by Rye Hart
“Okay, that’s a bit rough,” Ethan said, chuckling. “Did she really pick your lock?”
“Yes!”
“Come on,” I said. “This is for Kyra. I promise you, it’s worth it. Will you call her? Please?”
Rowan sighed while all of us sat and looked at him. We all put on our best pouting faces, despite the fact that no one else knew my plan. That was how much we all loved Kyra. We fought and we disagreed. We threw punches and we spat at one another. But at the end of the day, there were three things we could all agree on.
We all loved one another, we all loved Kyra, and we all wanted to make her happy.
“Fine,” Rowan said. “I’ll call her. Now, what exactly am I calling her about?”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR - CHANCE
I drove Kyra all the way to the hospital but the ride was mostly silent. I could tell she was anxious to get to her father by the way she was fidgeting and I couldn’t blame her. We made her rest instead of going back last night and, while she looked better than she had the past few days, I could tell she still wasn’t happy about the decision. We pulled up to the hospital and she almost threw her door open before I was done parking, but I reached out and grabbed her arm.
That was the first time she looked at me during the entire trip and I could see the fear behind her eyes.
“If something had happened, they would’ve called,” I said.
She nodded in agreement but then tried to pull away from me.
“Hold on. I’ve got something for you.”
That statement halted her in her tracks and she shut her door while she turned her gaze toward me. I stuck my hand in my pocket and pulled out a small little box, neatly wrapped in red paper with a gold ribbon tied around it. Her eyes sparkled at the sight while she plucked it from my palm and I held my breath as she began to unwrap it.
When she popped it open to look at the gift inside, I saw tears spring to her eyes.
“Where in the world did you get these?” she asked.
“I remembered how broken-hearted you were when you lost your mother’s pink diamond earrings at summer camp that year, remember? You came back in tears and Mark had absolutely no idea what to do with you.”
“I couldn’t even talk, my chest hurt so much,” she said.
“You were sixteen and you were an absolute mess,” I said, chuckling.
“They were the only piece of jewelry I had from my mom,” she said. “She never was a jewelry wearer. She always appreciated a handmade gift over an expensive one.”
“I knew I’d never be able to find those actual earrings but I could at least get you a pair just like them.”
Her eyes turned up toward mine and my heart melted. I knew in that moment I’d give this woman whatever she wanted. If she wanted to marry Landon, I’d fucking walk her down the aisle. If she wanted to stay single for the rest of her life, I’d fight off any man who came within fifty feet of her. If she wanted to stay on this mountain and take care of her father for the rest of his life, I’d stand by her side and help her do it.
And if she needed me to share her with someone else, it was worth it as long as I could wrap her up in my arms at night.
“Holy hell, Chance. Thank you so much.”
I smiled at her breathless remark before I reached for her. I enfolded her into my strong arms, pulling her close to my chest as she nuzzled into me. Her warmth cascaded over me like a waterfall, heating every fiber of my being while she sighed with relief into my skin. She tilted her head up toward me and I seized the opportunity, kissing her delicately with my hands planted onto her lower back.
But she pulled away before things could get too heavy and I couldn’t blame her.
“Can I tell you something?” she asked.
“You know you can,” I said.
“I’m worried about you and Ethan,” she said.
“Oh, you don’t have to worry about that. Ethan’s always been a little shit.”
“No, no. I mean, yes, he has,” she said, giggling. “But I’m worried that I’m coming between you guys. You know, affecting your relationship.”
“Look, Kyra. Ethan and I have been at one another’s throats ever since he came out of Mom. And we’ll always be that way. It’s just a dynamic of our relationship. You know one time, he picked a fight with me because I was the first person to get up for seconds at dinner?”
“What?” she asked.
“Yeah,” I said, chuckling. “He actually tried to fight me in the middle of dinner because I got up first for more.”
“Well, I’m sure you’ve picked your share of fights,” she said.
“I have, because that’s just how we are. If we aren’t fighting about one thing, we’re fighting about another.”
Kyra was giggling but the moment her giggling died down, she eyed me seriously. I felt a cold rush of air settle in the car. I knew Kyra was strong and I knew she could be stubborn, but this was a new side of her I was experiencing.
A serious side of her that demanded to be listened to.
“I don’t want anything hurting any of you guys, including me. And I’ll pull myself away in a heartbeat if I feel, for one moment, that I’m destroying the relationship between two brothers. I care about you guys too much to do that to you.”
“I know,” I said as I cupped her cheek, “I fucked up. We both did. And that’s going to change. No more fighting. At least, when it comes to you.”
“Promise?” she asked.
“I promise to always try,” I said. “But brothers fight and it’s bound to happen again. I’ll just make sure it’s later, rather than sooner.”
She frowned but seemed to relent to my answer. She shook her head with an exasperated sigh, then threw me a playful glance before she scooted closer toward me. I watched as she rose up, her lips planting the warmest of kisses on the tip of my nose and I couldn’t help but shake my head at her before she slipped out of my truck.
