by Liz Isaacson
Hunter had asked her what she meant that she couldn’t text him back, and the petty side of her wanted to tell him to ask his father.
A fresh wave of tears threatened to drown her. Her eyes felt so heavy, and she coached herself to keep going. She was only a few minutes from Coral Canyon, and she could rest when she got to the hospital. Wes had also texted to say Bree’s labor was progressing very slowly, and she likely wouldn’t have the baby for several hours.
Elise hadn’t responded. She didn’t want either of them to know she’d come immediately. Embarrassment squirreled through her, along with a healthy dose of self-loathing. She reached over and stroked Hutch’s neck, something she’d been doing every few minutes when she needed comfort.
She’d had all night to think about her shortcomings, and the worst one by far was the fact that she’d followed yet another man wherever he dictated.
She’d moved to Jackson Hole to be with Brandt, and he’d broken her heart into small shards.
And now she’d moved to Ivory Peaks—kind of—to be with Gray, and he’d done the exact same thing.
“There were no signs,” she said to herself. With Brandt there had been signs that things weren’t great between them. But with Gray, Elise felt absolutely whole. She loved him with her whole heart, and she couldn’t imagine a day without him in her life. And returning to the house he owned so wasn’t happening, though she’d left everything she owned behind.
Maybe she could get Colton to come help her pack it up and move it back to the cabin. He’d been talking about coming down to visit Ames and his parents while Annie and Eden worked on the wedding.
If she did that, she’d have to explain everything to Colton.
“That’s out,” she muttered as she crossed into the city limits of Coral Canyon. She’d thought she’d feel like she was coming home, but oddly enough, she didn’t. She truly was simply drifting through space, without an anchor or even a place to belong.
She pulled into the hospital parking lot and checked her appearance in the rear-view mirror. She certainly looked like a woman who’d been crying for the majority of the last eight hours. She hadn’t slept, and that wasn’t hard to see either.
She had her famous lip gloss in her purse, and she went inside and slipped into the nearest bathroom to freshen up. She ran back out to the car and let Hutch out so he could relieve himself, and she told him, “It’ll just be a minute, okay, bud?”
He jumped in the back seat and turned toward her. “Just take a nap. I’ll take you up the cabin in a bit. You can chase squirrels all day.” She smiled at him and gave him a quick pat before closing the door.
By the time she arrived in the maternity ward, she felt sure she could chalk up the bags under her eyes to her haste to get there to support Bree.
“Elise.” Colton rose from a chair and came toward her, a giant smile on his face.
Elise’s tears started again, and she stepped into her best friend’s arms. “Has she had him yet?”
“No word yet,” Colton said, holding her. “What’s wrong?”
“Oh, nothing.” Elise scoffed and put a smile on her face before she stepped away from him. “I drove all night, and I’m just so excited for Bree.” She wiped her eyes. “Have you been here all night?”
“No, I just got here about thirty minutes ago.” He returned her smile, and they went back to the chairs where he’d been sitting. He sighed as he sat, and Elise picked up on something there.
“How’s the wedding planning coming?”
“I’m dying,” he said, meeting her eye. “There was quite a big argument just last night.” He leaned back and closed his eyes. “I didn’t sleep well, and I’m going to Colorado whenever you are.”
“Really?” Her heart skipped a couple of beats. If he came to Colorado, he’d find out about her and Gray. She should tell him anyway. The only reason he didn’t already know was because he’d lost sleep last night too.
“Really,” he said. “I just need a break.”
“Annie’s okay with it?”
“Yes,” he said. “She’s trying to get the girls to be nice to each other, and if she doesn’t have to worry about me, she can just focus on them.”
Elise’s phone rang, and Hunter’s name sat there. She quickly angled it away from Colton and silenced it. He didn’t even open his eyes, and Elise moved over to a couch and laid down. She’d been awake for over twenty-four hours, and it wasn’t hard to fall asleep, despite the less-than-ideal conditions.
Sometime later, Elise didn’t know how long, Colton said, “Elise, sweetheart. Wake up. He’s here.”
