Simple Perfection (7 page)

Woods

I ended the strange phone call from Tripp and stared down at my phone for a few minutes. Nothing about that conversation had made sense. He'd asked me how life was. I'd told him it was good. He had said I should strive for great. I told him it was perfect and he had gone silent. Then he'd said, Sometimes what we think is perfect is royally fucked up. I had asked him what he meant and he said he was just checking in and hoped I'd figure life out soon.

What the hell had all that meant? Was he drinking before lunch? Glancing at my clock, I realized it was my tee time with Jace. When Della had turned me down for lunch I'd let her because she wanted to work. I couldn't keep making her feel like she wasn't important. So to keep myself from begging her to have lunch with me, I'd called Jace and set up a tee time for us.

I had a meeting with my new lawyer at three, then after that I would hunt her down. I thought she'd be ready to take a break then. Smiling, I let Tripp's weird phone call go and I headed down to the golf course.

Jace was standing at Bethy's golf cart with his hands on the roof as he leaned in, flirting with her. I never would have guessed those two would have made it so long. Bethy had been the wild local girl who lived in the next town over. She slept with the rich boys and they acted like they didn't know her in public. Until Jace. He'd decided that she was worth it. He had seen something more.

"You gonna stop making out with my employee long enough to play a round?" I asked as I approached them.

Jace grinned over at me, then flipped his middle finger. "Suck it, Kerrington."

"You two need me to get y'all a caddy?" Bethy asked.

"We're real men, baby. We don't need a caddy," Jace said, winking at her.

"Let's do this. I have a three o'clock appointment," I informed Jace.

The cart I'd ordered was brought around with my clubs. Jace said his good-byes to Bethy and put his clubs in the back of the cart. "It's been a while since we played a round," Jace said. "Boss man never has any time."

"Della has taken a lot off me. I need to give her a raise."

Jace chuckled and propped his feet up on the dash of the cart. "You told your momma about the new-board idea?"

"I won't be telling her. It isn't her business. I'm meeting with the lawyer today to make sure this is handled the correct way. The lawyer will make sure the board knows they've been terminated."

"You know, I always thought the board, like, owned a portion of the club," Jace said.

"My grandfather forbade it in his will. He wanted the club to always be under the Kerrington name. He didn't allow investors unless they were family. That was one of the reasons my father wanted me to marry Angelina. She would become family and he would merge her father's clubs with the Kerrington Club. My grandfather wouldn't have wanted that. I've looked over his business plan. I know his dream for this place. My father had other ideas and he was going to use me to accomplish them."

Jace let out a low whistle as we pulled up to the first tee. "Damn, no wonder your dad was ready to marry you off to a psycho. So, you really own it all now. You make the decisions. That board was just so your father had people to help him build and make decisions."

"I think he had promised them a piece of the pie once the Kerrington Club was part of the Greystone empire. Everything would have changed then. He also paid them well. I looked over the payroll."

Jace jumped out and pulled his driver from the bag before heading over to the tee. "So you're saying I'm gonna get a nice fat paycheck for being on this new board," Jace drawled.

"Yeah, that's what I'm saying," I replied, pulling the driver from my bag.

"Good. Because I'm gonna propose to Bethy and my family is gonna shit a brick. I can kiss my monthly income good-bye. I need to start using this education my father paid so handsomely for."

I stopped walking. Had I just heard him right? "Did you just say propose?"

Jace looked up from his stance over the ball and nodded.

"Wow," was all I could think of to say. I hadn't expected that.

"I love her. She's it for me."

I stood there silently as Jace hit the ball. He stepped back and glanced over at me. "She doesn't know yet. I'm trying to think of a romantic way to do it."

This golf game had just gotten a lot more interesting.

I texted Della before my three o'clock meeting but she didn't respond before the lawyer arrived. Once my meeting was over and there was still no response, I dialed her number. I hadn't seen her all day. Neither had anyone I asked. Something felt wrong.

"I'm sorry, but the number you have dialed has been disconnected . . ." I jerked my phone back and looked down to make sure I'd dialed Della's number. I had.

