Loving Enough (The Enough Series Book 2) (18 page)

Rylee

The echoing boom of a gunshot jolts me upright in bed. My heart
is racing and my whole body trembles in fear. With sweat running down my spine,
I recall the dream vividly. It ends with me staring into the muzzle of Ryan’s
gun before it goes off.

Beside me, Austin is still sound asleep in all of his
clothes. Watching him sleep settles my nerves, but I cannot close my eyes
without seeing the loaded gun between my eyes.

With small careful movements, I climb from the bed to go
after a drink of water. Halfway down the stairs, I notice the living room light
is still on and I can hear faint voices. It is after midnight now and
considering the long day we all had, I am surprised anyone is still awake.

A lone bottle of Jack sits on the marble counter and I
abandon my search for water, opting for a stiff drink instead. In a tall
tumbler, I add three ice cubes, a few shots of Jack, and a splash of coke. The
whiskey burns down the back of my throat, but I have hopes it will quiet the
demons in my head. I still can’t shake the images of Ryan and the gun.

Not wanting to disturb anyone or be forced to talk, I take a
seat at the end of the long, black dining room table. With the chair pushed back,
I pull my knees into my chest and stare absentmindedly out of the bay window at
the blanket of stars gracing the onyx sky. My mind wonders through the events
of the past few months, from my new relationship to the brutal ending of an old
one.

In pondering Ryan’s demise, I wonder whether there is a
stairway to heaven and a highway to hell. If so, which did Ryan take?
Swallowing another mouthful of sinus-clearing whiskey, I realize there is a
certain stairway a few feet from me that will take me to my personal
heaven—Austin. Determined to finish the drink so my mind will clear, I throw
back another gulp and that’s when I notice Eric doing the same to the bottle.

He doesn’t seem to know I am here. By the look in his eyes,
I can tell that something is definitely wrong. I stand up and quietly pad over
to him before placing a hand on his bare shoulder blade.

“Hey, bud, is everything OK? You look like someone kicked
your puppy.”

With his hands firmly against the counter, he leans his body
down and back dropping his head. Eric is so much smaller than the rest of the
men in this house, but he is physically fit and covered in lean muscle. The definition
shows across his back and shoulders as he stretches before pushing back up off
one foot and looking at me just above his outstretched arm.

His eyes are the color of cocoa and sadness lurks below his
long lashes.

Dropping his head back down, I hear him whisper, “I broke up
with Jen.”

Holy shit, did he say what I think he did? He and Jen have
been together for more years than I care to remember. She has always pulled him
away from us. I don’t know Jen all that well, but I don’t particularly care for
the sides of her I have seen. Regardless, Eric loved her enough to spend
several years with her, so we always supported him.

“I’m sorry, Eric. What happened?” I ask, pulling him into a
side hug.

He pulls himself upright and wraps a free arm around my waist
before picking up the bottle of Jack with his free hand. He holds up the bottle,
motioning to the table.

“Shall we?”

I resume my seat at the end of the table and Eric sits to my
right, facing the windows. After taking a swig from the bottle, he runs a hand
through his hair and sighs.

“Fuck, Ry, I don’t know what happened. You called me the
other night, and I came. She has been bat shit crazy about it since. I realized
she would never let me be a part of my family. I mean, shit, Ry. I don’t know. I’m
done with her, but what the hell am I going to do now?”

The agony in his face pulls at my heart. I hate to see
anyone in pain and, despite the shit storm in my life, I am happy to have someone
else to focus on for a little while.

“Well, Eric, if you are sure you don’t want to be with her
anymore, you move forward. But if you aren’t sure, or you are doing this for
any reason other than it’s what your heart wants, then you might need to rethink
things. You know that no matter what you decide, we will all be here.”

He gives my hand a squeeze as he ponders the words I threw
out. “I know you will, Ry. Hell, you have had the worst week imaginable, and
here I am laying this shit on you. Fuck, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t you dare apologize, Eric. You came when I needed you
and I welcome any distraction from the nightmares in my head. So what do you
want, Eric? What does Eric Rivers want?”

