The Blue Collar Bachelors Box Set: The Complete Blue Collar Bachelors Series

by Miller, Cassie-Ann L.

  He got hurt on my watch. I was busy in the kitchen, fooling around with his babysitter, and he got hurt.

  That’s plain negligence. I should have been paying attention to him but I allowed myself to get distracted. I let my son down and he ended up in the hospital because of it.

  How am I any better than Mara?

  This poor kid. His mother abandoned him and now his dad’s got his head so far up the neighbor’s pussy that he can’t take care of him.

  The nurse’s attention falls on me. “Hey—don’t beat yourself up, Mr. Montgomery,” she tells me, “Kids get hurt all the time. This isn’t your fault.”

  Except, it is.

  I should have made sure that he was tucked in bed but I didn’t. He was in his room, in the dark, looking for a bedtime story to read to himself. He couldn’t reach the switch, so he tried to stand on his backpack and he went crashing to the floor and broke his arm. If it isn’t my fault then who’s is it?

  I peek past the blinds, into the hallway. Reese sits there on one of the uncomfortable plastic chairs. She’s been waiting with us the whole time. She should go home. She can’t stay. Because right now, my guilt won’t cut me some slack. And every time I look at her, my love for her floods my mind and it reminds me of how badly I let down my son.

  Rising from my chair, I pad out the door. She’s on her feet the moment she sees me. “Is he okay? Does he need a CAT scan? Are they gonna keep him overnight?”

  I don’t have answers to her questions. All I have is sadness. When I came to this town, I promised myself that I would focus on building a life for my kid. I got side-tracked and fell in love with this beautiful woman. But it doesn’t matter how much I want her. She’s a distraction nonetheless and I can’t allow myself to be distracted anymore.

  “You should go home,” I tell her.

  Shaking her head frantically, she sits back in her chair. “No, I can wait. I don’t mind.”

  “Reese. Go home.” I hate the harsh grate of my tone but I need her to understand that the game we’ve been playing is over. I can’t play anymore.

  She gives me a long look and understanding washes over her. “Leo, what are you doing?” she whispers, her voice wavering. “Why are you doing this?” She stands in front of me, looking up into my face with a quivering lip. “Why are you doing this?”

  I don’t have a choice. Brent needs my undivided attention at this stage in his life.

  I hear footsteps and when I look over my shoulder, I see the nurse stepping out of the room. “I’ve got to get back in there.” I tell Reese.

  “Leo…” I hear the plea in her voice.

  I keep a hard expression despite the waver in my words. “Goodbye, Reese.” I ball my hands into fists to keep from touching her and I turn back into the room.

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Reese

  I pound my fist into Leo’s front door and I’m seeing red. I’m so pissed off. Pissed off and frustrated. And I’m not gonna let him just get away with this.

  The door swings open and I stumble back, his virile masculine beauty knocking the wind out of me. For a second, I forget to be mad at him. All I feel is love, hot and pulsing in the air between us, begging to be embraced and explored. Then, it morphs back into rage. Red-hot rage.

  While all this plays out in my head, he stares down at me with a blank face, like I’m a stranger, some girl scout who showed up at this door to sell chocolate-covered almonds or something. Fuck this guy!

  “I went to pick up Brenton from school today,” I say angrily, “They told me that someone else had already taken him.” Ending our romantic situation is one thing. Cutting me out of Brenton’s life is another thing completely. It’s cruel.

  Leo scrubs his hand down the side of his face. “Yeah, that old lady down the street—Mrs. Pinnchecko—she’ll be watching him from now on.” He says it so matter-of-factly, like he doesn’t realize he’s crushing my heart in his hand.

  I fold my arms tightly over my chest like a suit of armor. “And why’s that?”

  His voice is flat and lifeless. “I think that’s what’s best for everyone.”

  He stands there with his white shirt unbuttoned and his jeans low on his hips and his feet bare. His hair is all messed up and he smells like liquor. There’s a cigarette tucked behind his ear.

  I love him but I want to punch him in the throat. I want to yell at him. Instead, my shaky voice comes out as a whisper. “Why are you doing this?”

