Checkered Past

by Abby Gaines

  An intruder!

  She shrieked and Chad jerked instantly awake…just as the room flooded with light.

  Zack, Trent and Brady Matheson stood just inside the door, all three of them gaping like tourists at the Taj Mahal.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  BRIANNA DIVED beneath the covers—they might not have noticed her, or at least not have recognized her.

  Chad cursed. “What the hell are you guys doing here?”

  “What the hell are you doing?” Brady growled. Then, “Don’t answer that. I have eyes in my head.”

  “You’re sleeping with my sponsor?” Zack demanded, incredulous.

  In her hiding place Brianna groaned. So much for the hope they hadn’t recognized her.

  “How did you get in?” Chad demanded.

  “You gave me your spare key,” Zack said. “You told me to come by and pick up the track stats to discuss with Dad.”

  “I meant earlier,” Chad snapped.

  “Excuse me for not knowing you were entertaining,” Zack snapped back. His voice sounded closer—shouldn’t they be leaving, rather than advancing?

  “I suppose I should be grateful you didn’t bring Kelly and Julie-Anne with you,” Chad muttered.

  “They went to the mall to eat,” Trent said. His voice turned accusing. “They were looking for Brianna to invite her along.”

  Brianna ran out of air beneath the duvet. Reluctantly she stuck her head out. Zack’s ironic expression reminded her of the night when she’d told him nothing would happen between her and Chad.

  Trent ran a hand through his hair. “I can’t believe you’d…” He stopped, fixed his brother with a harder look than Brianna had seen on his usually carefree face. “You wouldn’t.”

  Beside her, Chad tensed—even more than he had already. “Can you guys give us some privacy?” he asked.

  But Trent wasn’t a quitter, on the track or in life. “You wouldn’t cheat on your wife, even if you haven’t seen her for a couple of years.” He turned to the others. “You know what this means?”

  Going by their blank expressions, neither Brady nor Zack shared Trent’s insight.

  “I can’t believe it, but I know I’m right.” Trent grinned, smugly certain of his instincts. “Brianna is Chad’s wife.”

  OH, HELL.

  Chad sent Trent a look that should have shriveled his pain-in-the-butt youngest brother on the spot. Not only did Trent remain unshriveled, but his shrug of apology was far from sincere.

  “Is that true?” Brady demanded.

  Chad had never realized how much dignity clothes and a desk lent a guy. Talking to his family while he was naked in bed with a mortified, equally naked Brianna, was about the most lowering thing he’d ever experienced.

  He mustered what shreds of his authority remained. “Out,” he said, “all of you. We’ll get dressed, then we’ll let you back in. Whether we talk to you about this or not is our decision, so don’t hold your breath.”

  It felt weird using words like we and our about him and Brianna.

  Trent at last showed he was good for something, as he took charge of shepherding his shell-shocked brother and father out the door.

  Brianna threw herself down into the pillows, the sheet pulled up to her chin. She moaned.

  “I’m sorry,” Chad said. “It never occurred to me Zack would turn up.”

  “If it had been just Zack…” She trailed off as if she’d realized that would have been no better.

  She was pale, and her lips trembled in a way that made him want to kiss them again, for reassurance, for comfort. Although doubtless that would soon turn to something hotter…

  Chad red-flagged that line of thought. “We’ll have to tell them,” he said.

  To his relief, she nodded. “Trent was so certain you’d never cheat on your wife, we have no choice.”

  “We don’t want any confusion over where this is going,” Chad said. “We’ll tell them we’re getting a divorce.”

  She nodded. He began searching for his clothes—how had his pants ended up on the TV set? Oh, yeah—he smiled at the memory. Brianna had been excitingly assertive about getting him naked—he’d had no chance to fold his clothes the way he’d done on their wedding night.

  “You think this is funny?” Brianna stepped into her dress. “Because it’s the worst moment of my life.”

  What happened before his family arrived had been the best moment of his life, Chad realized with a shock.

  “If my father hears that I…slept with the owner of one of the teams I’m evaluating…” She hiccupped.

