“I stopped him on the way out yesterday.”
Ember didn’t want to care. She didn’t want to ask questions. She didn’t want to fall for Nash Harris. But her heart couldn’t stop from loving him.
Curling her fingers around her mug, Ember rested a hip against the counter. “Did he tell you what happened?”
“I’ve known that boy for twenty-five years and can read him like a book, so he didn’t need to say much. Monty rehashed the events last night.”
Ember’s heart throbbed. A dozen questions swirled through her brain, but she forced them out of her mind, intent on putting Nash Harris in her rearview mirror. Self-preservation kicked in reminding her to look forward into the future, not into the past.
“I’m sorry, Bee. I don’t mean to cut it short—” She pushed from the counter, briefly resting her hand atop Bee’s. “—but I’m not up for talking much this morning.”
Bee softly smiled away her surprise. “Oh. Okay. You let me know if there’s anything I can do.”
“I just need a few days to process everything that happened.” The tension in her chest faded. “I know the two of you are close. He’s never talked about it, but I can tell.”
“Monty and I were never able to have children of our own. Nash spent some time here growing up. Hiding from the craziness at his house. I’ve never shared this with him…I suspect he already knows…but that boy was like the son I never had,” she divulged with a nod of affirmation.
Any response Ember thought she could manage was stuck in her throat. Bee flashed her a look of sympathetic understanding, brushing a hand along Ember’s shoulder, before walking out. Swallowing the knot of webbed emotions wedged in her throat, Ember headed for the shower.
Yoga didn’t help. Tea didn’t help. The hot shower didn’t help. The entire scene played through her mind on repeat. Anger, resentment, and heartache consumed her, drenching her heart in sorrow and darkness.
Exhaustion taking hold, Ember curled up on the couch in front of a fire and closed her eyes.
A knocking at the door startled her from her sleep, spurring her heart into an all-out frenzy. Her knees buckled, legs barely keeping her upright as she dared to make her way to the front door. Peering through the peephole, relief and disappointment reared their ugly heads, seeing JC’s bright green eyes staring back at her.
Opening the door, she greeted her friend with a groggy smile. “What are you doing here?”
JC stepped over the threshold bringing the day’s sunshine with her, extending a bottle of red wine and a beautiful bouquet of wildflowers.
“Oh, God. Not you too,” she growled. “How do you already know?”
“Better question is, why didn’t you call me?” JC sassed.
Biting back a rattled sob, Ember averted her gaze to the flowers. She started to speak but the words got caught in her throat.
“Awe, come here my little Goddess.” JC pulled her into her arms, swaying and rocking, soothing her sobs.
Cheek resting on JC’s shoulder, Ember asked, “Who told you?”
“Reed and Sam were on the golf course this morning and Nash showed up looking for his brother. I only know bits and pieces, but apparently Nash was a hot mess. Reed called and told me I needed to get over here asap, so—"
“Nash golfs?” Ember didn’t know why she asked, but the question popped out of her mouth without thinking.
“Not very well, but Reed likes taking his money.” She gave an easy smile, gathering Ember’s hands in hers. “Tell me what happened.”
“Wine first,” she sniffled, tying her hair into a messy bun.
After pouring two glasses, they sat cross legged on a brindle cow hide, in front of the stone fireplace. Ember held it together recanting the day’s events to JC, only breaking into tears at the end.
“I can’t believe he hired a private investigator and had you followed.” JC’s chest puffed as she ranted.
Wine hitting on all points, Ember lifted her glass in agreement.
“What a jerk!” JC wrinkled her nose and threw a hand in the air. “Bastard!”
A burning sensation gathered in the pit of Ember’s stomach.
The anger in JC’s voice felt like a hot dagger sinking straight into Ember’s chest. Heat licked up her chest and neck, burning all the way to her ears.
“It…it’s not like he’s a bad person,” Ember stammered. “Prior to yesterday, he’d been wonderful to me.”
JC’s brows raised to a high point, fluttering her lashes cheekily. “No bastard then?”
“Are you sticking up for him?” she gasped.
“Of course not! He’s got some explaining to do!”
Words of agreement tumbled from JC’s mouth, but there was a sting to her tone.
“Explaining to do?” Ember’s nose wrinkled in dispute. “He lied to me!”
“I know. The jerk.” JC shook her head in disgust.
“But?” Ember tossed her hands outward, wine sloshing to the rim of her glass.
“There is no excuse…that you know of.”
“JC!”
“Look, I know it looks bad, but when you love someone—" JC wagged a finger at Ember, moving to her feet. “—and don’t even attempt to convince me that you don’t love him, because I’ll call you out on that bullshit all day long.”
“I won’t deny it. You’re right. I was in love with him.”
“You still are. Hence the jab to the heart when I called him a bastard.”
“That doesn’t mean he gets to lie to me. I may love him, loved him,” she corrected. “But I’ll be damned if I’m going to let someone take advantage of me so they can shove a pipe in this land.”
“All I’m suggesting is that maybe there’s more to the story. And I think you owe it to yourself to get the answers.”
Ember shook her head in denial. “He wants this ranch. What more do I need to know? That he was willing to fuck me to get his hands on this land?”
Pretending to accept defeat, JC raised a palm. “You’re right.”
Ember’s chest heaved.
“But—”
“There is no but, JC. What he did…hurt me.” Another dose of heat flooded her face holding back the waterworks threatening to flow.
“What he did was wrong. And I know your heart is breaking. There’s no denying what Nash did was shitty.” JC reached for her hand. “But you have strong feelings for him and those aren’t going to disappear.”
Heartache pushed its way through her fury, double tapping her heart with a sledgehammer.
“I know you’re probably right, JC. I should hear him out, but I’m not sure I could forgive him. Or trust him! Love…love is trusting someone with your life.”
“You mean, kind of like someone who saves you from a stampede?”
“That doesn’t count.” Muscles in her face softened, thinking back to the coffee shop. “Not really.”
Accepting the slightest bobble in her tone as an indication of a possible truce brought an uptick to JC’s lips. Seemingly satisfied that Ember would at least consider speaking with Nash, JC tabled the subject.