The Key West Anthology (33 page)

Prologue

Kade

“I just thought we could hang out here, maybe watch a movie. Just you and me.” Jenna sat on the edge of my bed, pouting. She always pulled that shit. She felt like everything should come second to her needs and would use her sad eyes in an attempt to get her way.

Normally it worked, but tonight I was still so hyped up on the adrenaline from winning our football game against our biggest rival that I needed to get out for a while. Everyone had decided to meet down at the beach and burn off some excitement—just a bunch of seniors celebrating our success and looking forward to graduation.

I was sifting through my closet, searching for my gray Henley with my back to Jenna. When I turned around, I found her gazing up at me with those damn eyes of hers. I slowly made my way to the bed and sat down next to her, then nudged her knee with mine in an attempt to lighten her mood. When she looked up at me through those long, gorgeous lashes, I almost caved. Looking into those baby blues was like getting lost in the bluest of skies.

“Maybe we could meet up with everyone for just an hour, then come back here and end the night together,” I said, giving her that smile she said she loved.

“Kade, I just want to spend time alone with you. My parents and I are leaving Tuesday for a week, and I just…” She shrugged, pulling off that wounded, heartbroken look she’d mastered. “I thought you would want the same thing, but clearly I was wrong.”

My father had told me on more than one occasion that I had to stop putting Jenna on a pedestal and that she took advantage of my kindness every chance she got. Hell, she knew how to play me, and she knew if she pushed hard enough, I would give in. She was used to it. She was an only child, so her parents spoiled her rotten. In their eyes, she hung the moon and could do no wrong.

That night I could see exactly what he meant. I wanted to go out, have a little fun, and celebrate. The last thing I wanted to do was curl up on the couch and watch some sappy girl movie.

“I just don’t want to go down to the beach and stand around rehashing the magical plays you all performed,” she groaned, her voice laced with irritation. “I was there, Kade. I don’t need a play-by-play.”

I fought against the urge to give in, but I too was growing irritated. The games she played to break me down were truly getting old.

“Then don’t go,” I said.

She whipped her head in my direction and narrowed her eyes.

“I’m not sure what else you want me to say, Jen. I wanna go and you don’t. It seems like the only solution we have left.”

“How about, ‘Yeah, Jen, I would rather spend time with you then go hang with the guys’?” She stared at me, her nostrils flaring. But I wasn’t taking the bait. When I didn’t say anything more, she stood up and yanked her jacket off the bed. “Fine, I’ll go home. I understand that hanging at the beach with Lacey and Regan as they hang on your every word sounds so much more appealing than some alone time with me. I won’t beg for your attention, Kade.”

Lately every disagreement we had led back to her being jealous of other girls or thinking I wasn’t doing enough for her. We argued almost daily now, and it was exhausting. “Why the hell are you acting like such a baby?” I asked. “I said an hour, Jen, that’s all.”

“Just forget it. Go have fun. I’m going home.” She spun around on her heel and stormed from the room.

I should have just let things be, but no, I was a stubborn ass who always let my mouth get ahead of my brain. I stalked after her and caught her by the elbow just as she was reaching for the front door.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” I asked. “Every day, every night, we do what you wanna do. I asked for one hour, and you acted as if it would kill you to let me do what I want for once?”

My mom stepped through the entryway from the dining room and placed her hand on my shoulder. “Okay, you two, what’s going on?”

Jenna looked at my mother with her pouty eyes, playing up the
I’ve been wronged
act. The idea she was trying to gain my mother’s sympathy and make me look like a dick only intensified my anger. “Don’t even think about it,” I snapped. “Tell her the truth, Jenna. Tell her you’re being controlling and throwing a fit because for once I’m not giving in.”

“Why are you being such a jerk?” she spat.

“You know what, maybe you should go home.” I let go of her elbow and stepped back, dropping my hands to my sides. The foyer felt like it was closing in on me. I loved Jenna, don’t get me wrong. We had been together for over two years, but things had become so stressful lately. I felt claustrophobic around her all the time now. “In fact, I think we need to keep our distance from each other for a while,” I added.

“What?” she whispered, and the hurt was obvious in her voice.