  “It’s just—it’s easier this way…”

  Is he even hearing himself right now? “Easier for who?” I question. “Easier for Brenton? Because he and I were getting along just fine. And as for you, you’re happier when I’m around. We both know that.”

  He doesn’t answer. He just stares off into the distance, peering emotionlessly over my shoulder.

  “Leo, talk to me!” I demand, stomping my heel.

  “I won’t lie, Reese—I care about you. So much. But I’m supposed to be focused on Brenton right now. And I’ve been distracted. Running around like a carefree bachelor when I should have been focused on becoming a better dad—”

  I cut him off. “What happened to Brent was an accident. He was standing on his backpack to turn on the light and he fell. That’s not my fault and it’s not yours. Kids get hurt all the time.” He remains unmoved by my logic. “Admit it, Leo. We work. You and me and Brent together, we work.”

  His eyes go wild. He looks terrified of what I’m saying. He knows that I’m right. “Stop it, Reese.”

  “Fuck your self pity, Leo. what we have is real. We make each other better. We make each other happy. Why are you so afraid of that? Why won’t you let me be there for the both of you? I don’t give up on the people I care about…I don’t want to give up on you and Brent.”

  His voice snaps. "I don't need saving Reese. Me and Brent—we don’t need saving." Each syllable feels like a punch to the stomach. He reads the pain on my face and his eyes soften a touch. “Look, things were getting too intense, too complicated. The distance is what’s best for all of us.”

  He reaches out to cradle my chin but I slink away. “Fuck. You.” I mutter as I back down the stairs. “Fuck. You.” I turn around and march along the walkway. I give him one last bitter look before I flounce into my house. I barely make it to the couch before collapsing under the weight of my pain.

  This is a hard lesson for me. Sometimes loving someone isn't enough. Some people just don't want to be loved and they don't want to be saved and it's incredibly arrogant—and naive—of me to think that my love will be the thing to show them otherwise. I was just another stupid girl who thought that I could fix a broken man, that my love could be the glue to put his broken pieces back together.

  And now I’m the one who’s broken. Looks like I’m gonna have to figure out how to fix me.

  Chapter Forty

  Reese

  Just stepping into the room makes my stomach churn.

  Every single Las Vegas bachelor party stereotype exists within the walls of this 2000 square-foot penthouse suite. From the tacky condom-balloons taped to the walls to the multi-colored bras hanging like streamers from the ceiling to the loud rock and roll music blaring through the room. Of course, let’s not forget the drunken adult males who mysteriously morphed into douchey fratboys the minute they rolled unto the Vegas Strip and the shameless ‘dancers’ who apparently bought their outfits on sale in the toy department at JC Penney’s.

  I get a sinking feeling in my stomach as Nova drags me through the room, elbowing idiots out of the way. From what Sophia has told us, the invitees of this rather classy event are mainly guys that Josh went to college with. The rest are fellows from around Copper Heights.

  My disgust swells further when I spot my brother in the middle of it all, slouching in a chair with his head back while a nearly naked stripper does the bunny wiggle in his lap.

  I barely avoid getting my eye jabbed out when a huge silicone dildo goes flying past my head. Thankfu
lly, I’m shielded when the identified flying object gets stuck in Nova’s bushy hair instead. And I’ll tell you, she’s not happy. She gives the offender a piece of her mind, flipping him off as we march over to Charlie and his companion. Nova gives him a hard poke in the shoulder. “Hey, you!” she shouts roughly, her voice clashing with the noise of the music. “We need a word with you!”

  The purple-haired girl humping my brother’s leg squints up at us and giggles. “Is this your bride-to-be?” She grinds harder, obviously taking joy in the idea of being a homewrecker.

  My best friend glares. “No, you vile bitch—I’m not this degenerate’s bride-to-be!”

  “Hey!” the stripper shouts, jumping to her feet so fast that the contents of her plastic champagne glass slosh over the side, covering the toe of Nova’s shoe.

