by Megan Ryder
Grady sighed. “Maybe you should make time. Life is not all work and nothing else, Brigid. You used to know that. Remember during law school, we still found time for football games, relaxing Sunday afternoons. We were more than sex, even if you didn’t want to remember that. Despite us both working hard in our jobs, we took time off to enjoy ourselves. When did that stop?”
“When I had to get serious about my future, Grady.”
“And I didn’t? I built my business from the bottom when my father almost lost it. Trust me, I know all about hard work and lean times and goals and obligations. I know about family pressure and demands being placed on you. But I also know that you have to live your own life, make your own choices and be happy because, ultimately, only you live your life, no one else. And I want to share that life with you, if you’d let me. But you won’t even try, will you? You’ve decided that we’re too different based on someone else’s evaluation of my worth. Well, fuck them.”
Brigid looked stunned, eyes wide and mouth open as she stared at him. People skirted around them, eying them nervously. He ducked his head and grabbed her arm, pulling her to the side. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell.”
She shook her head, laying a hand on his arm. “No, you’re right to be frustrated. I’ve led you on.”
“Did I ever make you happy?”
“Of course you did.” Her eyes grew liquid and tears threatened to spill.
“Then why won’t you give me a chance?” He hated that his voice sounded pleading and small, but he had to know if he had a chance. He had to know why she was walking away.
She sighed again, as if all of the world’s problems resided on her shoulders. And maybe to her, they did. “Grady, I saw how Friday night was, how people treated you. I hated it. And that’s my life. I didn’t want to subject you to that world forever. When I found about your mother, well, it seemed like this relationship, or whatever it was, was just doomed.”
“So, you thought you were protecting me? Why didn’t you ask me what I thought? How I felt?” He pulled her close and tilted her chin so she was forced to look him in the eyes. “Brigid, I care for you. To me, you’re worth it every time. They’re nothing to me and I can handle them, knowing that I am going home with you.”
She sucked in a deep shuddering breath. “You say that now but you know what a bitch I can be. Maybe I’m not worth it in the long run. Someday you’ll wake up, alone with the kids and I’ll be working and you’ll wonder what you were thinking.”
He blinked. “You thought about us having kids?”
Her eyes widened and panic flared in them. “No, that’s not what I meant.”
He grinned, a warm feeling coursing through him. “No take backs. You said it.”
The utter fear on her face was so adorable he decided to let it go, for now. He scanned the rides to the left of them and saw a roller coaster advertising pictures too. The monitor showed a freeze frame of a couple of high school age kids in the act of screaming their brains out. The perfect way to get their minds off the heavy topic of their relationship.
He pointed to the roller coaster. “There’s an option.”
“Oh, hell no. Not in a million years. That’s a lawsuit waiting to happen, or a year in traction.”
“It gets us our picture. Besides, it’s pretty tame.”
“I don’t care if it’s for five year olds. I’m not getting on it.”
“I figured as much. You don’t like to have fun. You probably don’t know how to have fun.” His words were casual and he held his breath waiting for her pride to kick in. She didn’t keep him waiting for long.
“I know how to have fun. Just because I’ve grown up and don’t like to act like a child doesn’t mean I can’t have fun. I have a healthy respect for my life and that roller coaster is not in my long-term plans.”
He shrugged. “They won’t let us on the kiddie stuff.” Suddenly he spied something else. He grabbed her hand and dragged her towards the back of the park. “Bumper cars! I haven’t been on those in years.”
Brigid tried to dig in her heels, pulling on his arm to stop him. “They’re not on the list! Grady, we can’t stop and do things for fun. We have work to do.”
He stopped dead and whirled around so fast, she couldn’t stop and ran into him. He steadied her with his arms. “And that’s the fundamental difference between us, Brigid. Growing up doesn’t mean stop having fun and enjoying life. It’s not all work.”
“Maybe not for you, Grady, but it is for me. I don’t have your luxury to make my own hours and decide if I want to work that day or not.”
He took a step back, stung by her words. “Is that what you think of me? That I screw around with my business?” He grabbed her by the upper arms and pulled her close. He leaned down and spoke directly in her face. “Pay close attention, Brigid. I own my own business, which means I have even more responsibility for success. If I don’t work, I don’t get paid. I also have employees. If I don’t get us jobs, we don’t get paid. You’re not the only who works your ass off every day. I just know that you can’t work all the time. I work to live, not live to work. It’s called a balanced life. You might want to try it sometime.”
He released her and she stumbled back a few steps, stunned by his words. Her mouth opened and closed a few times but no sound came out.
He stepped back, dropping his arms to his side, shoulder slumping. “Now, I’m going to play in the bumper cars. You can join me or not. Your choice. But I’m done with this bullshit.”
He strode away, anger riding him hard. He only hoped there weren’t little kids in the bumper cars. He had some serious anger issues to work out and he didn’t want to bully little kids.
*
Brigid stared at his rapidly retreating back, stunned at his words and, if she were honest with herself, embarrassed by her assumptions. She heard her father’s voice in her words, heard his constant pressure to work and succeed, heard his snobbish attitude towards other professions. It was the reason she never introduced Grady to her parents, never invited him to her house in Dallas for the holidays and certainly never brought him to dinner on the rare occasions her parents came to Houston.
