Rebel Soul: (Rebel Series Book 1) ((Rebel Series)) (21 page)

“What do you mean?” my frown increased. “You guys spend every possible minute together. I saw you at the bonfire; you both seemed incredibly happy.”

Elle looked away, staring down the driveway. “I just feel like there’s a wall between us and I can’t penetrate it. I can’t get past it; I can’t reach him. He’s…he’s not the same person that he was, even a few days ago. It’s like the wall gets thicker and taller every day.”

I was silent, mulling over my best friend’s concerns. “Well, their mom is getting sicker; maybe that has something to do with it?”

“Probably,” Elle said dejectedly. “I just wish he’d let me help him.”

“Knowing that you’re there and willing to listen is probably helping him enough,” I told her, giving her a small smile. “He’ll come around.”

“I hope you’re right.” She sighed, wiping away the tear that had escaped. She looked at me, forcing a smile.

* * *

I wasn’t really ready to go home and face the music, but I knew I couldn’t hide out at Elle’s forever, even though both she and Sue insisted it was fine. Hiding out really wasn’t my style. I preferred to face my problems head on, even if they came in the form of an angrily disappointed father and two brothers. I wasn’t really sure where I stood with Ben; he’d stood up for me a little, but I wasn’t about to count him on my side yet.

I gave myself one night, one night to calm down and contemplate my situation in a clear head. I didn’t want my dad to think I was acting rashly based on hormones or enticement. This had a lot to do with Brock, yes, but it was also about
me
.

I was distractedly rehearsing what I wanted to say as I drove up the long driveway. I almost didn’t see Sue’s car parked beside the front of the house.

It wasn’t uncommon for Sue to visit our place. She usually came with Elle (who I knew was with Braden) and a bunch of delicious foods. I hopped out of my truck and walked up the creaky front porch, letting the screen door clang behind me loudly. I walked around the main floor, finding it empty. Nobody was in the living room or the kitchen. There weren’t any heaping dishes of casseroles or bowls of chili on the counter either, so Sue’s visit hadn’t been to bring food.

Frowning, I went out through the side door. I had chores I needed to do, chores that I’d put off enough already. I headed towards the barn, intent on tending to the horses. The sound of voices made me still outside the door. I cautiously peered around, seeing both my dad and Sue standing in the aisle with Temptress. The old horse was tethered and my dad was slowly grooming her, a scowl on his face as he spoke.

“Sue, you know I appreciate all that you’ve done for us over the years, all that you’ve done for Tessa, but I don’t think your opinion is needed here.”

“Wait just one minute, Bill Armstrong.” I couldn’t see her very well, but I knew from the sound of her voice that Sue was
livid
. “I’m the closest thing to a mother that girl has ever known. I have every right to voice my
very accurate
opinion when it’s needed, and I
know
Alice would have agreed with that! Alice believed in love, Bill. She believed in chances and goodness. She would have welcomed any boy into her home with open arms if Tessa loved him.”

The hand that was holding the brush stilled mid stroke, and I watched as my dad took in a jagged breath. “Alice would have agreed with me. Regardless, Alice isn’t here and you can’t use her as a weapon in this conversation. Tessa lives under
my roof
and she needs to follow
my rules
. That’s the end of it. I don’t want her getting tangled up with that Miller boy and jeopardizing her future.”

Sadness crept in at the sound of my dad’s voice. I’d been hoping that he had cooled off enough to maybe see how unfair he was being. Apparently not. The disdain he felt for Brock was still very detectable in his voice.

“Do you even listen to yourself, Bill? You sound ridiculous and you know it. It wasn’t long ago when you took ‘that Miller boy’ under your wing because
you
saw something in that boy. You saw potential,” Sue argued.

“That was before,” Dad replied, his voice low with warning.

“Before what? Before he went after the guy who put his pregnant sister in the hospital and endangered the life of his nephew?” she shot back. My heart rate increased with adrenaline. I hadn’t known that Sue knew this about Brock. “Tell me you wouldn’t have done the same thing. Tell me that Ben, Gordon, and Tommy wouldn’t do that for Tessa.”

