by Ava Riley
****
Josiah opted to sit in the car and wait while the others gathered around the gravesite. He should have never come with them. Hell, he should have never even spoken to her. Susan didn’t need him around, he realized, because he would only be a constant reminder that she’d not been at her mother’s side when she passed away, but instead had been in his arms. He didn’t want to be that source of pain every time she looked at him, and quite honestly, he felt as if this were the sign he needed to figure out what to do with his life. The decision he’d been putting off since he arrived in California came to him on the lips of the woman who tugged at his heart. I should have never been with you ceased his wondering as to where he should call home. Rowan and Cade were doing fine without him and the only other reason he’d even considered staying had just shut the door to any possibilities.
Thinking over the past two months, Josiah sat amazed that the one woman he didn’t want just one night with would be the one he would only be granted the one night with. He pulled his cell phone from his back pocket and dialed the only woman who’d never disappointed him. On the third ring, she answered with the cheery voice he’d heard since his earliest memory.
“It’s a great day in the Hunter Home,” his mother’s voice chirped in his ear.
Chapter 25
Susan sat watching her father as he dusted off his second baloney sandwich and downed the last of his sweet tea with a smile on his face. It had been so long since that smile had reached his eyes, but now watching him across the table as she picked at her own lunch, the sparkle she remembered growing up and well into her adult life was evident not just in his face, but in his body. Over the past two months, she’d watched his body heal from the beating it had taken since he’d started taking care of her mother and even the natural bronze coloring of his skin had returned. With each passing day, he was returning to the father she remembered. He still has his days of grief for the loss of her mother, those days were expected, but they were becoming less and less as the days passed.
Susan, unfortunately, had not recovered as quickly. She’d taken a leave of absence from work for the past two months, which would be coming to an end this time next week, and had not done much but moped around her apartment. The only time she’d take to get out of the confines of her apartment, was either to come over to cook for her father, who insisted that he didn’t need the help, or to hang out with Tessa at Rowan’s, which proved not to be healthy for her. About a week after her mother’s funeral, she’d finally accepted Tessa’s invitation to hang out with her and Madison at the beach near Rowan’s house and had gotten a surprise she’d not expected. Josiah was gone. A part of her had wished to get a glance of him and had been disappointed at the news of his leaving.
After their conversation at the church, Josiah had made his decision to head home to Texas instead of staying and going into practice with Cade and Rowan, even though they’d tried to convince him to take some time to think things over. The following day, he packed up his things and took a flight from LAX to Dallas, without even a word to her. But then again, what did she expect? She pushed him away when he’d reached out to her. She had avoided him at all cost and not given him one damn good reason to stay. Hell, she would have packed up and left, also without giving it another thought. Susan picked at the half eaten sandwich sitting in front of her, pushing at the moist bread with her fingertips like she had when she was a child, while lost in her thoughts. Her father’s voice quickly ushered her from her reflective state to present.
“Baby girl, your mother gave me a lot of wonderful years,” he said when Susan lifted her eyes to him. “And a beautiful daughter,” he said with a wink. “I don’t want you missing out on that kind of happiness.”
“I’m not missing out-”
“You will if you keep secluding yourself from the outside world. These walls had you long enough,” he said his arms spanned the room. “They don’t need you making an appearance so often.”
Susan stood and walked to the opposite side of the table where her father sat. She brushed the crumbs that missed his plate into her hand then wiped them over the napkin next to it. She felt the gentle touch of his fingers against her skin stopping her movements.
“I like coming over here. Besides, there’s no one who peaks my interest at the moment to warrant me spending time anywhere else,” she said as she pressed her lips at his receding hairline.
“You never were a good liar, you know,” he called after her when she took their dishes into the kitchen.
