Rock Solid (15 page)

“She’s a good person, Brody. I had my doubts before I saw the two of you together, but if you don’t mean it, then let her go now. She’s not as used to this kind of thing. Let her walk away.”

“I can’t let her walk away, Reece. Not again. She’s the one. I never believed there was such a thing, one person you could imagine spending every day and every night with, but I do now. I believe it. I need to make her believe it.”

Reece nodded and waved him in. “Okay, then. Back to the ranch?”

“I need to go by my parents’ place first, to get something from my mom.”

“What?”

“My grandmother’s ring.”

Reece’s expression broke into a full smile, and he nodded approvingly. “Now, that’s more like it. Do you think your mom will make me some of her fried chicken?”

Brody rolled his eyes, letting his head fall back against the seat. All he could think about was getting that ring and convincing Hannah to give him one more shot. A real shot.

“I have to warn you, she’ll like me even more now that I’m going to be a dad.” Reece said the words so casually that Brody didn’t even register them for several seconds.

“Did you just say—”

“I did. Abby called me in France to let me know. We didn’t plan on it, but it was a great surprise. It’s still a little strange to say it out loud.”

Brody slapped Reece on the shoulder, and then shook his hand.

“Congratulations, man. You guys are going to be the best parents.”

Brody suddenly pictured Hannah, at some point in the future, telling him she was pregnant—with his baby. The thought left him reeling.

He had to make this work.

Luckily, a while later, as he explained everything, his parents agreed. They liked Hannah, and they were as outraged as he was when he filled them in on what had happened.

“I thought you’d be upset that I lied to you about the retirement, and the thing with Hannah,” he said to his mom, feeling about twelve years old again, fighting the urge to scrape his shoe on the kitchen floor.

“Honey, we knew something was up all along. You just weren’t yourself since you came home. But we figured you’d tell us in your own time. Until Hannah showed up, and then we saw your spark come back. When you told me that silly story about her not wanting a ring, we knew that was strange, too, but we trusted you’d work it out on your own. But that picture...that poor girl,” his mom said with a sigh.

Reece looked on, munching on some of the leftover fried chicken.

“You had better have a good plan to make it up to her, Brody. She didn’t deserve that,” his father said sternly.

He looked at the ring in his hand, opening the old velvet box.

“I plan to, Dad. If she’ll let me.”

“That ring was your grandmother’s, and she wore it for the fifty-seven years of her marriage. She said it was yours when you found the right woman, and frankly, we never thought you’d get to put it on anyone’s finger. We hope it brings you the same happiness it brought your grandparents.”

Brody’s eyes stung a little, to his chagrin, as he looked at the pristine, antique Tiffany diamond surrounded by sapphires.

“Me, too,” he said, clearing his throat and turning to Reece. “Ready?”

“Let’s go.”

As Reece drove, Brody’s mind was spinning as he rehearsed all of the things he wanted to say to Hannah. His hands were cold with nerves as they pulled up to the ranch, but it appeared that he was nervous for no reason.

Her car was gone.

Getting out of the Ferrari and running into the house ahead of Reece, he found Abby sitting at the table, looking worried.

“Where’s Hannah?” Brody asked, his heart slamming.

Abby shook her head. “I don’t know. I’m sorry, Brody. I might have pressured her to come out with me today, to shake some of this off. I went back to our room to get some things, and then I found a note here telling me she was sorry for letting everyone down, but she had to get away and think. That was two hours ago.”

Abby’s eyes filled, and Reece crossed the room quickly to pull her up against him. His friend’s face was such a study in love and concern that Brody ached as he watched them.

That was what he wanted with Hannah. What he should have given her instead of lies and temporary proposals. The shame he felt was deep and sharp. He had a lot of making up to do, to everyone.

“You don’t have anything to be sorry for, Abby. Believe me, that’s all me,” he said before he ran upstairs, throwing open the door to his room. He let out the breath he was holding as he saw her bags were in the room. That meant she hadn’t left for good. There was still a chance.

Back downstairs, he grabbed his keys and headed for the door.

“Where are you going?”

He met Reece’s and Abby’s concerned gazes.