My dad was silent for several moments. I could hear the sound of the wire brush against the horse’s fur as he mechanically resumed his task.

“That’s not the point,” he finally said on a sigh. “What kind of life could he give Tessa? He’s got a record.”

“Record be damned,” Sue replied, her voice gentle. “He could give Tessa things that money can’t buy. Besides, the boy has a job, Bill. I doubt his record affects him as much as the people in this town do, reminding him how unworthy he is every chance they get.”

My heart clenched at Sue’s words. It was true. Brock had a job, he’d worked since his release. It was everyone around us that constantly made him feel like a criminal.

I wordlessly walked away from the barn and back up to the house, my thoughts tumbling continuously with what I’d overheard. I saw my truck and I veered left instead of going into the house. I didn’t want to have it out with my dad, after all.

The engine roared to life and I reversed. I shifted into drive and tromped on the gas, watching both my dad and Sue standing in the doorway of the barn from my rear view mirror, staring at me as I took off down the dusty driveway.

Fifteen minutes later, I was pulling to a stop in front of Brock’s place. He was inside the skeleton of his cabin, using a saw to cut plywood. He’d already started sheathing the outer walls. The left side of the outer wall that faced the driveway was already sheathed.

Brock hadn’t heard me pull up; the saw had covered the sound of my truck’s tires on the gravel. I climbed out of the cab, adjusting the knee high white sun dress I was wearing, and crouched down on my knees to pet Hunter. He’d been lying beneath a huge tree, but watched me pull up. After he got a few pats, he headed back to his resting spot while I went inside.

I leaned against the freshly sheathed wall and watched Brock quietly while he worked. He had no shirt on and his muscles rippled while he slowly ran the wood beneath the saw, cutting with perfect precision. His skin was coated in a light sheen of sweat. I waited until he’d finished cutting the plywood and turned off the saw before I spoke.

“You look like you could use a break,” I told him, smirking.

He turned around at the sound of my voice, a smile playing on those sensual lips. “Well, I figure I’ll probably run behind schedule now. Not too sure I have a team anymore, so I figured I’d get started.”

“You haven’t heard from Gordon yet?” I arched a brow, feeling guilty.

Brock shrugged, pulling the safety glasses off his face and setting them down on the workbench. He wiped his damp hands against his Wrangler jeans. “Not yet.”

I sighed, biting my lip. “I’m really sorry. I hope I didn’t cost you your crew,” I said, trying to urge the tears back. I didn’t need to cry around him. I wasn’t that kind of girl; I didn’t turn into a sobbing mess every time something didn’t go my way. But even still, my heart hurt as I remembered Sue’s words about how Brock was treated around here, and not just by my family. It disgusted me that my family was a part of it, though. “I’d like to tell you that my family will come around, but…” I shrugged apologetically, my shoulders slumping in defeat. I didn’t know if they
would
come around.

“Hey, it’s not your fault,” Brock told me, crossing the distance between us. He cupped my face in his hands, looking deep into my eyes. I felt like he could read everything there, plain as day. “Besides, I’d rather have you than the crew,” he added, the left corner of his lip perking up in half of a smile. The wave of emotions that overcame me was staggering. My heart sped up in my chest, my stomach clenched with desire and I felt an incredible, overwhelming surge of love for this man standing before me.

It unnerved me, not because I should fear him like everyone else thought, but because I’d never felt this way about anybody before. There was a tiny voice inside of me that proclaimed it was too soon for declarations of love.

Brock seemed to sense what I was thinking and feeling, or maybe he felt it too. His eyes were swirling with adoration and desire; he seemed to be in some sort of trance. “Sometimes, when love happens, it happens fast,” he muttered.

“You sound like Elle,” I said on exhale, smiling. I closed my eyes for a moment, leaning into his touch. His thumb gently rubbed against my cheek, and I could hear the smile in his voice before I saw it on his face when I opened my eyes again.

