Rock Solid (13 page)

In the corral, Brody paused to stand with the horse that had thrown him, and whispered a thank-you to the big beast. His back injury, now more or less healed, was the reason Hannah had shown up here in the first place. Brody was having an increasingly difficult time thinking about life without her. He patted Zip on the shoulder.

“I guess we’ll both have to get used to being without her at some point,” he said to the horse, who had definitely taken a liking to Hannah.

Zip did something amazing then, taking a few steps closer to Brody as he moved away, as if not wanting him to go. Brody gave him another pat, and Zip returned the gesture with the same affectionate nudge the horse had offered Hannah on numerous occasions.

Brody paused, wondering if Zip wasn’t issuing an invitation. Hannah had read him correctly. For whatever reason, Zip didn’t like being saddled. She’d ridden him bareback several times now, and Zip had behaved like a gentleman.

While he knew he was taking a risk, Brody gave in to curiosity and hauled himself up on Zip’s back, giving him a soft kick with his heel. The horse took off in a gentle trot. Brody laughed, patting Zip’s neck.

“Good man, Zip.”

They rode for a half hour without incident. Then Brody slipped down from Zip, patting him on the backside. The horse took off into the field, when the sound of a powerful engine rumbled down from the driveway.

Who could that be? It didn’t sound like Aiden’s car—in fact, it sounded like the smooth growl of a Ferrari Italia, if he wasn’t mistaken, and Brody rarely was when it came to cars.

Sure enough, as Brody climbed back up the hill, he saw the gleaming red Italian sports car parked by his Charger and let out a resounding whoop as he saw who was standing next to it.

Reece Winston and his wife, Abby, both waved and smiled as Brody quickened his step, closing the distance.

“Hey, I thought you were in France!”

Reece returned the quick hug Brody offered, and then Abby, as Brody stood back, taking in the car.

“Yours?”

“Of course.”

“Beauty. Let’s get her out on the track today.”

“Guys,
seriously
?” Abby intervened, pulling them back to the moment.

Brody laughed. “I’m glad you’re here, but we thought you wouldn’t be able to make the wedding.”

Reece was about to speak, but Abby interjected again. “You are two of our best friends. Do you really think we’d miss your I dos?”

“Well, I’m very glad you could make it,” Brody said, rubbing a hand over his face.

“When Abby told me the news, I wasn’t sure I could get back in time, but I found someone at the last minute to take over for me on the renovation from the damage, and we got down here as soon as we could. I couldn’t miss this. Where’s Hannah?”

Brody looked back toward the house. “She was sleeping. I was taking care of the horses, but usually she’s up by now. We had an event last night that really took it out of her, though.”

“You okay, Brody? You look...tense.”

“Probably wedding nerves,” Abby said, taking her husband by the arm. “This is a gorgeous place. Hannah said so, but I can see why you wanted to retire here.”

Brody nodded, and then he was saved from saying anything more about his giving up racing when the front door opened. Hannah appeared and came running down from the porch. She threw herself into a hug that Abby had waiting.

“I can’t believe you’re here! This is such a great surprise!”

Abby stood back and took in Hannah with a big smile. “I wouldn’t miss this for the world, but you two still have to come up to the vineyard for a celebration this summer.”

Brody and Hannah shared a look, and Brody noticed Hannah didn’t say anything to that, either, and instead invited Reece and Abby in for breakfast.

As they settled into the kitchen, Hannah poured coffee and Brody pulled some bowls out of a cupboard, grabbing ingredients for pancakes.

“Wow, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so domestic,” Reece commented. “Female hearts are breaking all over the world today.” Brody sent a wet sponge from the counter sailing by his head.

“Any self-respecting man should be able to make pancakes,” Brody declared. “I can fry a mean egg, too, but not as good as Hannah’s.”

Hannah sent him a happy smile and kissed his cheek as she passed by him to get two more coffees, making Brody forget what he was measuring. She always did that to him. He watched her cute little backside as she walked over to the coffeepot until Abby cleared her throat, and Brody realized he’d been caught peeking.

“Hey, buddy, eyes on the pancakes,” Abby said with mock severity.

“They were,” Brody replied without missing a beat, sending all of them except for Hannah into spontaneous laughter.

“What’s so funny?”

“Nothing, babe, just being harassed by the peanut gallery.”

“The pancake gallery, you mean,” Reece added.

The fun continued as they ate breakfast, and Brody relaxed into it, enjoying the company. It was always nice to have good friends around.

“Okay, these pancakes are the best ever,” Abby said, reaching for another from the platter at the center of the table.