“To find her, and to make things right, if I can.”

14

H
ANNAH
PULLED
UP
to the house hours after dark, not sure if she was relieved or not to see that Brody’s car wasn’t there. Had he not come home at all? She shifted uncomfortably in the seat, reminded of when she’d arrived, almost two weeks ago. He had wanted her to leave, but she wouldn’t, so he had left instead. She’d waited him out.

Maybe he was waiting her out this time. Waiting for her to leave.

Lights were still on in the house, and the Ferrari was out front, so Reece and Abby were there. She hated worrying her friends. She approached the porch, walking inside to find the couple curled up together on the front room sofa, watching TV. Abby was snoozing on Reece’s lap, and Reece was dozing off, too, but they both sat up when she entered.

“Hannah, oh, thank goodness. Are you okay? Where have you been? Did Brody find you? Is he here?” Abby’s questions were quick and anxious.

“I was out driving around, thinking. I’m sorry, you guys, again. I didn’t mean to worry anyone. So Brody’s not here? I noticed his car was gone.”

“No. He went looking for you hours ago.”

Hannah covered her face with her hands. “Oh, no. We must have been out there circling around each other all day. I hope he’s okay.”

“Give him a call, Hannah. You guys need to talk.”

She nodded and thanked them both, heading back out to the porch. There, she called Brody’s number with slightly trembling fingers, only to have it go to message.

“Hi, um...I’m back at the ranch. I’ll wait for you. Call if you can to let me know you’re okay, all right?”

She hung up and stood, aimless, wondering what to do now. No way could she sleep, even if she was exhausted.

She headed toward the barns, restless and not wanting to go back inside. She also wanted to see the horses one last time. She’d miss Zip, especially, after she left.

Tears threatened again, but she blinked them back. No more of that.

Inside the barn, she flicked on the light by the door, just one, so that she didn’t get the animals too excited. Zip was the only one awake; it figured. The others slumbered easily in the straw beds of their stalls.

Pepper was standing up, but the easy drape of his head over the door of the stall and his shuttered eyes signaled that he was asleep. The others rested easily on their sides or against the inside walls, feeling safe in their environment while trusty Zip was on the lookout.

“Hey Zip,” Hannah crooned, linking her arms around his neck and laying her cheek on his smooth, muscular neck. She smiled when he nickered reassuringly, giving her his familiar nudge.

“I’m going to have to leave soon, but I want you to be good. No throwing people, especially Brody, okay?”

Zip apparently didn’t agree with that, swinging his head to the other side of the door, leaving her hanging.

“I don’t think he likes that idea any more than I do.”

Hannah spun to find Brody standing in the doorway under the light. He looked as if he’d had as hard a day as she had.

“I left you a message. Just a few minutes ago.”

It was as far as Hannah got; she had no idea what to say.

“I got it. I hoped you wouldn’t take off before I got back. I guess I couldn’t blame you if you had,” he said. “But I’m glad you didn’t.”

“I had to get away and think. Abby... She wanted me to chin up and go out with her this afternoon, but I couldn’t. It was a lousy thing to do, I know, ditching her, but I was so...confused. And angry. I couldn’t take facing people.”

“She was worried about you, but she understood. She knew she’d pushed too hard.”

“I’ll talk to her. I shouldn’t have upset her in her, um—” Hannah stopped, not knowing whether she should share Abby’s news.

“In her condition?” Brody filled in the blank, smiling slightly.

“You know?”

“Yeah, Reece told me. You’d think he won the lottery. I guess he has.”

“Yeah. I’m happy for them, though I feel terrible, especially after everything they did for us. They’re so understanding. It makes me feel even worse.”

“They’re good friends.”

Hannah nodded, unsure what to say next. They’d talked about everything but each other and the problems at hand for long enough.

“Where did you go?” she asked.

He stepped farther inside. “To the track. Driving helps me focus, clear out the clutter. You?”

“I ended up over at that spot that overlooks the wetlands.”

He nodded, knowing exactly where she meant.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

Hannah hesitated. “I guess so. Maybe I’m just worn out.”

