pent-up breath. “I could have done it, but thank you.”

He nodded. “I have to get over to the bar and see what’s going on.”

Now he was leaving.

Pasting on a smile, she rose and walked him to the entryway and opened the door. It was for the best. No man would want to deal with her illness and issues for the long haul, so why pretend otherwise.

“Thanks for staying.”

His dark eyes bore into hers. “My pleasure.”

From his tone, he didn’t sound the least put off. In fact, her entire body suddenly throbbed in response to his husky voice.

Before she could process or reply, he slipped one hand behind her neck, pulled her close, and kissed her. Not a quick good-bye kiss, either, but a hard, demanding
I want you
kind of kiss that had her nipples puckering beneath her tank top.

“What was that for?” she asked, dazed and surprised.

“Your shirt last night said ‘Kiss Me.’ I was just waiting for the right time.”

“Oh.” She ran her tongue over her damp lips and tasted him. “Oh.” This time she smiled. “Mind if I ask why now?” He confounded her, this man.

A slow, easy grin eased up the corners of his mouth. “Because I know you think I’m saying good-bye for good. That was my way of telling you I’ll see you soon.”

He let himself out the door, leaving her alone, every inch of her body pulsing and aching for his touch.

Monday morning, Nash was on his way to the hospital
to visit Richard when a nagging feeling he couldn’t explain compelled him to drive by Annie’s first. On Saturday, her mother had told Nash she’d sent Annie home from the hospital to rest. Later that day, and on and off yesterday, Nash had called the house to make sure Annie was keeping up her strength, resting when she should, and eating despite the stress in her life, but he’d gotten her voice mail. She hadn’t called him back and he’d put it out of his mind.

This morning, Nash had called the hospital to make sure Richard was up to his visit, and when he’d asked about Annie, Mary said she hadn’t heard from her daughter yet this morning. And Annie was normally an early riser—unless something was wrong.

So Nash drove past Annie’s house and was about to slow down and park on the street when Joe Lockhart walked out the front door. Joe, the bartender. Joe, the guy who’d had a thing for Annie for as long as Nash could remember.

Nash’s hands automatically gripped the steering wheel harder, an instinctive response to realizing the woman he’d been married to was obviously seeing another man. Nothing else could explain Joe being there this early. Instead of slowing down, Nash hit the gas, driving past before Joe or Annie realized he was there.

Sorting through his feelings wasn’t simple or easy. It should have been, considering he’d been divorced for a while now, and he had to force himself to think about why Annie and Joe as a couple bothered him. It sure as hell wasn’t about still having feelings for Annie because he didn’t. Not in the way he had feelings for Kelly, he thought, another completely different set of emotions rising in his throat.

It was ego, he forced himself to admit. Annie had rejected him, broken his heart, and though she’d taken longer than him to move forward with someone else, she finally had. And it cemented the end of his former life in a way nothing else could.

Apparently Dare and even Kelly had been right. By insisting Annie needed him to look out for her, Nash had been holding on to the past. In reality, he’d been watching over Annie because doing so kept her in his life, which in turn allowed him to pretend Annie wasn’t yet another person who’d disappeared and let him down.

He shook his head and focused on the road, discovering that he’d driven toward the hospital, but lost in thought, he’d passed the exit on the highway and had to circle around and come back again. Nash finally reached his destination and headed inside. Richard had been moved to a private room, but seeing him after the operation was still a shock. Paler, less robust, and definitely in pain, the other man had at least held on to his upbeat mood and spirits. He wanted to be back to his old self in no time, but the fact remained he had a long recuperation ahead of him and some cardiac rehab to follow. But he was alive and Nash was grateful.

He didn’t stay long because Richard needed his rest. And Nash left the hospital, still thrown by both this morning’s revelation about Annie and seeing his mentor and friend looking so old and frail.

In the aftermath, Nash could only think of one thing that would make him feel better. The only person he wanted to confide in now and the single woman who could help lighten his current mood. But given everything he had to say, would Kelly even want to see him?

