The Key West Anthology (28 page)

Chapter Twenty-Four

Easton

I sat at the end of the bar, watching as Sarah served the two guys on the other end. She kept shifting her gaze in my direction.

“Why do you look so gloomy?” Whitney asked as she nudged my shoulder.

“Just one of those nights,” I replied with very little enthusiasm. I had intended on leaving earlier today to go back to Palm Beach, but the day got away from me, and before I knew it I had drunk too much to drive home. I told Sarah to keep our business private, so as far as I knew, no one in the club knew about the baby. At least not yet.

My phone vibrated on the counter before me, and Whitney looked down at it. Harper’s name lit up the screen. “Girlfriend?’ she asked.

“Yeah.” A grin pulled at the corners of my mouth. I swiped my finger across the screen and lifted the phone to my ear. “Hey baby,” I slurred.

“Have you been drinking?” Her voice was laced with concern.

“A little.”

“Where are you?”

“Ricochet, just having a few drinks.” I looked up to find Sarah watching me closely. “Wishing I was back there with you.”

“How are you getting home?” she asked.

I lifted my drink and finished it off in one gulp. “Let me worry about that.”

“Seriously?” she said, sounding a little more irritated than before. I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath, remembering that Harper was the last person I should be pissing off. “Don’t pull that shit with me,” she continued. “You’re over an hour and a half away from me, drunk, and I’m supposed to just accept you telling me that you’ll get home safely?”

I hung my head and took in a deep breath.

“I don’t know what the hell is going on with you, but I don’t like the way you’re acting. Actually, you’re really starting to piss me off.”

Before I could say a word, she hung up on me. I pulled the phone away from my ear and looked down at the screen. Yep, the call had been disconnected. I tried to call her back only to have it go to voice mail. Putting the phone down on the counter, I rested my forehead against the coolness of the bar top.

“That didn’t sound like it went well,” Whitney said from my left.

All I could do was shake my head. It sure didn’t.

One of my bouncers walked up to my right, and his words had me lifting my head from the bar. “Hey, I got a woman named Harper on the phone. She wants to talk to whoever is manning the bar.”

I arched an eyebrow at Whitney, because that would be her; she was the shift manager tonight.

She took the phone from Kevin, the bouncer, and placed it against her ear. “This is Whitney.” A look of amusement covered her face as she listened. After a few minutes, she laughed. “You got it.” Another pause, and then her eyes shifted to meet mine. “I think I can make that happen, but you need to make sure you cover me on your end. I’m thinking that may be grounds for termination.”

A few moments later she said a quick good-bye and handed the phone back to Kevin, who turned and walked away.

“What was that all about?” I asked, my curiosity winning out.

“First let me say that your girlfriend is hysterically funny, and I think I may just love her myself.” She shook her head as if remembering something Harper had said.

I reached over the bar and nudged her shoulder. “Speak.”

“Okay, so I’m supposed to cut you off because you have had enough. You need coffee and lots of it.” She paused, her eyes gleaming with mischief. “Oh, and she promised me a full day at any local spa, completely covered fully by her, if…” She leaned out of reach and grabbed a pitcher of water from behind the bar.

“Don’t even consider it,” I said, narrowing my eyes at her.

“Oh I’ve already considered it, thought it through, and decided that Harper may be right. You definitely need to chill the fuck out. Her words, not mine. And what better way than to be doused with a cold pitcher of water?” She grinned wider. “She guaranteed you wouldn’t fire me.”

“She lied,” I stated with authority.

A few guests nearby were enjoying the show, their laughter flowing around me.

Whitney sat the pitcher of water back down and leaned over, getting in a little closer. “All joking aside, she’s worried about you. I promised her I would get you home safely. Can you let me do that?”

All traces of humor had left her face. I nodded, and she placed her hand over mine and patted it lightly. “Give me a little time to wrap things up, and I’ll drive you home. I’ll get one of the guys to follow me.”

She stepped away, leaving me alone to sober up.

***

I woke up the next morning feeling like shit and regretting every drink I’d had the night before. I couldn’t remember anything after I got into the passenger seat of my car.

I looked down at myself to find I was wearing the same clothing I had on the night before. The entire evening was now slowly coming back to me. Scanning my pockets in search of my phone, I found it inside my suit jacket. Its screen was dim and a red exclamation point lit up the battery-life box.

I tapped out Harper’s number and hit Send, then groaned when it rolled over to voice mail after the first ring.

“Hey, it’s Harper, leave me a message.”

After the beep, I rushed through my apology, fearful of my phone going dead. “Babe, I’m sorry about last night, I’m coming back today and I’m gonna make it up to you. Sorry to worry you.”

A beep followed by a vibration indicated that I had lost the call. I wasn’t sure how much I got out before my phone died, but I hoped I’d said enough.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Harper

“Babe, I’m sorry about last night, I’m coming back today and I’m
—” That was all I got from the message he’d left.