“Hey,” Reece responded. “I thought my pancakes were your favorite?”

“A girl can never have too many pancakes,” Hannah intervened, and then more laughter broke out, leaving her mystified again.

“I’ll explain later,” Brody promised, leaning in to catch some syrup from the corner of her lip.

“You two are almost disgustingly sweet together,” Reece said with a pained sigh.

“Oh, really? You don’t remember how moony you both were back when you met?” Brody challenged, grinning. “I thought I’d get a cavity.”

It had only been a year or so since he and Hannah had sat at breakfast in Daytona with Reece and Abby, watching them navigate the ups and downs of their budding romance. They’d faced some challenges back then, but their love for each other had been stronger than any of it. Now they looked so perfectly happy together that Brody knew Reece had made the right choice, though they’d had a tough start, for sure.

“So we know you two didn’t want to make any fuss, but Reece and I would at least like to take you to dinner tonight, somewhere nice, to celebrate. We made reservations at a local place, and we won’t take no for an answer.”

“That’s sweet of your both, thank you,” Hannah said, reaching over to squeeze Abby’s hand, and that was when Abby noticed Hannah’s hand, too.

“No ring?”

“Why is everyone so focused on the ring?” Hannah asked incredulously.

“I bought her a camera instead,” Brody said, deadpan.

“What?” Abby and Reece responded in kind.

Hannah sighed. “I really don’t want an engagement ring—and believe me, the camera he bought me is as expensive as any diamond. We’ll wear gold bands, and that’s enough for me. I don’t want people thinking I’m marrying him for his money.”

“No one will think
that’s
why you’re marrying me, honey,” Brody said with a lascivious grin, making Hannah slap him in the arm, turning bright red.

As they visited some more and cleaned up, Brody insisted that their friends stay with them, but Reece declined.

“We already grabbed a room at an inn close by, and you guys are newlyweds, or will be shortly. You should be here by yourselves,” he pointed out, making Hannah blush again.

Brody was secretly relieved. It would be easier this way. As much as he loved Reece and Abby, having them stay at the house meant he and Hannah would have to be careful about everything they said, and they’d also have to make sure they kept up the pretense of their situation.

Though curiously, none of this seemed like pretense. At least not the past few hours with their friends. In some ways, he thought, maybe that was worse.

“Hey, you okay?” Hannah asked quietly as they put some dishes away.

“Great, yeah, why?”

“Just... You looked kind of sad, I guess.”

Brody shook his head. “Nope, I’m fine, honestly,” he replied, kissing her lightly before turning back to their guests.

But he knew he was lying again—to Hannah, in part—and to himself. However, that was a lot easier than considering the truth.

It was getting too easy to believe all of this was real, and he had to guard against that. They both did, because in the end, they wouldn’t be like Reece and Abby, and that was okay. He and Hannah had different goals.

Suddenly, though, those goals seemed less and less appealing.

12

“W
HAT
THE
...?” H
ANNAH
SAID
on an exhale as she saw the parking lot crammed with every kind of sport and exotic car she could imagine.

“I guess it was hard to hide the surprise for too long,” Abby said with a barely smothered grin.

Hannah gaped. “You mean...all of this is for
us
? I thought we were just having dinner.”

Hannah had suspected that Abby and Reece might have invited Brody’s family as well, but she’d never expected anything like what was facing her now.

“It took a bit of doing to contact everyone, but it’s really only our families and a lot of Brody’s friends from racing... It’s only about sixty people or so.”

“Oh, only sixty?” Hannah said weakly.

“C’mon, it’ll be fun. There’s a surprise for you,” Abby said, dragging Hannah forward.

Once they were inside, Hannah knew what it was the moment she heard her name across the room.

“Hannah and Brody, there you are!”

Her mom walked quickly in their direction, and Hannah covered her mouth with her hands, so shocked that she couldn’t say anything for a second. She was always happy to see her mom, but hadn’t expected her until tomorrow.

“Mom, how long have you been down here?”

“Only since last weekend. Abby needed feet on the ground to check out venues and get things set up, so Lynn and I worked together.”

“Lynn? Brody’s mom? You’ve met already? Wait...you mean, you guys have been planning this since—”

“Since you told us, yes! Reece did have some delays getting back, but Abby and I were on the phone immediately, planning. Do you think we’d just show up at the last minute? And now I need to meet my future son-in-law,” she said, turning to Brody.

“Mrs. Morgan, so nice to meet you at last,” he said, accepting and returning the hug Hannah’s mom offered.

“Mrs. Morgan?
Please
, Brody, we’re about to be family. Call me Trish.”