She was ashamed of herself, for acting like she did, and for hurting Grady. How the heck could he still want a relationship with her when she was such a bitch? Despite all the nice things he had said earlier, she knew the score. He didn’t fit in to her new life and he’d be miserable and she’d hate to have ruined his life that way.
A kid banged into her, ricocheting into the crowd, just enough to shake her out of her thoughts and remind her of why they were there. They needed to stay together if they wanted to have a chance at winning, and he had the list. She’d be damned if she’d let anyone else win without a fight.
Grady was almost out of sight, swallowed by the crowds and distance. But she knew where he was going. She threaded her way through the throngs and got in line for the bumper cars, a couple of people behind him. Instead of calling out to him, she decided to wait and surprise him.
She got to the front of the line and they cut her off from Grady’s group, splitting the family. The father turned and gestured to her to go in front of him, and she thanked him quickly and slipped into a car just as it was starting. She angled away from the boards and looked for Grady. He was on the other side of the arena, looking fierce while battling a couple of older teens. She grinned and sped over there as fast as the tiny car would let her, which honestly wasn’t that fast at all. In fact, she could stroll faster.
Aiming directly for his car, she t-boned him full on, causing him to jerk and shout.
“Pick on someone your own size, buddy!”
The boy laughed and engaged, all of them surrounding Grady and attacking. Grady looked startled then an intense look crossed his face, He hunched over the wheel and headed right for her, spinning her out of control into the boards. She jerked to a stop and caught a glimpse of his gloating face as he sped by, headed after one of the kids. Bastar
d. No way would she let him win.
It took her a few tries but she finally got out of the corner and she went in search of Grady, finding him in a battle on the other side, pinned to the wall. He had a look of unholy glee on his face. Men and their games. Three against one. She might not like Grady right now but she had to even out the odds.
“Need a little help there, cowboy?” She rammed one of the kids sending him into a pole then the wall.
Grady shot her a glance and darted out in the hole she made for him. They proceeded to do battle against the teens for the next several minutes until the bell sounded and they had to return the cars. By the time Brigid had gotten out of the car, Grady was there to help her, and they were both laughing like lunatics. The kids stopped them on their way out.
“Awesome, dude. Thanks! Killer driving, lady!”
Grady wrapped an arm around her casually, pulling her close to him and she slipped her hand around his waist to steady herself. “Never insult a lady driver.”
They all laughed and broke apart. The attendant called them over. “Want your picture, man?”
“Picture?”
The kid gestured to the monitor where a picture of them in the cars showed, both of them laughing. Brigid hugged him. “We got our picture.”
“I told you it wasn’t a waste of time. And it was fun!”
“Fine, it was fun. You happy? But now I’m starving. Feed me.”
They grabbed the picture and headed for the food area, his arm still around her and hers around him.
Chapter Fourteen
Brigid stared at the food area of the fair with growing dismay. Her stomach immediately protested both the lack of food and the choices before her. Polish sausages. Fried dough. Hot dogs. Hamburgers. Nachos. And a truly incredible amount of fried food. Antacid companies could make a fortune here.
Shit. She patted her pockets. She had forgotten her purse and her antacids. Oh, this was going to truly be a night from hell.
She clenched her hand and Grady grunted in response. “Sorry. Reflex.”
“So, what are you in the mood for?”
She stifled a groan. It wasn’t so much what she was in the mood for but what her stomach could handle, and she didn’t see much choice in front of her. Not that she would ever admit that to Grady, or anyone. So, she settled for prevarication.
“Up to you.” She shrugged. “We need cheap and quick.”
“Not necessarily. We have time. We could almost dine instead of stuffing our faces quickly.”
She snorted. “Fine. But it’d better not put us too far behind. What did you have in mind?”
He escorted her around the first trucks and down the row, scanning then discarding options with a mumble. Finally, he stopped in front of a truck. “This will do fine, I think. Would you agree?”
Dread accompanying the usual pain in her stomach, she looked up. “Gyros?”
He grinned, looking entirely too pleased with himself. “I thought they’d be less stressful on your stomach than fried food or spicy stuff.”
She smiled, charmed despite herself. “Taking care of me again, Grady Coughlin?”
He winked. “That’s my job, isn’t it?”
He ordered her a gyro and grabbed himself a sausage, pepper, and onion grinder and joined her at a picnic table. They ate quietly, listening to the fair music and the chatter of people around them. She’d never been a big fan of Greek food but the gyros were actually pretty good, filling and soothing on her stomach, mostly. She finished and wiped her mouth and eyed Grady and his grinder.
“How can you eat that? Even without stomach problems, that would kill anyone.”
He popped the last piece in his mouth. “But, oh so good. How was your dinner?”
She looked at the receipts and frowned. “That dinner was too expensive. We’re going to have trouble solving the rest of our list with no money. I could have lived with something cheaper.”
“Well, I couldn’t.” He wiped his hands on a napkin. “So, what’s next on the list?”
“We have to win a prize, a stuffed animal.”
