Jackson's Destiny (Sawyer Brothers #2)

by C. A. Harms

  I looked up at him then, and he stopped me before I could respond.

  “But you feel it the most out of us three.” His eyes filled with unshed tears, and damn it if my own vision didn’t get cloudy. “You started every day with him. You ended every night together too. You don’t think Noah and I know how close the two of you were? Sometimes it seemed like you two were the same person. Hell, you’d only have to look at each other to know what the other one was thinking. But we have to keep this place going, for Dad.”

  He sniffed and took in a calming breath. “This ranch meant the world to him. We have to hold it together. We have to take care of Momma, and we have to take of each other. This is us taking care of you. We won’t walk away and let you fall, Jack.”

  As Noah sat down on the other side of me, the first tear spilled over and ran down my cheek. “You can cuss us out, you can fight us, but we’re not letting you do this alone. We stick together.”

  I nodded because my throat was burning and I knew words at that moment were impossible.

  I let go and for the first time in my life, I cried in front of my brothers. Placing my face in my hands, I let go of the emotions I had hidden over the last few days. I shook with heavy sobs as my brothers sat at my sides, offering the support I didn’t want but knew I had no choice but to accept.

  Chapter Three

  Bailey

  Amber and Olivia ended up spending the night with me, and we gorged ourselves on a ton of baked goods and cried over a few sappy movies. We hid out in my room because Amber’s mom was still lingering around, and I had to keep my distance from her. She had somehow weaseled her way into our lives and was now staying in town. She even kept hinting about taking the spare bedroom upstairs. I knew if she and I were left alone for even five minutes, I might kill her.

  Carla and I had a lot of unfinished business, but there was a time and a place for it, and it wasn’t now. With the death of Bill still so fresh on everyone’s mind, a knock-down, drag-out fight between me and Queen Homewrecker wasn’t something anyone needed.

  I woke up early this morning as I always do and started the coffee for the bakery. Once Amber stumbled down the stairs, we worked together to get the trays stocked with the items Amber had baked last night.

  A few minutes later, we unlocked the doors, and customers wandered in. Most offered their condolences to Amber, and I was thankful Olivia was still sleeping. She didn’t need the constant reminder of her loss, even though I knew it was still very much on her mind.

  It was just after ten when I heard Carla’s laughter coming from the back entrance of the bakery. She pushed through the door, and Olivia followed closely behind, a smile gracing her lips.

  “Oh, sweetheart, you need to show a little more leg,” Carla babbled. “You are young and adorable, and I would kill to have your legs.”

  I was in a sour mood, and even though it may not have been my place to speak up, I did it anyway.

  “Olivia, don’t listen to Carla. She has no idea what it means to be a true lady.” The smile fell from Carla’s lips, and her nostrils flared. “No fashion advice, or anything for that matter, means much coming from a tramp like her.”

  Thank God our last customer of the morning had already left. Olivia looked between me and Carla as if she had no clue what to do or say. Instead of speaking, she slowly slipped past Carla and walked toward Amber, who stood near the cash register.

  Carla squared her shoulders and narrowed her eyes. “That’s classic coming from you. If I remember correctly, you were quite the tramp back in Chicago.”

  “Yeah, well, I’m pretty sure I never slept with married men. I’m more than positive I didn’t break up a marriage. And I know I didn’t prey on heartbroken men that were mourning the loss of their only son and then throw the fact I’d just nailed her husband in the face of that man’s wife.”

  Carla’s face went ashen, and Amber gasped.

  “What?” she asked, but I ignored her. Instead I stormed toward the back entrance, grabbing my keys from the table on the way.

  Outside, I jumped into my Jeep and sped away as tears rolled down my cheeks.

  I had always been able to control my anger until now. So many things from my life were still unsettled, and Carla was one of them. I hated her with a passion that I had to tuck away because of my relationship with Amber. I didn’t want how I felt about her mother to come between the two of us. But as a result, I was now filled with this overwhelming, uncontrollable anger again. It was like the death of Bill and the emotional turmoil it had thrown everyone around me into had brought back the loss of Gabe and in turn the disintegration of the rest of my family.