No, she never had been. The ache in her chest she’d felt since she found out Josiah had left, had only intensified as the weeks started turning into months. She’d tried to brush it off, attributing it to the loss of her mother, but as time ticked by slower than a bottle of molasses on an Alaskan winter day the truth of this particular pain lay in the loss of Josiah and nothing else. She’d been prepared for her mother’s passing, although it had been difficult it was an inevitable event that she and her father knew would come to pass sooner than later. Josiah’s leaving had been unexpected. Even though Susan had no right to feel any kind of hurt over it, the ache still settled in the center of her chest and made it often difficult to get a good cleansing breath. She’d refused his phone calls, refused his attempt at comforting her on what possibly was the worst day of her life, and she’d completely shut him out. Yet, here she stood in the home she grew up in with an ache that tore at the very fibers of her being, wishing like hell that he were here.
Susan finished rinsing off the dishes and placed them in the dishwasher. Drying her hands, she turned to find her father leaning against the door frame leading into the kitchen. His eyes met hers with a knowing that always astounded her.
“He’s the one I saw you with at the church, right?”
“Who?” she asked as if by playing dumb her father would drop the conversation.
“The young man who’s got your head all messed up.”
“My head is not messed up,” she responded, folding the hand towel she used to dry her hands with into a small square and placing it on the counter.
“Mmmhmm. Listen here, little girl. I didn’t raise you to run away from things that are unfamiliar or a little scary. I don’t expect to see you doing it now.”
“I’m not running away from anything. He’s the one that left. He’s the one who took the first flight to Texas after mom’s funeral, not me,” she said leaning her back to the counter as she kicked the heel of her foot against the toe of her other.
Her father glanced down at her feet, the corners of his mouth raising. “Then go get him and bring him back.”
“Dad, just drop it. He’s gone and I’ve not given him a good reason to come back here.”
Faster than she thought the man could move, her father stood in front of her with his nose almost touching hers. “Then give him a reason. Your mother is gone. She has been for a while, even before her body decided it was time to go. You walking through this life miserable will not bring her home or undo anything that has been done.”
“I should have been there when she passed away,” Susan said.
“Why? So you could say goodbye to her? Baby, she wouldn’t have even known you said it. Why do you think I waited until she was already gone to call you? I didn’t want that to be your last memory of your mother. Don’t you see that?”
Susan stood silent as the tears she’d come to accept made their way down a path they’d traveled too often over the past two months. Some had been shed for her mother, others for Josiah. Today a mixture of both over the loss of the woman who gave her life and the man who’d shown her happiness in the midst of a life filled with turmoil.
“How do I convince him?” she asked her father as he wiped away her tears.
“Only you know that, baby girl.”
Chapter 26
Josiah watched as his phone vibrated against the mahogany table sitting in his parents’ kitchen as he flipped a grilled cheese sandwich wondering if h
e should answer it or just let it go to voicemail. He shut off the flame beneath the pan and snatched his phone just in time to see that it was Rowan calling.
“Rowan, buddy,” he said after answering and pressing the speaker button.
“J! How’s it going over in big T?”
“Couldn’t be better,” he lied through gritted teeth. “How are things there? How’s Madison feeling these days?”
“Yeah, well that’s why I’m calling. We need you to come back to California. I sent you an email confirmation with your plane ticket.”
“Why? What’s happened? Is Madison okay?”
“She’s great. Seems like we’re going to have a wedding this next weekend and I, we, want you there.”
Josiah lowered himself to the high back chair that matched the table unable to form any words at the declaration Rowan had just made. A wedding and so quickly? The pieces began to knit together within his mind. Madison had been so sick and dehydrated that it cost a visit to the emergency room. Neither she nor Rowan ever took the time to tell anyone why she’d been so sick, but now it make perfect sense. Josiah shook his head, berating himself for not seeing the signs. Madison and Rowan were getting married because she was pregnant. Neither he nor Rowan said anything for a long moment.
“Rowan, you know I’m not one to pry. To each his own I always say. But are you marrying her because she’s pregnant?”
Rowan’s laughter echoed throughout the kitchen. “No, I’m marrying her because I love her and I don’t want to live my life without her. She just happens to be carrying my child. She wants to get married before she’s further along in her pregnancy. You’ll be here, right?”
“I wouldn’t miss it for anything,” Josiah said sitting dumbfounded.