I was so irritated I could no longer care about her feelings. At this point I just wanted her to leave before I said things I couldn’t take back. “I think we need to take a break. This trip you’re going on with your parents will give us some time apart.”

My mother stood to the side, and I could tell by the look on her face she had no idea which of us she should offer her support to.

“You know what?” Jenna glared at me as she slipped her jacket over her shoulders. Tears were pooling in her eyes, and I could tell she was trying to hold them back. “I don’t need a week to help me decide something I already know.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” I asked.

“Could you two calm down and please tell me what is going on here?” my mother demanded. I had forgotten she was still standing at my side. “You’re both so upset, and nothing is going to be solved by all this bickering.”

I looked away from Jenna, and my gaze connected with my mother’s. “I’m done being her puppet.” My anger had taken over.

I heard a gasp and turned just in time to see Jenna throw the door open and rush to her little red convertible.

“Jenna, wait.” My mother called out in an attempt to stop her, but she didn’t listen. She jumped into her car and peeled out of the driveway, causing an approaching driver to lay on their horn and slam their brakes to keep from hitting her. My mother jumped in surprise and placed her hand on my forearm. “She shouldn’t be driving when she’s so upset.”

The reality of the situation set in, and my stomach dropped. Without saying a word, I ran from the house, jumped into my truck, and took off after her. She always took the same path when she left my house, and I knew she couldn’t be that far ahead of me. I’d literally gotten into my car a minute after she left.

The moment I turned the corner on East Shore, my heart felt as if it had dropped into my stomach, and I struggled to breathe. A mangled mixture of red-and-black metal was piled in the center of the intersection. Even from inside the cab, I could hear a horn blaring loudly.

I don’t remember putting my truck in park or even climbing out of it. I don’t even remember walking toward what had once been Jenna’s vehicle. Smoke barreled out from under the hood of the twisted remains of a small black car that was now half atop what had been Jenna’s red convertible.

The driver’s side of her car resembled a tin can that had been smashed inward. The sound of the horn still blaring from Jenna’s car filled the silence as I grabbed for the passenger door handle and yanked it open. Immediately, I fell to my knees in the middle of the street at the sight before me.

Jenna’s once-blonde hair was now caked with blood as she lay crookedly hunched over the console. My midsection tightened, my stomach lurched, and I turned to the side, empting its contents on the pavement.

She wasn’t moving, and there was so much blood.

I crawled inside her car from the passenger side and placed my hand against her shoulder. Her head hung forward just to the side of the steering wheel as her other shoulder was lodged against the horn. Her hair covered her face, and I brushed it aside, leaning in closer toward her. She stared forward at the floorboard, her eyes no longer holding the spark they once had.

Someone gripped my shoulders from behind and attempted to guide me backward. I hadn’t even heard the paramedics arrive, but now I realized that sirens were blaring all around me.

“We need you to step back, son,” a man said

I shook my head violently and tried to wrench out of his hold. “I have to get her out.”

It took two of them to pull me from Jenna’s car, and they placed me on the curb just five feet away.

“Please, I need to help her,” I begged, looking up at them. “She’s bleeding. I need to stop the bleeding.” I realized tears were trailing over my cheeks and dripping from my jaw. “Please.” My throat felt raw and my body shook.

A young woman in a paramedic uniform knelt before me, giving me no choice but to meet her worried stare. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered.

I knew immediately what her words meant. I think I knew what the outcome would be the moment I saw the condition Jenna’s car was in, but hearing the woman’s voice shake and seeing her eyes fill with tears confirmed it.

Jenna was gone, and it was my fault.

The dreams were always the same. Every single time I closed my eyes, I could see her blue ones staring back at me with the same lifeless look as I held her beautiful face in my hands, begging her to just breathe. To show me some sign of life.

Chapter One

Kade

It was the same nightmare I’d been having for years. I had relived that night in my head a million times and woken up in a panicked state, leading to me playing out all the ways I could have made sure it turned out differently. Instead, I pushed Jenna beyond her limits, and now I had to live with the fact that I was partly responsible for her death. If only I had given in to her and spent the night watching a movie, she may still be right here next to me.