He nodded, smiling warmly at her mother. “Trish it is.”

Hannah watched as her mom put her arm through Brody’s and walked away with him, winking at Hannah. As they parted, she did, however, overhear her mom say, “So now let’s talk about why Hannah isn’t wearing a ring.”

“Point me to the bar?” Hannah asked Abby with a tense smile.

* * *

H
ER
FRIEND
PULLED
her into the fray. “Over here, c’mon.”

Hannah was aware of Abby watching her closely as she ordered her beer from the open bar. Abby ordered only a soda.

“You don’t want a drink?”

“Nah, maybe later. You know I never drink at a party I’ve organized. Have to make sure everything goes perfectly,” Abby said with a too-bright smile.

Hannah suspected her friend was hiding yet another surprise. Shrugging, she took a deep swig of her lager, scanning the room to see where her mom had hidden Brody.

“Hannah, what’s going on?”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re so anxious I can almost feel it. Even allowing for bridal nerves, you seem...off. Is everything okay?”

Hannah took a breath and realized she
was
tense, and she was being less than appreciative of a friend who had gone above and beyond to throw this party. The celebration was perfect, but it also put Hannah in exactly the position she’d been trying to avoid.

“I’m sorry, Abby. I guess this has all been fast. I’m barely used to the idea of getting married, and we wanted to keep things small, no fuss. But there was a party last night, which was exhausting, and now this—which is totally wonderful but also...overwhelming.”

“I understand. But try to enjoy it—you only get to do this once, if you do it right,” Abby said with a grin. “And from the way you two look at each other, I think it’s very right. I couldn’t be happier for you, Hannah. Who knew when you headed out on the road, you would end up in a wedding with Brody?”

Hannah put down her drink and hugged her friend, wishing so much she could tell her everything. Abby was the best, and it felt wrong not to let her know, but that was what Brody had meant when they’d gotten into this whole thing. How heavy the lies could become. She couldn’t tell Abby about the marriage arrangement without spilling the beans about Brody’s retirement, so that was that.

“Hey, don’t hog the bride,” a male voice accused.

Hannah saw Reece, looking amazing in a Tom Ford suit, coming in to hug her. Behind him was a group of professional racing personalities that was enough to make any girl’s head spin, lined up to congratulate her and Brody.

Everyone cycled through, wishing them the best, hugging and shaking hands and telling a lot of jokes, of course. All of the warmth and cheer should have been buoying, but instead, Hannah was struggling to maintain her smile each time, eventually excusing herself to get some air.

Brody followed her out to a veranda at the back that was a lot less crowded, and Hannah took several deep breaths.

“You okay, babe?”

She nodded and then shook her head, covering her face with both hands.

“I can’t believe they did this, and it must have cost Reece and Abby a fortune, and everyone is so wonderful and sweet, and it makes me feel like the worst person ever.”

Brody’s frown was deep when she lowered her hands, and he took them in his.

“I know what you mean,” he said, his eyes dark with concern, and something else. “I hate seeing you unhappy, and I hate this whole situation. That’s why I’ve made a decision. It’s too late for it to matter in terms of this party, but...I’m calling Jud in the morning and telling him I’m out. I quit. I’m not doing this anymore. I’ll take my lumps, and I’ll get back into racing on my own somehow. It’s what I should have done in the first place. I don’t need them.”

Hannah’s jaw dropped.

“What? No! You can’t do that... The pressure is getting to you, Brody, which is completely understandable, but it’s just a few more months, and then you’ll be back driving, and that’s all you’ve ever wanted to do.”

“I’m not so sure about that anymore, Hannah. I’m not sure about anything right now, except that you’re under all this stress, and everyone here is celebrating a lie, and it’s all to support this...this ruse that the sponsor cooked up. I was wrong to ever agree to go along with it in the first place.”

“Brody, listen, don’t do anything rash until we can talk more—”

“Hey, lovebirds, you’re missing your own party,” Reece said cheerfully, and then lost his smile as he took in both of their expressions. “What’s wrong?”

Hannah smiled brightly and took Brody’s hand.

“Nothing is wrong, promise. This is such a lovely thing to do, Reece. We can’t thank you enough. You and Abby are such good friends.”

She squeezed Brody’s hand, willing him to go along with her. Hannah understood his feelings, but she couldn’t let him throw everything away because she was having a momentary meltdown. His career meant everything to him, and he was just having a bad moment.

He’d change his mind after he calmed down, and agree that she was right. Until then, she had to make sure that she kept it together, too, for his sake, as well as for her own. He was so upset because of her, and she appreciated that.

