Refusing to Fall (Dennison Series Book 3)

by Ferraro, W

  While the other two’s irritation showed, Delaney grew giddy. “Come on, we’ll help you put it together—food, drinks, getting the word out, everything. All you’ll have to do is dress up and get everyone to fall even more in love with you.”

  At that, Colby’s eyes met Paige’s, who offered a wink and a smile.

  Not quite everyone.

  Colby looked at the three faces who sat around the table waiting for her to say something. These three women had come to mean a lot to Colby. She knew that they all believed in her, and for some reason, knowing that they were behind her gave her the slight push of courage she needed.

  “Oh my God, I can’t believe I am actually considering this. Tomorrow morning, I will definitely blame this on the Patrón, but okay, I’ll do it.” Colby picked up one of the waiting shot glasses in the center of the table and downed it quickly. Bree and Paige followed each taking their own shots.

  The women all squealed in delight.

  Thankfully, Colby didn’t have to be to Molly’s until late morning, which gave her time to nurse her enormous headache. Still in her sleep camisole and shorts, she had just downed a huge glass of orange juice and a couple of aspirin when there was a knock on her door. The sound echoed in her ears, as she held each side of her head.

  Another knock sounded, so she quickly walked over and retrieved her teal robe, slipping it on as she padded over to the door. Her heartbeat pounded in her chest as she raised up on tiptoes to peek through the peephole.

  When she saw a broad chest in a familiar tan uniform, she let out the breath she had been holding and a small smile formed on her lips. She stepped away from the door and unlocked it before opening it for Dustin.

  He looked good; his sandy-colored hair looked wind ruffled, and his sparkling green eyes were bright as they crinkled at the sides from the push of all his facial muscles due to the large smile spread across his mouth.

  “Morning,” his deep voice said.

  Colby couldn’t help but smile back. “Well, good morning to you too, Deputy.”

  “I heard you gals had a late night, and I figured you may be recuperating this morning.” If possible, his smile grew.

  “Well, if you call feeling like you’ve been run over by a truck recuperating, then yes, that is what I’m trying to do before I leave for work.” Colby laughed as she leaned on the door for support.

  “I see. It just so happens I know a surefire cure for a hangover, and I thought I would share it with you. Considering I’m a nice guy and all,” he said as he pulled a brown bag from behind his back.

  “As long as it isn’t a voodoo doll, I’m all for a remedy,” Colby answered with a laugh. She stepped back, allowing him to enter before closing the door behind him.

  When she turned around, she noticed Dustin had wasted no time in heading to her kitchen. He pulled a frying pan down from the overhead rack and placed it on the stove before removing the items from the bag. Colby took a seat at the counter, pulling her robe closed at her front, and watched as he pulled a package of bacon, then one of sausage, followed by a ham steak and finally a package of sharp cheddar cheese.

  Obviously happy to see her in front of him, Dustin spoke enthusiastically. “The best cure for a hangover is a greasy breakfast—the greasier, the better.”

  Colby wrinkled her nose at this because the thought of food honestly wasn’t doing nice things to her stomach.

  As if Dustin could read her mind, he added with a laugh, “Trust me, it may sound rough, but after the first bite goes down, the rest will follow easy enough, and you will feel human once more. Promise.”

  Something in the way he said the last word had Colby feeling like he wouldn’t lie to her. He wasn’t doing this for any other reason than to do something nice for her. Damn, it was about time she started letting people do that without searching for an underlying reason.

  “It will take about twenty minutes to get this all fried up, and I’ll steal a couple of eggs from your fridge. Why don’t you go take a hot shower, and by the time you get out, your breakfast will be waiting,” Dustin said, already making himself busy with the slices of bacon.