“Well, that’ll be cheap. One ticket, one prize.”
She quirked an eyebrow at him. “Awfully confident there, cowboy, aren’t we?”
He grinned a lazy smile. “I’m good with my hands.”
She shuddered. He certainly was, in so many ways. And just like that, her arousal, that she thought had been put on hold since the morning, was back in full force.
*
Six dollars later and no stuffed animal and Brigid was getting bored, not to mention frustrated. After another dart fell to the ground, missing the balloon yet again, Grady growled, glaring at the kid manning the booth. Brigid smothered a grin and tried to drag him away.
“Come on, cowboy. Maybe we can find something easier for you to do. We can’t afford to lose much more money.”
“Those aren’t regular balloons. They’re extra strength, heavy-duty balloons and these darts are not sharp enough.”
“Right,” she agreed, no longer hiding her laughter.
He stopped and folded his arms in front of him, looking like an obstinate toddler. “If you think it’s so funny, then you try.”
“Fine. If it will shut you up and get us out of here.” She stalked to the ticket booth and bought one ticket.
She positioned herself, legs shoulder width apart, and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly, focusing on the balloon waving gently from the breeze generated by the fan the kid had supposedly to keep him cool. She suspected it was designed to screw with the players. Any cooling effect was a pure side benefit.
She raised her arm and, with a flick of the wrist, tossed the dart at a balloon and it bounced off the wood wall behind it, falling to the sawdust on the ground. She cursed softly and Grady laughed.
“Told you it wasn’t easy.”
“Be quiet. I have two more darts.”
Irritation lanced through her and she ruthlessly tamped it down. She’d survived law school, the bar exam, and any number of brutal challenges at work. She could pierce a damn balloon with a tiny dart. She took a slow inhale, then exhale. She narrowed her focus on the blue balloon and released the dart.
The balloon popped, releasing confetti in the air. She whooped and almost lost the third dart. Grady grabbed her hand and pried the dart out from her fingers, laying it on the table.
“Nice job, sweetheart.” He hugged her quickly. “Pick your prize.”
She shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. Whatever.”
“It does matter. Would you like a puppy? A kitty? Horse? Definitely, a horse. It suits you.”
She snorted. “Why a horse?”
He glanced at her, while pointing to the white horse. “You like riding in to save the day, like a white night or a cowboy on a white horse.”
She stared as he handed her the horse. Wordlessly she took it, still processing his words and trying to figure out his meaning. White horse? Saving the day?
He held out his hand and she took it, still quiet.
“You okay? I thought you’d be gloating over your success.”
“Hmm? Oh yes, well, I worked in a bar throughout college and got pretty good at darts.”
He cocked his head at her. “You’re full of surprises. Why didn’t you tell me that before we wasted all of that money?”
She smiled sweetly at him. “You seemed so confident and I didn’t have the heart to disappoint you.”
He spun her around and peered at her. “We’re a team. You shouldn’t keep things like that from your partner.”
“I wasn’t hiding anything exactly. Just omitted it. And, for the record, you never asked.” She tweaked his nose. “Now, what’s next?”
Chapter Fifteen
Grady handed her the stuffed horse and pulled out the list. His brow furrowed as he scanned the list.
“Now that we’ve eaten and gotten some of our items, I think we’re ready for the next challenge. Rock wall.”
“What?” B
rigid narrowed her gaze and held out her hand. “Give me the list.”
He kept it close to his chest. “Remember, I had nothing to do with this.”
She lunged from the bench and snatched the piece of paper from his grasp. She unfolded it and studied it, going white as the words sunk in. “Damn it.”
It was true. Rock wall. They each had to climb the rock wall to the top, get their picture taken as proof. And, what was worse, they had to belay each other, whatever the hell that meant.
“I’m not doing this.” She tossed the paper on the table.
He grabbed it. “If we don’t do it, we have no chance of winning. We don’t have enough money to get the rest of the stuff and this was required.”
“Forget it. Not happening.”
He rocked back on his heels, a grin broadening his face. “You’re afraid of heights. I didn’t think anything scared you, besides intimacy.”
She glared at him from the corner of her eye, nose wrinkling in disgust. “So? Lots of people are afraid of heights. And I’m not afraid of heights exactly. I just have a healthy respect for gravity.”
“But you act like nothing scares you.”
She looked away, towards the rides part of the carnival. The fake rock wall jutted up from behind all of the other rides, clearly visible from this angle. Only the roller coaster was taller. There was no way she could climb that. Caroline knew Brigid was terrified of heights, ever since her parents discovered her fear and decided she had to overcome it, using a series of aversion therapy techniques that did nothing to quell the fear. In fact, if anything it added to the pressure she felt in needing to be perfect for them.
Heights and her fear became yet another way for her to fail her parents and give her older brother, who climbed mountains in his spare time, an edge over her.
“There must be another way. Everything is worth one point, right? So, we do something else. Anything else.”
“Apparently, Caroline added point values to each item. This one is worth more than any of the others, putting us firmly in the lead, if we do it. If we do everything else, we can’t beat the points. Besides, do you really want to admit to weakness?”