Her eyes snapped open, and she tried to remember where she was. Colton and the medical smell in the air reminded her, and she sat up. “She had the baby?”
“Yes,” Colton said. “And Wes said we could go back.” He helped her stand, and they went through the huge double-doors together. Elise could hardly contain her excitement, despite the heavy weight of Gray in her mind.
“Right here.” Colton led the way through the door and into a room, and Elise followed him. Bree sat up in the hospital bed, her baby in her arms, and everything in Elise sighed.
“You came,” Bree said, already crying.
Elise rushed to her side and hugged her. “Of course we came.”
“We’re your best friends,” Colton added.
“You drove ten minutes,” Bree said, shaking her head as she smiled. “I meant Elise.”
“So my sacrifice isn’t appreciated because it’s less than hers?” Colton grinned at the two of them.
“I appreciate it,” Bree said, gazing down at her newborn. “This is Michael Wesley Hammond.” She spoke in a reverent voice, and Elise knew why. This baby seemed to have bits of heaven still clinging to him, and she wanted to hold him so badly.
Bree seemed to sense Elise’s need, because she lifted the infant toward her. “Michael, this is my best friend, Elise.”
“Oh.” She settled the little bundle of a person in the crook of her elbow, and the baby squirmed and grunted. “He’s beautiful, Bree.” She gazed down at the tiny human, her own desire to be a mother doubling and then tripling. And she’d thought she’d been getting close. Now she was all the way back to square one, and she didn’t even want to play anymore.
If she couldn’t have Gray, she didn’t want anyone.
She moved over to Colton. “And this is Colton,” she said. “He’s your uncle, but he’s also Bree’s other best friend.” She gave the baby to Colton, and she wanted to take a snapshot of this picture of the three of them with Michael.
“Where’s Wes?” she asked.
“His mother called,” Bree said. “Come tell me about Colorado.” She smiled warmly at Elise, but Elise couldn’t talk about Colorado without talking about Gray. And she couldn’t talk about Gray without crying, and then her best friends would know how terribly wrong everything was right now.
Who else should you rely on? she wondered, and she pulled up the only chair in the room and sat down. “Colorado is okay,” she said.
That got Colton to look away from the baby.
“Just okay?” Bree asked.
Elise nodded and looked down at her hands. “Actually, it’s pretty terrible.” She sniffled. “Gray broke up with me last night.”
“You’re kidding,” Colton practically yelled. “Why?”
“Something about how he saw the texts I’d sent to Hunter.” She shook her head. “I don’t know why. He called, and he said we couldn’t see each other anymore, and he told me to stay away from Hunter. When I asked him what he was talking about, he said he’d seen the texts, and that was it.”
“He sabotaged.” Colton shook his head, his expression furious.
That didn’t make Elise’s heart any less shattered, and she couldn’t look at Bree or Colton. She knew neither of them had enjoyed a golden path to marital bliss, but she still felt like the loser of the group.
“I tried calling him back, but he wouldn’t answer.” She loo
ked up, and that made her tears stream down her face. “I love him so much, and I just—I can’t go back there.”
“Oh, Elise.” Colton handed baby Michael back to Bree and returned to Elise. He crouched in front of her, and she embraced him. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered.
“I just don’t know what I did,” she said. “Look at the texts, Colt, and tell me what I did. I’ll fix it.”
“He loves you too,” Colton said. “He’s just so scared.” He took her phone and looked at the texts, frowning all the while. He handed the phone back. “I don’t know what he saw here. You want me to call him?”
“No,” Bree and Elise said at the same time. She felt like a real jerk for ruining what should be a sweet experience for Bree.
She got to her feet and leaned over to hug Bree. “I’m sorry,” she said. “No more talk of Gray.” She drew in a deep breath. “But I did drive all night, so I need to find somewhere to take a nap. Oh, and Hutch is in the car.”
“Go up to the cabin,” Bree said. “It’ll be quiet, and you can sleep all day.”
