His Runaway Bride

by Carolyn Faulkner

  And it might well not just be Jake that she was crying about, he had to admit. He could be a big part of it, too. What an idiot he was, to have frightened her so over something so stupid.

  Although he had a very hard time holding himself back, he didn't barge into where he knew she didn't want him to be. Instead, he tapped at Brownie's door. He could hear that her TV was on.

  "It's open."

  He came in, and she descended on him with all the questions she'd been wanting to ask while she'd squired herself away there, trying to give them some time together. "Yeah, what? Did it go well? Did you kiss her?" She opened her mouth to ask yet another question, but Pace put his hand up to stop her.

  "No, and no." Then he crooked his finger at her, bringing her over to where he'd been standing in front of Jayne's door.

  "Oh, dear." Brownie's heart sank at the sound of her friend's misery.

  "Go. Help her. I don't want to scare her, or I'd be in there myself," he said, in lieu of telling his sister what had transpired between the two of them.

  His sister nodded her head, but before she tapped at Jayne's door, she looked up at her brother. "No good, you're sure?"

  "Pretty sure." Pace frowned.

  "I'm sorry." She gave him a quick hug, and he made his way toward his own room while she tapped at Jayne's door. "Jayne, honey, it's me. It sounds like you need a hug. I'm gonna come in."

  It was just like Brownie not to ask if she could come in, but rather just announce that she was going to—act now, apologize later if necessary—so that Jayne didn't have the chance to say no. Not that she necessarily wanted to. She was drowning too deeply in her own misery to pay much attention, frankly.

  But it certainly did feel good when her friend sank down on the bed next to her and hugged her tightly, offering her a shoulder to cry on that she gratefully accepted, dampening the material of her nightgown but keeping herself from crying quite as hard or as long as she might have if she was alone, for some reason.

  Perhaps she didn't want to appear too weak, not that she wasn't sure she'd looked exactly that way for staying with that man for so long. Regardless, it was very hard to push herself away from that which she had been missing the most in her life—physical affection. Brownie was a hugger—and a smacker, and a rubber of shoulders, and a big, sloppy kisser of cheeks. She just did it whenever the thought occurred to her, having been raised in a family that hugged and touched often.

  It was one of the things Jayne had liked best about her when they'd first met, since she was raised in a family that was not at all like that. She provided some of the warm, affectionate physical contact she wanted desperately from Jake and had never gotten.

  And she knew Pace had to be the same way, although he was being scrupulously careful not to touch her, considering what he knew about the relationship she'd been in.

  There was a lot about her life that she needed to cry about, a lot that she was going to have to come to grips with—to mourn—alone, not the smallest of which was what Pace had admitted to her this evening. Jayne didn't know how much of his little confession was Brownie's doing, but she knew that, as much as she might want to in the back of her mind, she couldn't take him up on it. She was too broken, and he deserved better. Hell, he was a celebrity, of sorts, and he could have pretty much any woman he wanted.

  He certainly didn't need her and the billion-piece set of baggage she came with—the only kind of baggage she owned. Plus, a child who wasn't his. No, she wasn't going to take him up on it. She couldn't.

  When she began to pull away, Brownie handed her a box of Kleenex but didn't descend on her with a lot of questions about why she was crying. She probably assumed it was the breakup of her marriage finally getting to her, and she wouldn't have been totally wrong to assume that, but she wasn't totally right, either.

  "You should go back to bed. I'm fine. Thanks for, well, being here, Brownie."

  "Always. Didn't I cry all over you when I was worried that Shawn was seeing that skank on the side?"

  "Yes, you did."

  "And when Devon out and out cheated on me—not even having the decency to try to cover it up?"

  "You cried for weeks about that."

  "Chase, Sandy, Liam, Kai, David, Nate, Paul."

  Jayne took Brownie into her arms, not wanting her friend to descend into self-pity, as she was wont to do on occasion. "But now you have Hank, and you're going to marry him. He's the man of your dreams."