Kelly spoke to Richard for a quick few minutes, and
though he sounded weak and in pain, he was as focused as ever. Obviously realizing real work would have to wait, he instructed her to archive old files and arrange for them to be put in storage. What she hadn’t realized was how many huge stacks of boxes were in a back room, covered with dust and waiting for someone to sort through. She buried herself in the storage area, deciding that tomorrow she’d stick to jeans and a T-shirt for this particular job.

She didn’t know how long she’d been absorbed in her task. Starting with the oldest documents, she’d gone back in time to the early 1980s. Without warning, the office door slammed shut and Kelly realized someone had entered.

“In the back,” she called out, too settled on the floor and surrounded by boxes to get up and see who was there.

When Nash walked in, she couldn’t have been more surprised. She hadn’t spoken to him since they’d said good-bye late afternoon yesterday. He’d seemed to be in a passably good mood after his private talk with Ethan and since he hadn’t offered up information, she hadn’t asked. And when the time came for her to leave, she’d picked up her bag, climbed into her car, and headed back to Joe’s.

She stood up and tried to brush the dirt and dust off her skirt before walking over to him. “Hey! What are you doing here?”

He remained silent for a few long seconds before meeting her gaze. “I needed to see you.”

“Okay.” She treated him to a warm smile.

He didn’t seem to notice. Odd that he said he wanted to see her when he appeared so preoccupied with his own thoughts. “Come sit,” she said into the silence.

He shook his head, expression thoughtful… and distant.

“Is everything okay?” she asked, growing concerned. “Richard? Tess? Ethan? Dare?” She named his family mem-
bers, thinking maybe he didn’t know how to express bad news.

“They’re all fine.” But a small line furrowed deeper between his brows. “Something happened this morning. You’re the only one I wanted to talk to about this, but—”

Her heart clenched as his voice trailed off. “But?” she prodded, at this point unsure of anything, let alone him.

“But I think you’ll take what I say the wrong way.”

She swallowed hard. “Why don’t you just tell me and I promise to reserve judgment until you explain.” She curled her hands into fists at her side, waiting, not wanting to do anything that would make him change his mind about talking.

He blew out a long breath. “On the way to the hospital, I decided to drive by Annie’s. Because her mother mentioned she wasn’t feeling well yesterday, and when I called to check she didn’t answer the phone.”

Annie’s. She should have known.

“I see,” she said. Clearly this was the part Nash thought she’d have issues with.

And she did, but she also understood they were born of her own past and insecurities, which she was trying to live with and overcome.

“I already know Annie’s an important part of your life,” she said rationally.

After all, Kelly had slept with him knowing he was still heavily invested in his ex-wife’s welfare. So his stopping by Annie’s this morning didn’t shock her. She couldn’t say it thrilled her either. She was human and feeling a little insecure despite his past promises that he and Annie were just friends.

But Nash was here, she reminded himself, and she’d promised to hear him out. “Is Annie okay?”

Nash shrugged. “I don’t know. When I got there, Joe Lockhart was walking out the front door, so I drove right by.”

Kelly nodded, not all that surprised. Well, she was surprised Annie had let Joe stay over, but considering the chemistry she’d witnessed between them at the bar the other night, Kelly figured nature had taken its course.

“You knew?” Nash asked, obviously catching on to the fact that Kelly wasn’t as stunned by the new couple as he’d been.

“I knew they had a date last night, that’s all.” She paused, trying to read his expression and unable to do so. “I’m guessing you’re upset Annie’s with someone else?” she asked, forcing herself to release the nails that were biting into her skin.

Given how shell-shocked Nash appeared to be, Kelly guessed it was the first time he’d been on the receiving end of Annie’s dating another guy. Kelly blew out a deep breath, coming to the only conclusion she could—that seeing Joe leave Annie’s made Nash realize just how much he still loved his ex and he wanted her back.