He couldn’t explain why he still wore the reminder of a love that had died. Nearly a full year had passed. He was within his rights to remove it—he was no longer married.
Most people knew the love between Rogan and his wife had already died long before she did. They knew before he had known.
But he hadn’t been ready to acknowledge that to himself.
Now, however, he felt himself moving on in a way he never thought he would. Never thought he could.
With the ring serving as a burning reminder of his past failings, he’d never move forward.
He parked the car in front of her grave. He hadn’t brought flowers this time, but he didn’t think she’d care.
He was giving her the freedom she had always wanted.
Kneeling wasn’t easy with his leg injury, but he put aside the pain and maneuvered into position, placing most of his weight on his other leg.
He stared at her stone, hoping his thoughts would start to make sense.
He didn’t have any words. Even his emotions had fallen flat.
Rogan slipped the ring off his finger, surprised at how easy it was to remove. He brought it to his lips for one last kiss, then placed it under the lilac bush his kids had insisted on planting on her grave.
“I forgive you.” He told his dead wife.
And then he walked away.
***
“What are you doing here?” Reed pressed her heart to her chest in a desperate attempt to stop the organ from thumping its way out of her chest. “And how the hell did you get in?”
“The window, obviously!”
Simplicity’s high-pitched voice was entirely too cheerful for Reed’s taste.
“I really, really, really had to pee.”
“I’m sure a judge would accept that as excellent justification for a B&E.”
Simplicity threw herself into Reed’s arms, her extra large beads pressing painfully into Reed’s neck and chest.
“My sissy would never report me for breaking and entering!”
“Don’t be so sure,” Reed mumbled, hugging her pain-in-the-ass little sister for a moment before prying her off. “Seriously, though. What are you doing here? And how did you find me?”
“I’m here to help you.”
Simplicity’s declaration made Reed laugh.
“No, really. Why are you here? If it’s for money, you’re out of luck. Every penny I have is going into rehabbing this place.”
“I love this place!” Simplicity spun around, her twirly dress catching around her ankles when she stopped. “I can help you by gifting the place with my artistic flair.”
Her artistic flair had no place at Reed’s new business, but she bit her tongue so she wouldn’t shatter her sister’s delusions.
“How did you find me? And how did you get here?”
“Google. And a car.”
“You use a computer now? I thought you were morally opposed to technology?”
“You think I would compromise my values, even if it meant finding you?” Color drained from Simplicity’s face. Her mouth dropped open in disbelief. She continued to pause for dramatic effect before dropping the bomb. “Paisley did it.”
At the mention of Reed’s other sister, the bathroom door swung open and the powerhouse sister strolled out. Paisley didn’t smile, nor did Reed.
“I should walk out and walk back in to see if this is some bad hallucination.” Reed’s greeting may have been a little harsh, but their appearance was harsher.
“Believe me, I wish we were a hallucination. What kind of town did you drag us to?”
Reed stiffened. “As I recall, you weren’t even invited. Let alone dragged here.”
Paisley waved her hand in the air, as if the gesture would somehow reconfigure the truth.
“You asked for help.”
“I asked for legal advice—not even in the same playing field.”
Simplicity’s excited shriek interrupted the argument.
“Good goddess, you finally started reading romance novels?”
“Of course not.” Reed denied. But Simplicity held the evidence in her prying little hands.
“I haven’t read this one yet. Is it good?”
Reed fought off a blush and a shiver as she recalled the scene Rogan had read to her. She hated to admit it, but she did want to read more of the story. And she definitely wanted more of Rogan’s attention. His touch. His kisses.
Damn him!
“Ooh, it must be sexy. You can’t even respond.” Simplicity taunted. “I’m borrowing it.”
Without a word, Reed snatched The Counterfeit Bride out of Simplicity’s hands.
Simplicity pouted for a second, then went back to snooping through the room.
“Are you guys planning to stay the night? Because the cottages aren’t quite ready for guests yet. I hope you brought sleeping bags for the floor.”
“I can sleep under the stars,” Simplicity said in her sing-song voice.
“This is a motel. I’m sure there are beds. I will not be sleeping on the floor.” Paisley was less understanding of the circumstances, and as inflexible as always.
“If you had bothered to tell me you were coming, I would have told you not to.”
“Which is exactly why we didn’t tell you. Stop pushing us away.”
“Don’t give me that look. You’re not the older sister.” Reed reminded Paisley.
“No, that would be you. Don’t think for a minute that I’ll be letting you forget that.” Paisley’s stern face cracked into a smile with their old familiar joke. Though they were less than one year apart, Paisley had always enjoyed gloating about the fact that Reed was more elderly.
“Really, though. This is the main house that I’m living in, and there’s only one bedroom. We’ve been focusing on getting structural stuff and outside work done, so I haven’t had a chance to begin refurbishing the cottages yet.”
Simplicity danced back to the small living room area, her slow but spritely movements bringing a reluctant smile to Reed’s face. Of all the sisters, Simplicity was the most like their mom. She captured the hippie spirit better than anyone. Their other sister, Harmony, also maintained some of that spirit. Correction: As far as Reed knew, Harmony maintained that spirit. Since Harmony didn’t speak to any of the sisters, Reed’s guess was as good as anyone else’s.