A light chuckle wafts through the air as he stares at me
with a moment of clarity. “I want to be free from her. I mean, I
am
free
from her … but unfortunately that also frees me from a place to live and most
likely a job.”

Oh crap. I forgot Eric works for her father’s law firm and,
regardless of whether he is fired or not, it would be a hostile work
environment going forward. Giving it some thought, I go out on a limb.

“So you have no place to go and no job - that’s your main
concern?” I ask.

His facial expression lightens as I raise an eyebrow and
give him a wink.

“What are you up to, Rylee?”

I stand up and cross the few steps to stand next to him. He is
resting against the counter again. He looks over his shoulder at me as I grab
the bottle of whiskey and take a swig. Thankful I don’t cough it up, I ceremoniously
place it back on the counter and announce, “Well, I will just solve all of your
problems with a flick of my hand. How does that sound?”

He looks as me with understandable confusion. I wave my hand
through the air as a magician would his wand.

“Mr. Rivers, how would you like to work with me?”

His eyes go wide and I can see the idea spinning in his
mind. “No, you can’t do that, Ry. I appreciate it, but I don’t want to put you
out.”

With whiskey flowing through my system, I am feeling good
and I intend to get Eric to lighten up and accept my genuine job offer.
Prancing across the kitchen, I reach for the below-counter sound system and
turn the radio up to an acceptable volume. It seems that no one changed the
station since I last set it to the eighties' hair band station.

I look back to Eric with a wicked gleam. “Eric, I am dead
serious. You should come to work with me. Gabe and I were planning to interview
soon anyway. This way I wouldn’t have to waste my time. That is, if you want
the job.”

Eric pushes off the counter with an undeniable smile on his
face. “Are you kidding me, Ry? I would love to work with you. I hate my fucking
job.”

We take turns drinking from the nearly empty bottle.

“All right then, so you have a new job. Now to solve your
housing issue—you can move in with me. I am never there anyway and I’m not sure
I will ever want to set foot in that house again. So there you go.”

The look of shock and relief on his face makes me laugh. He
reaches out with the bottle in his hand. As I reach for it, he uses his other hand
to pull me into a hug. A chaste kiss grazes my cheek.

“You are my fucking hero, Ry.”

We stand there a moment before Def Leppard’s
Pour Some
Sugar on Me
comes blasting through the speakers, fueling my bizarre need to
dance. Spinning out of the embrace, I begin playing air guitar and mouthing the
words. Eric gives me bashful smile before joining in the absurdity. It feels
fantastic to let loose and have a little ridiculous fun. Drunk or not, I need
this. I need to forget, if only for a little while.

Austin

It is after one o’clock in the morning and I find myself in
bed, fully clothed and alone. What’s stranger is that I can hear what sounds
like a party going on downstairs. I am not surprised to find Ry missing. I had
a feeling she would have a hard time sleeping, but I hoped I would notice her
movements. My clothes are wrinkled and uncomfortable after being slept in, so I
change into a pair of gray track pants and a black tank before going in search
of the music.

On the edge of the kitchen, I find Dani, Jeremy, and Ruzek
hanging back with giddy smiles on their faces. I lay a hand on J’s shoulder to
signal my arrival, not wanting to interrupt whatever is going on.

“Hey man, what is everyone doing?”

J responds with a nod towards the kitchen. I glance up to
find the most beautiful girl in the world with a magnificent smile on her face,
dancing like an idiot with her friend. They appear to be putting on a mock
stage show to an old Motley Crue song. Watching her play air guitar and swing
her long, golden hair back and forth is the most adorable thing I have ever
seen.

J looks up at me from his wheelchair with a huge smile on
his face. It is clear he is also enjoying seeing his sister let loose. He lets
out a quiet laugh.

“We used to do this shit all the time in the shed behind our
house whenever we were locked out. Eric thought we were crazy the first time he
saw it, until Ry convinced him he should join in the fun.”

