by J. S. Scott
“Bastard,” Liam rasped, but he strode across the kitchen to get a clean towel for his bleeding nose, holding pressure on his face as he walked back to stand in front of Micah with a murderous glare. “You’re fast,” he confessed with a grimace as he held the towel to his face.
Micah shrugged. “I can be even faster. I didn’t come here to fight with you. I came here to help. Whether you can get it through your thick head or not, your sister certainly can skate. Losing her hearing didn’t affect her abilities on the ice. Yes, she’s rusty from lack of practice, but she’s improving, and she’ll be damn good by the time she appears in New York. This is something she wanted, something she needed. Nobody was forcing her to try.”
Micah inwardly flinched just a little because he had challenged her, but Tessa had been more than capable of calling him on his dare.
“How did you get the rink back open?” Liam asked gruffly.
“I own much of the property on that side of town. I also own the rink and Randi’s old home. I encouraged Tessa to skate again. It was a big part of her life that was missing.”
Liam shot Micah a threatening look as he answered, “You’ll end up breaking her, Sinclair. And when you do, I’ll fucking kill you.”
“It’s not possible for me to break her. Without skating, Tessa was never whole.”
“She was happy,” Liam insisted.
“Happy? With you breathing down her neck, telling her what she could and couldn’t do? Dealing with your sense of guilt? You think she was happy?” Micah’s voice rose automatically until he was almost yelling at Liam to try to get through to him.
“I’m the only one left to protect her,” Liam bellowed.
“Not anymore,” Micah told him in a lower, more dangerous tone.
“You think she carries my guilt?” Liam asked in a confused voice.
“Of course. She feels guilty that you feel guilty.” It sounded strange, but there it was . . . the truth. Liam could take it or leave it. “You need to get over something that wasn’t your fault. Nobody could have known Tessa would get sick, or that she’d go deaf. I get it. If you’d known, you would have been there. But you couldn’t be there and it happened.”
“I was supposed to be there—”
“But you had responsibilities, a job to finish. You made the same decision any person would make who cared about their job. You cancelled. I would have done the same damn thing.”
Liam slammed his fist down on a nearby counter. “Fuck! I don’t understand why it had to happen at all. Not to somebody like Tessa. She’s never hurt anybody in her entire life. She didn’t deserve it.” He strode to the back of the kitchen and threw away the towel he’d been using, his face a dark mask of remorse as he returned.
For that brief moment, Micah could sympathize with the man in front of him. Tessa hadn’t deserved any of the multiple shitty things that had happened to her, but it was reality. “She’s alive, and she’s handled her situation with more courage than most people would.”
“That’s why I need to be there for her. Don’t you get it? I want her to stay safe. With Mom and Dad gone, she’s my only family.”
Micah nodded abruptly. “Yeah, I get it. But you’re not keeping her safe. You’re suffocating her now. Tessa is capable of nearly everything a hearing woman can do. She’s smart, and she’s talented. If you keep holding her back, you’re shortchanging her.”
“Can she really skate?” Liam asked, sounding uncomfortable.
“Like a champion,” Micah answered.
Liam shook his head in confusion. “I thought she needed me.”
“She did. She still does, as a supportive sibling. She just doesn’t need you to tell her what to do anymore. But she doesn’t want to hurt you, so she’s never going to tell you that.” Micah hesitated before adding, “I’d still like to help with the restaurant. It means a lot to Tessa, and it means something to the community.”
Liam shook his head again. “Dude, when I said I didn’t need your help, I meant it. I haven’t fixed up the place because it’s always so busy, but it’s not from lack of funds. I make damn good money consulting and from royalties, and the restaurant pulls in a really good profit. Tessa and I don’t spend much money because we’re always working. I didn’t want my sister picking up extra jobs, but she said she was bored. I thought it was what she wanted. Even after we renovate, we’ll both have a sizable amount of money in the joint business account, and we have equal interest in a house here that’s paid for. She’ll be far from broke. I’ll break our funds apart and deposit her money into her account. I guess it’s the only way she’s ever going to understand that she’s well set up, and so am I. And I’ll get the renovation work scheduled now that it’s past tourist season. I’ll talk to my sister and make her understand that she has a sizable savings this time.”