I grabbed my keys and walked past Vince without a word. My mind was running wild. Why would Della's phone be disconnected? Had she forgotten to pay the bill? Was she okay?

As I got to the house, every bad scenario ran through my head. The car I'd given Della when she'd come back to Rosemary with me was sitting in the drive. She hadn't left the house today. My heart raced as I ran up the steps and swung the door open.

It was quiet. Too quiet.

"Della? Baby? You okay?" I called out as I walked down the hall toward the living room. I glanced into the kitchen as I passed and almost continued on when I saw a single piece of paper and a pen lying on the counter. They hadn't been there that morning.

"Della?" I called out again, walking on toward the living room and out onto the balcony. The bedroom was empty. It was also bare. There were no heels lying by the door or jewelry on the dresser. I stood in the doorway, afraid to walk inside and look in the closet.

I turned and headed back to the kitchen. The note would explain this. She could have cleaned up before she went shopping with Blaire. That made sense.

Reaching for the paper, I picked it up and began to read. With each word, my world began to slowly fall away. The small, ripped piece of notebook paper held the only words that could completely destroy me.

I let it fall to the floor as I stood frozen. I didn't want to touch it. I didn't want to see it. The words were imprinted in my head. I'd never be able to make them go away. I couldn't move. I couldn't breathe.

Della

Tripp hadn't said much when he came to get me. He had just asked if I was sure, and when I'd said yes he had taken my bag and put it in the compartment of his bike before handing me a helmet and a leather jacket. I put both on.

We had been riding for about two hours when he pulled into a gas station. My legs were slightly numb. I wasn't sure I could walk when I got off that thing. Tripp got off and then took my helmet and hung it on the bike. I didn't ask him why he wasn't wearing a helmet but I was glad he had one for me to wear. He then held his hand out to help me off. I managed to sling my leg over the bike and held on to both his hands as I stood up.

"Ouch," I said with a weak smile.

He grinned. "Yeah, you'll get used to it," he told me, then nodded his head toward the store. "Go in, use the restroom, and get yourself something to eat and drink. We'll take a little break before we go any farther."

I had focused on the road and the cars we passed. I'd managed to fight off any thoughts of Woods. But they were there in my head, teasing me. They wanted to haunt me. They wanted to break me. He would know soon that I was gone. "Where are we going?" I asked, trying to think of anything other than Woods.

"Not sure. We're just riding. I thought you might need that right now. I'm heading north. I figure we'll find somewhere interesting by bedtime to stop at."

This was what I needed. I nodded. "Okay."

"I gotta fill up," he told me, and I headed inside the store. I would need to call Braden now. I hadn't told her I was leaving Woods. She wouldn't have seen it my way. But once Woods knew I was gone he would call her first. She would be worried. I should prepare her. I slipped my phone out of my pocket and remembered I'd had it switched off. I didn't want to be traceable. I would reactivate it in the next big city. A new number. One no one knew.

After using the restroom I grabbed a bottle of water and some Cheetos, paid, and headed outside to sit at a picnic table that sat in a grassy area.

Tripp glanced over at me before he went inside and did the same. By the time he came outside I was finished with my bag of Cheetos. He dropped a candy bar, a bag of peanuts, some beef jerky, and a bag of gummy worms on the table. "Eat some more," he said before picking up the beef jerky and taking a bite of it.

I reached for the candy bar and broke it in half before eating it. We ate in silence. I was afraid to try to talk to him. He wanted to know why I was doing this. He didn't think I should. I could tell by the way he was acting.

"He didn't know you were leaving. Didn't even have a clue. That sucks, Della. It really does. The dude's gonna take this real hard."

I stopped eating and stood up. "I can't think about that right now, okay? I need to think about other things. Not that. It's what was best for him. That's all I can tell you. Please, let's not talk about it."

Tripp let out a weary sigh, then nodded. "Fine. We won't talk about it. Not right now, anyway. Eat some worms, they're good for you," he said with a smirk as he pushed the bag of gummy worms toward me.