I cut the engine off and grabbed the bag we’d packed for her father. I followed her into the hospital, my body gravitating toward hers while we wound our way back to Mark’s room. The smell of disinfectant and dying disease rose up my nose and, for a moment, it shivered up my spine. I’d never been a fan of hospitals. I’d seen way too many people die in them. Good soldiers that were meant to go home and be with their wives. Raise their kids. Provide for their families.
Hospitals weren’t a beacon of hope to me. They were where people simply went to breathe their last breaths.
I shook the thought from my mind while I continued to follow Kyra. I watched her slip the small box I’d given her into her pocket, no doubt not wanting to answer questions from her father right now. We walked in to see him awake and drinking some water and I smiled at him as Kyra squealed. Her arms wrapped around Mark’s neck while I patted his leg and I had to admit that it was wonderful to see him conscious.
“Hey there, sweetheart,” he said.
“The man speaks,” I said.
“Thanks for getting her here, Chance,” he said.
“Not a problem,” I said. “Got you a bag with fresh clothes, a warm robe, and some slippers. Want me to get them on your feet?”
“Oh, I can do that,” Kyra said.
“No,” I said. “You stay and talk with your father. I’ll get him warm.”
“That’s a good man right there,” Mark said.
“He’s the best,” Kyra said. “Now I want you to rest, Daddy. Okay? Don’t wear yourself out talking.”
I watched him nod as I slipped the slippers onto his feet, and I could hear him sigh. His speech was slurred since one side of his face was drooping pretty badly. Kyra was already wiping at some water dribbling down his face, so I moved to sit in a chair in the corner. I didn’t want to interrupt her time with her father but I wanted to be here in case anything happened. While Mark was fine now, in a heartbeat, he could crash and I wanted to be right here in case I needed to grab Kyra.
In case she needed comfort.
; “Nice to see you again, Kyra,” the doctor said as he walked in. “You’re looking rested.”
“Yeah, well, the guys wouldn’t let me disobey doctor’s orders,” she said.
“Good,” Mark said.
“Daddy,” Kyra said. “What did we talk about? You need to be resting.”
“Mark, your vitals look really good,” the doctor said. “You’re much stronger at this stage than we thought you would be. But protocol still states you have to ride out a few more days in the hospital while we continue to monitor you.”
“Are you sure that’s necessary?” Kyra asked. “I mean, I’ll be watching him at the house. I think he’d rather be in his bed.”
“But if something were to happen, we’ve got a better chance of intervening and saving his life here instead of having to go fetch him on top of that mountain,” the doctor said. “I know this is hard, Kyra, but it’s better if he’s here. And if he goes a few more days without incident, then he’s free to go home.”
“Okay,” she said, sighing.
I knew Kyra was disappointed that he wouldn’t be home for Christmas. That was what she was hoping for, to take her father home and celebrate with him. I could see the hurt behind her eyes while Mark held her hand, so I decided to lean up and intervene a bit into their time.
“Kyra, look at me.”
Her face panned over to mine and I could tell Mark was listening intently.
“We’ll spend the holiday here in his room, okay?” I said. “You’re not gonna spend Christmas without your father. I’m not gonna allow it. If the doctor permits it, we can decorate and bring all the presents here if you want to.”
“Not a problem with me, although the decorations will have to be fake,” the doctor said. “No actual pine trees and the like. We need to keep a sterile environment.”
“Seriously, Chance?” she asked. “You guys would do that for us?”
“Kyra, we told you we were gonna be here. I gave you my word and my word is my bond.”
I could see the lopsided grin that started rising up on one of Mark’s cheeks and I knew I’d done right by his daughter.
And that thought thrummed my heart with excitement.
“Thank you so much,” Kyra said with tears in her eyes. “Really.”
“Anything to make this Christmas special,” I said.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE – ROWAN
We all sat around the table and set out a strategy as to how in the world we were going to execute Harper’s insane plan by tomorrow evening. It was already Christmas Eve and it was already past lunch time. And to top it all off, Chance called us from the hospital and said we were supposedly decorating Mark’s room for Christmas since he wasn’t going to have the chance to come home and spend Christmas with us here.
So naturally, I volunteered to go with Blake and Ethan to gather up Christmas decorations.
“Rowan.”
“Yeah, Harper?”
“Call me once you’re done talking to her,” he said. “We need that woman on board before we can move forward with anything.”
“I’m gonna try my best. But I’m just not—hold on. This is her.”
“We’ll wait for you in the car,” Blake said.
“I’m following on my bike,” Ethan said.
“Then I’ll wait for you in the car, Rowan,” Blake said.
“Just go,” I said. “I’ll be there in a second. Hello?”
“Is this Rowan Trent?”
“Hey there, Melinda,” I said. “How have you been?”
“Lonely, until you called,” she said.
“Listen, I was wanting to ask you a question.”
“Anything for you, sweet cheeks,” she said.
I groaned at her nickname for me while the rest of the brothers stood around smirking. I could’ve smacked every single one of their grins right off their face. There was a reason I cut this woman out of my life, cold turkey. She was a constant flirt and pestered me for days. She’d get pissed if I didn’t call her during all my breaks and she always seemed to be at my place, waiting for me to get home because she was simply “in the neighborhood.”