“I love you, Tessa Armstrong. I’m in love with you, and I’ve been in love with you since that bush party, when you looked at me with those amber eyes.”

“I’m in love with you too,” I whispered, tears falling without restraint down my cheeks. Brock patiently brushed them away with the pad of his thumb, a gentle smile playing on his lips.

“Don’t be afraid to love me, Tess,” he said, swallowing hard. “I won’t hurt you.”

“How do you know you won’t hurt me?” I asked, my brow furrowing as I looked into those steel coloured eyes, searching for some kind of assurance. I had a bad tendency of saying whatever was on my mind. “People hurt people all the time. It’s what they do.”

Brock considered my question, his eyes never breaking from mine. I expected him to feel angry that I’d ruined our moment, the first time we actually said those words aloud; but instead, he was reflective, as if he was truly considering an answer. “I guess I don’t know that for sure, but I can promise you, Tessa…I would never willingly hurt you. I will protect you with everything that I have. I would never let you fall and be unprepared to catch you.”

“So you’re prepared to catch me?” I smiled, my heart rate speeding completely out of control.

“Always,” he said, bringing his lips to mine.

Brock

There was a weight pressing down on my shoulders and the moment I told Tessa how I truly felt about her, that weight lifted, relieving some of the pressure. She ran her hands through my hair, tugging it gently while she lit me up with her inflamed responses.

“Jesus,” I exclaimed, pulling my lips away from hers for a moment to collect myself. I pressed my forehead to hers, shaking it slightly.

“What?” She asked, her brow furrowing.

“You make me lose control every time you touch me,” I told her.

“I see nothing wrong with that.” Tessa grinned mischievously. Her eyes dropped down to the straining evidence of my arousal and her hands tugged on my jeans, pulling me tighter to her. She stroked me through the denim and my eyes practically rolled into the back of my head. I heard the sound of the zipper opening, and then felt her warm hand releasing me. She pumped slowly and I let out a low hiss. “Let’s break in your new house,” she whispered. Her eyes were aglow with desire.

I couldn’t say no; I didn’t want to say no. Tessa was wearing a sinfully short dress and cowboy boots; no hot-blooded male would be able to resist that. We could talk about everything later; we
would
talk about everything later.

She took control, kissing me with fervor. I picked her up, using the frame of the house to balance her and my hands to support her weight. The lust surged in my veins when I felt her bare thighs squeeze around my hips. The only thought in my head was a prayer to God for the creation of short dresses and Tessa. I let out a low growl as I deepened the kiss, pressing my body against hers. I pushed aside her thong with my hand before I drove into her in one fluid moment. She gasped, arching her back and bringing me deeper into her core.

It didn’t take us long to both come undone.

“You’re amazing,” she said breathlessly against my shoulder. It was a miracle I was still able to support her weight afterwards.

“
You’re
amazing,” I corrected, kissing her forehead before I finally set her down. She fixed her dress and tried to run her hands through her hair to detangle it. “Are you hungry?”

“A little,” she admitted, giving me a small smile.

“Let’s go get some food,” I told her, leading the way to my trailer.

At the mention of food, Hunter slowly got up from under the tree where he’d been laying and stretched before ambling over to us. I didn’t have much in my tiny refrigerator; just a sip left of orange juice and some eggs that had expired the week before. I pursed my lips, looking over my shoulder at Tessa with a lopsided grin. “Are you against going out to eat? I mean, if we’re still hiding…I could just bring us back something from McDonalds.”

She wrinkled her nose, thinking. “No, we’re not still hiding. I mean, my family knows now.” She sighed heavily, like this wasn’t good news.

“Does their opinion bother you that much?” I asked as I closed the refrigerator door and turned to face her. There was a tiny seed of doubt seeping into my heart. I understood the reasons why Tessa had wanted to keep our relationship from her family, but I couldn’t help but worry that now that they knew… they’d change her mind.

I didn’t want her to change her mind about us. I’d meant every word I said to her.

“It’s not that,” she assured me, looking up with her wide eyes full of honesty. She bit her lip. “They can’t forbid me from being with you. They don’t have that kind of control over me. I’m just worried that they’ll do something to you.”

