Breaking Even (The Sterling Shore Series #5)

by C. M. Owens

  “For two months he’s acted differently. He has constantly stopped me from drinking alcohol, limited my caffeine intake, and has even made me eat healthy shit. And he did it all with stealth so that I didn’t notice. He’s crafty like that. It’s one of the things I love and hate about him. But you have to tell a girl there’s another body growing inside of her if you’re suspicious!”

  Whoa.

  “You’re sure you’re pregnant?” Tria asks.

  “Positive. I took ten tests. Not one of them said negative. My bladder has shriveled up in fear because I tried to take more tests. One time—the condom only broke one time.”

  She scrubs her face with her hands and glances down to her stomach while we all search for the right thing to say.

  “Wow. He really is fertile. Or maybe it’s the two of you combined, considering you’re the first and only girl he’s ever gotten pregnant,” Rain says, looking just as shocked as I feel.

  Ash’s eyes change, anger fleeing as regret fills them. “I’m so sorry, Rain. This is... I’m an insensitive bitch for griping about this in front of you.”

  I forgot Rain can’t have children, and I’m sure this is hard for her to sit in on.

  Rain smiles warmly and rubs Ash’s hand in hers. “You’re not an insensitive bitch. I don’t think you know how to be. You were surprised, then a little freaked out, and now you’re venting. It’s allowed.”

  Something crashes to the ground in my room, and a series of muttered curses and yelps of pain ring out in sequence. Then I hear the window in my room opening and slamming within seconds apart. Did he just call someone or something a vile bastard?

  “What was that?” Ash asks, recoiling in alarm.

  “That would be my very annoying neighbor trying to carry out some nefarious plan of revenge. Apparently things went awry. Pun intended.”

  I grin as they all chuckle, and Ash says, “Come on out, Rye. We could use advice from a man right now.”

  “No thank you. I’ll just stay in here until you all leave,” he calls back, and I stifle a laugh.

  “Does he sneak into your room often?” Tria asks. I don’t like her teasing smile right now, because she’s giving me way too much credit if she thinks Rye is into me.

  I grin while joking, “Usually he waits until after I go to sleep, and then he breaks in and breathes heavily in my ear.”

  “That’s bullshit! I never breathe heavily. I’m afraid it’ll wake you up,” he says, playing along instead of being defensive, and everyone laughs again.

  “I’ve never heard him joke before,” Rain says, her eyes on Tria.

  “Me neither,” Tria says, grinning.

  They apparently don’t know him very well, because that’s all the man knows how to do.

  “Come have a beer,” I say to him as I stand and head to the fridge. I return to the table with two beers and a pitcher of margaritas.

  With a reluctant sigh, he comes out, eyeing the table full of women. His arms have spots of blood on them, and so do his hands. What the hell has he been doing? He looks like he got into a fight with a thorn bush.

  “What happened to you?” Tria gasps, staring at the same red flakes of blood that I am.

  “I don’t want to talk about it,” he mumbles, sulking.

  “Did you know I was pregnant?” Ash asks Rye, ambushing him.

  He doesn’t even act affected by that question.

  “I knew about the condom breaking. Shit happens. He didn’t know if you were pregnant,” Rye says with a shrug. “It’s not like he can pee on a stick for you.”

  “But he knew I could be pregnant,” she growls, taking her anger out on the only man in view.

  He comes to sit as close to me as he can get and as far away from Ash as he can manage. I’d laugh, but now is not the time.

  He picks up his beer just as I take a sip of mine, and then he swaps the bottles and takes my beer instead. I’d ask why, but I already know the answer. Instead of reacting at all, I just start drinking the new beer.

  “Someone else talk,” Ash mumbles, burying her head in the crook of her arm as she rests it on the table. “I’m tired of being the only one with issues.”

  Raya sighs hard while staring at her engagement ring, twisting it absently while remaining lost in thought. “Kade won’t let me in. He refuses to let me help him through anything, and since Thomas died... He just keeps pushing me away. He won’t even look at me right now. I’ve tried to be patient—give him time to grieve—but I think he’s only growing farther away from me with every passing day.