  “You slept with your husband,” Chad said. He moved behind her to help her with her zipper.

  Her hands froze, then made way for him. “And if he hears that I got married without telling him…”

  “What? He won’t love you anymore?” Chad kicked himself for his lack of tact. “Sorry. I know things are tough with your dad.” The zipper slid into place; he had no more reason to keep his hands on her. “He won’t hear anything. My family might be nosy and interfering, but they’re loyal.”

  She turned to face him, all anxiety, no trace of the uninhibited lover with whom he’d shared incredible intimacy tonight. He had a feeling he wouldn’t see her naked again for a very long time. If ever. His throat constricted.

  “Ready?” he managed.

  “Nearly.” She pulled a comb from her purse and tugged it through the hair he’d mussed. “Okay, I guess so.”

  Chad looked down at her, at her cheeks flushed with embarrassment, at the pink curve of her mouth. He dropped a kiss on her lips. “We can do this,” he said. “Together.”

  He opened the door.

  Any hope that his family might have grown tired of waiting was quickly dispelled. His brothers and his dad practically fell into the room.

  “Is it true?” Brady demanded. “Are you two married?”

  “Have a seat, guys.” Chad didn’t want this to turn into a stand-up argument. He indicated the small meeting table and chairs. Brianna perched on the end of the bed—she shot Chad a grateful look, which he guessed was because he’d pulled up the covers. After a second’s hesitation, he sat next to her.

  His father was about to bust a gut, so Chad said, “Trent’s right. We’re married.”

  Three voices fired questions. Chad held up his hand.

  “We got married in Vegas after Trent won there in April two years ago.” They knew that; he’d told them last year. “We both realized right away—” but not before it was too late “—we’d made a mistake.”

  Beside him, Brianna’s head twitched, as if he’d surprised her. What was that about? She’d been as adamant as Chad that they’d made a mistake. Hadn’t she? A cold wind of doubt whistled through him. She’d said it first, he was certain.

  Or had she only agreed with him?

  Or simply not argued with him?

  Which of them had thought it first?

  Chad’s eyeballs suddenly felt too big for their sockets; his throat dried up and his hands felt clammy. “We—” the word was a croak, and he felt Brianna’s gaze on him “—we decided to split up.”

  It had been a joint decision, he was certain. He cleared his throat. “We didn’t see each other again until Brianna arrived at Halesboro. She didn’t even know for sure we were still married. I’d told her I’d organize a divorce, but, uh, I’ve been busy.”

  Lame. That was how it sounded. His father’s snort confirmed it.

  “If you want a divorce, you get a divorce,” Brady said. “You don’t shack up in the nearest hotel room.”

  Brianna flinched and Chad said, “Dad,” with a level of threat he didn’t know he could employ with his father.

  Brady reddened. “Sorry,” he muttered to Brianna.

  “We filed for divorce last week,” Chad said. When both his brothers, usually so quick to take opposing views, sniggered, he realized he’d made a mistake.

  “You filed for divorce even though you’re sleeping together?” Brady dem
anded.

  “Once.” Brianna found her voice. “It was once, that’s all.”

  Chad felt bad that she had to explain anything at all. “Dad, we’re adults, we’re married, and if we want to sleep together once, twice or a thousand times, it’s our business.”

  “It’s family business,” Brady said. “Brianna is my daughter-in-law.”

  “And our sister-in-law,” Trent said helpfully. Never one to let well enough alone, he added, “Welcome to the family, sis.”

  Chad shot his brother a glare that promised he’d be washing race cars for a month if he didn’t shut up.

  “Why did you decide it wouldn’t work?” Zack sounded curious, rather than condemning, but Brady jumped in with an emphatic, “Yeah, why?”

  “That’s not your business,” Chad said firmly.

  “Was it your idea to break up?” Brady asked Brianna. “Did someone talk you out of staying married to Chad?”

  His belligerent tone had Brianna stiffening. “No one talked me out of it.”

  “Because Chad’s been moping around ever since,” Brady said.