I smile and look back into the kitchen, only to catch the
emerald green eyes that were put on this earth to melt my heart staring back at
me. She waves me to her with a come-hither look on her face and damn if I can
say no to that.

“Excuse me, guys, it seems I am being called on stage,” I
say as I step through the group gathered in the doorway.

She pulls me to her with alternating come here motions. The
serious sexy look on her face is speaking straight to my cock, making it hard
to hide. Once I reach her, she launches herself off the floor and into my arms.
I taste the whiskey on her breath as she kisses me passionately and whistles
come from all around. My hands are on her glorious ass as I attempt to pull
back, afraid I will lose myself in her.

A quick break in the kiss allows me to ask, “So what ya
doing?”

The smile on my face is so big at seeing her in a happy
place that it almost hurts. She jumps back out of my arms, throwing an arm
around Eric before announcing quite loudly, “We are making life decisions.
Right, Eric?”

A smile of admiration and love crosses his face as he gazes
at my beautiful girlfriend. “Hell, yeah, we are.”

With that, they resume the air rock show to the end of
Cinderella’s
Gypsy Road
. The song ends and the rest of the crowd join us
in the kitchen. Ry grabs everyone glasses and a new bottle of Jack from my
stash. After pouring everyone a generous drink, she announces that we are
celebrating. Eric chimes in behind her.

“Hell, yes, we are. To Ry,” he says, as he raises his glass
and slams the shot.

The rest of us are not as quick to drink and J asks the
question on everyone’s mind. “What is it we’re celebrating?”

Ry makes her way over to her brother, unsteady on her feet.
She leans down and whispers loud enough for everyone to hear.

 “No more Jen, but shh, don’t say anything. I think Eric is
a little sad.”

The entire room breaks out in laughter at her not-so-subtle
secret.

Eric laughs too and adds, “No more Jen, but I gained a new
boss and a new place to live. Here’s to Ry.”

He lifts his drink to her and they take yet another shot.

A little confused by their cryptic explanation, I ask for
clarification. “What exactly are you two talking about?”

Rylee stalks toward me and falls into my chest with a
giggle. “Eric is going to work with me and live at my house. Oh, and he broke
up with that evil Jen.”

The last part again comes out well above a whisper, sending
the group into laughter. Jeremy looks shell-shocked by the news.

“Eric, what did you let Ry talk you into this time?” He asks,
concerned for his buddy.

Eric’s upbeat attitude takes a nosedive at the question.
“She didn’t talk me into anything, J. She is helping me out in a huge way. You
know Jen’s dad will fire my ass when he figures out I dumped her, and I sure as
hell don’t have a place to stay since he bought her the condo.”

Taken aback, J chews his lip a moment before he continues
his friendly interrogation. “OK, but are you sure you want to leave her? Fuck
Eric, you have been with that girl for years. Do you think making a major life
decision while you're shitfaced with my sister is the best plan?”

Eric looks at Ry and winks before he lays into J. “Fuck you,
J. I am a big boy and, for the record, I didn’t take a drink until after I
broke up with the bitch. Ry was nowhere around for that part. I found her in
here afterward. So get off your fucking high horse and let the rest of us make
our own decisions for once.”

The tension in the room skyrockets as J and Eric stare one
another down.

Ry leans up on her toes, kisses my cheek, and whispers, “Can
you get Dani and Ruzek out of here, please? I need to fix this. I cannot stand
those two fighting.”

Her eyes plead with me to let this be a family discussion,
so I round up the other two non-family members and make a trail to the other
room. As soon as we clear the doorway, the shouting begins between Eric and J.
Then I hear Ry scream, ‘shut-up both of you’ at the top of her lungs and the
entire house goes silent.

I cannot help the grin on my face. I love that woman and boy,
can she hold her own with the best of them.

Rylee

These two nitwits are arguing over nothing. I don’t
understand why J jumped on Eric’s case. Now I’m pissed. We were having a perfectly
good time blowing off a little steam before he decided Eric and I are incapable
of making rational decisions. After I yell at them both to shut up, they are
staring at me. J looks pissed and Eric has a goofy smirk on his face.