She was insane. But she was also the best real estate agent in the entire fucking state of Colorado.
I explained to her the plan we had and asked her if there were any properties that fit my descriptions. I could hear her typing away at her computer and, for a split second, I felt sorry for her. It was Christmas Eve and she was in her office. Which meant she had no friends or family to spend the holiday with. And, while she was the craziest woman I’d ever attempted to date, no one deserved to be alone during this holiday.
“I’ve got a few things that match your description and you’re in luck. Because a few of them are right here in town. This plan of yours is sweet. Already planning for the children we’ll fill it with?”
And immediately, I was ripped from my guilt and tossed into a cold vat of “get me the fuck off this phone.”
“Nope,” I said. “Not for you. But it is a surprise for someone very important to me.”
“A woman?” she asked.
“Yes,” I said. “A woman.”
There was a pause on the phone and I halfway expected to see a mushroom cloud in the distance. I almost expected to hear a massive explosion on the other end of the phone, designating the fact that her entire demeanor had gone sky-high. Nuclear. Shattered into a thousand pieces like shrapnel after a bomb explosion.
I relaxed, however, when I heard her giggle to herself.
“What you’re asking for is next to impossible, but I’m the best,” she said. “And the best can make it happen.”
“Wait, you’re serious?” I asked.
Harper’s face lit up with joy while Owen picked up his phone and started making his own phone calls.
“Yes, I’m serious,” she said. “I’m assuming you’ll want to send one of your other brothers to check out the properties and that’s fine with me. I’ll be ready in thirty minutes to pick up whoever wants to ride around and take a look at them.”
“Harper’ll do it,” I said, grinning.
He started shaking his head furiously and I stifled my laughter. That was what he got for putting me in this position.
“Oh, is that the writer?” she asked. “The brooding one that you always talked about?”
“He is,” I said. “He’s the romantic brooding writer that all the ladies fawn over.”
My brothers were holding their stomachs in silent laughter while Harper’s face drained of all its color.
“Just let me know where to pick him up and I’ll head on out,” she said.
“He’ll meet you outside of the hospital,” I said.
“Uh oh, is everything okay?” she asked.
For a split second, I heard that tone in her voice. The tone that reeled me in during the first few days of us spending time with one another. That kind, gentle voice that fluttered against my ear and made me feel as if the world was complete again. But I realized something important in that moment.
I realized her voice reminded me of Kyra.
“Everything’s just fine,” I said. “He’ll meet you there in half an hour. You can pick him up by the main entrance with the roundabout.”
“Tell him I’ll see him then. There are five properties, so it’ll be at least a couple hours.”
“I’ll let him know. It was nice talking with you, Melinda.”
“Merry Christmas, Rowan.”
I hung up the phone and we all burst into laughter. The angry look on Harper’s face was priceless but we all knew this was for the greater good. He huffed himself upstairs to change while I walked out with Blake to his car and we all set off to gather Christmas decorations for Mark’s room.
Harper’s plan was amazing and none of us were shocked that the idea came from him. But it was gonna be fucking hard to pull off on Christmas Eve. Luckily, when he was talking us through everything, he’d already done most of the legwork. All we needed to do was lean on a few p
eople we knew to get some ends tied up and it would all come together.
Blake, Ethan, and I hit up the Christmas shop in town before we headed to the hospital. Owen was already making phone calls while Harper was readying himself to go look at some things with Melinda, which meant the three of us were also the decorating crew. I could tell Ethan and Blake were already getting tired from all the running around and the planning, so I stayed behind and headed to the cafeteria. I figured we could all use some coffee and I knew Kyra would want a cup as well.
But as the elevator doors were closing to take me to the cafeteria, I saw a small little arm jut through and stop the doors.
And I recognized the person attached to it.
“Hey there, Kyra,” I said, smiling.
She immediately walked into the elevator beside me, obviously dodging Blake and Ethan along the way.
“Are you all right?” I asked.
I could see how exasperated she was. I could see the worry filling up her eyes. I could see the way her hands were shaking and hear the way she was taking shallow breaths. She was stressed beyond her wildest dreams and the moment the doors closed, she was suddenly in my arms.
She locked her hands around my neck and thrust her lips upon mine. The elevator lurched to life, dragging us down to the main floor while I pinned her against the wall. I wrapped my arms around her and kissed her furiously, allowing my tongue to slip between her lips as she moaned into me. I could feel my cock growing underneath my pants and all I wanted to do was help her to release the tension I knew she was holding in her body.
“I just feel… stifled,” she said in between kisses.
The elevator halted to a stop, and I reluctantly had to let her go.
“Then why don’t we go get you some fresh air?” I asked breathlessly.
I escorted her out of the elevator and down the hallway. The coffee could wait while the guys were decorating the room. The only thing that mattered to me right now was tending to Kyra. I placed my hand on the small of her back and led her through the hospital, but the moment we stepped outside, she began to shiver.
I pulled her tightly into my body to keep her warm and she gladly leaned into me.