  “Dad…” Chad began.

  Brady ignored him, of course. “Took me a while to notice it, but he definitely went off the boil after that Vegas race.”

  “If you have any problems with my work…” Chad said tightly.

  “I’m not talking about your work, and you know it,” Brady fired back. “I’m talking about the way you quit smiling, the way you took Trent’s shenanigans too seriously, the short fuse you’ve been on. You clammed up and wouldn’t tell us what was wrong.”

  Hell, Brianna must think he was a total wimp. Nothing, Chad told himself, could be further from the truth. Sure, he’d been disappointed—in himself—but to suggest he’d spent two years moping…

  “Dad, I’m not sure we made much effort to find out what was wrong,” Trent said.

  Brady brushed him off. “We may be kin now,” he said to Brianna, “but that doesn’t mean I won’t get mad at you when you hurt my son.”

  Chad was taken aback by the ferocity of his father’s expression and the matching scowls on his brothers’ faces. Dad was wrong to suggest he was an emotional wreck, but still, his family’s concern was touching. Even if it was hard to get used to, given he was usually the one doing the worrying.

  But he couldn’t let his dad get away with talking to Brianna like that.

  “None of this was Brianna’s fault,” Chad said. “I’ll thank you to speak to her with respect.”

  Zack gave him a thumbs-up; Brady was unchastened. “Then if it wasn’t her fault—” Chad’s heart sank “—it must be yours.”

  More sniggering from his brothers. This felt like the time Chad had been caught taking Trent and Zack for a ride in Dad’s car when he was fifteen. They’d begged and pleaded so much, he’d given in. Then when Dad caught them up in his truck and pulled them over, his little brothers had donned angelic expressions and let Chad take the rap.

  “I like this girl.” Brady nodded at Brianna.

  “I like her a lot,” Trent chipped in. Chad ignored that—Trent was trying to get back at him for giving him a few anxious moments last year over Chad’s friendship with Kelly.

  Brady ignored his youngest son, too. “Given she’s exactly the kind of girl a guy with an ounce of sense might be expected to marry and be crazy about, how the hell did you screw up so fast?”

  This was why he hadn’t admitted he was married until he’d blurted it out back in November in an attempt to calm Trent down.

  “Look at her—she’s pretty, she’s smart, she loves NASCAR…” Brady began to list Brianna’s attributes, with Trent and Zack nodding agreement to each.

  Go ahead, Chad thought, agree with each other. Any other time, you’d be throwing punches by now.

  “What I said to her about hurting you goes the other way, too,” Brady said. “You must have done something pretty bad to scare her off.”

  “He didn’t do a thing,” Brianna said, her voice clear and calm in the seething atmosphere. “Chad was a total gentleman from the moment I met him until the moment we parted.”

  Zack muttered something that might have been, “Sounds boring.”

  Brady quelled him with a look. But Chad couldn’t help agreeing with his brother—there’d been nothing gentlemanly about the way he’d made love to her….

  Tentatively Brianna took Chad’s hand. She squeezed it, offering reassurance he hadn’t realized he badly needed. He laced his fingers through hers.

  “We got married, we realized we made a mistake, so we separated,” she said calmly. “Soon, we’ll be divorced.”

  Yeah, that was it exactly. They were both on the same page about this. Except…her fingers against his sent threads of longing through Chad, tying him to her.

  “But why do you have to get divorced?” Brady asked, bewildered. “You like each other well enough to go to bed together.”

  “That comes under ‘none of your business,’” Chad said.

  “You don’t throw away any marriage without working hard to save it,” Brady said.

  “Like you did with my mom?” Chad regretted the words the instant they left his mouth. He hadn’t even realized until now that the resentment still lurked in him.

  Brady’s jaw set. “Your mother and I did try.”

  Chad wasn’t about to point out that once Brady met Rosie, the woman who became his second wife, he’d made no further effort to repair his separation from Chad’s mom. He said, “I know, Dad.” So what if it didn’t sound a hundred percent convincing.

