Loving Enough (The Enough Series Book 2) (8 page)

Rylee

Austin and I enjoy a quiet morning in bed lounging around
and watching bad television. We laugh and talk; we are
us
again. I call
Bode to check on J and he informs me that J is fine and that I need to spend
quality time away from the hospital.

Although I adore Bode, I refuse to take his word for it and
demand talk to my brother. J is very explicit in his directions.

“Stay the fuck away from this hospital and enjoy the time
you have today. It won’t be often that no one knows where either of you are.
Enjoy it, Ry. I’m fine.”

I agree rather easily to stay home for a while, but only
because Austin is here with me. J is right. After today it’s unlikely that we
will be able to steal many more of these moments before this is all over.
Stolen moments are so sweet when they include the man of your dreams.

 It is then I remember to ask. “Austin, J said you are going
to Houston. When are you leaving?”

He looks down and interlocks our hands.

“I was supposed to leave an hour ago.” I look at him in
disbelief, even though it does not surprise me that he blew it off to stay with
me. He kisses my knuckles one at a time. “Who knew you going out and getting
shitfaced with the detective would benefit me?”

He laughs that beautiful, carefree laugh of his that makes
me smile every time.

I know he was only joking, but I still feel a little guilty
for last night. I did not intend to drink that much, but once it started it
just got out of hand. I felt like I needed to let go and there seemed no safer
place than a cop bar with a detective by my side.

“For what it’s worth, Aus, I’m sorry. I had no intention of
doing that last night. I really just needed to talk to Ruzek.”

He gives me a puzzling look. “Ry, I will never care who you
hang out with so long as I know you love me. If you love me, you will always
come home to me and that is all that matters. Last night became a bonus when
Bode called me to come stay with you. He figured you would kill him if he left
J alone, so I happily obliged.”

“Well, I am definitely glad he called you. You are a much
better sight to wake up to than he is,” I say with a wink.

He gives me a look of mock disgust. “I hope you like waking
up to this, because one of these days you will be stuck with it forever.”

The way he says forever implies so much and my stomach
involuntarily constricts. I love Austin, but after the debacle with Ryan the
thought of forever or marriage still scares the life out of me.

“Aus, I - ”

He quiets me with a kiss. “I know, Ry, and I will wait for
you forever. I just wanted you to know I am in this. I am in this as long as
you will have me. You are my one, Ry. I love you.”

Just like that, he quiets my fears and I fall for him just a
little more. I wrap my arms around his perfect body. “I love you too, Austin. I
really do.”

It amazes me that he knows me as well as he does without us
having shared the entirety of our histories with each other. I suspect part of
his knowledge came from my big brother, but I will never ask. If J believes
Austin and I are serious, I imagine he thought that giving Austin insight into
my past could only help and it does.

“Alright. So you have clearly missed your flight. Do you
need to call your mom and let her know? Do we need to book you another one?” My
heart dips at the thought because I don’t want to think about him leaving yet.

He slides up to a seated position against the headboard and
pulls me in close to him. “Are you that ready to get rid of me?”

I playfully smack his chest. “No, not yet. I think I will
keep you a little while longer if I can. You have proven useful.”

He feigns relief with a dramatic flair. “Well, thank
goodness for that,” he says playfully. “I will have to book another flight, but
I am in no hurry. They didn’t know when I was coming, only that I am. So why
don’t we just enjoy the time we have and I will worry about all that later.”

I am all for just spending time being us, so I let the subject
go. I do want to know what all the drama was about with his mom, but I think we
have enough drama in our lives for now. We may have been friends for several
months, but our relationship is so new it is a miracle we have made it this far
with all of my indecisiveness and now the stalker problem.

I figure we will get to all the skeletons in our closets
someday. Today, however, they don’t seem all that important. What is important
is spending the last few hours I have with him, for the near future, in our
perfect bubble. In this bubble, we are untouched by the outside world.

“So, you and me for the rest of the day, huh? Whatever shall
we do?”

He smiles a wicked smile and raises his eyebrows playfully.
“Well I do have a few ideas, but I think we had better eat at some point. I
don’t know about you, but I’m starving.”