Micah nodded and crossed his arms in front of him again. “Good. Because the first two times we met, one of us was naked because of her side jobs. I don’t want her meeting another unclothed guy again unless it’s me.”
Liam reached for him. “Are you fucking her?” he growled.
Micah batted Liam’s hand away. “Don’t do it, man.” He met Liam’s angry stare with an equally irritated expression of his own. “It’s none of your business what’s happening between me and your sister, but for the record, I don’t plan on leaving her. Ever.” He stressed the last word through gritted teeth. “I care about her like I’ve never cared about any other woman.”
Liam circled Micah for a moment before grinding out, “I don’t trust you.”
Micah smirked at Tessa’s brother. “Maybe not now. But you will. Tessa wants to see you doing what you love. Do you want to go back to what you were doing before, full time?”
“Hell, no. I loved my job, but this restaurant is our legacy. Amesport is home for me, now. There’s nowhere else I’d rather be. I wouldn’t ever go back to the city. Too damn crowded.”
Micah nodded. “Good. Maybe you should tell your sister that. She thinks you sacrificed everything for her.”
“I didn’t sacrifice anything,” Liam grumbled. “I want to be here.”
“Liam!” A female voice called from the entrance of the restaurant right before a bubbly brunette came waltzing into the kitchen. The woman stopped for a moment, her expression turning from a carefree smile to a frown. “What happened to you? You’re bleeding.”
Liam held up a hand. “I’m fine. Can you finish doing the lobster meat for the rolls?”
“Um . . . sure,” she answered cautiously, moving slowly over to the prep area.
Micah watched as Liam’s eyes followed the female, a woman who obviously worked in the restaurant, the big guy’s eyes softening as he stared in the direction of the prep area.
“She’s attractive,” Micah said quietly enough that the brunette couldn’t hear him.
“She’s young,” Liam answered, tearing his gaze away from the woman and back to Micah.
“Over twenty-one, I’d say,” Micah observed.
“Not by much,” Liam replied unhappily.
Micah pulled out several tickets that he’d asked his assistant to send him, and handed two to Liam. He put the rest back into his pocket as he said, “Maybe she’d like to come to New York to watch Tessa skate. Here are two tickets for the charity performance. I hope you’re coming.”
Tessa’s brother snatched them from Micah’s hand. “Of course I’m coming. I just hope you’re right or I will kill you,” he grumbled.
“Tessa’s excited about performing again. Try to be happy for her instead of being a damn buzzkill, will you?” The last thing Micah wanted was for Tessa to be wondering how her brother was feeling on her big night.
He turned to leave the restaurant, but Liam again reached out a large hand to detain him, this time lightly grasping his forearm.
“You sure she can do this?” There was concern in Liam’s voice now. “What if she falls on her ass?”
“Then she’ll get back up and keep s
kating,” Micah replied, shaking Liam’s hand from his arm. “Just like she always has,” he added, walking toward the front door.
Micah wasn’t about to let Liam know he had the same fears. He didn’t want Tessa to fall, either, because he didn’t want her hurt. But he damn well had the confidence that she could handle herself on the ice, even if she stumbled.
He’d had to rein himself in many times, but he realized that he couldn’t hold her back any more than he’d like being kept from what he loved.
If she thinks I didn’t know the difference between a double jump and a triple jump, she’s wrong.
Micah knew she’d pulled off that triple in the rink, but that was the moment that he realized he couldn’t stop her from doing what she loved because of his irrational fear of her getting injured. Yeah, he’d had to grind his teeth, but he was trying to set her free, not keep her confined in her small comfort zone.
He didn’t look back, allowing Liam to stew for a while. The guy needed time to think about what Tessa really needed, and it wasn’t an overprotective brother.