  I drove until I couldn’t see through my tears, then pulled over to the side of the road. Telling myself I was being ridiculous, I yanked my phone out of my back pocket and swiped my finger across the screen. Guilt set in as I saw the number of missed calls from Amber. She and Olivia didn’t need my drama, but God, Carla made me see red.

  I scrolled through my contacts and stopped on my mother, hovering my finger over the screen as I mentally prepared for the call.

  The moment her solemn voice whispered hello, my chest tightened. “Hey, Mom, how are you?” I asked. I held my breath and squeezed my eyes shut tightly.

  My mom had once been a vibrant, happy woman, but after my brother’s death, she just gave up on life. My father tried to get her help for the depression she’d fallen into after Gabe’s funeral, but she refused, and finally he just gave up on her. That was when he gave in to Carla’s advances and threw away any hope of mending his marriage.

  “I’m fine, Bailey,” she whispered, her voice raspy and weak. “You don’t have to keep checking on me.”

  I swallowed past the burning sensation that had begun to rise in my throat. “I just wanted to say hi.”

  “You did. Now go back to your life,” she said before hanging up.

  Tears rolled down my cheeks as I sat in my Jeep, staring through the windshield blankly. I had never faced what my father had done. Instead, I tucked it safely away and pretended it never happened. My father was too worried about his professional image at the time, and I was too saddened by the loss of Gabe to confront him. My family quickly fell apart after that, and I was so terrified of losing Amber that in the end I never told her what her mother had done.

  But now that Carla was here and in my face day after day, I couldn’t ignore it any longer. I couldn’t pretend she didn’t screw my father and then gloat about it to people that she knew would tell my mother. When Mom confronted her, Carla had the nerve to tell my mother that she was trying to help him move past his mistakes, as if my mother was one of those so-called mistakes. I’m more than positive his worst mistake was Carla.

  My anger wasn’t going away, so I made another irrational decision by calling my father next.

  “Bailey,” he greeted absently. I wasn’t surprised. He was so consumed with work that few things meant more to him than his next big account.

  “Have you even taken the time to check on her?” The last time my father and I talked, I returned the keys to the BMW he had insisted I drive. Like Amber, I no longer wanted to be the spoiled girl whose absent father thought he could buy her off in exchange for ignoring her.

  “I’ve been busy, Bailey,” he said in a clipped tone that only fueled my anger. I was clearly bothering him, but I didn’t give a shit.

  “Busy?” I responded in an equally clipped tone. “Doing what? Screwing your secretary or conquering your next big venture? I guess that doesn’t leave much time to check in on the woman you kicked while she was already down.”

  “I don’t appreciate your attitude.”

  I laughed, shaking my head at his heartless behavior. Two years ago, I never would have thought of speaking to my father like I was now. But my respect for him was long gone.

  “Please, will you for one moment think about her?” My lower lip trembled, and I took in a breath, attempting to calm my anger. “We all lost him, Dad. We a
ll wish we would have done more to help him. But he is gone, and I know how much that hurt, but we can’t bring him back. Our family fell apart, and know I’m living in some delusional fantasy by thinking that we will ever be whole again. But if you have even an ounce of compassion left in you, please…”

  We were both silent except for the sound of our breathing.

  I laid my head back against the seat and allowed the tears to fall without trying to control them.

  “Please get her help. Even if you can’t be the one that helps her, find someone that can. You owe her that,” I said just before lowering the phone and ending the call.

  I don’t know how much time had passed before the slam of a car door startled me. I looked up into my rearview mirror to see Noah’s patrol car parked just a few feet behind me and Noah approaching me with his hand tucked into the waistband of his jeans.