  Charlie cranes his neck in Nova’s direction but his body stays stiff in place. “Hey, watch your mouth there, firecracker. I’m not exactly in a position to protect your ass tonight.” He wiggles his arms and that’s when I notice that they’re handcuffed to his chair.

  I throw my head back and groan. “You are such an idiot, Charles!”

  His attention snaps in my direction and he’s only now realizing that I’m standing here. “What the hell, Reese? Why are you two crashing our party?”

  I ignore his line of questioning and smack him in the back of the head. This is my one shot at revenge against him for all the times he’s poked fun at me—he’s half-drunk and chained to a chair—and by god, I’m going to take advantage.

  He’s even more pissed now. “What the ever-living-fuck are you two doing here?!” he shrieks, fighting against his restraints.

  Nova stomps her cocktail-covered foot. “We’re here to speak to Joshua,” she announces.

  “Yeah,” I pipe in. “Sophia’s our best friend and Josh is a shifty asshole. We’re here to give him a warning.”

  Nova’s head bobs in agreement. “We absolutely, positively would cut a bitch if he did anything out of line tonight. He’s marrying our friend tomorrow so he needs to know that his bachelor party does not give him license to act like a fuck-boy ass-hat tonight.”

  I lean close and speak menacingly. “Yeh! What she said!”

  Coming here tonight was my idea. I’ll own it. After the way Leo flipped into emotional withdrawal mode, leaving me sad and shattered, I’m rightly distrustful of the male faction of our populus. All men are looking a little snakish to me these days and I just want to guard my friend against the heartache that I’m living.

  “Look—you two have nothing to worry about,” Charlie assures us. “I saw him a few minutes ago and he was fine. A little jittery but nothing out of the ordinary. The ceremony will go off without a hitch tomorrow and Sophia will get her fairytale ending.”

  “I need to hear him say it,” Nova insists.

  He sighs in frustration. “I’ll pass the message along,” he promises us. “Now, will you two please get the hell out of here? Before you see things you can’t un-see.”

  Nova and I exchange a look. We hadn’t foreseen this level of debauchery when we came in here to speak to Josh. I mean, there’s a guy in a speedo tied to a mechanical bull while different women take turns riding him. That can’t possibly end well.

  Charlie speaks up again. “I’ll make sure that Joshie Bear is a good boy tonight. I swear.”

  “Fine,” I say. I loop my arm through Nova’s.

  She gives Charlie one last glare. “When the hell will you grow up, you scoundrel? I can’t believe you’re 28.”

  A strange look passes over her face. True disappointment, not just that playful mutual taunting that they’re always up to. As she spins on her heel, embarrassment flickers over my brother’s features for just a moment. Weird. It vanishes when the stripper plops back into his lap.

  "You look so young for 28,” the airhead muses. “Look at your skin! You're gonna age well!" She gives him a reassuring wink.

  "Thanks," he mumbles, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. "Now, take off your bra."

  I hear Nova growl behind me, disgust lacing her tone. “Are you coming or what?” she barks at me.

  The room roars as a Kid Rock song comes on. “Yeah, let’s get out of here.”

  Chapter Forty-One

  Leo

  I’m really missing Reese right now.

  We haven’t spent the night together in almost a week. But knowing that she’s all the way across the country really fucks with me tonight.

  I hate the way things are between us now. I never wanted to hurt her. I keep telling myself that I did the right thing by ending whatever it was that was budding between us. It was starting to get complicated. It was starting to get real.

  Back at the beginning, kissing her, touching her was a game. It was about taking risks, testing boundaries, finding pleasure in the shadows. It was an escape. But I started feeling things for her and the night that Brent got hurt, I realized just how deep I was falling. I was giving in to distraction when my boy really needs my full attention. He already lost one parent. I can’t neglect him, too.

  As much as I want Reese, I can’t have her.

  All that reasoning is perfectly logical but my brain is an illogical asshole. I want to feel her next to me at night. I want to hear her breathing in the dark with her body tucked against mine. These nights without her have been pure hell. I’m not sure how I’m going to go back to the way it was before I knew what it was like to be with her.