“Me, too. But I’m glad that you’re back. I hope you didn’t mean what you were saying to Zip. Why do you want to leave?”

She shrugged. “I figured you’d want me to now. But also...I think I should.”

He closed the space between them quickly, his expression intense, ragged with raw emotion as he held her shoulders in his hands, regarding her with such ferocity she nearly stepped back.

“Why would you think I want you to leave? That’s the last thing I want.”

“Because all of this is my doing, really. I never should have told that reporter I was your fiancée, and I never should have done what I did in the gazebo or—”

“What happened in the gazebo was one of the best moments in my life,” he said. Then, as if needing to emphasize the point, Brody kissed her, long and hard.

When he pulled back, they were both breathing unevenly. “Don’t you dare regret that. Or any of it. None of this was your fault, Hannah. Not a single thing. I never should have played their stupid games from the start, let alone brought you into it. You were a friend, wanting a new start in life, and I...should have known better.”

Hannah sighed, putting her hand to one side of his face, her heart aching as he rubbed a scruffy cheek on her palm.

She loved him so much it hurt.

“Well, I guess we can agree that we both made some bad decisions, then, but it’s my own fault I let myself get so far off course. And that’s what I was thinking about today. How do I get back on track? I thought I had found my direction, but—”

“What do you mean? Your pictures, your articles—”

“They all fell through—two publications decided I wasn’t credible enough, I guess, and the other one, um...the editor told me you contacted him, asked for a favor. Somehow his boss suddenly thinks my work isn’t quite right for them.”

Brody stilled. “I’m so sorry, Hannah. I wanted to help if I could. You were doing so much for me. Giving so much up. I thought— It was just a phone call. But I should have asked you.”

“I know. I was angry at first, but I know you meant well. And it made me realize that I’d lost sight of my own goals. It all happened too fast, too easily and that’s why it fell apart so quickly, too. I didn’t really earn that success, it just happened. Largely because of you. That was the only reason they wanted me at all.”

“No. I don’t believe that. Your photos and ideas are great.”

“Apparently not that great, but that’s okay. I can get better, which is what I intend to do.”

Brody said nothing, but paced in frustration, running his hands through his hair as he often did. It left him looking ruffled and wilder than usual. Hannah’s gaze devoured him greedily, as if she needed enough to last her for a very long time.

“What does that mean?” he asked, looking wary.

She pulled her shoulders straight, standing tall. “It means I have to figure it out. I have to get back on the road and find the stories I was meant to tell. Start again. Make my own success, build it up so that it’s really mine and won’t blow apart at the first hard break.”

She swallowed hard, making herself not look away from him. She owed him that. “I have to go, Brody. I have to get back to my life and let you get back to yours, especially after I ruined everything for you. I’m so sorry.”

“You did nothing of the sort, Hannah. You...made it all worthwhile.”

“I know you’re trying to be kind, but—”

Brody stopped pacing and uttered a harsh chuckle. “Well, you see, that’s where you’re wrong. For all the lies and fakery, the person I was lying to the most was myself, and you, I suppose. But I’m not lying now, Hannah. You have to believe that.”

“I don’t understand, what—”

“I love you. I love you down to the bottom of my soul, and I knew it all the time. I knew a while ago that I wanted you to stay and that I wanted to marry you and not have it end in a few months, or ever. I knew I wanted to sit at that table in our room every morning and have coffee before we go down to take care of the horses. But I was too chicken to say so. I was too caught up in my past, in reliving what I was before to think of being someone new. I thought... Actually, I don’t know what I thought. All I do know is that I don’t want you to leave.”

Hannah was in shock, hardly believing what she was hearing.

Brody stepped up close to her again.

“Please, Hannah, don’t go. I love you. I get what you’re saying. I need to find a new path, too. We could do that together. You asked me to show you how to take chances, but really, I need you to show me that. How to move forward...how to build a new life.”

She wanted it to be real, to be true, but it was hard to tell anymore.

“Brody, I love you, too, but—”

“Say it again,” he demanded, pressing in, his body hot against hers.