  After asking if she could help and him pointing at the bathroom, Colby took the hint. She went to her alcove and grabbed a change of clothes before walking to the bathroom. Turning back before she entered the tiny room, she looked at the large man who was completely focused on his domestic ability, and Colby couldn’t help but smile. As she stepped into the bathroom, she closed the door behind her. She turned the shower on full force, thankful for the fabulous water pressure and warmth. She stepped over the tub and into the glorious spray, knowing today was going to be a good day.

  Reed really needed to make a dentist appointment. His jaw was aching from the continuous grinding pressure of clamping his teeth together.

  Still insisting on handling most of the caseloads that came through his office, and adding in the pressure of all the meet and greet campaign stops and appearances, he had started just sleeping at his office. He couldn’t remember exactly when these new sleeping arrangements started, but he knew they wouldn’t be ending anytime soon.

  His back ached, and he had a continuous throbbing behind his left eye, but he refused to relinquish any of his professional duties. Even when Garrett and a couple of his lawyers offered to take over some duties, Reed would not hear of it. The truth was he needed to stay busy. He needed to keep his body and mind at the point of exhaustion; it was the only way he could control not feeling anything.

  Lacey was true to her word—she had him in front of every voter in the state. He had attended more fundraisers and gatherings in the last few weeks than he had in his entire tenure as district attorney. He had shaken more hands and participated in enough selfies to break a world record or two. Every day, she directed him to prime opportunities to meet people and spread his ideas. Get people talking about him and the good he would bring to the state government’s dynamic. He was currently leading in the polls by over twenty points, and he had an almost sixty-point lead with the female demographic.

  He knew Lacey wouldn’t allow him to slow down in the last ten days of his campaign, and he was counting on it. He needed the diversion.

  The intercom on his phone sounded, and Garrett’s voice filled his ears. “Hey, Reed, Lacey just emailed over your itinerary for this afternoon and this evening, so whatever you need for me to pick up and distribute, just have it ready by two. Also, your brother Mason is here, shall I let him in?”

  The news that his brother was here both concerned Reed and calmed him.

  A connection to home, a connection to the town he had avoided like the plague for the last three weeks. The one definitive link to the existence of the only person who could make Reed question everything he had ever known.

  Colby.

  The name, the face, the exquisite reality of everything Reed wanted but doubted he would ever have the chance to obtain.

  His flaws and faults stood like a barbed wire fence between him and his ever-haunting dream of being with her again.

  When she didn’t open the door for him or acknowledge him either time at Molly’s during his campaign stops, he knew he’d blown his chance. However, the ironic part was that in those instances, if she had acknowledged him, he didn’t know what he would have said. He just needed to know she saw him and didn’t hate him. That she held no ill will. That somewhere in time, there would be a possibility for him again.

  “Reed?” Garrett’s voice filled the room once more.

  Being pulled out of his own thoughts, Reed cleared his throat and replied. “Yeah, I’ll be sure to get you those things. Send Mason in.”

  Moments later, Mason stepped through the door, closing it behind him with a resounding click. Mason walked toward Reed’s desk, taking in the large office as he looked around; all the while walking with the unbreakable cocky swagger he was known for. His casual blue jeans and blue t-shirt under his black leather coat was his signature style. His dark hair and equally dar
k searching eyes seemed unpremeditated, but Reed knew his brother didn’t miss anything. Not the wrinkled blanket that was still pooled on the sofa or the leftover takeout containers that filled the trash bin, nor the hanging dry cleaning bags that held the only other suit Reed had here with him in the office.

  Mason tossed the large elastic-wrapped bundle onto his desk before taking a seat across from him.

  “I was off today, so thought I’d drive down and deliver your mail. What’s it been two weeks since you’ve been to your place? Your mailbox was so jammed full, there was a note to see property management for the remainder of it. I went in to check out the place, and you apparently aren’t paying your housekeeper enough considering the layer of dust on everything.”

  “I don’t have a housekeeper,” was all Reed could think to say.

  With a half-smile, Mason tilted his head and countered, “Perhaps you should consider one then.”