  No matter how I was feeling, the Sawyer boys made my heart race. They had this dominating look about them that made me feel tiny in their presence, and they were too attractive for their own good.

  I hit the button to roll down my window just as he stepped up to it. The moment my eyes connected with his, a look of concern washed over his features.

  “Hey, Bay, what’s going on?”

  I shook my head and averted my eyes immediately. I was a mess, and damn if his concern didn’t bring on more emotions. “Did Amber call you?” I whispered.

  “Ryan,” he replied. “But she called him. She’s worried and so are we.”

  “I’m fine. I just let Carla get to me,” I assured him, but I knew I didn’t sound too convincing.

  Noah opened my door, wrapped his arms around my shoulders, and pulled me into a hug. The smell of his cologne reminded me of Jackson. What the hell was it with these men? Did they all wear the same cologne?

  As he spoke to someone on his cell phone, I could hear his words vibrating through his chest. “I need you to come out to Cameron Lane and pick up Bailey’s Jeep.” There was a pause before he spoke again. “I’m taking her to my place so she can have some space. Stop being an ass and come get her Jeep.”

  I wondered who he had called, but before I could ask, he was pulling me out of my truck and leading me toward his cruiser.

  “Your Jeep will get picked up and brought to my place,” he said. “I’m on duty until ten tonight, so you have some time alone. Stay longer if you need to, but you aren’t driving in your state.”

  I looked up at him, wondering where this direct side of Noah had been hiding. I was used to the calm, cool, and collected version.

  Chapter Four

  Jackson

  Thank God my brothers had insisted I load myself up with a shit-ton of coffee, followed by enough water to flush out all the alcohol I had consumed last night. Because now I was sitting in Ryan’s truck as he drove me to Cameron Lane.

  Once I was behind the wheel of Bailey’s Jeep, I would be driving straight to Noah’s place to pick her ass up. It didn’t matter how much I had going through my head right now. If she was staying anywhere other than her own apartment, it sure as shit would not be at my single brother’s cabin.

  Bailey and I had been skirting around one another since the night Ryan and Amber found us at the side of the barn during our last annual cookout at the ranch. Both of us had a little too much to drink, and if they hadn’t stopped us when they did, I’m more than positive we would have had sex right there. Yeah, not one of my finest moments, especially since I was trying to convince Bay I was interested in her and wasn’t the playboy I used to be.

  “What are ya planning over there?” Ryan asked as he turned off the gravel road onto Cameron Lane.

  “Nothin’,” I said.

  “You got that look on your face. The one you get when shit’s happening and you’re taking control.” Ryan knew how I worked, and he wasn’t buying my shit.

  “I don’t know what’s going on with Bailey, and from the sound of it, neither does your woman. But I sure as hell ain’t leaving her in the care of Noah,” I said as I looked up the road just as Bailey’s red Jeep Wrangler came into view. She had only bought it a few weeks ago, and the thing was still shiny. I knew she was proud of it because it was the first vehicle she had ever bought for herself.

  “What if she wants to be in Noah’s care?” Ryan asked.

  I swiveled to face him and narrowed my eyes. “Ask me if I give a fuck,” I growled. “No, I don’t. I may not have gone about things with her the right way in the beginning. I may be shitfaced with my own grief, and my head may be full off all kinds of garbage right now, but the last thing I will allow to happen is Noah sliding in to be the man that was there for her when she needed a shoulder. So whether she wants to or not, her ass will be walking out of Noah’s place with me.” I turned back to look out the windshield as Ryan slowed to a stop just behind her Jeep. “Either that or I’ll be dropping her at Heavenly Temptations, but those are her only choices.”

  When Ryan stopped the car, I pushed open the door and slammed it behind me as I stalked to the Jeep. After I found the keys under the floor mat, I started it up and did a U-turn in the road, then headed back toward the gravel road that led to my cabin and Noah’s. I took the left turn on the Y-shaped fork in the road which separated our homes, and drove up the hill to Noah’s place.

