Never Too Far

by Abbi Glines

  “Back off, Nan,” Rush growled and I shoved the Corona at him and moved quickly back to the driver’s seat. “Blaire, wait,” Rush said, once again following me.

  “Don’t do this,” I begged. “I can’t handle her.”

  He winced and then nodded before backing away. I tore my eyes off him and put the cart in drive. Without looking back I headed to the next hole.

  Rush

  “Do you not remember what I asked you the other day, Nan?” I snarled once Blaire and her cart were out of sight.

  “You were being pathetic. I was trying to help you not look like a lovesick loser.”

  I turned around and stalked toward her. She was pushing me. I’d never had that all consuming rage most brothers have to physically harm their sisters when we were younger. But right now I was experiencing it.

  Grant stepped in front of me putting a barrier between us. “Whoa. You need to back off and calm down.”

  I shifted my glare from Nan to Grant. What the fuck was he doing? He hated Nan. “Move. This is between me and my sister,” I reminded him. He’d never claimed her before. Even when his father had been married to our mother he’d made sure we all understood he hated Nan. There had never been even a remote sibling attachment between those two.

  “And you’re gonna have to go through me to get to your sister,” Grant replied taking a step in my direction. “’Cause right now you aren’t thinking about anyone’s feelings but Blaire’s. Remember how Blaire’s presence affects Nan. You cared about that once.”

  What the fuck! Was I hallucinating? When did Grant start defending Nan? “I know exactly how Blaire affects Nan. But what I’m trying to get through to her is that nothing was Blaire’s fault. Nan has hated the wrong person for so damn long she can’t let go. What the hell is wrong with you anyway? You already knew this! You were the one who championed Blaire when she first showed up here. You never believed this was her fault. You saw her innocence in this from the beginning.”

  Grant shifted uncomfortably and then glanced back at Nan whose eyes had gone as round as saucers. “You made her weak, Rush. All her life you protected her. She relied on you. Then you go and drop her and focus all your attention on Blaire and expect Nan to be okay. She may be an adult but she has been so codependent on you her whole life she doesn’t know any other way. If you weren’t so damn focused on getting Blaire back you’d see this.”

  I shoved Grant out of my way and leveled my gaze on my sister. I didn’t need this lecture from him even if there was some truth to it. Deep down I was pleased that these two had finally found common ground. Maybe Grant cared for her afterall. We had lived in the same house for years. We’d been neglected together.

  “I love you, Nan. You know that. But you can’t ask me to choose. It’s not fair.”

  Nan put both her hands on her hips. It was her defiant position. “You can’t love us both. I’ll never accept her. She held a gun on me, Rush! You saw her. She’s insane. She was going to shoot me. How can you love her and love me? That makes no sense.”

  “She would have never shot you. She held a gun on Grant too. He got over it. And yes I can love you both. I love you differently.”

  Nan shifted her gaze to Grant and gave him a sad smile. That was even weirder. “He won’t listen to me, Grant. I give up. He is choosing his love for her over me and my feelings.”

  “Nan, just listen to him. Come on. He has a point,” Grant told her in a gentle tone I’d never heard him use with her. I was in the fucking Twilight Zone.

  Nan stomped her foot. “No. I hate her. I can’t stand to look at her. She is hurting him now and I hate her more for it,” Nan screamed. I glanced around to see if anyone had heard her and saw Woods walking toward us. Shit.

  Grant turned and followed my gaze. “Ah, hell,” he muttered.

  Woods stopped in front of us and looked from Nan, to Grant and then to me. “I overheard enough to know what this conversation is about,” he said, keeping his focus locked on me. “Let me make myself very clear. We’ve all been friends most of our lives. I know the dynamic of your family.” He shifted his gaze to Nan with a disgusted snarl of his lip then back to me. “If anyone has a problem with Blaire then they need to take it up with me. She has a job here as long as she wants one. The three of you may not like it but I personally don’t give a flying fuck. So get over it. She doesn’t need this shit right now. Back off. Are we understood?”