After he ended the conversation with Rowan he finished up his lunch then sauntered to the room he’d grown up in and now found as his residence until he could get a place of his own. The room sat as it had when he’d graduated high school. An old twin bed with a dark wood headboard sat in the middle of the room along with a matching nightstand off to the left of it. A four drawer dresser that matched the rest of the furniture was pushed cattycorner near a single door closet. The closet held various games from his childhood that his mother refused to throw away. Most with torn boxes or missing pieces. Even the Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots had looked as if they’d taken too many punches to the head. She’d always said she wanted to keep them for when he brought her grandchildren over for a visit. Josiah lowered himself to the bed and shoved his hands through his thick dark hair. The rate he was going, there would never be any grandchildren, at least not from him.
He grabbed his laptop from the desk across the room and plopped down on the bed. True to his word, when Josiah opened his email, one of the first messages he saw was from Rowan with the subject line…Get Your Ass to Cali. Josiah let out a laugh as he opened it. Along with the confirmation for his ticket had been an itinerary for the wedding. Not much to it as it seemed it would be held at Rowan’s house, or rather on the beach near his house with just a few guests. There hadn’t been a list of names added, but Josiah couldn’t help but wonder if Susan would be there. Last he’d heard from Rowan, she hadn’t been very sociable since the funeral. Josiah pushed the thought from his mind as quickly as he let it enter. He’d spent the last couple months trying to forget Susan. He didn’t give two blows to the wind whether she showed up or not. That’s what his mind kept telling his heart, at least.
Rowan hadn’t wasted any time. Josiah’s flight was scheduled to leave at eight the following morning. Good thing he had nothing going on in his life where he could just pick up and go. He clicked the link for the airline in the email and did the online check-in then printed his ticket. Packing would be easy as he hadn’t really unpacked since he’d gotten home from his last trip out to California. He’d only be there a couple days so he tossed in a few clean t-shirts, his board shorts, just in case he and the guys were able to catch some waves in between the festivities, and an outfit for the wedding. Simple khaki slacks and a white button up was all Rowan requested. Typical beach wedding. Josiah thought as he tossed in the last of the necessities he’d need.
****
Susan wore a path in Madison’s living room as she paced the floor, biting at her thumb nail while she waited for Tessa to return from Rowan’s. When the door flung open unexpectedly, her body spun to the direction of the sound startled by the banging that accompanied it. She’d about bit off the tip of her thumb from the sudden jerk of the door.
“What the hell, Tess? You almost scared the life out of me,” Madison responded before Susan could say a word.
Susan stood waiting for news from the other camp, as Tessa caught her breath from the short run over from Rowan’s place. When Tessa arrived at her apartment earlier in the day, she’d informed Susan that Josiah was coming into town. She’d also relayed to her that Rowan told Josiah that he and Madison were getting married this weekend and that he needed to attend the ceremony. Really, it was a half-lie and a half-truth, as Rowan pointed out. He and Madison did plan on getting married, but they’d decided to wait until after the baby was born. Which the news of a baby was another shocker thrown up at Susan that flew from Tessa’s lips as if she were reading off a weather report. Tessa had said they knew it would be the only way to get him back to California so that he and Susan could patch things up. Whoever gave them the idea in the first place that things needed to be patched was beyond her, but as she stood just yards from where Josiah would be making an appearance, her heart beat erratically in her chest. According to Tessa, he had no idea Susan would be anywhere near Rowan’s place and so the anxiety of seeing him got bumped up a few notches after she’d arrived at Madison’s and learned that tidbit of information. Susan had just shaken her head, knowing that if Tessa wanted something, Tessa made it happen. And arguing about it would be as futile as trying to yank the horns from a bull. It would be a waste of time and energy.
Since her conversation with her father, Susan had wanted to talk to Josiah, to apologize to him for being an ass, but she’d not had the courage to do so. He’d told her to find a way to convince Josiah to come back, but who in their right mind would want to have anything to do with someone who’d basically shunned them? So, she’d gone about her life, trying to live as if she’d never spent a moment with him. She tried unsuccessfully to put their night of passion out of her mind, while her body refused to let her forget. Now, she stood in Madison’s house amidst the multitude of boxes Madison had packed up so that she could move all of her belongings in with Rowan and waited along with the rest of them, her thumbnail the recipient of abuse due to her anxiety.