I am definitely hungry. I'm just not sure whether I am hungrier
for food or him.

He pulls his pajama pants back on and I throw on my panties
and a shirt before heading in search of food. The only problem with our search
is that I haven‘t been home in nearly two weeks, so it is doubtful there is any
food in the house.

After scouring the recesses of the freezer, we come across a
frozen pizza. I pop it in the oven and grab a couple beers while we wait for it
to cook. We decide to sit on the patio where he pulls me down to sit on his
lap. In the time we have been together today, we have had our hands on each
other the entire time.

After our meal, we retire back to the bedroom. We make love
again and again, seemingly unable to get enough of each other. In the early
morning hours we finally succumb to sleep, bound together in our little slice
of heaven. Tomorrow we will once again be forced to face the world separately,
but we will remain united by our love for one another.

Austin

I hated to leave Boston and Rylee behind. However, it is probably
best to put thousands of miles between us, otherwise I couldn’t stay away from
her. My God, I am whipped. There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for that woman,
including face my past. That is where I am heading.

My plane landed in Houston a few hours ago, but I haven’t
been able to force myself to go home and face my demons yet. I left home at
eighteen and have rarely looked back. I would never come back if it weren’t for
my sister, Ally. She is forced to live with the repercussions of my mistakes
thanks to my unforgiving mother, Elaine.

I’m waiting outside a local bar I haven’t been to in years.
I know it is only two in the afternoon, but stiff bourbon is calling my name.
All that waits for me at home is my overbearing mother and her incessant
accusations and insults. The bar is only a few blocks from my childhood home,
making it a favorite getaway of mine during my rebellious teenage years.

Walking inside Scooter’s I settle on a barstool in the
center of the long, mahogany bar. The place doesn’t look like much from the
outside, but the inside is well taken care of. It has the usual neon bar signs
hanging on the walls and banners supporting the local Houston sports teams
throughout. I smirk to myself. Houston, ha. We whooped their asses to Boston
and back last year. What was that score? 41-10 or something equally ridiculous?

 I sit and wait as the bartender finishes washing a glass
before coming over to greet me. I’, wearing a ball cap, pulled down low in an
effort to conceal my identity. She strolls over and seems oblivious.

“Hi darlin’, what can I get you?”

I politely ask for a tall draft beer and throw a twenty down
to cover it. My actions convey that I don’t want to be bothered, so she goes on
about her daily duties and leaves me to my thoughts. I cannot believe the mess
I find myself in. It is not only Ry; my old demons are trying to surface too.
Demons I thought I buried ten years ago.

I sit staring at the large flat screen television
broadcasting ESPN. The stories are primarily focused on the upcoming draft and the
start of the MLB season. After watching for a few minutes, I notice the next
story is about Jeremy’s accident. God, I hope they have not caught wind of the
facts. The further the media stays away from this story, the better for us all.

I lean down and ask the bartender if she will turn up the
volume, and she agrees after I flash her my smile. That smile gets to every
woman, including Ry. There are only a handful of people in here and they all
seem to be in their own little worlds. As the anchor begins the story, I can
tell immediately that they have uncovered a few of the facts surrounding
Jeremy’s accident. Shit, this cannot be good.

I listen as they recount the accident and explain that there
is abundant speculation this was connected to the bomb threat, Rylee, and a
possible stalker. They do not have any specifics because all parties - the
police and the family - refuse to comment. I pick up my phone ready to dial
Rylee when a familiar face sits down next to me. This day just keeps getting
worse.

“So, this is how the magnificent Austin Black supports his
girlfriend in her time of need. He sulks off thousands of miles away to drink
and leaves her to deal with everything alone,” Ryan says sarcastically.

I want to punch the guy, but it would do more harm than good.
I reel my temper back and think of Ry.

“Look, Ryan, you don’t have the first fucking clue what is
going on, so why don’t you back the hell off?”

He studies me closely as I glare at him. My body is tense
and I wish I had just gone on to my mother’s now. Even she is more tolerable
than the jackass sitting next to me.

