Learning to Love Again (20 page)

NICOLE HATED BEING HOME ALONE.  AFTER years of living by herself, and traveling so much for the job, it had surprised her how much she loved having sharing her space.  Of course, part of that was just the fact that she loved who she was sharing that space with.  But for the next three nights, she was alone.

Jason was attending a medical conference in Houston and had left that morning.  He had promised to call her but so far, she hadn’t heard from him.  She’d picked up the phone to call him countless times, but each time hung up before the call went through.  She refused to be one of those clingy women.  Patience was not one of her virtues.

With a heavy sigh, she tried to refocus on the contract in her lap.  Right now, she didn’t care about the sale of her client’s prize bull.  And the buyer had a list of demands she was having to go through and research to see if they were legitimate or not.  Already, she had a page of notes she needed to talk to the seller about and see what he thought.

With a groan, she tossed her notebook and pen on the coffee table and glanced at the clock.  Ten o’clock.  Where
was
he?

The phone rang, and she grabbed the handset before the first ring had even finished.  “Jason?  Are you okay?”  So much for playing it cool.

“Hi, sweetheart,” he chuckled at her eager greeting. “I guess you miss me.”

“A little, I was starting to get worried,” she admitted.  “Did you get there okay?”

“I’m fine.  I ran into an old friend when I was checking in and we decided to have a few drinks after the presentation tonight.  I just got back to my room,” he yawned.  “Christ, it has been a long day.”

“For me, too.  I’m sitting here reviewing a contract for the sale of a bull,” she told him.  “What time do you start tomorrow?”

“Early.  They’re serving breakfast at seven-thirty, and the lectures start at nine.  We’ll finish up for the day around five-thirty, and then another dinner meeting,” he yawned again.  They talked for a few minutes before he pleaded exhaustion.

Nicole hung up the phone and got ready for bed.  Not able to fall asleep, she laid there in the dark, staring up at the ceiling.  She had heard a slight hesitation in Jason’s voice a couple of times during their brief conversation, and now she wasn’t quite sure what to think.  He had sounded tired, and she didn’t doubt he was; after all, he had chosen to drive to Houston and it was at least a six hour drive.  But he hadn’t even said he missed her or loved her.

Groaning, she grabbed Jason’s pillow and hugged it to her chest. 
“It’s just pre-wedding jitters.  I’ve got six weeks until the wedding and I’m just panicking,”
she inhaled his scent from the pillow.  But the doubts plagued her all night.  She was still worrying about it the next morning when she arrived at the office.  She knew she looked as bad as she felt but she was hoping work would keep her mind away from those nagging thoughts.

“Nicole, did you get a chance…you okay?” Jack stopped in the doorway to her office.

“I’m fine, I just had trouble sleeping last night,” she handed over the file she knew he was getting ready to ask her for.  “I made comments in the margin for you.”

Jack glanced at a couple of her notes and nodded, snapping the folder shut and then looking back up at her.  “Do you need to talk about it?  I know Jason’s out of town until Sunday,” he offered, and she smiled at him.

“Thanks, but I’m just being silly and reading into something that isn’t even there.  You know, nervous bride kind of stuff,” she leaned back in her chair and narrowed her gaze.  “Speaking of which, have you gotten measured for your tux yet?”

“I’ve got a client waiting…” Jack started to back out of the room.

“Jack!” Nicole called after him, a warning in her tone.  “Don’t make me sorry I asked you to be the one to walk me down that aisle!”

“Today, I promise!” he called over his shoulder.

Chuckling, she pulled up her client’s file and reached for the phone.  It was time to put those lingering doubts out of her mind and get to work.

She spent the day writing up the contracts for the sale of the prize bull for their client, ironing out the details between the buyer and seller.  As soon as the contracts were signed, she dragged Jack to the tuxedo shop to ensure that he was fitted, like he had promised, and then she went out to the ranch for dinner with her family.  Carly and Helen had even more wedding stuff to go over.

It was after nine o’clock before she got back to the condo.  She had tried to call Jason twice during the evening, leaving messages on both his cell phone and at the hotel, letting him know where she was, but he didn’t return either call.  But he had told her that between the conference sessions, and then the dinner meetings, he was going to be pretty busy.

Glancing at the answering machine, she was disappointed to see that the light was not blinking.  No calls.  She headed for the bathroom to take a long, hot shower, hoping to ease some of the tension in her neck and shoulders, letting the water beat down on her, until she at least felt a little more relaxed.

She grabbed her robe off the hook by the shower door, slid into it, wandering out to the kitchen to get a cup of herbal tea, hoping it would do its trick and relax her.  She glanced over at the clock and sighed.  Who was she kidding?  If she didn’t talk to him soon, she was going to lose her mind.

She grabbed the handset off its base and once again dialed Jason’s cell phone.  Again, it went straight to voice mail, and she hung up without leaving a message.  She dialed the hotel and asked for his room, and the clerk put her call through.

“Hello?” a soft voice answered the phone.

She pulled the phone away from her ear and stared at it, and then disconnected the call.  She called the front desk again and the same clerk answered.

“I’m sorry, I was trying to reach Doctor Jason Morrow, and I think I was connected to the wrong room.  Could you try again, please?” she tapped her fingers on the kitchen counter while the call was transferred.

The same soft, very female, voice answered the phone.

“I’m sorry.  I’m trying to reach Doctor Jason Morrow?” Nicole hated how hesitant that came out.  “The front desk transferred me to this number.”

“He’s in the shower,” the voice informed her.