I position myself between them and turn to J.

“What exactly is your problem?” My hands are on my hips and
my body language screams ‘do not fuck with me’.

He takes a deep breath, looking between Eric and me before
sighing heavily.

“For starters, Ry, I’m in shock. Don’t get me wrong, I was
happy to see you two goofing around like we did when we were kids, but I’m not
sure today is the day for any of us to be making life-altering decisions.” He
pauses studying both Eric and me who continue to stare, demanding further
explanation. After running an exasperated hand through his hair, he continues.
“Ry, your life has been turned upside down in the past forty-eight hours and I
am grateful as fuck that Eric was here for you. But to come in here tonight and
find you two announcing life decisions drunk off your asses doesn’t sit right.
Why now, Eric? What makes you think you won’t wake up tomorrow, or three weeks
from now, regretting all this? I am only trying to protect both of you.”

And there it is. J is playing the part of the protective big
brother like he always has. Of course he has always been my big brother, but he
also served that role for Eric. Eric is my age, making him almost two years
younger than J. While they are most certainly friends first, J is the alpha in
this group and he is fiercely protective of us all.

A smile breaks through my scowling face as I realize what he
is doing. Eric comes up behind me and with a hand on my shoulder he answers my
big brother’s questions.

“Jesus, J. I’m sorry, bro. Look, this thing with Jen has been
coming for a long time. I was in basically the opposite position of Ry. I
stayed with her because I figured there was nothing else out there. But when
she tried to make me choose between being there for Ry when she needed me most
and her, I saw the big picture.”

Eric’s hand is unsteady on my shoulder. Instinctively I turn,
wrapping an arm around his waist, and give him a small smile. His arm goes
around me as he finishes his thoughts. “Rylee calling me in the middle of the
worst possible night of her life made me realize I’m not alone. It sounds
stupid now, but I thought you guys kind of left me behind. It was Jen all along
that caused it all. So no, I don’t think I will wake up and ever regret this
decision. I’ve fucking missed you guys.”

Eric squeezes me into him and plants a kiss on the top of my
head. I hug him back and look over to find J smiling back at us. He shakes his
head before ending the discussion.

“Well thank fuck, cause we sure as hell miss you too, bro.
Welcome back.”

Eric releases me before he and J engage in a half hug. Then
he announces he needs to go to bed, because he ‘has a job to quit tomorrow.’ I
am so pleased to see him happy for what seems like the first time in years. However,
I also have a job to get to tomorrow, so I should probably go back to bed.

“Hey, J, we all good?” I ask for reassurance.

“Yeah, baby girl, we are. I’m sorry. I was just worried about
both of you, but it seems you found a way to save my best friend. That makes
you two for two on the week, doesn’t it?”

I am not sure what he means by two for two and it must show
on my still slightly drunk face, because he explains.

“First you save Ruzek and now Eric. You are batting a
thousand, sis.”

His laughter makes me giggle. “Yeah, I guess I am. I need to
go find a bed for a few hours though. I have work to do tomorrow and I should let
Gabe know I hired Eric.”

J’s face takes a serious turn as he studies my expression.
“Ry, can you afford to hire Eric? I mean, do you need money or anything?”

There is the protector again, making me smile. I lean down to
kiss his cheek before I respond.

“I’ve got this, J, don’t worry. We were getting ready to
hire someone new anyway. Gabe and I are swamped. This worked out perfectly.”

He grabs my wrist as I stand up, forcing serious eye contact.
“All right, but if you need anything you let me know. Now, push my ass back to
Dani, would you?”

Spinning him around, I push him toward the living room and bellow
for Dani. She and Austin come rushing over to find J and me. He smiles up at
her.

“Dani girl, will you please get me away from my crazy ass
sister?”

She looks at me skeptically until she notices my smile,
returns a shy one of her own, and wheels J down the hall towards their room.
Once they disappear into the black abyss of the hallway, I wrap myself around
Austin and beg him to take me back to bed.