  “I left the vineyard three days ago, turned off my phone, and I’ve been staying in a hotel. We’ve already moved back the wedding date twice—even though we’re weren’t even planning the wedding until spring. I’m starting to think he regrets proposing. It’s hard to love someone if you can’t let them in. And he just keeps shutting me out.”

  “Have you tried talking to him?” Rye asks, and he’s met with a glare I didn’t know Raya was capable of.

  “No. Why didn’t I think about talking to him?” she asks, sarcasm dripping from her tone. “I love the jackass, but he’s... Well, I’m pissed.”

  “Why are men so damn stupid?” Tria growls.

  “Men suck,” Rain says for the hundredth time.

  “I can’t believe he didn’t tell me I was pregnant,” Ash groans.

  Tria decides to take her turn after a long, deep breath. “Kode has gotten a little more aggressive lately than usual. He punched a guy last night because the guy’s hand might have groped my ass. But I had warned him the guy was a sleaze-ball photographer, and had asked him to keep his cool since he insisted on joining me at my meeting. I needed that guy to use Beauty Graffiti on his shoots. He sure as hell won’t now.”

  “He grabbed your ass in front of Kode?” Rain asks in shock. “I’m surprised Kode let him walk away.”

  “I love Kode for who he is, but there’s a line. My business is the line. The guy was inappropriate, but I was handling it. Kode can’t just swoop and give me that reputation. No one will work with me otherwise. I can handle things myself from time to time.”

  “Sounds like Kode had justifiable reaction to me,” Rye whispers, leaning down to my ear.

  I have no idea how to respond to her problem. I’ve never had a guy react that way over me. Twisted as it sounds, I’m actually a little jealous. John would have let a man grab my ass and give it a massage, and he wouldn’t have done a thing about it.

  I lean over to Rye and tug him down to me so that I can whisper in his ear, as they all go on and on about men being stupid.

  “They’re leaving them? They’re all breaking up at once? Is that what this is?” I ask, confused by the madness going on around me.

  “You aren’t really leaving them, are you?” Rye asks, suddenly looking worried.

  They all stop talking and stare at him as though he has sprouted a second head. “Don’t be so dramatic,” Raya scoffs, rolling her eyes.

  They all say something about him being ridiculous and make fun of him for being a drama queen, and I bite back a grin. “Yeah,” I say, adding to the bash-Rye fun by echoing Raya’s words, “don’t be so dramatic.”

  He glares at me, and I snicker quietly to myself. Rain hides her smile behind her hand, and I tilt my head. She still hasn’t said what Dane has done to piss her off. All she has said is that men suck.

  “Why do men have to be idiots all the time?” Tria asks Rye, narrowing her eyes at him, and all the girls stare at him expectantly.

  Rye mutters something like hell and high heels under his breath just as the front door opens and Maggie walks in.

  “Oh,” she says, feeling a little startled. “I didn’t see any cars.”

  “They rode with me. I thought you were already gone on your date,” I say by way of explaining.

  Very quickly, I go through the motions of introducing Maggie to the girls she doesn’t know, and she waves awkwardly, considering they all sound and look miserable. Magg
ie turns her attention on the uncomfortable man at my side who is getting closer to me every time a girl gives him a threatening look.

  “I’m glad you’re here. Can you help me get a TV out of my car? It’s a present for my dad, but it’s a big son of a bitch.”

  Rye almost leaps out of his seat. “Fucking love to,” he says gratefully, and Maggie works hard to suppress a grin when he almost sprints outside.

  She walks over to the fridge to pull out a drink, and then she goes pale. I turn back toward the women at the table as they vent and slam men. I don’t miss this hell. But when I was married, I only had Maggie to vent to.

  “Um... Brin?” Maggie says, her eyes wide as she waves me over.

  “I’ll be right back,” I say to the girls who don’t even pause.

  When I reach Maggie, she points to the fridge and whispers, “Why are there two things of blood and worms in there?”

  “Oh,” I say with a shrug. “The less you know, the better.”