"I'm not hungry." I wasn't. I felt sick now.

"Fine. I'll take this with us. You'll get hungry again soon. You barely ate anything."

"Can I use your phone to call my friend Braden?"

Tripp nodded and pulled his phone out of his pocket to hand it to me.

"Thanks," I replied as I took it from him.

I walked far enough away that he wouldn't hear me. I was going to lie to Braden some, if only to keep her from telling Woods the truth.

Dialing her number, I held my breath, hoping that I could find a way to tell her and make it believable. She would go straight to Woods with my location and reason for leaving if she knew the truth.

"Hello?" Braden's voice sounded curious. She didn't recognize the number.

"It's me," I said into the phone.

"Della? Where are you?"

"I'm traveling the world. Living life. Woods's life isn't what I want for myself. I need adventure."

Braden didn't respond. She was thinking. I knew the look on her face even though I couldn't see it.

"What happened? Stop bullshitting me and tell me where you are and what's wrong." I was a horrible liar and Braden knew me better than anyone.

"I'm traveling. I'm not alone and I'm okay. I just need some time. I'll check in when I can but I need time to move on from things. This is why I got in your car and took off to begin with, anyway. Woods changed that but it was only temporary. I need to do this for me."

"I'm still calling bullshit. I don't believe you but I won't push. Call me when you can, and be safe. Can I trust who you're with to keep you safe?"

"Yes," I replied.

"You won't tell me who it is?"

"No. I need you to not tell Woods that you talked to me. Tell him nothing. He will come after me and I don't want him to."

Braden let out a small growl of frustration. "He loves you, Della," she said.

"And I love him. But it's time I lived. I can't be locked up in that small town."

"I hope you're not making the biggest mistake of your life," she said in a defeated tone.

"It was the best chapter. I'll have more chapters though."

"I love you," Braden said.

"I love you, too," I replied.

"Call me soon."

"I will."

I hung up and walked back over to Tripp, who was watching me.

"Thanks," I said, handing back his phone.

"Did you have yours turned off so he couldn't track you?" he asked, standing up.

I nodded.

"Damn, girl. You didn't leave the boy a bone, did you?"

"Can we go? I just want to ride."

"Yeah, let's go," he said, and headed for the Harley parked near the table.

Woods

She hadn't left me anything but a note. She'd taken all her things. I held the pillow she'd slept on last night and pressed my face to it. It smelled like her. The sexy sweet scent that was Della.

How was I supposed to let her go? She didn't want me to find her . . . she wanted to live. This wasn't living for her. She had started out on a journey to see the world and she'd met me. Now she wanted more.

I'd hovered over her. I had tried to keep her safe and not let her do things she wanted. I'd controlled her job and what she did. She wanted to spread her wings and I'd clipped them. So she'd found another way to fly.

My chest was so tight that each breath I took was painful. I hadn't called anyone. I hadn't left my house for hours. I held the pillow closer and glanced over at the clock. It was after nine. I'd been home for five hours. How long had she been gone? Had she known last night that she was leaving me?

The look in her eyes as she'd made love to me had been different. There had been something in them that bothered me. But she had been so passionate and needy that I'd forgotten about everything other than the pleasure. If I had just looked deeper and talked to her . . . Instead, it had been about sex. When she had fallen to her knees in the kitchen, I was lost to whatever she wanted.

If I'd only looked deeper.

How had she left me?

Slowly, a realization came to me and I stood up, still holding her pillow. The phone call from Tripp. He hadn't made sense but he'd been trying to tell me. Motherfucker! She'd left with Tripp. She had called him and he had come for her.

The pain slowly started heating up as anger---no, fury---consumed me. She had left with Tripp. He had taken her from me. His call wouldn't have made sense to anyone. It had been his way of being able to say he had warned me when he knew I wouldn't understand him.