“I love you,” she said tenderly, looking up into his face. “Right down to the bottom of my soul as well, but—”

“Say it again,” he whispered against her mouth.

Hannah caught her breath, her thoughts muddling, her focus blurring.

“I love you, but I—”

He kissed her then, and really made her lose track of what she was trying to tell him, pressing her flush against the stable door, letting her feel how much he wanted her.

How much he loved her.

It was in the tenderness of the kiss, how his hands cradled her head and how he wouldn’t let her finish telling him why she had to go.

Right now, she wasn’t too sure herself.

“I love you, Hannah,” he said again, too. “No buts about it.”

Hannah truly didn’t know what to say. She’d thought she’d figured it out, but that was when she’d assumed he’d want her to go. Now he clearly didn’t.

He thought she was brave? That she was the one who could help him move forward?

“I worry that when the smoke clears and it’s back to everyday life, you’ll resent that I ruined this for you,” she said, since they were being honest. She knew that if she stayed and he ended up not wanting her, it would destroy her.

His lips were on her neck now. “That’s never going to happen. If I want to go back to racing, I will. None of that is your fault, but...”

“What?” she asked breathlessly.

“I was suffering from tunnel vision before, so I couldn’t see it, but I’ve enjoyed my time with the young guys, helping them out. I was talking to Reece about it. I love driving, but I also love teaching those kids to drive and keeping them off the streets. Reece suggested starting a real school, and it felt right. But I need to consider it more seriously. We can figure all that out together, though, right?”

Hannah moaned and curled her fingers into his shirt as he honed in on a particularly sensitive cluster of nerve endings and, sensing her response, stayed there for a while.

Until a large, heavy horse head nudged them both aside.

Hannah couldn’t help but laugh.

“I guess Zip has had enough of this.”

Brody gave the horse a withering look. Zip just snorted.

“He’s going to have to put up with it for a few more minutes.”

Hannah followed as Brody pulled her forward, away from the stall into the light near the doorway. Taking a deep breath, he pulled something from his pocket. Then, to her shock, he bent down on one knee, her hand in his.

Hannah froze, watching as he opened the small velvet box, the contents shining up at her like a promise.

“Hannah, I love you. I know this might not be the best time, but whatever you decide to do, I hope you’ll decide to do it with me. This ring was my grandmother’s, and I want it to be yours. Please don’t leave.”

“Brody, I—”

“Marry me, Hannah. For real. Forever.”

Hannah opened her mouth to answer, but he stopped her again. Instead of slipping the ring on her finger, he put the box in her palm, closing her fingers over it.

“The wedding is tomorrow afternoon. I’ll be there, and I’ll have the rings. I’m going to stay at my folks’ house, so you can have some time and space to think, some room to decide. I want you to be as sure as I am. No more being impulsive and jumping in. And if you decide not, and that you have to go, then I respect that, too, but maybe someday...”

Hannah opened her hand and stared at the box, her mind officially blown. If this day threw any more surprises at her, she wasn’t sure if she could handle it all.

He stood and kissed her one more time before he turned away, leaving the barn, heading back up to his car.

To leave her to think. But Hannah didn’t need to think, analyze or reconsider. She knew what she wanted as surely as she knew her own name. It wasn’t impulsive or a leap of faith because it was what she’d wanted all along.

She took off after Brody, chasing him up the hill. He had reached the Charger and was opening the door.

“Brody,” she called, stopping him. “Wait.”

Hannah was out of breath by the time she caught up and took his hand, putting the box back in his hand.

He pulled back, straightening, his expression solemn. He nodded.

“Okay, I understand.”

“No, you don’t. You had it almost right, but in my fantasy proposal, the one I told you about before, you don’t hand a girl a box, you put the ring on her finger.”

He seemed stunned, his eyes widening as he fell to his knee again, not taking his eyes off her. The box bounced to the pavement, the ring in his hand as he took her left one in his.

“Hannah, are you sure you don’t need time to decide? I want you to be sure. I know you want to be unpredictable and adventurous, but this time, I want you to be as sure as I am.”

“Brody,” she said with a smile, “I’ve never been as sure of anything in my life. Put the ring on, would you?”