I can’t remember the last time I felt rested when I awoke, the last time I was able to open my eyes and feel as if a ton of bricks wasn’t pressing down upon my chest. I felt like I was a stranger in my own life as I floated through my days, pretending I wasn’t a mess on the inside.

Today, though, I had to slap on a smile and attend my best friend’s wedding. It was the last thing I felt like doing, but I owed it to Jett. He stood by me even during my lowest times. When I pushed everyone away and ran, he still reached out, offering support. No, I didn’t take it. I didn’t take help from anyone, but it still meant a lot to me that he continued to offer.

I threw back the deep red comforter and crawled out from the warmth of my bed. A chill raked through my body once my bare feet touched the tiled floor. My apartment was on the lowest level of my building, and it was always so much cooler than the units above, even before I turned on my central air. It only held the essentials and lacked a lot in the comfort department. Hell, my kitchen suite was a folding table and chairs. Likewise, my couch had seen better days, and one of the arms was only held up by the wall on the other side.

After a long, hot shower, I ran a razor over my jaw to even out my goatee and then trimmed the hair on my upper lip before I rinsed the razor and dried my face with a hand towel.

By the time I was done, my phone was ringing from the next room, and I didn’t have to see the screen to know it was Jett. I’d been scheduled to meet them at the church fifteen minutes ago. Yet letting it go to voice mail solved nothing, because it immediately began to ring once again.

I rushed into my bedroom, grabbed for my cell, and swiped my finger across the screen. “I’m leaving now,” I assured him as I grabbed my shirt off the back of the chair.

“Dude, seriously, you’re gonna make me worry about you being a no-show on my wedding day?” Jett was trying to sound all serious, but I could hear the smile in his voice.

“Don’t be such a pansy. I said I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

“You better be. Your tux is waiting,” he said before hanging up, leaving me with visions of the awaiting penguin suit dancing in my head.

I hated dressing up, all those ties and shiny-ass shoes. That shit wasn’t me. I was more of a jeans and t-shirt type of guy. My father passed down his automotive store to me when he retired, and rarely did you see me without grease or dirt smeared somewhere on my clothes. So wearing a tux was going to make me feel like I was being suffocated. I tried to convince Quinn to go with a beach-themed wedding—the girls in bikinis, and the guys wearing Bermuda shorts. She wasn’t game for it, but I thought the idea was genius. Between the beach and my shop, there were no other places I would rather spend my time.

After rushing around my apartment gathering everything as quickly as possible, I hurried off to the church. As I entered, I was blessed with the sight of Avery and Callie exiting the bathroom. I stood frozen in the entryway, trying to contain my excitement at seeing them. Callie has always been a friend to me. I grew up around her and can honestly say she’s like the little sister I never had. She’s one of those girls you can say just about anything around without feeling guilty.

But Avery was different, and the more I got to know her, the harder it was to stop thinking about her. She’s feisty and mischievous, but she has such a big heart, and she makes my heart beat a little faster every time she’s near. She has this way of always worrying about everyone else, putting her needs last. It just shows how compassionate she truly is for those around her. I loved finding ways to make her smile, because her smile makes my heart feel like it’s been jump-started. Both girls looked gorgeous in skimpy, formfitting lavender dresses that highlighted their bronzed skin.

Callie placed her hand on her hip and narrowed her eyes at me. “I’m surprised Jett hasn’t sent out Jude and Easton to escort you safely to his dressing room. He’s about to climb the walls waiting for this wedding to be over so he can get to Quinn.”

“Yeah, he called.” I shrugged, grinning as I remembered how anxious he sounded. “Do you think he’ll make it through the ceremony without kissing her?”

“Probably not,” Callie said. “He snuck into their place first thing this morning to see her, and we had to throw him out. He’s seriously hanging on by a thin thread.”

My gaze wandered back to Avery. Her long, blonde hair hung over her shoulder in ringlets, leaving the other side bare and completely on display. The golden skin begged to be kissed and tasted. Her silk dress hugged her breasts, dipping low in the center to show the swell of her perfect tits. The snug material highlighted her curves, and I know I was staring, but damn she looked sexy.

She shifted, and I shot my gaze up to meet her eyes. A knowing smile spread out over her lips as she stared back at me.

“Do you two need a minute?” Callie asked, and Avery’s cheeks reddened with embarrassment.