  Reed pulled the bundle toward him, flipping through the top few envelopes underneath the rubber band.

  “So . . . how’s campaign life?”

  Reed didn’t look up; he just continued to focus on the pile of mail. “Good. Hoping to lock in the forward momentum tonight by attending a dinner at the governor’s house with a few leaders of some important interest groups.”

  “Surprised the other guy hasn’t dropped out yet and just handed you the election considering you are destroying him in the polls,” Mason replied with a laugh.

  “Races aren’t sprints; they are continuous, and he’s hoping to make up some ground tomorrow with the same leaders I plan to pocket myself tonight.”

  Mason leaned back in the chair and raised his right leg so that his right ankle rested on his left knee. “Ever the opportunist.”

  Reed didn’t respond; he pushed the bundle of mail away and leaned back in his chair to face off with his younger brother.

  “How’s home?” Reed thought this was a safe enough question, incorporating all that Mason felt important.

  “Good. Real good. Well, you know, aside from Mom fretting about your disappearance from town. But the show has kept her busy enough.”

  “Show?” Reed raised an eyebrow in question.

  “Yeah, the art show at the revamped church. Come on, you must have heard about it. The ramblings around town rival the Memorial Day Festival. You know, Clearwater Falls’ people need more social calendar items.” The last part was spoken through a laugh as Mason continued to bounce his raised foot.

  “I must have missed it. I don’t remember seeing anything about it,” Reed stated, racking his brain for any sliver of recognition.

  Mason shrugged his shoulders, apparently not surprised by Reed’s response. “Doesn’t surprise me. After all, you haven’t been around much, even for cards or to watch a game or two. But we get it.”

  Something about the way he said it had the hairs on the back of Reed’s neck standing on edge. Mason was never one to beat around the bush or let anything go unsaid.

  “Spit it out, Mase,” Reed huffed.

  “I think you should come to the show tomorrow night. It is where you need to be.”

  Still not following what they hell Mason was trying to get at, Reed just stared at the younger man before asking, “Where I need to be? What the hell are you talking about?”

  “Yeah. You heard me right. You need to be at this show tomorrow night.”

  Not having the strength to play twenty questions right now, Reed rubbed his head and got up to pace to the window, giving Mason his back. He stared out the window for a moment or two, before turning back around, with hands in his crinkled pants pockets, and looked at his brother.

  “Unless someone is getting married or dying, I don’t see the importance of my presence at anything at home tomorrow.”

  Mason raised his arms, entwined his fingers of both hands together, and rested both palms on the top of his head as he casually answered. “Well, if you don’t come, you might as well just seal the inevitability of a wedding.”

  Beyond having any hold on his patience anymore, Reed yelled, “What the fuck are you talking about, Mason!”

  This was apparently the reaction Mason was waiting for because, with a smile as evil as the look in his eye, Mason rose from his chair and followed Reed’s track until his stood a couple of feet away. Reed had an inch on him, but what Mason lacked in height he sure as hell made up for it in determination.

  “Don’t you think it is time you get your head out of your ass and make Colby yours permanently and not just behind closed doors?”

  Shock plastered across Reed’s face, and he was unable to do anything but stare at his brother.

  “How did you know?”

  Mason smiled his most devious smile. “What? You think I’m fucking blind and stupid? That we all are? That’s right, asshole, we all knew. For a brilliant guy, you are fucking dumb as shit sometimes, you know that? Now, before you get your back up, we didn’t have a gossip session or any sort of shit like that. We each just noticed different things at different times. Now, I can’t speak for anyone else, but you must think Jamie, Case, and I are pretty damn stupid if you didn’t think we’d pick up on anything. ”

  They knew?