  She hugged her friend again tightly.

  Jayne hugged her back, still sniffling, then Brownie headed for the door. "You okay?" she asked, pausing to look back at her before she left.

  "Yeah. I'm fine," she lied for one of the very few times in her life, and never before to Brownie that didn't involve covering up for her husband.

  It was going to be a while before she was fine, having disrupted her life so completely, even if it needed to be done.

  And tonight, to have what she'd always wanted dangled before her by the man she'd always spent her time suppressing her attraction to was another blow.

  She knew she should tell Pace that she didn't see them together—yet another lie—but Jayne had never been one for confrontation, so, after spending most of the night perseverating over the situation, she ended up deciding that if he didn't bring it up again, she wouldn't, either, and hopefully it would die a natural death. Along with her failed marriage.

  No matter what happened, she knew she could not indulge herself in any way with Pace, despite the fact that she would have given years off her life to do exactly that.

  Sometimes, life just fucking sucked.

  Chapter 4

  Despite the unease of the first week or two, by the end of her first month staying with them, Jayne was feeling reasonably good about where she was, and a lot of that had to do, not just with her best friend, but with Pace.

  The confrontation she had been dreading that night never came to be. She'd been dreading seeing him that next morning, but, in fact, he didn't mention anything to her about it at all, and the subject hadn't come up again between them. He'd been just as friendly and supportive as he'd been from the moment she'd arrived, too. He hadn't gotten all sullen or resentful, as some men would have at her lack of response to his confession that he had feelings for her. As her husband most definitely would have.

  He continued to keep Braeden occupied when he could, and between him and Brownie, she practically felt like a third parent. Jake had never been a partner in raising their son, but the two of them were making up for that in spades, always deferring to her, of course, though, in how she wanted them to handle him when things cropped up.

  Like the inevitable tantrum that Braeden threw upon learning that Pace wasn't going to be spending the day at his beck and call, as he had been for quite some time now, but that he had to go to work—not that he hadn't been told that that was what was going to happen.

  They all had breakfast together that morning—minus Brownie, who wasn't an early riser. If she allowed herself to think about it, it was almost as if they were a family, but Jayne refused to let her avid imagination go down that dead-end street.

  It was bad enough the first time she saw him in what had to be an incredibly expensive business suit. He was gorgeous coming home every night in dirty jeans and a worn shirt from the range, caked head to toe in dust, and she didn't want to consider what else. But this…he was friggin' unbelievably handsome.

  The suit clung lovingly to his incredibly broad shoulders in a way she wished she could, fitting him to a T. His tie matched his handkerchief, and the suit pants—when he doffed the coat to sit down and eat—revealed the enticing curve of his butt and the size of his muscular legs.

  She'd gotten up early to make him breakfast before he went—it was the least she could do. She was up anyway and had fallen into the habit of making the three of them breakfast.

  This morning, it was pancakes, sausage and eggs. She put a hot plate of food down in front of Pace first then a much smaller v
ersion in front of her son before bringing her own to the table, which was a bit less than half of his but would definitely hold her until lunch, along with a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice for him.

  Unfortunately, Braeden reacted to orange juice—he got sores in his mouth from the acidity—so she gave him apple juice instead. She'd just sat down to dig into her meal when she popped up again, murmuring to herself, "Forgot the coffee."

  Pace reached out to touch her arm but didn't. "Sit down and eat. I'll get it. Anything else I can get while I'm up?"

  "Not that I can think of."

  A few minutes later, he handed her a full mug of coffee—her fixin's were already on the table—then he sat down to dig into his meal. "Thank you very much for breakfast."

  "You're very welcome, but it's all your food."

  Pace frowned at that, but he didn't say anything.

  "Speaking of which, I thought I'd go into town this morning and get some groceries. Is there a list I could add to or should I start one?"

  "We keep a shared list on an app. I'll send you an invite."

  "I don't want to impose."