Avery was the one girl who had me rethinking my decision to refrain from anything long-term, but so far, this was a battle I hadn’t won. Every time I tried to find ways around my resistance to love again, visions of Jenna’s body and her mangled car always won out.

“We need to get back to the room before Quinn comes looking for us,” Avery said as she rushed toward the back of the church. She had to pass me on the way, and I didn’t let the opportunity to tell her how good she looked pass me by. I hooked my arm around her waist, and she let out a little yelp of surprise. I pulled her against me and leaned in close to bring my lips to her ear. “You look so beautiful—and unbelievably sexy.”

She turned in my arms, bringing her body in just a little closer to mine. Her breath made her chest flutter, and her eyes were closed as if she was focusing solely on being next to me. Her scent engulfed me, making it hard to focus.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

I leaned forward and kissed her forehead before stepping back, because I had to put some space between us. The overwhelming urge to kiss her until we both couldn’t breathe was almost impossible to resist.

“Save me a dance at the reception?” I asked, yet it sounded more like a statement.

All she offered was a nod just before Callie gripped her arm and pulled her away from me.

“My gosh, you two, just give in already. The heat between you guys is stifling,” Callie groaned as she looked back over her shoulder and winked at me.

She was right. The atmosphere was hot as hell whenever Avery and I got within five feet of one another.

***

“You ready for this?” Easton asked Jett as Jett continued to pace. We’d been locked in this tiny-ass room at the back of the church for close to an hour, and the walls were closing in on me. Confined spaces had a tendency to freak me out.

“Fuck yeah, I’m ready,” he said. “In fact, if this don’t get moving soon, I’m gonna go find Quinn and drag her off to Vegas. This shit’s for the birds. I’m ready to get married.”

I chuckled, and Jude grinned slyly from where he sat at the opposite side of the room.

“You’re just ready to consummate the marriage,” I said as I straightened my tie. Goddamn thing felt like it was strangling me.

“Hell yeah, I am. I told Quinn we’re out of here once I hear the words, ‘You may kiss the bride.’” It was Jett’s turn to smile with a coy gleam in his eye. “I rented a limo for the night. It has privacy glass on all the windows, not to mention between us and the driver.” He turned around to face us. “I have every intention of consummating the hell out of my marriage at least twice before we make it to the reception.” He shifted his eyebrows in a suggestive manner, and even Jude, the quiet, mysterious monster, chuckled.

***

I felt sick to my stomach. It hit me the moment I reached the altar as I turned to face the crowd. Anger immediately engulfed me, and it was next to impossible to contain. I stared at him as my nostrils flared and my heart raced.

Robert Archer hadn’t been drinking that night. He was a law-abiding citizen who had fallen asleep at the wheel after working a double shift, but Jenna was killed on impact. If it wasn’t for him, and me, the woman I had thought I’d marry one day would still be alive today.

I wasn’t the only person that blamed myself; Jenna’s parents blamed me too.

Jude tapped my arm, and I looked over at him, my chest still heaving with anger.

“You all right?” he asked.

“No.” It was all I offered him before turning back to face the man that killed Jenna.

I spent the entire ceremony glaring at him as he fidgeted in his seat, trying my best to remember it was Jett and Quinn’s day. The moment the ceremony ended, he hurried out of the chapel, and I stalked out after him. Outside, I cornered him at the side of the building.

“Why are you here?” I shouted.

“I was invited,” he stated nervously.

His response only made me angrier. He got to live his life. He got to wake up every fucking day and smile, laugh, and feel the sun on his face. But Jenna paid the price for a few extra bucks in his pocket.

I took a step closer until my chest was only inches from his. He stood at my height and he wasn’t a small man, yet he appeared weak and defeated.

“Dad?” I heard from behind me, and my once-racing heart hit the fucking ground at my feet. “Is everything okay?”

I took a step back and turned to face Avery. She looked up at me with a confused expression on her face.

“This is your dad?’ I asked, hoping I had misunderstood her.

“My stepdad, but yes,” she clarified.

I hung my head and took in a deep breath. No wonder I hadn’t made the connection. Avery still had her biological father’s last name, but the man that took Jenna from me was the man she now called Dad.