“They won’t,” I said with confidence. “For one, it’d be too obvious. Your brothers may be hotheaded, but they don’t let their tempers run their lives.”
Not like I had
, I added in my head. “Now come on, let’s go. I’m starving.” I smiled, holding my hand out to her.

After I gave Hunter water and chained him up, I drove Tessa to one of my favourite breakfast spots in Parry Sound. My grandpa used to take Becky, Braden and me there once a month and I hadn’t been back since I’d been home. I hoped they still had the best breakfast in town.

It was Sunday morning and it was crowded. Even still, we didn’t see anybody that we really knew. We were in the thick of the tourism season, and most of the people in the restaurant were cottagers.

Tessa eased when she realized this and chose the first empty booth we came across. She sat down, grinning at me as I slid onto the bench across from her. Her face shone with excitement.

“I guess this could count as our first official date,” she remarked, concealing a smile.

“I guess so.” I chuckled.

“So,” she sat up straighter in her seat and picked up the menu, “what do you feel like ordering?”

“Everything on the menu. I really worked up an appetite,” I answered.

She looked at me from over the top of the menu, her eyes dancing. “Well, maybe you should stop trying to put up walls by yourself. I could help with that, you know.”

“In a dress?” I challenged, arching a brow.

“I bet I could,” she shot back with a grin, lowering the menu. “But I
do
really like this dress, so maybe you could loan me something else?”

I let my eyes roam her body. She was smaller than me; none of my clothes would stay on her, not that I’d complain about that, but it would provide a distraction around power tools and that probably wasn’t the safest thing for either of us. “No can do. I’ve got nothing that’ll fit you. Besides, I’ve decided to take the rest of the day off.”

“Can I get you guys anything to drink?” The jaded tone full of irritation interrupted our playful banter. I looked up, my smile wavering slightly at the sight of Melanie Clayton.

“Black coffee,” I ordered, taken aback by the jealousy emanating from her.

“And what does ‘Little Miss gets whatever she wants’ want today?” Melanie sneered, turning her glare on Tessa.

“That’s uncalled for.” I said.

Tessa didn’t seem surprised by Melanie’s hostile attitude though. “I’ll take a coffee too, with some creamers and sugar on the side. Oh, and a new waitress, preferably one that’s less of a bitch.” She smiled sweetly and I couldn’t help but laugh at her smooth delivery.

Melanie stalked off, her red hair bouncing against her back with every angry step. “I really do hope she brings us a new waitress,” Tessa said, frowning a little.

“I’m sure she will. She didn’t seem to want to deal with us any more than we wanted to deal with her,” I remarked, my fingers rubbing against the stubble on my jaw.

“What’s up with her, anyway?” she asked, looking into my eyes as if searching out the answer.

I shrugged, leaning back in the booth, debating on how honest I needed to be.

“Oh, I see.” Tessa pursed her lips, nodding as she looked away from me. “You too, eh? Well, that’s the entire town.”

“Basically, huh?” I chuckled. “I was young and stupid.”

Tessa huffed with agreement and picked up her menu again, her eyes scanning it. “If we could change the topic now so I don’t completely lose my appetite, that’d be great.”

I didn’t need to ask her if she was jealous, I could see that she was. I fought a smile as I picked up my own menu, thinking about how Melanie Clayton would never come close to Tessa Armstrong. I couldn’t even remember my night with Melanie, but each and every moment with Tessa stood out clearly in my mind.

Much to my relief, a new waitress approached the table with our cups of coffee and a bowl of various creamer packets. She was a middle aged woman with a gentle smile that she willingly gave Tessa. “Here you go, Tessa! It’s been forever since I’ve seen you around! How are you doing, honey? How are your dad and brothers?”

“We’re all good, thanks, Heather,” she responded with a small smile.

“You’re off to college in the fall! I bet your daddy isn’t too happy about that, huh?” the waitress, Heather, chuckled. Her eyes slid over to me, seeming to notice me for the first time. “And who’s this handsome gentleman?”