  My father had given each of us a piece of land to build a house on, and Noah and I chose the property near Owen Lake. It was the second biggest lake on the ranch and the perfect location for a home. When we both wanted that spot, Dad insisted we divide the property in half, using the lake as the barrier. Noah went simple—a two-bedroom cabin with an open floor plan. I had to outdo him, of course, and went more extravagant.

  I skidded to a stop next to his cruiser and placed the Jeep in park. I left it running because I had no intention of staying long. I was here to get the girl. My boots clicked against the wood porch as I climbed the steps. The front door was slightly ajar, and I entered without as much as a knock to announce my presence.

  I found Noah in the kitchen drinking a can of Pepsi, and Bailey was nowhere in sight.

  “Where is she?” I growled.

  He spun on his heel to face me, and a knowing grin pulled at his lips. “Hey, brother.”

  “I asked where Bailey was.”

  He nodded toward the door just off his kitchen, which led to the bathroom. I leaned my hip against the edge of the counter and crossed my arms over my chest.

  “She’s fine to stay here. I think she just needs a little cooldown time,” Noah said.

  “She ain’t staying here,” I said, not taking my eyes off the closed door. “She needs someplace to crash, she can do that at my place.”

  “What if she would rather stay with me?” Noah taunted.

  I knew he was baiting me, but I didn’t bite. Instead, I focused on the door and waited. The moment the handle rattled, I pushed off the counter and walked toward Bailey as she stepped out of the bathroom. She turned and looked up as I approached, and her reddened eyes widened in surprise. She’d clearly been crying, which pulled at my heart, and she immediately looked at the floor to hide her face from me.

  I cupped her chin and turned her head so she had no choice but to look up at me. “You ready?” I asked.

  She looked back at me in confusion. “Ready for what?” My chest tightened again at the shakiness of her voice.

  “I’m taking you with me to my place.” It was an order, not an offer. The moment she started to shake her head, I smiled. Like she had a choice. “You can come willingly, or I can just pick your ass up and carry you to the Jeep. You choose, sweetheart, but those two are your only options.”

  She glared at me and went into her “I am Bailey, and you have no control over me” stance by putting her hand on her hip and cocking it out. She narrowed her eyes and wrinkled her nose in defiance. “You can’t force me.”

  “You wanna bet?” I fired back.

  “I’ll call the cops.” She looked over at Noah like he was gonna hel
p.

  “Darlin’, we’re standing in the home of one of the town’s police officers, and that sure as shit ain’t gonna stop me from loading you up and taking you to my place.”

  I chuckled as she swallowed hard, making her throat bob. When she didn’t move, I knelt, grabbed her around the waist, and then tossed her up over my shoulder.

  “Noah,” she squealed as she pounded her fists against my back. “Help me, dammit.”

  I turned around and found Noah hiding his laughter behind his closed fist. He made no move to come to her rescue, which was in his best interest. I walked right past him with a kicking, squealing Bailey and carried her outside to the Jeep, where I yanked open the passenger door and dropped her inside, then closed the door just as she opened her mouth to argue with me. She tried to climb out, but I shut the door the second she opened it, then glared at her through the window.

  I almost laughed when she huffed in irritation and crossed her arms over her chest before turning away from me. As I walked around the front of the Jeep and crawled in the driver’s side, she looked at me with a scowl, as if that would somehow intimidate me. Yeah, Bailey had always been feisty like that, and I couldn’t help but smile. This reminded me of the first time I hit on her and she sassed me, even though I could tell she was interested. She tried to hide it but always failed miserably. For the first time in four days, I felt a little lighter. Like a bit of the tremendous weight that had been bringing me down was lifted. I started the Jeep and cocked an eyebrow at the still-scowling blonde bombshell at my side. “You done pitching a fit?”

  “You done being an ass?” she countered.

  I shrugged and could no longer hold back my smile. “That depends on whether you’re done throwing a tantrum.”