  She rolls her eyes, trying to look exasperated, but then she accidentally smiles. “You two need to fuck and get it over with.”

  I just laugh. If she had seen the girl he was with at Ash’s house, she wouldn’t be saying that.

  The sound of Rye coming back in interrupts the conversation, and Maggie goes to instruct him on where to put the TV. Once he’s put the oversized box away, he walks out of her room, acting like he’s going to escape.

  “I’ll see you ladies later.”

  I practically fly over to him, and block his path, refusing to let him leave me here alone with this, but he picks me up and moves me behind him. “Rye, stay,” Ash says, a whimper in her voice. “We need a man’s opinion.”

  He groans long and loud as he stares longingly at the door. “My opinion keeps getting me barked at,” he mutters under his breath, turning his glower on me once more.

  But he relents, and sluggishly walks back to the table, casting a look of pure hatred over his shoulder at me once more before sitting down. I smile at his misery and take my seat.

  A small rapping on wood doesn’t even disturb the rant going on in my dining room, and Maggie runs out in her short, sexy dress on her way to answer the door. When she opens it, Carmen walks in. Striking blonde hair, long, tan legs, and a perfect body that is encased in a tight red dress are what makes up the exterior of Maggie’s bombshell girlfriend.

  Rye’s grin slowly crawls up as he takes her in, and the girls all turn to face the new woman in the room.

  “Everyone, this is my girlfriend, Carmen,” Maggie says, practically glowing as Carmen leans in and kisses her.

  Rye’s jaw falls unhinged, and I roll my eyes at what a damn guy he is.

  “I really should have started coming over sooner,” he says, and I slap him in the chest, earning a grunt and chuckle from him.

  Considering he’s a frigging brick wall, I inwardly whimper while rubbing my hand under the table. Damn, that hurt.

  Still snickering, he goes to the fridge but pauses when he opens the door. After a beat, he grabs two beers and returns, offering me one. I’m going to have to restock the alcohol after tonight.

  “We should get going,” Maggie says, still grinning.

  Carmen waves at us, her smile matching Maggie’s, and they walk out hand-in-hand. The girls all stare at the door for a moment until Ash finally says, “I think she has the right idea.”

  Rain starts to grin, but covers it quickly with a serious face. “Yeah. Men suck.”

  Rye drops his head to his hands while groaning and mumbling something about burying me alive.

  ***

  BRIN

  “It’s not like I’m opposed to having another child. Tag is an incredible father, and I love the hell out of him. I just wanted us to plan out our next baby,” Ash says, drinking her virgin margarita. “We’ll be fine. Tag should have told me, but he didn’t want me worrying. Trip is still in diapers, and he’s a handful, so Tag didn’t want me to freak out unless I had to.”

  I’m positive that she’s the only sober person at this table.

  Rye rolls his eyes and rests his head on my shoulder as he tries his best to keep quiet. He’s been saying that for most of the night. But every time he opens his mouth, he’s berated by the drunken women. He’s like the only metal rod in the middle of a lightning storm.

  Ash was stressed about the fact she’s been taking her birth control this whole time, worried about the effect it might have on the baby, but Rye assured her that Tag swapped the pills for water pills the second the condom broke. He has a friend in the pharmacy who managed to package them up just like her birth control. Tag really did go all out. And that’s why he’s still wearing condoms—just in case she wasn’t pregnant. I suppose that is rather pointless now.

  You’d think the revelation would have been comforting, but she blew up at Rye after he told her—like it was his fault Tag confided in him and didn’t tell her. I found the entire tirade rather entertaining, especially since Rye kept tugging on me like he expected me to defend him.

  I didn’t. At all.

  In fact, I might have possibly encouraged her to be madder at him.

  I’m also fairly certain that Rye has learned more about everyone’s sex life than he ever wanted to know. Well, not my sex life—or lack thereof. I’ve not once mentioned anything about my past drama.

  The girls finally seem to be calming down.

  “Maybe Kade will eventually open up to me. He’s grieving, and everyone deals with grief differently, right?” Raya asks, earning a growl from Rye.