I reached for the lamp on the bedside table and threw it against the wall. Then I threw the sheets and shoved over the nightstand. I grabbed the mirror off the wall and smashed it, but the anger was still there. I punched the wall until my fist went through the Sheetrock and my voice seemed so far away, even though I was yelling. I had stepped outside of myself as my body went mad. Then I threw the pillow in my hand and everything stopped. That was all I had. Her pillow. I walked over to the pile of broken glass and furniture and picked the pillow back up. I held it reverently to my chest.

Her scent filled my senses and for a moment the fury eased. For a moment I wasn't a hysterical madman bent on demolishing everything in my house. I had her. I could hold this. I had her.

"Holy shit." Jace's voice came from the doorway. I snapped my head up to see him looking into my room. The horrified look on his face as he lifted his eyes to me only made me angry again.

"Dude," he said, holding up both his hands. "You gotta calm down."

He didn't understand. He hadn't just lost his reason for fucking living. She hadn't just walked away from him. Left him nothing but a note and a pillow. The note . . . shit.

I stalked to the door and shoved past Jace. I had to get the note. I had the note, too. It was something of hers. I had that. I wanted it. Even if the words in it tore me wide open, I wanted it.

The torn paper lay on the floor and I scrambled to pick it up. I couldn't read the words again. Not right now. I folded it carefully and tucked it into my pocket. I'd keep it on me. This was her handwriting. Her words.

"You're scaring me, man." Jace had followed me to the kitchen.

"I need to be alone," I said without turning to look at him.

"I don't think you need to be alone."

"Leave my motherfucking house," I snarled.

"I've called Rush and Thad. They're on their way. I'm not leaving you alone."

I didn't want them here. I wanted to yell and break things. I wanted to find a way to ease the pain. "No! Why are you even here?"

"Tripp called me," he said slowly. Just hearing his name and knowing that he was the one who had Della made the monster inside of me snap. I reached for the glass in the sink and threw it across the room, shattering a picture.

"He took her!" I roared as I grabbed a plate and hurled it across the room. "He fucking took her from me!"

"She called him. She wanted to go with him, Woods. You gotta calm down. She left of her own free will." I could hear the fear in Jace's voice but I didn't care. I grabbed a bar stool and began smashing it against the counter until the wood shattered into pieces in a heap on the floor.

"Holy hell." Rush's voice registered in my brain but I couldn't think. I didn't want them there.

"Dude! Stop him. He's gone fucking mad," Thad said.

Arms wrapped around me from behind and I fought against them, but they held me tighter. "Chill the fuck out. Breathe, man. Fucking take a breath. She isn't dead. She left. She's out there and it ain't over. So calm the fuck down," Rush said in a stern, loud voice as he held my arms back.

I took several deep breaths. He was right. She was alive. She had just left. She had left. "She left me," I said, and my voice broke.

"Yeah, she did. But you can't beat the hell out of your house. It won't bring her back and you're getting out of control. Get it together. I know what this feels like. I've been there. Losing your shit doesn't make her come back to you."

Rush had been here. He knew. Blaire had left him once. But she'd been betrayed. She'd had a reason to. I hadn't hurt Della. I had only loved her.

"I didn't let her live," I said, lifting my eyes to look straight ahead at Jace and Thad, who were keeping their distance from me.

"She needs some space. Let her have it," Rush said.

"How do I keep going? With her gone? What do I do?"

Rush let out a sigh and slowly let his hold on me go. "You wake up each morning and you go to work. You smile when you think you're supposed to. You spend your free time thinking about her. Thinking about what you'll say when you see her again. Then you go to bed and hope you get some sleep. Then you wake up and do that same shit over again."

I leaned against the wall and hung my head. "What if she never comes back?" He didn't say anything at first. We stood there in silence among the destruction.

"Then you find a way to keep living," Rush finally said, and I realized that was my biggest fear. That I'd be left needing to find a way, because Della might never come back.

"She was my go-all-in," I said as I stared down at the smashed-up bar stool.

"Your what?" Jace asked.

"Della was my go-all-in. She was my winning hand. You can't play when you go all in and lose. I'm out."

"No, you're not. This hand ain't over yet," Rush said.

I hoped he was right.