“This is Brock,” Tessa answered, her smile growing as she regarded me warmly. I noticed the pinched edge Heather’s smile took on almost immediately.

“Oh, Brock Miller? You’ve certainly changed since the last time I saw you,” the waitress said. I looked at her, trying to place her. Although she seemed vaguely familiar, nothing came to memory. Heather’s smile slid completely away. “I used to volunteer for school trips when my boys were younger.”

“The Andersons,” Tessa supplied helpfully.

“Oh right, Owen and Ethan. How are they doing?” I said, their faces finally coming to mind. Owen had been in my grade in public school and Ethan was a year younger. I could now easily recall each school trip that Mrs. Anderson had come on. She’d never seemed to like me much back then. Judging by the disapproval she wore on her face when she looked from Tessa to me, I could take a wild guess on what her opinion of me was now.

“Just lovely, thank you. They really made something of themselves. Owen is in law school and Ethan is a dentist.” There was an odd emphasis in her words, one that neither Tessa nor I missed.

I cleared my throat awkwardly. “That’s great to hear,” I said, forcing my smile to stay in place.

“I think we’re ready to order,” Tessa said quickly. “I’ll have eggs Benedict,” she added, folding her menu and sliding it towards the waitress with a tight smile.

“I’ll have the omelet supreme special with bacon and a side of sausage,” I said, handing over my menu as well.

“Sounds great,” Heather said soundly as she finished writing our orders out. She picked up the menus and gave us another rigid smile. “I’ll be back soon with your food.”

I watched as Tessa poured three creamers into her coffee and then dumped a heavy helping of sugar. The expression on her face was one of aggravation. Her brow was furrowed and her lips were pursed, like she had tasted something she wasn’t quite so fond of. She was extremely focused on the task at hand. She didn’t notice me staring until she’d finally fixed her coffee to her preference. 

“How do you deal with it?” she asked, seeing my questioning gaze.

“I’m used to it,” I replied honestly. It had been like this for as long as I could remember, even before the arrest. People in this town just didn’t like my family, or me. I’d long since learned not to take it personally.

“Well, it’s not right,” she huffed, her gaze focusing on the four waitresses gathered near the kitchen window. Melanie was talking and Heather and the others were shaking their heads solemnly and glancing back at us every now and then. It was obvious what the topic was.

“Tessa,” I said. She looked back at me, a smile playing on her lips. I leaned forward, taking her hands in mine. “Your opinion is worth more than every other person in this town put together. If you think I’m worthwhile, that’s all I need.”

“Good, because I definitely think you’re more than worthwhile,” she whispered.

* * *

After breakfast, we headed back to my place to grab Hunter, my ATV and the fishing gear. We spent almost the whole day on the lake, fishing. We brought in the late afternoon by sitting on the end of the dock, hanging our feet off into the cool water.

The sun was beginning to set over the lake and Tessa let out a soft sigh. “This is beautiful,” she said, looking at the setting sun.

“It is,” I remarked, my eyes on only her. She turned her head to look at me, a small smile on those kiss-me lips.

“Can I ask you something?”

“You just did,” I joked, leaning back on my arms.

“This is serious,” she said, nudging me gently with her shoulder. I smiled and arched a brow, urging her to continue on with her question. “How come you don’t go see your mom often?”

I looked at her quietly for several long seconds. Her question had caught me off guard. I swallowed, forcing my gaze out over the lake. “I don’t know what to say to her.”

“Who says you have to say anything?” she said softly. She reached out her hand to cover mine.

“I have a complicated relationship with my mom,” I admitted, looking back at her wistfully. “I have a lot of resentment towards her.”

“Why?”

“Because,” I shifted uncomfortably. I’d never talked about this with anybody before, but I found myself wanting to tell
her
. I sighed heavily. “My dad was a drunk, which you probably know, because everyone else in town knows. But he was also abusive, not just towards her, but us too. I couldn’t understand why she stayed with him or why she let him continue to control her every move and destroy us.”