Me. She fucking needs me.
Maybe Tessa deserved better than a man who lived for an adrenaline rush, but Micah would be damned if he was going to let another guy touch her ever again.
He prepared to exit with a heavy tug on the door, feeling it stick for a moment before it finally gave way and opened.
“Mr. Sinclair? Oh, my, you’re finally here.”
Micah pulled the door closed behind him and faced the two little old ladies standing right in front of him.
With their short gray hair and similar heights, Micah could hardly tell the two women apart. He looked at both of their smiling faces, knowing Beatrice Gardener was on the left only because of her more flamboyant, colorful dress. Elsie Renfrew was next to her in a more conservative dress and sensible flat shoes, staring at him as if she was surprised to see him. Beatrice, dressed in a flowing, bright-purple skirt and a lighter-colored top, didn’t seem the least bit shocked at his presence in Amesport.
He nodded. “Ladies,” he acknowledged politely. He barely knew either woman, except for the fact that Beatrice had gifted him with a rock that he oddly carried in his pocket even now. He looked at her and asked about her greeting. “How did you even know I was going to be here?” Hell, he hadn’t even known he was leaving New York for some downtime until recently.
“Because your destiny is here,” Beatrice told him matter-of-factly. “Of course I knew you’d come. You can fight your fate, but you have to eventually give in. The stone should help. Have you seen Tessa yet?”
Micah looked at the older woman in surprise. “You think Tessa is my destiny?”
It was Elsie who nodded. “She’s known for a long time. She’s very in tune with you Sinclairs.”
He’d written both of the women off as eccentrics. He’d met them at Hope’s winter party, and then again at Evan’s wedding. They were harmless enough, but neither one of them ever made much sense.
Elsie was respected, a governing member of the community. Strangely, Beatrice seemed to command people’s attention, too, but he’d never figured out why. She was a business owner, some New Age store called Natural Elements or some such thing, if he recalled correctly, but Micah didn’t put any stock into her acclaimed foresight and ESP. He’d always thought the people of Amesport just humored her because she was elderly.
He dug into his front jeans pocket and pulled out the black stone Beatrice had gifted him. “Because of this?” he questioned Beatrice, opening his palm, noting that the stone seemed strangely . . . warm.
Now I’m imagining some strange shit. Of course the rock is warm. It was in my pocket!
Beatrice shook her head. “Not because of the Apache tear. Tessa has always been your soul mate, your destiny. I gave you both the stone so you could recognize it.”
Micah was silent for a moment before he finally spoke. “What are you doing here?”
“Well, we’re going to eat, of course,” Beatrice told him as though he should have known what they were doing. “The best lobster in the area.”
Micah felt the hair at the back of his neck rise, and he slapped a hand to his nape, disconcerted by both sets of knowing eyes on him at the moment. “Uh . . . sure. Don’t let me stop you, ladies.” He leaned over and flipped the sign beside the door to “Open,” and then motioned them forward. It was time. Liam should have opened for business by now.
He shoved the stone back in his pocket, still wondering at the fact that Beatrice had apparently paired him with Tessa before he’d even figured everything out for himself. To be honest, it was a little bit creepy to him now, but there was a part of him that was fascinated. The self-proclaimed matchmaker had done the same thing with all of his Sinclair cousins. Was it possible that she really knew . . . ?
Micah put a gentle hand on Beatrice’s shoulder as she went to pass. “What about Julian and Xander?”
I can’t believe I just asked that!!
Beatrice beamed up at him. “Julian’s fate is already decided. Xander is a little more unclear. I’ve never met him, but he’s very troubled. But I have faith that he’ll eventually come around.”
“Are you sure?” Although he didn’t totally believe in the woman’s power to see the future, any reassurance about Xander was welcome, even if it wasn’t accurate. “Who do you predict for Julian?”