  The look she got from him at having said that made her mouth dry and her heart start to beat faster, especially considering the two very intimate things she'd learned about him yesterday.

  "You are never an imposition, Miss Jayne. You couldn't be if you tried."

  That got an out and out smile from her, which made his heart practically burst in his chest. "You, sir, obviously don't know me very well."

  Pace winked audaciously at her. "I'm workin' on it. Gimme time, woman."

  She was even more beautiful to him when she blushed.

  They kept up a nice, companionable conversation throughout the meal that included Braeden asking Pace every few minutes when he could "wide" Lady. The man had the patience of a saint with him, and he always responded to Braeden's queries calmly, often asking him questions in response.

  But when Pace got up and headed to the door, kissing the toddler—who had gotten down immediately when his hero had—on the cheek and saying good bye, his little shadow had a fit in his wake, screaming and yelling and stomping and waving his hands around angrily, not wanting him to leave.

  Jayne made as if to intervene in the situation, but Pace put his hand up as he bent down to Braeden. She noted that he didn't squat, and he didn't kneel, which he often did when he was talking to the boy.

  This time, though, he bent from the waist and said two words very quietly and firmly, "Enough, Braeden."

  His use of his first name alone probably caught the little boy's attention, and he stood there, looking up at the man in front of him, his lower lip flopped down to the floor as he panted from his exertions. Usually, he was "sport" or "partner" or "buddy" or some other affectionate nickname. He was also used to hearing only positive, upbeat comments and praise from Pace, who always used a very loving tone with him. But the big man wasn't smiling like he usually did whenever they talked, either, so he'd stopped somewhat out of confusion and a slight wariness that crept in from past experience.

  Pace saw that edge of fear in his eyes and wanted to drive his fist into the boy's father, but he was very careful not to let his anger show in any way.

  When he spoke, his voice was very soft and level. "What did I promise we would do when I came home?"

  As if he'd totally forgotten, his eyes widened, and he answered with a reverence that said everything about how much he was looking forward to doing just that. "Widing lesson."

  "Exactly. Good job."

  Braeden was surprised to hear praise from the big man, when he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Pace wasn't too happy with him at the moment. It was a measure of just how much Braeden trusted Pace that he hadn't run from him at the first sign of Pace's displeasure.

  If it had been his father standing in front of him, Braeden would already be cowering behind his mother, or would have run away into his room.

  But Pace didn't sound angry, like his father always did.

  "I'm afraid that's not going to happen if you act like that, my man." He sounded genuinely regretful about that possibility, but he could still see fear in the boy's eyes, and it made his guts twist. "I'm not mad, though, Braeden. Is my voice loud or angry sounding?"

  Braeden shook his head.

  "That's because I'm not. But that kind of behavior is unacceptable. It upsets your mother, and it upsets me, and, if you keep doing it, you will lose yourself the privilege of riding Lady when I get home."

  Brae glanced back at his mother, then back to Pace, then down at his feet.

  When he spoke this time, his voice was more conversational but still firm. "I know you don't want me to leave, buddy, but I have to. The day will fly by. Your mom will probably bring you into town and you'll get busy helping her and forget all about me. And when I get home, if your mother says that you've behaved well, we'll set you up on Lady, after you've helped me groom and saddle her."

  He'd deliberately waited to touch the boy, not wanting to frighten him any further, but he caught his chin gently and brought the little boy's eyes to his. "It's okay to be unhappy with me leaving. I want to stay home and play, too, but I can't. You can feel that way, and you can say that you feel that way, and that would be perfectly fine. But there's no need to pitch a fit, and I won't have it." Then he changed his tone to be more coaxing and less firm.

  "Can you tell me what I just said, partner?"

  Brae thought hard, then he said, "Be sad, but don't pitch a fit. It's unceptable."

  That had Pace grinning. "That's exactly right. It's 'unceptable'," the big man agreed, sweeping him up into a big hug. "Smart boy! Now gimme a kiss, and I'll be on my way."