“I know Ryles, though, and she can’t be happy that you
abandoned her.”

Of course, he knows Ry. She almost married the dumbfuck. I
don’t know him well. I’ve heard rumors from teammates and such that he is a
world class prick. But I could have told you that. He walked away from the most
amazing girl in the world. Don’t get me wrong, I am glad he did, but it proves
he is a complete fool.

I can feel my anger rising as I take in his smug appearance.
“Look, asshole, I did not abandon her. I did what has to be done for now and
trust me, I would rather be with her.”

That statement seems to confuse him. He looks back to the
television for a while before asking, “So how is she holding up? I know how
close she is to J and I cannot imagine she handled the accident very well.”

Compassion laces his voice and I can see that he obviously cares
about Ry. The problem is, I don’t give a shit about him. I know what he did to
Ry. I am not supposed to know, but J thought it would make things easier with
Ry if I knew what I was up against. I will be forever grateful that he let me
in on the whole story. This asshole did a number on her and for that I would
like to knock him off that barstool and show him what a little man he really
is.

I take a big swig of my cold beer and huff. “She is doing as
well as can be expected. Bode and Eric have been with her day and night since
this shit began. She is tough. She will be fine as long as J is.”

He nods in acceptance of my explanation. We sit in silence
for a few minutes before he breaks it.

“Look, man, I don’t want to cause trouble. I saw you here
after seeing the story about J last hour and found myself a little pissed that
you aren’t taking care of her. I loved her once upon a time, you know. Hell,
the truth is I still love her, but I ruined that chance years ago. She made
that abundantly clear in Colorado.”

I cannot believe the nerve of this guy. He is as arrogant as
everyone claims. He just told me to my face that he is in love with my
girlfriend. He has some set of balls on him, that’s for sure. However, I can’t
afford to let him cause problems. We have enough to deal with these days.

I have little to say to his last proclamation, so I give it
to him straight.

“Look, Ryan, the only reason I am here is because I love
her. The last thing I wanted to do was leave, but right now that’s what is best
for everyone. This fucking situation is taking its toll on all of us.”

He looks at me with actual compassion, which makes my skin
crawl.

“I don’t know the details, but I will take your word for it.
If there is anything I can do to help, you guys just say the word. I told Ryles
I would like to be friends someday. I know that is not something you want to
hear, but I may as well be straight with you. I will lend a hand if you need
anything.”

What I really want right now is to talk to Ry, but we agreed
on no phones until Ruzek is sure of how her stalker is monitoring her. That
gives me an idea though. Maybe Ryan can be of some use.

“Can I borrow your phone for a second?” I ask unexpectedly.

I don’t want to call Rylee because I don’t want to give Ryan
her number.

“Sure, man. Like I said, just ask.”

He hands me his phone and I dial Ruzek, hoping he will pick
up the unfamiliar number.

He picks up after the third ring. “Detective Ruzek.”

“Hey Ruzek, it’s Austin Black and I have an idea.”

He is cordial and listens to my proposal. I tell him that I
want to buy Ry, J, and myself disposable cell phones so we can still
communicate without fear of a phone tap.

We end the call agreeing that I will purchase the phones
from a local retailer and ship them directly to Ruzek. At least this way I will
be able to talk to her by this time tomorrow. I can tell Ryan overheard my
conversation. As I hand his phone back to him, he has a guilty look on his face
along with an abundance of interest.

“So, I take it there is a lot more to this situation than
anyone knows. You guys can’t use your phones?”

I nod. “Yeah there is, and it is a clusterfuck. Thanks for
letting me use your phone, bro, that really helped.” 

I chose to ignore the question about the phones. He heard
enough, but I don’t want to feed anyone information that could be leaked to the
press.

I pay my tab, ready to head out and purchase the phones
before I am forced to head home. I say goodbye to Ryan and start for the door
before he comes trotting up.

“Hey, man, why don’t I give you my number? Like I said, if
you guys need something I will help for Ryles sake.”

I agree and we exchange numbers before I leave on my new
mission.