  I studied him. What did he mean and why was he acting as Blaire’s protector? I didn’t like it. My blood started to boil and I fisted my hands at my sides. Did he think he could make his move now? Show up when she was weak and be the hero? Hell no. That wasn’t happening. Blaire was mine.

  Woods didn’t wait for a response. He stalked off instead.

  “Looks like you have competition,” Nan drawled.

  Grant walked over to her and put her behind him again. “That’s enough, Nan,” he whispered then he looked over at me.

  I was done with this. I couldn’t deal with the two of them right now. I threw my club down and went after Woods.

  He either heard me or felt the anger rolling off me because he stopped just before he reached the clubhouse and turned around to look at me. One of his eyebrows shot up as if he were amused. That just pissed me off more.

  “We both want the same thing. Why don’t you take a few deep breaths and calm down?” Woods said as he crossed his arms over his chest.

  “You stay away from her. Do you hear me? Back the fuck off. Blaire loves me; she’s just confused and hurt. She’s also very vulnerable. So help me God, if you even think you’re going to take advantage of her current state I will beat the shit out of you.”

  Woods tilted his head to the side and frowned. He wasn’t very affected by my warning. Maybe I needed to make him affected. “I know you love her. I’ve never seen you act this crazed in your life. I get that. But Nan hates her. If you love Blaire then protect her from the venom that is dripping from your sister’s fangs. Or I will.”

  I felt like he’d slapped me in the face. Before I could respond, he opened the door behind him and went inside. I stared at the closed door for several minutes before moving. I was going to lose one of them. I loved my sister but over time she’d forgive me. I could lose Blaire forever. I wasn’t going to allow that to happen.

  Blaire

  Bethy reached over and squeezed my hand. She was standing beside me as I sat on the doctor’s table waiting. I’d peed in a cup and now we waited to hear the official results. My heart was racing. There was a slim possibility that I might not be pregnant. I hadgoogled it last night. The home pregnancy tests could have been wrong and I could have been getting sick because my head thought I was pregnant.

  The door opened and a nurse walked in. She was smiling as she glanced from Bethy to me. “Congratulations. It’s positive. You’re pregnant.”

  Bethy’s hand squeezed my tighter. I’d known this deep down but just hearing the nurse say it made it more real. I would not cry. My baby didn’t need to know that I’d cried when I found out I was pregnant. I wanted him or her to always feel loved. This was not a bad thing. It could never be a bad thing. I needed family. I would soon have one again. Someone who loved me unconditionally.

  “The doctor will be in to check things out in a few minutes. We need to do blood work too. Have you been experiencing any cramping or bleeding?”

  “No. Just really sick. Smells set me off,” I explained.

  The nurse nodded and wrote that down on her clipboard. “It may not feel like it but that’s a good thing. Being sick is good.”

  Bethy snorted. “You’ve not seen her dry heaving. Nothing is good about that.”

  The nurse smiled. “Yeah, I can remember those days. That isn’t fun.” She shifted her gaze to me. “Will the father be involved?”

  Would he? Could I tell him? I shook my head. “No, I don’t think he will be.”

  The sad smile on the nurse’s face as she nodded and made another note on he
r clipboard told me she saw this too often.

  “Where you using any form of birth control when you conceived? The pill maybe?” the nurse asked.

  I didn’t look at Bethy. Maybe I didn’t want her in here afterall. I shook my head.

  The nurse raised her eyebrows. “Nothing?” she asked.

  “No, nothing. I mean we used a condom a couple of times but there was a couple times we didn’t. He pulled out once… but once he didn’t.”

  Bethy tensed beside me. I knew what she was thinking. How could I have been so stupid? That had been one fact I’d left out of the story.

  The nurse nodded. “Okay. The doctor will be in shortly,” she replied and stepped out of the room.