“Slumber party!” Simplicity sang.
Paisley turned to Reed. “You have a queen-size bed. We’ll share.”
“No.” Reed backed away, suddenly desperate for a drink of water. “No.”
“It’ll be fun!” Simplicity enthused.
“In what world?” Reed poured a glass of water. She thought of offering her sisters some, but decided against extending any hospitality. “In what world would it be fun for me to share a bed in my new home with my adult sisters?”
“Reed, I don’t mean to be rude,” Paisley said, sounding like she very much meant to be rude, “but what exactly are you wearing? And what happened to your hair?”
Reed guzzled her water, ignoring the questions.
Paisley continued, slower. “I have a very good friend who has her own private therapy practice. She’s discreet. I can probably arrange a video conference.”
Reed took a deep breath, counted to ten (backwards, and in Spanish), poured another glass of water, and strolled past the intruders and onto her tiny front porch.
They followed her. She had to give them credit. At least they were quiet.
“I know you think I’ve lost my mind. Maybe I have.” Reed leaned against the rickety porch rail, wondering if this would be the time when the rail would finally give out and she’d plummet to the ground, scraping her face on the gravel. “But I’m trying to build a life for myself. A new life. And I can’t fight you both while I’m trying to fight my Type A personality.”
Paisley rested her hand on Reed’s shoulder.
“What’s wrong with a Type A personality?”
“Everything.” Reed sniffled.
Damn tears. Why did they feel the need to lubricate her eyes so much lately? “And nothing. I don’t know. I’m not saying I hated the old me. But with Mom gone, I want to dig deeper and find the part of her that she always said lived inside me. You know?”
Paisley nodded. Simplicity, moving slower now, sat on the front step, staring off into the distance.
“It’s nice here,” Simplicity said.
“Mmm.” Reed acknowledged.
Paisley had more questions.
“Why did you let him have everything? You know I would have represented you.”
“I know you would have. And I’m sure you would have won. But I didn’t want to fight. I just wanted out.”
“But your retirement fund? Everything you’ve worked so hard for, Reed. It’s all gone.”
“It’s not gone.” Reed smiled. “I’m planting seeds here. This place—it’s my future. I am as confident in what I’m doing here as I was in my role as CEO. This is good for me. Promise.”
Paisley didn’t respond for a long while.
Together, they watched as the sky turned into cotton candy colors—blues and pinks of swirly cloudy goodness.
“It’s nice here.” Simplicity sighed, taking in the warmth of the summer air as fireflies began to make their appearance.
“Mmm,” Reed and Paisley replied. In unison.
***
After a short period of sisterly calm, chaos returned.
Reed could not take one more minute of being told how to run her life. She also didn’t need them coming here and trying to put their mark on her business.
She wasn’t running a board here. This was a single woman operation.
They weren’t kidding about trying to sleep with her, either. After she carefully made a nest of blankets on the floor in the living room, she retired to her room for what would hopefully be a restorative night of sleep.
Yeah, right.
She hadn’t even turned off her lamp when Paisley came strolling in as if she owned the room. She plopped herself onto the bed, not saying a word as she applied her moisturizer.
“This isn’t a courtroom, you know. You have no jurisdiction.” Reed put on her scariest big sister voice. The one that had stopped working when Paisley turned eight.
“It’s rude to make guests sleep on the floor. I’m not asking for pillow top comfort, but I don’t think you want me to have to send you the bills to my chiropractor. He’s not cheap.”
Reed rolled her eyes and sighed loudly, purposely bouncing the bed as she rolled over, away from Paisley. Before she could settle into her new position, Simplicity skipped in, pushing her way into the bed, forcing Reed into the middle.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“Fun, fun, fun!” Simplicity giggled. “Let’s tell stories.”
“No!” Reed and Paisley said in unison.
“You two are party poopers.”
“You two are going to be sent on your way if you don’t shut up and let me sleep. The kind of physical labor I’ve been doing is not exactly easy on the body.”
“You need to find a rebound man.” Simplicity thought a rebound relationship was the answer to any problem.
Reed refused to dignify her sister’s horrible advice with a response.
“Did you already find one? Tell me everything!”
“She doesn’t need a man, Simplicity. She needs a career counselor.” Paisley said.
“Would you two please, please, stop it? My life is fine. My career is fine. My love life—or lack thereof—is fine. I’m fine. Do you hear me? I’m fine!”
“Okay, okay. I hear you. Geez.” Simplicity pouted.
Reed didn’t care about Simplicity’s pout. She didn’t care about Paisley’s disapproval. She damn well cared about the fact that they were crowding her on her own damned bed!
She climbed over Paisley, grabbed her pillow, and stormed out of the room. She went back to slam the bedroom door for emphasis. Stewing, she paced the living room for a few minutes before deciding to curl up on the small couch.
She needed sleep. She needed solitude. She needed a drink.