Chapter 27
Josiah stretched his jean clad legs, placed his hands over his head and pulled all the tightness that had rested in his muscles on the flight to LA from his body. The salty air from the ocean drifted up into his nose and he welcomed it like a lover who had been from his arms too long. He couldn’t wait to feel a surfboard under his feet or the water crash against his body as he rode on wave after rolling wave. His last trip out reminded him of the peace the ocean offered him and he missed it even more when he’d gone home to Texas than when he’d left for the Marines. He watched as the water lapped at the shore and decided not to wait too long before he threw on his shorts to feel the slap of the ocean against his skin.
“Do we have time to hit some waves?” he asked Rowan as he pulled his duffle bag from the backseat.
“Unfortunately, not today. Madison is moving her things in. Sorry to have to put you to work right away. I hope you don’t mind.”
“Not at all,” Josiah said. “Let me just toss my bag inside and I’ll be right over.”
Rowan nodded as he headed to Madison’s while Josiah walked into the house to deposit his belongings. He wondered if the spare room he used the last time would still be available, with all the changes taking place in Rowan’s life, he wasn’t sure. Maybe they’d already started setting up a nursery, heav
en knows, Rowan had been somewhat enthusiastic about the prospect of a little one running around. Josiah didn’t even put it past Rowan to already have a college fund set up for the kid. Much to his surprise, as he pushed open the door to the room he occupied previously, it sat just as he’d left it. Well, with the exception of new blue and red bedding set. He tossed his bag along with his black Stetson to the bed, ran his fingers through his hair to bring some life to it then headed out the door. On his way to Madison’s, both she and Rowan were walking over with their hands full of boxes while Tessa trailed behind them with a smile as wide as the Amazon River plastered on her face.
Josiah chalked it up to Tessa’s elation over Rowan’s fortunate turn of events with his relationship and the fact that a baby would be along shortly. No doubt, the idea of becoming an aunt had to cause the excitement she showed now. Unless, of course, there was something else she was hiding from him. With Tessa’s track record nothing would surprise him. He pushed the thought from his mind and focused on the task at hand.
“Is there quite a bit still to bring over?” he asked her as she all but skipped past him.
“Oh, you can just grab whatever moves you,” she responded with a wink.
Josiah turned on his heels to face Tessa. “What has gotten into you, girl?”
Tessa ignored his question, moving at a quicker pace to Rowan’s place as if she couldn’t get away from Josiah fast enough. The sand that had settled in the sparse patches of grass kicked up as her steps increased and he swore he heard a faint laugh as she distanced herself from him. He brushed off her odd response and moved up the steps to Madison’s to grab what boxes he could to help get her moved in and settled. Thank God she wasn’t very far, otherwise the simple task would have turned into a monstrous job. As Josiah swung the door open, he heard a gasp come from his right. He quickly pivoted to face whoever lingered in the house. He stood motionless, unable to make his muscles follow his commands or make his voice start working. Susan’s lips had released the startled sound and she stood just feet from him looking as sexy as he’d ever seen her. The blond tresses he’d run his fingers through only months ago, were pulled into a tight ponytail, accentuating her high cheekbones and bringing out her piercing green eyes. Her lips were as lush as he remembered and opened just slightly as if to take in small calming breaths. His gaze traveled the length of her body, the corner of his mouth lifting as he took in the sight of her standing there with a blue v-neck tee that clung to her breasts. He felt envious of the material, wanted to pull it from her body and replace it with his fingers, or better yet, his mouth. A pair of tight khaki shorts reached just above the middle of her thighs and visions of those legs wrapped tightly around him as he’d penetrated the depths of her played over in his mind. Josiah pulled his thoughts from the past when his cock twitched at the sight of her, cursing his body for having such a reaction to a woman who had no use for him any longer.