  Reed was never one to be at a loss for words, so Mason took the opportunity to continue. “You do realize you are the only one in town who drives a black Escalade, right? Not to mention one who has the most pretentious ass vanity plates of ‘DENN-DA.’ Did you think we wouldn’t notice when at three am your car was still parked outside our place, yet you were nowhere to be found? Let’s not forget the piss-poor job of remaining unfazed as you watched her practically groped by Poirier at Cervone’s and then practically dragging her out of the place over your shoulder when you two left.” Mason let all that sink in, enjoying the look of absolute fright on Reed’s face before continuing. “We were just waiting for you to finally tell us. She is a great girl, so why the fuck were you so secretive about it? If it were me, I’d be screaming it to the world.”

  The truth was Reed had no good answer to that. He should have been screaming to the world that Colby was his. He should have been staking his claim happily. Instead, he let her go, all for reasons that seemed so frivolous now. With defeat overtaking him, Reed deflated in front of the other man, stepped away, and took a seat back in his chair. With elbows on legs, he placed his aching head in his hands, feeling nothing but despair.

  “I’m telling you, Reed, if you don’t do something fast, she is gone.”

  Raising his head from his hands, Reed answered, “She already is.”

  Leaning against the window now, he asked, “You don’t really believe that, do you?”

  “It’s been over a month, Mason! I think it is fairly safe to say she is gone.”

  “No wonder Poirier has been walking on cloud nine,” Mason mumbled, but Reed still heard. He squeezed his hands into fists so tight his knuckles turned white. “So come on, what happened?”

  What did he have to lose at this point?

  “We started something in Lancaster, but she told me she was moving, and I honestly never thought I’d see her again. Then I learn she was living just down the hall from your place, working for Molly, and seeing her everywhere around town. I couldn’t get her out of my mind. I didn’t want to get her out of my mind.”

  “So Colby was nothing more than your usual means-nothing-fucks?”

  This statement had Reed seeing red. “Fuck you!” He was incensed that Mason would think such a thing, and the need to pummel him as if they were kids again ripped through him.

  Apparently getting the reaction he wanted, Mason crossed his arms over his chest and cocked his head to the side. “Oh, did I strike a nerve there? Are you saying the cold and impenetrable heart of Reed Dennison finally cracked?”

  Without a doubt, it did.

  “So you were seeing this hot as sin girl for a while, you part ways, then bam, you found out she moved to your hometown. Doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure this is a win-
win situation.”

  Something must have crossed Reed’s expression because Mason no longer seemed like he was out for blood. Gentling his intention, if only slightly, he coaxed, “Then what happened?”

  “I told her that I wanted to keep our ongoing affair quiet.”

  Mason shook his head at this in utter disbelief before whistling low and long. “No wonder she told you to take a hike. She didn’t like being your dirty little secret. Can’t blame her.”

  The cheap description of his and Colby’s relationship had Reed grinding his teeth.

  Mason continued, being quite comfortable on the other end of Reed’s death glares. “So let me ask . . . were you or have you been seeing anyone else while stringing Colby along?”

  “NO!” Reed shot to his feet at the absurdity of such a question. His fury died out, yet his retelling of the story continued as Reed began to pace the office. “No, there wasn’t anyone else, then or now. As far as Colby was concerned, that’s just it; she was fine with keeping news of us private. I was the one who started hating the fact we needed to sneak around. Hated that I didn’t let anyone know that she was, in fact, mine,” Reed spoke, defeat lacing every word. “I started getting delusional about being together, craving it. Being overcome with the need of it. As long as she was with me in private, I could push off the need to announce she was mine in public. I could still live in my private bubble. But then Lacey showed up, and it all got fucked up.”

  Mason listened, never interrupting, but Reed knew this brother, in particular, would never remain quiet for long.

  “So let me get this straight . . . you managed to find a woman who not only was willing to endure your stupid-as-shit need to keep your love life separate from your family life, but you, Mr. Perfect, fucked it up?”

  Mason hit the nail on the head. He did fuck it up. All because he wouldn’t come out that he was in love with her. Mad with panic about the possibility of losing control, he lived in denial, causing her to settle for his terms before ultimately driving her away.