Surely there would be a liquor store open somewhere in the vicinity. A twenty-four hour service center for desperate people? She was willing to drive to find out.
Approximately five long minutes and twenty excruciating seconds later, while driving her car down the completely dead roads of Healing Springs, she realized the ridiculousness of her idea and her presumption.
An open liquor store on a Sunday night in Hicktown, USA?
She hadn’t planned to, but she found herself pulling into Rogan’s driveway again. Maybe he’d be able to offer her a drink.
Desperation clawed at her chest.
Had she hit a new low?
Were her sisters that bad?
Or had she been looking for an excuse to see him all along?
Chapter Twelve
“So this is your new habit? Showing up on my doorstep in the middle of the night? Without even a call?”
He had a shirt on this time, and Reed had to admit that she was disappointed.
“Are your kids asleep?” she whispered.
“They stayed at their grandmother’s. Since school is out, she has a full schedule of day trips planned for them.”
Something bounced in her belly and weakened her knees, but she shoved all erotic thoughts out of her mind.
“I was wondering if you had anything to drink. Alcoholic. I’m out of wine. Liquor stores are closed.”
She nearly laughed at his wrinkled brow. He thought she was losing it, too. He’d get along great with her sisters.
He widened the door, but she still had to brush him a bit on her way in.
Her breasts tingled.
“Go sit. I’ll bring a drink.”
“Just bring the whole bottle.” Realizing she had given him a command rather than a request, she added, “Please?”
He nodded. She fell into the couch, feeling something lumpy beneath her. She reached down and pulled an action figure out from between the cushions. She played with it, flipping the arms up and down, until he returned.
“You look like you need the hard stuff. Are you a Coke or Pepsi mixer girl?”
“A shot glass would be fine.”
He raised his eyebrow again, but he smiled.
“One of those nights, huh?”
He placed the bottle of rum on the coffee table as he went to retrieve shot glasses.
“One of those lives.”
“Single or double?”
“Double.”
“Alrighty then.”
He sat beside her, leaning forward to fill the shot glasses. Her body begged to touch him, to feel his warmth. Her brain told her she was a moron and that listening to Simplicity, of all people, would be the worst thing she could ever do. She didn’t need a man. She didn’t need sex. She just needed a drink.
“Let’s make this fun,” Reed said, as Rogan handed her the half-filled shot glass. Fun was the exact opposite of her normal life. Time to embrace it.
“How so?” A suggestive gleam lit up his eyes. She hadn’t noticed how lovely his eyes were. Bright blue like a lightning bolt. No wonder he sizzled.
“Let’s play the truth game.”
“I don’t like the sounds of that,” Rogan said.
“It will be fun. Let’s warm up to the idea.” Reed clinked her glass against his, then pounded back the shot, wincing at the strong bite of alcohol against her taste buds.
“Okay, tell me more about this truth game.”
“We take turns. I’ll go first. I say something that’s true about me, you say something that’s true about you, and then we both take a shot. We aren’t allowed to comment on anything. Not allowed to show any reaction to the truth. Not allowed to exclude the deep, dark secrets. This is bonding at its finest.”
“Can’t we slice our fingers open and start a blood bond instead?” Rogan groaned.
“Nope! Let’s do this. We work together, we
should know things about each other.”
“I want to know more about you. I’m just not sure you can handle knowing more about me.”
She ignored his insecurity.
She wanted to know everything about this man. And she wanted to get her own truths out there so he could reject her now, rather than finding out later when she fell too deeply. This was the perfect way to cut off all those pesky feelings she had budding within.
“Ready?”
He nodded.
She took a deep breath, sitting up straight in her seat as he refilled their glasses.
“I cheated on a big final exam in high school.”
“Everyone did that at some point,” Rogan countered.
“Not allowed to comment. Your turn.”
“I got arrested my senior year of high school for underage drinking at a party.”
They gulped back their shots. Rogan refilled.
“Your turn,” Rogan prompted.
“I have always had a fantasy about making love in a brook. Or near a brook. Thought it might happen with a high school boyfriend, but he freaked out over the dirt.”
“You date wussy men, huh?”
“You can’t follow rules, can you?” Reed shot back.
“Okay, okay. My next truth. Hmm. I’ve never had sex outside before. But I wouldn’t mind trying sometime.”
More than the liquor warmed her belly at that truth, but she bit back a reply as she launched forward her next truth. She needed to draw the conversation away from anything sexual.
“I fired someone because I knew he cheated on his wife. He was also a terrible employee, but the real reason was his infidelity.” Reed’s voice shook a little. She had never confided that in anyone.
“Tough one to follow.” He winked.
“No commenting!”
He stretched out his leg, rubbing his thigh as he twisted his mouth in thought.
“Okay, here we go. I told my wife we wouldn’t have strippers at my bachelor party, but my friends thought it would be hilarious to have strippers come to my work that day. I never told her.”
Did he have any secrets that would surprise her? Doubtful. He was shaping up to be as perfect as she wanted to pretend he couldn’t be.
A Heart to Call Home Page 10