  Bethy jerked on my arm causing me to look at her. “He didn’t use a condom? Is he crazy? Dammit! He should’ve thought to ask you if you were pregnant. What a douche bag. Here I was feeling sorry for him because he doesn’t know he’s gonna be a papa and he didn’t use a damn condom. He should have been contacting you in four weeks to make sure you weren’t pregnant. What an idiot.”

  Bethy was pacing in front of me now. I just watched her. What did I say to this? I was just as wrong in the situation. I’d been the one to strip naked, climb on top of him and fuck his brains out that night. He’d been a guy and the last thing on his mind had been stopping to put on a condom. I hadn’t given him much time to think. But sharing the details of mine and Rush’s sex life with Bethy wasn’t going to happen. So I kept my mouth shut.

  “He deserves this. He should have checked on you. Don’t tell the jackass. He thinks he can use that thing and not put a jacket on it then he can live in ignorance for all I care. I’ll be here for you. Me and you. We got this.” Bethy looked ready to take on the world at the moment. It made me smile. I wouldn’t be in Rosemary when the baby was born. I wish I could be. I wanted my baby to have someone else to love it. Bethy would make an excellent aunt. The thought made me sad. My smile disappeared.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you,” Bethy said dropping her hands from her waist with a concerned look on her face.

  “No. You didn’t. I just wish… I just wish I didn’t have to leave. I want my baby to know you.”

  Bethy walked over and wrapped her arms around my shoulders and squeezed. “You will tell me where you live and I’ll come see the two of you all the time. Or you could stay and live with me. When the baby is born Rush is bound to be gone. He doesn’t stay in Rosemary past the summer. We’d have time to get you two settled into life before he came back. Just think about it. Don’t worry over any final decisions right now.”

  Would Rush leave? Would he give up on me and leave Rosemary? Or would he stay? My heart hurt thinking of him walking away from me. As much as I knew it wouldn’t work I wanted him to fight for me. I wanted him to find a way that we could be together even if I knew it was impossible.

  Two hours later we were back at Bethy’s apartment and I had prenatal vitamins and several pamphlets about having a healthy pregnancy. I tucked them away in my suitcase. I needed a warm bath and a nap.

  Bethy knocked once on the bathroom door and walked inside. She was holding her phone in one hand and smiling like an idiot. “You’re not going to believe this,” she paused and shook her head like she was still in disbelief. “Woods just called. He said the condo is ours for the same cost I am paying now on this apartment. He said it’s a job perk since having two of his employees on the club grounds will be helpful. He also said we would both be without a job if we tried to decline his offer.”

  I sank down onto the closed toilet seat and stared up at her. He was doing this because I was pregnant. This was his way of helping out. I wanted to scream at him and hug his neck all at one time. Tears stung my eyes. “Is he still on the phone?” I asked when I realized Bethy was still holding it close to her ear.

  “No this is Jace. He said this has to do with you. You aren’t… like seeing him or anything are you?” she asked slowly. That must have been Jace’s question. She was repeating it like she didn’t believe it even as she said it.

  “Can you mute the phone?” I asked her quietly.

  Her eyes went wide and she nodded. Once it was safely muted she stared at me like she didn’t recognize me. What did she think? I was leading Woods on while I was pregnant with Rush’s baby? Surely not. “Bethy, he knows. Woods knows.”

  Realization dawned on her and her mouth dropped open. “How?” she asked.

  “He put me on the morning shift in the dining room. The kitchen… it smelled like bacon.”

  Bethy made a big “o” with her mouth and nodded. She got it. She reached up and unmuted her phone. “There is nothing going on with Woods and Blaire. He has just become a friend of hers and wants to help out. That’s all.”

  Bethy rolled her eyes at something Jace said then called him crazy and hung up. “Okay, so he knows you’re pregnant with Rush’s baby and he’s giving us a condo for dirt cheap? This is like the best thing ever. Wait until you see this place. If he lets us stay after the baby is born your room is plenty big enough for a crib! It’s perfect.”

  I couldn’t think that far ahead. Right now I just needed to go find Woods and talk to him. If I did leave in four months I didn’t want this deal to go away for Bethy. I needed to make sure of that before I let her get too excited.