  He kissed and hugged Pace very tightly, laying his head on the big guy's shoulder.

  Jayne came to him and put her arms out to take the boy, but he didn't want to be held by her, clinging to Pace instead. But Pace needed to head out, so he put Brae down, saying, "Why don't you go draw me a picture of Lady to show to me when I get home, hmm? Then we'll put it up on the fridge."

  His feet barely hit the floor before he began running toward their bedroom to get his drawing paper and his crayons.

  Then Jayne felt Pace's somewhat stern gaze fall on her.

  "I do have to leave, but before I go, I wanted to mention to you that we have charge accounts at Meserve's, which is the market in Bath, one for the business and one for the house. Charge whatever you get to the house account."

  Jayne didn't respond to that in any way as she avoided his eyes and opened the door for him. Pace didn't move, but she could still tell that he was staring down at her from under a drawn brow.

  "Jayne. Do I need to tell you that I would consider it 'unceptable' behavior if I don't see a charge for groceries for today appearing on that account?"

  That got her to look at him for a second, all delightfully flustered by what he'd said, but fighting a smile at him using Braeden's mangled version of the word.

  "Yes, but I want to contribute!"

  Damn, she was so cute—she was practically stomping her feet herself, Pace thought errantly.

  "I don't want to just leech off you, and groceries are what we're consuming the most of, I think."

  He straightened, and his tone was sterner than she had ever heard him use. "I'm not going to argue this point with you, hon. Brownie and I have told you many times that that's not how we see you being here at all, and I'm not going to say it again. And I have no interest in frightening you at all, but I want you to think about how differently I might deal with your misbehavior as opposed to Braeden's."

  Pace snuck a kiss to the top of her head before it snapped up suddenly at what he'd said, with a disbelieving look on her face. Then he ducked out as quickly as he could, before she could respond in any way. "Bye! I'll be home around five or so. Sooner if I can."

  Jayne just stood there for the longest time, not really sure what to say or do. What he'd said drifted around in her head for a long tim
e, until Brownie surfaced at about eleven and began scavenging for something to eat.

  Brownie never ate actual breakfast foods for breakfast, so she was reheating some of the leftovers from last night in the microwave. Jayne had long since accepted her weird eating habits.

  While she was making coffee for herself, Jayne wandered into kitchen. "Good, you're up. I have a couple questions for you."

  "I'm not awake yet, but shoot," Brownie replied.

  Jayne shook her head. "How could you not be awake? It's almost noon."

  Brownie just raised an eyebrow at her. "And your point would be?"

  Sighing, Jayne said, "I'm going into town to get some groceries. Do you want to come, and/or is there anything you want or need?"

  "Uh, I think it's all on the app, and if you don't mind, no. If you'll be okay, I'm going to fly to Denver. Hank is playing there tonight, and we're going to go to dinner afterward. I probably won't be home until sometime tomorrow."

  "Pace sent me an invite to the app, and I'll be fine. I'm glad you're getting to see him." She opened her mouth, closed it again, then opened it again, not sure if she should even ask what she wanted to ask. "Your brother dropped another bomb on me on his way out the door this morning that has me a little confused. And surprised. And…I don't know, on edge."

  "Oh? What'd he say?" Brownie asked, kind of surprised to hear it, considering that she and Pace had spoken not long after he'd confessed to Jayne that he wanted to date her. Pace had decided it might be best just to back off and give her some space, unless she came to him and said she would like to date him, but he didn't hold out a lot of hope about that happening.

  Brownie suspected that he didn't want to open the subject again between them because he didn't want her to turn him down. Pace didn't usually hide from uncomfortable situations, and what that meant, she thought, was that he was more into Jayne than maybe he even realized.

  Jayne followed Brownie into the dining room and sat down with her while she ate, as she'd been doing nearly every morning since she got there.

  "Brae had the meltdown I told you he was going to have eventually. He's really attached to Pace, and he did not want him to leave this morning."