I already knew Easton had made it home safely because Whitney had texted me after she dropped him off. I slept a little better knowing he was securely tucked inside his huge house on the hill. But my anger and irritation at his evasive behavior was still boiling hot. I was tired of turning the other cheek when it came to his moods. I knew something was bothering him; it was written all over his face every time he was around me.

I wasn’t sure what time he would get back to Palm Beach today, but I had every intention of taking care of this issue as soon as he did. I’d spent enough of my life with jerks that did nothing but lie. It was time he came clean or walked away.

I had to do a lot of convincing, but in the end Jett agreed to call Easton and feel him out. My brother actually thought I wanted to surprise him with something naughty, but he couldn’t have been more wrong. After he complained while covering his ears to drown out the details of my fake plans to seduce Easton, he gave in and made the call.

So now I sat on Easton’s front step with Brutus at my side, waiting for him to pull in. I brought Brutus because he still scared the shit out of Easton, and right now I needed to make sure that Easton kept his distance. There was no way in hell he was pulling any magical seduction moves on me. He was going to man up and tell me the truth.

The sound of a car approaching had my body tensing instantly, but I didn’t look up even when I heard the car door shut. It wasn’t until he said my name that I stood from the step.

“Harper,” he said again in low, deep, soothing voice. And so his seduction began. But I was having none of it.

“We need to talk,” I said as I stepped to the side, hoping he understood we needed to go inside.

Easton nodded as Brutus nudged his way around us. He took a seat on the arm of the couch, and Brutus stepped up to his side and sat back on his hind legs. “Traitor,” I muttered, and Easton patted his head.

“I’m sorry. I had a bad night and—”

I held up my hand. “What is going on with you?”

“Nothing. I’m just a little stressed about the club,” he insisted.

His obvious lies pissed me off. “Over the last week and a half, I’ve watched you go from this sweet, relaxed guy, to this.” I waved my hand as if that was explanation enough.

“‘This’?”

“Yes, you’re high-strung, moody. You’re sidetracked, and half the time it’s like you’re someplace else. When you do talk to me, I get one word answers and the occasional grunt. Ninety percent of the time I have to continuously repeat myself because you aren’t listening.” His eyes narrowed, but I didn’t give a shit if I was pissing him off. “When we have sex, you’re so different. You take what you need but in such a demanding, domineering way. It’s like a race to the finish line, and you lose me at the halfway mark.”

“Oh, so now the sex isn’t good enough, either?” He stood up from the chair arm he was perched on.

“Oh my God. Out of all of that, sex is the only thing you got?” I threw my hands up in the air. “You’re secretive and distant. I don’t know what the hell is going on with you, but I feel like we were doing something great here, and now I’m not so sure.”

“Me?
I’m
secretive?
I’m
holding back?” His voice echoed throughout the room, and Brutus cocked his head to the side. “You hide behind your past. You won’t tell me what happened, but you can tell everyone else. I’m the one with you. I’m the guy that’s working to make something with you.”

He took another step in my direction, and I took a step back. “See? Right there.” He waved his hand outward. “Will you ever truly let me in? Or will I forever be on the sideline beating my head against the fucking wall? You talk about me hiding things, what about you? Why can’t you open up to me? Why can’t you let me in?”

My chest was heaving in anger and in fear. Not fear of Easton; I knew he would never hurt me. I was afraid of him knowing my past and looking at me in a whole different way. It was a fear I had since the moment I started feeling more than just lust for him.

“You can’t stand here in my living room and yell at me for hiding things when you’re doing the same damn thing,” he said.

How did we get here? Just a few weeks ago things were amazing, hot, and new. Now here we stood, glaring at one another. I felt that impending doom, the darkness that overtakes the light and leaves the immense pain inside you.

“There is a difference, Easton. You’re hiding things that are happening now. I just can’t find the courage to relive my past. You can’t compare the two,” I said, pushing back just as hard. Only I was barely hanging on. I could feel the tears burning my eyes and the burn in my chest rising up through my throat.

I had to get out of there.

“Brutus, come,” I said, my voice already cracking. He stayed tucked against Easton’s leg. “Now, Brutus.” I used my more confident, demanding voice, or at least I attempted to. Even I could hear the heavy vibration in it.

“Harper,” Easton said softly. He reached out and I shook my head. I didn’t want him to come any closer. In fact, I wanted to turn and run, but damn it, I wanted my dog to come with me.

I smacked at the side of my leg, “Come on, buddy, let’s go bye-bye.”

Brutus stood and took one step in my direction only to once again sit down at Easton’s feet.

“You even somehow managed to brainwash my dog,” I said as I turned around and rushed from his house. The tears spilled over just as I made it to my car.

“Harper, wait,” he yelled after me. “Please just wait a minute.”