  “You two are young, healthy,” Brady said. “Whatever problems you have, time is on your side.” He steepled his fingers. “I want both of you to make me a promise.”

  Chad grunted. No way was he committing to what he suspected his father was about to say.

  “Marriage isn’t something you jump in and out of like a swimming pool. I want you to think hard about whether you can stay married,” Brady said. “Reconsider your decision, or at least give it more consideration than the five minutes you appear to have put into it so far.”

  About to tell his father a flat no, Chad noticed a faint tremor in Brady’s fingers. Now that he thought about it, Dad looked tired, his eyes a little sunken. Hell, sometimes Brady’s assertiveness made Chad forget he wasn’t operating at a hundred percent.

  “I’ll consider it,” Brianna said.

  THE WORDS TUMBLED out of Brianna’s mouth. Brady looked terrible; her instinct was to reassure him. “I…I mean, I’m willing to think about it—” she was aware of Chad’s shocked gaze “—but I can’t promise anything beyond that.”

  “That’ll do for now.” Some of the color seeped back into Brady’s face. “What about you, Chad?”

  Brianna winced. She’d pushed him into a corner, left him with no place to go.

  Tight-lipped, Chad said, “I’ll think about it, too.”

  Brady relaxed visibly, and he no longer looked as if he was about to slump onto the table. “That’s a good start.”

  “Now you all can do something for us,” Chad said. “You can leave.”

  Brady stood; Trent and Zack did the same.

  “Brianna’s father doesn’t know anything about our being married,” Chad said. “Nor does anyone else. I don’t want it to go beyond this room.”

  Brady frowned. “I have to tell Julie-Anne.”

  “I have to tell Kelly,” Trent said.

  Everyone looked at Zack.

  He shrugged. “Heck, even if I had a girlfriend, they always complain I never talk about anyone except myself.”

  Chad smiled reluctantly and some of the tension seeped away. “Fine, tell Julie-Anne and Kelly.”

  “Brianna needs to come to the wedding next weekend,” Brady said.

  Trent nodded. “Kelly will want you there, and so do I.”

  Brianna gave Chad half a second to agree with them. When he didn’t, she said, “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

  “You’re
family,” Brady said, and the rough declaration blossomed in a place in her heart. “You’re coming.”

  What could she do but nod meekly—and avoid Chad’s eyes.

  Finally the three men left. Brianna sagged back on the bed. “That was awful.”

  Chad stood, stuffed his hands in his pockets. “Why did you say you’ll think about staying married?”

  He sounded irritated. Did he think she was going to hinder his precious divorce?

  “Your father looked as if he was about to have another heart attack. I didn’t want him stressing about us.”

  “So you don’t plan to think about it?”

  “I told your father I will, so I will. But right now, it’s a no-brainer,” she said snarkily.

  His eyes narrowed. “You seemed to enjoy yourself tonight.”

  She attempted the uncaring shrug that Zack did so well. “I don’t have much basis for comparison.”

  “You don’t need comparison.” His finger jabbed the air in front of her. “I’m telling you, it doesn’t get better than that.”

  “I don’t know why we’re having this conversation. You made it clear you don’t want to stay married to me. You couldn’t even say you wanted me at your brother’s wedding.”

  He blinked. “I never said I didn’t want you there.”

  “You didn’t say you did.”

  He raked a hand through his hair. “Brianna, we’re getting a divorce. Telling my father you’ll think about staying married, coming to Trent’s wedding—that’s not going to convince anyone our marriage is over. It’s not logical.”

  “So making love was just about the sex?” she said. “Nothing more?”

  “Of course it was more,” he said. “You and I connected tonight. We talked over dinner, remember? We talked about deep-down personal stuff.”

  “We talked about my deep-down personal stuff,” she said on a note of revelation. “You were great, Chad, talking to me about my dad. You were kind…but we didn’t talk about you.”

  “We discussed the team…”

  “One comment,” she said, “then you said you didn’t want to talk about it anymore. Whichever way we turn, it’s always me being willing to bare my soul, and you…not.”