“It’s a party,” she said cheerfully. “Let’s go have some fun!”

Reece whooped. “Now, that’s what I’m talking about. And if Brody can’t dance with his bad back, Hannah, I know about thirty guys willing to take his place for the evening.”

Brody frowned and Hannah laughed.

“No one could ever take his place, Reece,” she said, and amid all the lies they were telling, those words came from the heart.

* * *

B
Y
MORNING
, B
RODY
was even more certain about what he had to do to make things right. He was going to call Jud after breakfast and take his knocks, getting this over with. He’d be without a sponsor, and without a car or team, until he could figure out the finances. Whoever wanted to stay with him, and whoever wanted to leave, he would hold no grudges against anyone.

Including Hannah. He could stop all of this before she made a huge mistake, trying to help him, as well.

His hands actually turned a bit cold at the thought. What next? He wasn’t sure. But this had gone far enough. He’d let it all happen, and only he could stop it.

Brody paused and looked over the farm—his home, his family’s home—and thought about how he’d been living in limbo, only half of himself really here. The rest of him was living in the future, waiting for some magical point when he’d have his career back. But if lying to people he loved was the price of getting it back, it was too high. It was time to move on.

To...something.

Whatever it was, he needed to be in it 100 percent, making his own decisions, not letting others dictate how he acted, who he slept with, what he chose to do with his life.

Who he was.

He needed to let Hannah off the hook, let her follow her own star. But maybe that didn’t mean letting her go altogether, he thought hopefully. They didn’t need to get married, right?

Dropping the sponsor would mean they didn’t have to get married, but he didn’t want her out of his life. He just had to make sure everyone knew it was his fault. Not Hannah’s.

He had been, for all of the craziness, looking forward to marrying Hannah. But now there’d be no reason for her to do that, would there? The thought landed hard, and somewhat painfully, in his chest.

“Brody?”

Hannah emerged on the porch, holding Brody’s phone in her hand, looking sleepy. His phone must have awakened her, and he reached for it.

“Sorry, hon, I should have brought it out with me.”

“It’s Jud Harris. He sounds...angry.”

Brody frowned as he took the phone from her hand.

“Jud, good timing. I was going to call you after breakfast.”

“So you know already?”

“Know what?”

“About the story in the rag sheet? You and your
fiancée
.” Jud said the word with a sleazy emphasis that made Brody’s spine straighten.

“What are you talking about?”

“You both made the cover of the
National Intruder
, as well as going viral on the internet. How could you be so stupid? Getting in some woman’s skirt out in the gazebo? Doing it on company property? During an event? Are you nuts? The bosses are furious.”

Brody tried to interrupt, to find out what exactly Jud was saying, but he kept rolling.

“Then talking about the retirement contract
in public
? And what is this about a temporary marriage? Who
is
Hannah anyway? Some kind of call girl? Someone you paid to marry you?”

The world spun and Brody raced to catch up. “You watch yourself, Jud—”

“Forget it, Brody. Do you know the mess you’ve created? There’s not much I can do. I’ll be lucky if I don’t lose my job over this. Our reply to this is going to be that this was all you, bud. That this publicity stunt was your idea, and we just hoped you could clean up your act. Your sponsorship is gone, and as far as we’re concerned, we knew nothing about any of it.”

The line went dead, and Brody had to pause for several seconds, shell-shocked and unsure what he was going to do when he turned back to Hannah.

Brody didn’t know exactly what had happened, but he was able to glean enough from the conversation to guess.

Someone from the media must have followed them at the cocktail party, taken pictures, listening in when he and Hannah had had their tryst.

He wanted to punch something—namely, he wanted to punch Jud square in the face, which was probably what he should have done at the start of this mess.

But Jud wasn’t responsible for all of it, was he? Brody had gone along, and then he’d dragged Hannah down with him. There was no more comeback, no more sponsorship. Ironic that after all of this, as soon as he had decided to bow out, his retirement had now become real and his life was falling apart.

He’d take his lumps and shoulder the blame, but what he cared about most was Hannah and how he could protect her from the storm that was coming.

Even worse, he knew, was that he probably couldn’t.

They’d been reckless, no doubt. He’d been photographed in compromising positions before, many times—the sex-club fiasco came to mind—but Hannah hadn’t. Brody had no idea what he could do. The tiger was already out of its cage, by the sound of it.

“Brody, what’s wrong?”

He realized she’d been asking him that for several minutes, but his mind was still trying to get a grip on it all. Though he knew from her expression, as she watched him, that she could feel what was coming, and that it wasn’t good.