  He said the same thing forty minutes ago, and she unleashed hell on him before she broke into tears. I think he’ll have PTSD after this night.

  Tria sighs after finishing the last of her latest glass of margarita. “The guy shouldn’t have touched me. I mean, I sure as hell didn’t want him to, but I was trying to handle it more subtly. Kode can’t lose his temper on every guy with a wandering hand, but he only did it because he loves me. Would I really want him to just stand by while some guy grabbed my ass right in front of him?”

  Rye glares at her while keeping his head on my shoulder, but he wisely says nothing. Again, he pointed out this same logic less than an hour ago and she told him he was just like any other man.

  Someone bangs on the door, and Rye says, “Finally,” under his breath.

  “It’s ope—”

  Before I can fully get the words out of my mouth, Tag’s body is filling the doorway, his eyes going soft the second they find his wife. Ash gives him a tight smile as more tears fill her eyes, and she stands as he quickly closes the distance between them.

  “Ash,” he says softly, pulling her to him and looking at her in a way I’ve never known, “I’m sorry. I just didn’t want to worry you and it be a false alarm. But I can’t think of anything I’d rather do than have another child with you.”

  She smiles up at him as he wipes away her tears, and she pulls him down until their lips touch. “No,” she says in a reverent breath. “I’m sorry. I just... freaked out a little. I needed... a minute.”

  He nods, his smile growing. “I completely understand. I’ve been on an anxiety rollercoaster, but I love you, and I actually want another baby. I get to be a part of it from start to finish this time. It’s... exciting. Really exciting.”

  A soft sigh graces my lips, and Rye raises his head and puts his finger in his mouth, mocking a silent gag. I elbow him, and he snickers quietly as Ash comes over. “I’m going home with my husband. We have a lot to do and discuss.”

  I feel like an idiot when I start grinning uncontrollably, but it’s so frigging sweet to see them together. Then the door opens again without a knock as Kode comes in, his eyes going directly to Tria.

  Tag and Ash grin, and they escape as Kode goes and drops down in front of Tria’s chair.

  “Baby, I wish I could say I’m sorry, but I’m never going to let another man lay a hand on you. You know that. You know me. I love the fuck out of you, and I’ve changed
a hell of a lot, but I can’t change that.”

  The very same thing that pissed her off is suddenly filling her with pride as her tears glisten. I apparently don’t understand love. If John ever did anything to piss me off, he didn’t apologize. We would eventually just go on like nothing ever happened. There was never a grandstanding apology that melted hearts or resolution of any sort.

  “I know. I... I love you. All of you. And I’d probably slap a bitch if she touched you.”

  He starts laughing as he stands, and he pulls her with him, wrapping her up in his arms. “Can we go home?” he asks sweetly, kissing the tip of her nose.

  This is like watching numerous romance movies all at once. I hope Rye has a blood and gore flick ready again. I’m going to need it to bring me down from my high once this is all over.

  Raya watches them leave, and she stares at the door as a tear slips down her cheek. Rain pats her arm comfortingly and leans over to take her hand. “Kade is hard to get through to sometimes, but he loves you.”

  “Yes I do,” a male voice says from the door I never heard open.

  Kade Colton is staring at his fiancée with a sad, apologetic smile. She starts to say something, but she clears her throat and sits back first. When she feels confident enough, she finally speaks.

  “You keep pushing me away. Every time you face any sort of emotional challenge, you push me away. I’m tired of it. When you do this, I’m worried to death I’m going to say or do the wrong thing and lose you. I don’t like walking on eggshells, and I refuse to do it anymore,” she says without any emotion in her voice, even though I can tell she’d love nothing more than to cry.

  How does she do that?

  He nods slowly while walking until he reaches her. He bends and puts both hands on either side of her chair, boxing her in, and he makes sure her eyes meet his.

  “You’re right. And God knows I’m sorry. This... all of this... you’re the only person I’ve ever had this with besides Granddad. And obviously what we have is very different. But you shouldn’t ever be scared of losing me. I’m yours, Raya. All yours. That means you can say or do whatever you want, and I won’t go anywhere, regardless of what’s going on around us. I love you.”