I yanked open the door and climbed in as quickly as I could manage before slamming it in his face. As I looked up toward his condo, there sat my dog, showing no signs of wanting to leave.

With my vision blurring from my tears, I backed out of the driveway and drove away, not giving in to the temptation to look back.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Easton

I hung my head and let out an irritated growl. “What a fucking asshole,” I said, cursing myself.

I turned back to the house and stopped quickly, stumbling over my own feet. It hadn’t even clicked until that moment that Brutus had stayed behind.

He was a huge-ass dog, 150-some pounds of pure muscle. Suddenly I was frozen. What the hell was I supposed to do with him?

I knew the chances of me getting Harper to turn around and come back to get him were slim. Hell, I doubted I would even get her to answer my call. That left me with minimal choices.

After giving myself a much-needed pep talk, I dialed Jett’s number and braced myself for his fury.

“What’s up?” he said in a rush.

“Hey, man, you busy?” Who was I kidding? The guy was always busy.

“I was thinking of trying to cut out of here a little early. Maybe take my fiancée out for a change,” he said, and I could sense his smile as he said the word.

“Yeah.” I took in a deep breath before going for it. “I was hoping that, um, you could help me out with something.”

“Why does it sound like I’m not gonna like whatever it is you’re about to ask?”

“Because you’re not,” I replied.

A silent pause stretched out between us before he finally spoke again. “I’m waiting.”

“Do you think you could come and get Brutus? He sort of freaks me out.” I looked down at him, and he arched his head like he was asking me what the hell my problem was.

“How the hell did you get Brutus?”

Hanging my head once more, I pinched the bridge of my nose, closing my eyes tightly. “Harper and I got into an argument and she left in a hurry.”

“I’m on my way.” The click of the phone echoed in my ear. I really hated the thought of being face-to-face with Jett when he found out she left here in tears.

Maybe I should leave that little detail out, for my own safety.

***

I carefully lured Brutus out into the backyard with a piece of beef jerky. I made sure to hold it at a distance from my body for fear of him mistaking me for part of the meal and taking off one of my limbs. When the doorbell began ringing over and over, I slipped in through the back door and closed it quickly. I was sure that if Brutus had to make a choice between me and Jett, he would surely feast on me. So safely tucked away in the backyard while chowing away on chucks of jerky was the best place for him to be. At least until I found out which way this conversation was going to go.

“You have thirty seconds to tell me why the hell my sister, the girl who is tougher than most guys I know, is at my mother’s house in tears,” he said as he stormed in, clipping me with his shoulder before spinning around to glare back at me. I could see the anger in his eyes. He had told me very clearly not to hurt Harper, and in some way I had.

“She’s pregnant.” It rushed out of me before I could stop it.

“What?”

Oh shit. “No, damn, not Harper.” His face grew angrier, and I stepped back, holding up my hands. “Hear me out.” I took in a deep breath. “Sarah’s pregnant and she says it’s mine.”

Jett’s fist connected with my cheek before I could stop it. I stumbled back and knocked over the table near the door.

“Fuck,” I groaned. I lunged at him and we both fell to the floor. “Will you fucking wait a minute?” I demanded.

“You cheat on my sister and knock up some girl, and now you want to tell me to wait a minute?” he bellowed.

I wrapped my arm around his neck and held him securely, attempting to regain some control. “I didn’t cheat on Harper. I haven’t been with Sarah in over two months—hell, closer to three. She’s just now telling me.” He was still trying to overpower me. “Damn it, Jett, will you fucking listen to me? I didn’t cheat on your sister.”

He relaxed, and I carefully released the pressure I was putting on his neck. “That is the reason I’ve been so stressed. The reason I’ve been distant.” I let go of him completely and backed away. “Harper doesn’t know. But she did call me out on my attitude, and shit got wild real fast. We threw around a bunch of words and she stormed off. Leaving behind him.” I pointed at the back door.

Brutus sat with his nose only inches from the window, his breath leaving a wet ring on the glass.

“So why the hell is she crying? She never fucking cries,” Jett said.

“Because when she demanded to know my secrets, I told her she had them too.” I stood up and reached out to help him from the floor. “I was an ass. I’m not proud of the way I pushed. I was trying to make a point, and in the end it backfired.”

“You think?” he said as he went toward the back door and slid open the glass. Brutus strutted in like he owned the place.

“I fucked up.” My throat tightened. “The last thing I wanted was for it to go the way it did. Knowing that she left here in tears…” I shook my head. “I need to fix this. I need to come clean and tell her about Sarah.”

Jett took a seat at the bar next to me.

“I was hoping I would find out that Sarah was lying like she always does and I wouldn’t have to taint what Harper and I have. I was too worried about losing her, and in the end, it happened anyway.”

“How do you know you’ve lost her?” he asked. “Maybe she just needs to know the truth.”

We sat in silence as the sound of Brutus’s heavy breathing filled the room.