  Rush

  Jace had called to let me know the girls were moving into the condo on the club property today. I hadn’t seen her since the incident on the golf course. Not for lack of trying. I’d tried to put myself in her path at the club several times and it never worked. I’d even stopped by yesterday and she’d been gone. Darla had said she and Bethy were both off work so I assumed they’d gone to do something together.

  I pulled up to Bethy’s apartment and instantly noticed Woods’ car. What the hell was he doing here? I jerked my door open and headed for the door when I heard Blaire’s voice. Turning I walked toward Woods’ car until I saw Woods leaning against the wall it was parked beside and listening to Blaire with a smile on his face. One I was about to wipe off.

  “If you’re sure, then thank you,” Blaire said quietly as if she didn’t want anyone to hear her.

  “Positive,” Woods replied as his eyes lifted to meet mine. The smile on his face disappeared.

  Blaire turned her head to glance over her shoulder. The surprise on her face as her eyes met mine hurt. Maybe I shouldn’t be here right now. I didn’t want to lose it and scare her off but I was real close to going into a blind rage. Why were they talking alone? What was he positive about?

  “Rush?” Blaire said, walking away from Woods and toward me. “What are you doing here?”

  Woods chuckled and shook his head then opened his car door. “I’m sure he came to help. I’ll leave before he takes that ugly scowl out on me.”

  He was leaving. Good.

  “Are you here to help us move?” she asked, watching me carefully.

  “Yeah, I am,” I replied. The tension left me as Woods’ BMW roared to life and he drove off.

  “How did you know we were moving?”

  “Jace called me,” I replied.

  She shifted her feet nervously. I hated that I made her nervous.

  “I wanted to help, Blaire. I’m sorry about Nan the other day. I’ve talked to her. She won’t be—”

  “Don’t worry about it. You don’t have to apologize for her. I don’t hold it against you. I understand.”

  No, she didn’t. I could see it in her eyes that she didn’t understand. I reached out and took her hand. I just needed to touch her somehow. She trembled as my fingers brushed her palm. Her teeth bit down on her bottom lip the same way I wanted to.

  “Blaire,” I said and stopped because I wasn’t sure what else to say. The truth was too much right now.

  She lifted her eyes from our hands and I could see the desire there. Really? Was I dreaming this one up or was she… was she really? I slipped a finger up her palm and caressed the inside of her wrist. She
trembled again. Holy shit. She was affected by my touch. I stepped closer to her and ran my hand slowly up her arm.I was waiting on her to push me off and put the distance between us I expected from her.

  When I got high enough my thumb grazed the side of her breast and she grabbed my free arm as she shuddered. What the fuck? “Blaire,” I whispered, pressing her back until she was against the brick wall of the apartment building and my chest was inches away from touching hers.

  She didn’t push me off and her eyelids looked heavy as she stared at my chest. Her breathing was heavy. The cleavage the little pale pink sundress showed off was right there under my nose. Rising and falling as if it was an invitation.An impossible one. Something was off here.

  I put my other hand on her waist and slowly slid it up her body until my other thumb was tucked under her breast. She wasn’t wearing a bra. Her nipples were hard and erect poking against the thin material of her dress. I couldn’t stop myself. I eased my hand up and covered her right breast squeezing it gently. Blaire whimpered and her knees started to give out. She let her head fall back on the wall and closed her eyes. I held her steady and slipped my leg between hers to keep her from sinking to the ground.

  With my other hand, I covered her left breast and ran the pads of my thumbs over her firm nipples.

  “Oh God, Rush,” she moaned, opening her eyes and staring at me through her lowered lashes. Holy fuck. I was in some form of tortured heaven. If this was another dream I was going to be pissed. It felt too real.

  “Does that feel good, baby?” I asked, lowering my head to whisper in her ear.

  “Yes,” she breathed, sinking down further onto my knee. When her warm center pressed against my leg she gasped and gripped my arms harder. “Ahhhh,” she cried out.