  I stumble out of bed and tiptoe down the stairs. I grab my bottle of whiskey from the cabinet above the sink and the packet of cigarettes, too. Planting myself on the back step, I lean back and stare at the cigarette box in my hand.

  I want one so bad right now. My hand twitches from the craving. It would be so easy to just tear one of these nicotine sticks out of the package, bring it to my lips, set it on fire…

  Fuck!

  I crush the box in my fist, cursing up at the starless sky. A part of me wishes I’d never met her. That I’d never seen the moon through her eyes, that I’d never felt the softness of her hair as it slipped through my fingertips. If she’d never given me a glimpse of happiness, I’d still be living in the emptiness I’d become used to. I wouldn’t know the difference. I wouldn’t feel this sadness so deeply.

  Giving the cigarettes one last glance, I toss them into the garbage bin across the deck. I drop my head into my hands.

  I need to get some of this shit off of my chest. Shoving my hand into my pocket, I pull out my cellphone.

  As I hit the ‘dial’ button and listen to the phone ring, I silently pray that the phone number is still in service. A deep baritone comes through the line. For once Heaven shows me some mercy. “This is Archibald.”

  I chuckle to myself. “What’s up with the dramatic greeting? You a mob boss now?”

  His laugh comes out as a low rumble. “Fuck off, civilian. You’re all settled down in the suburbs with your kid and your hot babysitter and your turkey dinner. A true soldier never lets his guard down.”

  “Thanks for the reminder.” That was my first mistake. I let my guard down. I let the pretty, little thing next door invade my senses. Now, my busted and bruised heart is a prisoner of war.

  Archie would laugh his ass off if he could hear my Shakesparean musings right now. Charlie would kick my ass if he knew that my bad poetry was about his sister.

  “So, what part of the country do you find yourself in today?” I ask, hiding behind the small talk so I don’t have to face the very real, very profound crisis taking place in my brain right now.

  He chuckles a little. “Cruising through southern California as we speak, man. With the top down on the old Chevy, the wind blowing in my hair, country music playing on the radio, a pretty girl by my side.” I hear a contented female laugh pour into the phone, mixing with the steady rhythm of the guitar and the rustle of the wind along the coast.

  “Sounds like a Tim McGraw music video.”

  His voice takes on a somber cade
nce. “Just a little piece of heaven before I get thrust back into the jaws of hell.” My gut wrenches because I know what’s coming. “I’m deploying in seventy-two hours.”

  “Archie…”

  “I’ve been restless. Been looking for my purpose. Can’t find it here, stateside. I’ve got to face the battle again.”

  I exhale roughly. Still, I know exactly where he’s coming from. I felt that way too at one point. But now, all I can think about is my son and providing for him, taking care of him. “Shit…” is all I manage to say.

  Archie forces his usual exuberance into his voice. “Anyway, I’ll worry about that tomorrow. Right now, me and Krissy are just trying to figure out what sort of trouble we can get ourselves into in the next few hours before her heavy-fisted daddy realizes that she’s missing. Right, Sugar?” Those high-pitched giggles ring out again.

  Man, they’re starting to grate on my nerves. Especially since I don’t have anything of my own to laugh about.

  “So, what’s burning to the ground in your world?” he asks me. “How come you called me? Don’t tell me that your little game of mommy and daddy with Charlie’s sister already managed to blow up in your face.”

  I grunt roughly. “I put an end to that.”

  “Now, why would that be?”

  “It was getting too heavy, too serious.”

  “That’s not necessarily a bad thing.”

  “For her, it is. I’m not the type of man she should be running around with. I’ve got an overactive kid who needs my attention, a head full of nightmares that plague my sleep. She deserves someone nice, someone normal.”

  “Is that what she told you?”

  “She didn’t have to. Things just started happening and I realized that I need to focus on my kid, on helping him adjust. I have too much on my plate to be the kind of man she needs.”

  My friend goes silent and when he speaks again he sounds pensive. “And why couldn’t she be a part of that? Why couldn’t she be a part of the process of you settling into your new life? She doesn’t have to be a distraction. She can be a help, your partner.”