“I can take your dog,” Colton said.
The door opened, and the three of them turned toward it as Wes came in. “Oh, you guys made it.” He wore such a happy smile, and Elise took the opportunity to slide behind Colton and wipe her eyes before she said hello to him.
She left only a few minutes later, with Colton right at her side. “Are you going to go up to the cabin?” he asked.
“Yes,” she said. “I can get Patsy to unlock it for me.” She gave Colton the best smile she could muster. “You need a nap too, Mister.”
“I’m worried about you,” he said.
“I’m worried about me too,” she said, trying to be brave and failing. “But I’m going to eat and sleep, and things will be okay.” She had to believe that, or she’d simply go up to the cabin and never leave again.
Colton hugged her in the parking lot and said, “Call me if you need anything. And come down for dinner tonight to my place. I really will take Hutch for as long as you need me too. Sparky loves him.”
“Okay,” she said. “Thanks, Colt.” She made it up the canyon without incident, and Patsy had unlocked the door for her. She went down the hall to her old bedroom, the place as familiar and as comfortable as it had ever been. Hutch ran around, obviously excited to be back where he’d grown up.
She plugged in her phone, ignoring the texts and missed calls she had, and though she was exhausted, she still had a few moments to wonder if any of the texts or calls had come from Gray.
She’d check when she woke up, because if they hadn’t, she didn’t think she’d be able to sleep.
Chapter Thirty-One
Colton wanted a nap the moment he walked in his house. The scent of beachy perfume told him Eden was at the house, and her car sat in the driveway too. “Hey,” he said, putting a smile on his face as he went into the living area. Annie and Eden sat at the big kitchen table against the back wall, every available inch of it covered with something wedding-related. Announcements. Flowers. Cake.
Or maybe the cake was just for him.
He bent down and kissed his wife, then smiled at her daughter. “How are we this morning?”
“Okay,” Eden said, meeting his eye briefly. “Sorry about last night, Colton.”
“It’s okay,” he said. “I get siblings. I’ve got four brothers, and let me tell you, I don’t get along with all of them one-hundred percent of the time.” He smiled at her.
“But she only has Emily,” Annie said, her voice already tense. “So she better figure out how to get along, or she won’t have anyone.”
“I know, Mom.” Eden ducked her head. “I already said I’d apologize.”
Colton moved into the kitchen. “Can I have some of this cake?”
“Yes,” Annie said. “It’s dry, just so you know.”
Colton didn’t care about that. He could soak it in cream, and it would be just great. He cut himself a thick slice and opened the fridge. “Did you tell her about our gift?”
“No,” Annie said, clearly still distracted.
Colton returned to the table and took a seat. “Should I tell her?”
“It’s your money.” Annie met his eye.
Colton looked right back at her. “No, it’s our money.” They’d had this conversation before, and he really wasn’t in the mood to have it again. He’d promised Elise he’d stay out her relationship with Gray, but he really just wanted to call his older brother and ask him what the devil he’d been thinking. Why couldn’t he have just stayed calm for once? Found out the truth before he went and did something so rash?
His patience was already thin, and he didn’t want to argue with his wife. She softened and reached for his hand. “Okay. I’ll tell her.” She looked at Eden while Colton took his first bite of cake. It was dry, and to add to that, the chocolate was too bitter. Definitely not his favorite as he preferred a lot more sugar than this.
“Honey, for your wedding, we’re going to give you the same thing we gave Emily. See, in Colton’s family, when they turn twenty-one, they inherit a sum of money. They’re expected to do something amazing with it, work hard, all of that.” She glanced at Colton, and while that was a really watered down version of the truth, it would do.
“So we’ll be gifting you and Mitchell one million dollars, and—”
“What?” Eden asked, her eyes widening. She looked at Annie and then Colton. “What do you mean?”
“She means that we’ll be transferring a million dollars into your bank account,” Colton said calmly. Emily had reacted this way too. “And we expect you to do something great with it. Start a business. Follow a dream that can have a positive impact on your life or the lives of others. Be smart. Work hard. Double it or triple it. Trust in the Lord, and be happy.”