“Who is this?” her heart was pounding and now she felt sick to her stomach.

“Doctor Sara Douglas.  Who is this?”

“Doctor…I’m sorry, did you say
Sara
?” she was almost afraid that the handset was going to disintegrate in her hand as her grip tightened.

“Yes, and who
is
this?” Sara’s tone was impatient.

“This is his fiancé.  Or maybe I should say ex-fiancé.  Please tell Jason…Never mind.”  She hung up the phone and slammed it down on the counter, wanting to scream.  This could not be happening.  The wedding was only a few weeks away!  The phone rang, but knowing it was
him
, she ignored it.

“Nicole, pick up the phone.  I know you’re there.  Nicole, please, baby, talk to me.  Nicole?”  Jason’s voice sounded over the answering machine.  “Honey, just let me explain…”

Nicole reached over and turned the volume down so she didn’t have to listen to it.  She went into the bedroom and grabbed a pair of jeans and a shirt, yanking them on.  Throwing some clothes into her suitcase, she ignored the ringing phone.

She grabbed her keys and purse off the kitchen counter and headed for her car.  Now her cell phone was ringing as well.  As she dug it out of her purse, she looked at the caller ID.

You think I’m going to pick up after that shit?
  She hit the ‘ignore button and then turned the phone off.  The suitcase was tossed into the trunk and then she slid into the driver’s seat.

Within thirty minutes after having Doctor Sara Douglas answer
her
fiancé’s phone, Nicole pulled up in front of Jack’s house.  Luck was on her side, as his lights were still on, and she saw movement in the living room.  The front door opened and he stepped out on the porch as she opened her car door.

“Nicole?  Is everything okay?”  He reached behind him and hit the switch to turn on the floodlights.  She swallowed hard and raised her hand in greeting.  “Nicole?”  Jack started down the porch steps and met her halfway between the house and car.  “Is it Jason?”

That was all it took for the tears to start.  “He’s a lying bastard!” she managed to sob, as Jack wrapped his arm around her shoulders and led her back into his house.  Leading her to one of the kitchen chairs, he grabbed a bottle of whiskey and a glass off the counter, and a couple of paper napkins out of the dispenser, and set everything in front of her.

“I’m sorry.”  She took a deep breath and tried to get the tears to stop as Jack poured a couple of fingers worth of the whiskey into the glass and pushed it across the table to her.  She held the glass between her palms and stared at the amber liquid.  Jack sat down across from her and waited.

“Drink it, Nicole, and then tell me what he did.”

She tossed the whiskey back, coughing as it burned its way down her throat.  She coughed a few times, grabbing one of the napkins to wipe at her eyes.  “I hadn’t heard from Jason all day and I’d left him a couple of messages, so when I got home from dinner, I decided to try one more time.  Sara Douglas answered the phone in his hotel room.”

“Sara…oh shit,” Jack leaned back.  “Did you talk to Jason?”

“No, I hung up and I wouldn’t answer the phone when he tried to call back.  I had to get out of there,” she looked across the table at him.  “I didn’t know where else to go.  I’m sure he’s already called over to the ranch.”

“I’m sure there’s a reasonable explanation,” he started to say.

“For my fiancé to have another woman in the hotel room after ten o’clock at night, while he’s in the shower?  How reasonable do you want me to be?” Nicole’s voice was hard.

“He’d better be careful showing his face around here.  Mitch and Pop will shoot him and bury the body somewhere on Pop’s four hundred acres,” Jack leaned forward and grabbed the whiskey bottle, pouring himself a shot.  “You know you can stay here if you want.”  He tilted the bottle towards her, “More?”

She shook her head as Jack’s cellphone rang.  He glanced at the screen as he picked up the phone.  “It’s Mitch,” he informed her, answering it.

She stared at the worn tabletop, tracing designs in the wood as she half listened to Jack filling Mitch in on the situation.  It was obvious from the one-sided conversation she’d been right and Jason had already called over to the ranch.

“She’ll stay here tonight, but she doesn’t want to talk to him right now,” a minute later, Jack hung up the phone.  “He says to let them know if you need anything.”

“I just need time,” she sighed, rubbing her hands over her face.

Jack stood up, “Listen, you don’t need to decide the rest of your life tonight.  Stay here tonight and tomorrow morning you can go down to San Antonio for me.”

“San Antonio?” she raised her eyes to his, confusion radiating from them.

“I’m supposed to go to that conference down there this weekend, remember?  You go in my place.  I won’t tell anyone who where you are,” Jack offered.

“I don’t feel like going to the conference.”

“So don’t go to the conference, just go hang out in San Antonio, see the sights,” Jack stopped by her chair and put his hand on her shoulder.  “Take some time to think it all through.  I can handle your clients for a few days.”

She nodded her agreement and watched Jack head down the hallway.  “You know where the guest room is, and the towels!”  He called over his shoulder as he headed into his room.

She waved to show him she heard and then stood up.  The lights were still on in the living room, so she turned those off for him before heading to the guest room.  The rest of the night was spent crying into the pillow until the break of dawn, calling Jason every foul name she could think of.  As the first rays of the morning sun were streaking across the sky, she got out of bed and headed out to the kitchen, where Jack was already up, drinking his coffee.

“So, what did you decide?” he asked, his sharp eyes taking in her swollen eyes, and the dark circles underneath.

“I’m going to San Antonio,” she reached for a mug and poured herself a cup of the coffee, grimacing as she took in the dark color.  Jack liked his coffee strong.