Beatrice’s expression turned thoughtful as she reached up and patted Micah’s cheek. “Take care of yourself and Tessa. Your brothers will work everything out for themselves in time.”
Micah gaped after the two women as they waved and disappeared into the dilapidated restaurant.
Shaking his head in denial, he finally started walking, still feeling the warmth of the stone in his pocket as he told himself that there was no such thing as fate and destiny . . . and soul mates.
By the time he had reached his truck, he’d almost convinced himself that the two women were just eccentric.
If only the stone in his pocket would stop burning, he’d feel a hell of a lot more assured.
CHAPTER 11
The next few days were all about pushing her limits for Tessa. She’d seen Liam, but her brother hadn’t said much about her decision to skate again. In fact, he’d consciously encouraged her, which had frankly surprised the hell out of her.
Micah had given up on the guesthouse and had brought an overnight bag with him just the day before. She was guessing neither one of them wanted to miss an opportunity to explore the heat that sizzled between them. Tessa knew she didn’t. Now that she’d committed herself to living in the moment and enjoying every single minute she could get with Micah, she was going to take full advantage.
That was, until today.
They had begun the morning as they usually did with a morning run, and then she’d gone to the rink. She was progressing well, her routine together, including her complex jumps and sequences. They had the music, a recording of a choreographed performance she already knew. When she passed by Micah at the sidelines, he gave her signals on how to correct herself if she was off the beat of the music, running behind or ahead of the audio. Mentally, she had to adjust the music in her head, but so far it had worked out well.
Micah had promised to be by her side in New York, and Tessa was getting less and less nervous. She wasn’t competing anymore, so now she could skate just for enjoyment, for the joy of being back on the ice.
Now Micah gave her a thumbs-up, his hands in front of her, signaling that he was ready.
“I can’t believe I’m really doing this,” she whispered to herself, looking down at the approximately fourteen-thousand-foot drop right outside that open door of a perfectly sound airplane. What was she thinking? Did she really want to jump out of a plane that was perfectly safe and solid beneath her feet?
They left the skating rink earlier now, basically only needing to go through the routine and make sure it all went off well. Then, Micah would take her somewhere to do something crazy. It had gone
on like that for two days. This was day number three.
She’d loved parasailing with him. There was a small company in town that had offered it for a while now, but she’d never actually done it. But then, she was comfortable at safe heights, and had grown up on the water.
Then there had been the rock climbing yesterday, and learning from one of the best free solo climbers in the world—a title that belonged to Micah—was extraordinary. Not that he’d let her go without safety equipment, and she highly doubted that experience had been much of a rush for him. The climb had been pretty tame. After all, they hadn’t gone far. Nevertheless, Tessa had been pretty damn proud when she’d gotten to the top of the small rock formation.
However, she was terrified today. Yeah, she was enjoying doing things outside her comfort zone, but this was a little much.
She could feel the reassurance of Micah’s big body behind her, her smaller form attached to him by a harness, straps at her chest, shoulders, and legs.
He’ll do all the work. I just have to not fight him and remember his instructions. I need to relax.
“I’m not sure if I’m ready,” she finally answered loudly, knowing the plane was noisy. Micah had already told her that she needed to yell to be heard over the noise of the aircraft. Cautiously, she peeked out the door once again. “What if I forget something?”
He handed her a note, one that he’d obviously written before they had left the ground.
Trust me. We’ll be connected, and I won’t let you fall.
The hastily written words on a small scrap of paper nearly brought tears to her eyes. How had he known she’d be scared once she was strapped to him, unable to see his face?
She was tandem skydiving with Micah. He’d ordered the plane and they had a safe drop zone. Still, she felt like a million or more butterflies were trying to escape her stomach.
After some intense and quick instruction, they’d been on their way up in a plane piloted by someone Micah knew well. He was a master skydiver and had the special credentials for tandem jumps. He’d also made sure to mention that they were using Xtreme Dive equipment, the best skydiving gear available, in his opinion, which had made Tessa laugh at his arrogance.