Annie nodded along with everything Colton said, a smile stuck to her face.
Eden exploded to her feet and ran her hands through her hair. “I can’t…a million dollars?” She looked like she might throw up.
“I got two billion when I turned twenty-one,” Colton said. “This is significantly less.”
Eden just blinked at him as if she didn’t understand the English language.
“Sit down, dear,” Annie said gently. “It’s just money.”
“No, Mom.” Eden sat down and leaned toward her mother. “It’s more than money. It’s insane. We can’t take it.”
So that was different than Emily’s reaction. She’d burst into tears and hugged Annie and Colton, as had Kelly, minus the tears.
“Of course you can,” Colton said. “It’s a lot to take in, I’ll give you that. I knew I’d be getting my money for eight years before I got it. The responsibility I felt was enormous.”
“So while we want you and Mitch to be responsible and do something great with it,” Annie said. “Don’t feel so much pressure.”
Eden covered her face with her hands for a moment, and when they fell away, she had tears in her eyes too. “I don’t know what to say.”
“You say thank you,” Annie said. She stood up, and Eden did too, and they embraced. Colton enjoyed watching the tender moment, and his heart filled with love for Eden. He understood Eden, and he found himself always siding with her over Emily. He wasn’t sure why, only that he knew exactly how it felt to have to live up to a perfect, older sibling.
And he had two of them.
Turned out Gray wasn’t as perfect as everyone thought though, and as Colton stood to embrace Eden too, he determined to make a phone call as soon as he could. “Thank you,” Eden said to him.
He stepped back and held onto her shoulder. “Your mother and I love you very much,” he said, his voice catching. He didn’t have biological children of his own, but he did love these girls. “And Mitch too.” He smiled, because his emotions seemed to be ricocheting around in the back of his throat.
“Can I go call him?”
“Go ahead,” Annie said. “This floral catalog will still be her
e.” She threw it a dirty look and then looked at Colton while Eden rushed from the room. “Thank you for loving them.”
“Thank you for sharing them with me.” He hugged her too, ending their embrace with a kiss. “Now, I have to go call my brother.”
“Which one?” Annie asked. “And what did he do?”
“Gray,” he said. “He broke Elise’s heart, and I suspect his own too.” Colton picked up his bowl and put the rest of the cake in the sink. “That’s really not good.”
“I tried to warn you,” she said with a smile. “I can’t wait until this wedding is over.”
Colton silently agreed, but he just nodded as he stepped outside to make the call.
Gray picked up after only the first ring, as if he’d been stationed beside the phone. “Colton,” he said, plenty of resignation in his voice. “Go ahead. Go ahead and tell me what an idiot I am.”
“Why would I do that?” Colton asked, watching as Sparky darted down the steps from the deck to the backyard.
“You’ve spoken to Elise, I assume?”
Colton didn’t want to lie. So he just said, “Tell me why you did it.”
“Because I’m a fool? Because I wanted to be sure in a world where you can never be one-hundred percent sure? Because I’m in love with her, and I’m terrified of that, and I don’t know how to admit it?” Gray sucked in a breath and blew it out. “Pick one.”
Colton felt his brother’s agony from five hundred miles away. “I’m so sorry, Gray.”
“Do you know where she is?” he asked. “Hunter’s plenty upset with me, and he’s tried calling her a few times. Texting too. She won’t answer.”
“Maybe she just needs a day,” Colton said, dodging the question.
“If you talk to her again, could you please let her know it’s okay to speak to Hunter?” Gray carried only remorse in his voice. “He’s very upset, and I hate that it’s my fault.”
“He loves her too.”
“More than me, I’m afraid,” Gray said, his voice changing. A couple of seconds of silence came through the line. “That’s another thing, Colt. He loves her more than me, and maybe I don’t like that. Maybe it frustrates me, and maybe I thought if I pushed her away, we could go back to how we were, just the two of us.”
