by Unknown
“No, he met some chick on vacation, and they, well, they are all over each other.” Then I was pissed. I thought maybe she thought about what happened between us then ended whatever the relationship was, but nope. He was fucking around with some broad on vacation.
“But what happened to Sonya?” I asked.
“All I know is that she left town when Brent returned with his wife.” She wasn’t here? I felt the wind get knocked out of me. I had to find out where she was. When I thought our relationship was hopeless and tainted, I just sulked. Now that I knew she was going to be mine, she was gone. I had to find her and get her back.
“Where did she go?”
“I don’t know. Brent didn’t say, but he gave me a hard time about her and asked if I did anything to upset her. He didn’t seem happy at all. It was like he thought she’d been hurt when she left.”
“What did you say?” I doubt he mentioned me because Brent would have been looking to question me. That would have been a big fight.
“That we only talked while she was working. Nothing more and that she was a nice girl. Why did something happen and you don’t want to say it?”
“I can’t right now. I need to go to the bar and talk to Brent.”
“If you’re going to confess something to him about you and Sonya, tonight wouldn’t be the brightest time to do it. He’s celebrating. Wait until the night is over. Or just call him in the morning.”
“Why, if they weren’t a thing, what does it matter?”
“Because they are cousins and he’s super protective of her.” Cousins? What the hell? I thought about the text message. I swear it was ingrained into my brain. My father was right.
“Fuck! Son of a bitch! I’ve got to go. I have to find her and make shit right between us.”
Any way I sliced it, she was mine. I wasn’t going to let anything stop me. I didn’t have a clue where to look for her, but I would find her. Leaving Jack still in the chair, I was out of mine and through the door like a bat out of hell. When I got to the bar on my motorcycle, the place was packed. I barely had room for my ride. The bar was crowded, but I spotted Brent as soon as I walked in. He was standing by the pool table with a short little thing with long blonde hair. That must be the woman.
“Hey there, stranger. It’s been a while since you stopped by,” Susie said. “We’ve missed your handsome face.”
“Not now. I have to talk to Brent.” I marched over to the man of the hour barging through the masses.
“Brent, I need to have a word with you,” I huffed out.
“Sure thing, Shane. Is this about the car? Jack said the bill was squared away. But if he was wrong, I’ll gladly take care of it.”
“Where is she?” I hissed. Immediately his face changed. He laid the pool cue down and looked down at his woman. “Excuse me, baby.” Then he looked at me. “Upstairs now.”
The second we got into his apartment, he decked me in my jaw. I didn’t see it coming, but I knew I earned it.
“What the fuck, Shane? What the fuck did you do to her?” He turned and ran his hand over his face. “Fuck, well I know what you did with her. I have the fucking evidence on her sheets. You son of a bitch.”
“I didn’t know she was your cousin,” I reasoned. That was apparently the wrong response.
He stood straight, his back ridged then he quirked his brow. “Wait. So you think that’s an explanation for fucking her and running?
“No. It’s not what I meant.” I tried to explain, but he cut me off.
“Let me try to understand this. You stole my cousin’s virginity, then ran out on her, telling someone in front of her how lousy it was for you and you regretted it?”
“She told you?” I asked with surprise. I didn’t think that was something she’d be willing to share, unless she wanted him to come after me.
“No, she told my wife, who told me. I knew you were a prick, but I didn’t think you were that big of a bastard,” he said, leaning against the back of his sofa.
“Damn, I never heard you curse so much.” He must hate me almost as much as I hated myself right at the moment. “Now where is she?”
“What makes you think I’d tell you?” He was incredulous.
“Because I’m going to find her, apologize forever, and then I’m going to marry her.”
“Hold up. Why would you do that? You cut and ran knowing she gave you something special.”
“I saw your text message to her that morning. It was something a guy who wants a girl sends. She’s been staying in your place and you don’t let any woman up here. I had no idea she was your cousin, and she never corrected my assumption the first time we met.”
“So, you believed we were together, but you still fucked her anyway?”
“No. When I saw the message, I thought she lied to me about you two being a couple.”
“You had to have known she was a virgin.”
“I did, but I assumed I beat you to it and that’s why you were mad.”
“You’re a fucking nut. I don’t think I need another nut in my family. We’ve got too many as it is.”
“Please, Brent. I need to make this right. I swear to God, I wanted to marry her that night before we had sex. I was fucking crushed when I believed it was a lie.” I told him about my promise to Will and that made it harder for me to swallow when I thought she played me.
“Where is she?” I asked, pleadingly. Finding her became a must from the moment I knew she wasn’t with him. I fucking ruined what we had by handling a text the wrong way. I should have stayed there and grilled her. I sat down on his recliner tucking my head in my hands before rubbing them against my face and tossing my head back. “Please tell me where she’s at.”
“Damn, I want to tell you because you look pathetic as fuck, but I can’t until I talk to her. There’s no way I’d lead you to her if there’s any chance she doesn’t want you in her life. After what you did, I don’t know if she’ll be that forgiving.”
“I get that, but I promise that I won’t let that shit happen again. Call her right now.”
He pulled out his cell and called her number. It rang for three rings before a guy picked up the line. I wanted to fucking break the fucking phone and his face, but then I remember what jumping to the wrong conclusions before got me.
“Who is this?”
“Sir, it’s three in the morning and Ms. McCartney is asleep and so is the rest of the house. Please call back in the morning.”
“This is Brent McCartney. Tell her to call me in the morning.”
“I will, sir. By the way, I’m Reynolds, the butler for Mr. and Mrs. Ingles.” I breathed a sigh of relief. The butler ended the call. Brent and I looked at each other.
“So who are the Ingles?” I asked him.
“Sonya’s mother and stepfather,” Brent answered.
“Oh, so where do they live?”
“In New York, but like I said, I’d have to talk to her first.”
“Come on, Brent. She means everything to me. I swear on everything I own and on my mother.”
That was when he cracked. “If you hurt her again, I will bury you.”
“I won’t.” He gave me everything I needed to find her. I had the address, her phone number, and her email. The first thing I did was send her an email.
Sonya,
I don’t know where to start, but I want to say I’m so damn sorry. Sorry doesn’t even begin to describe how wrong I feel about what happened. I jumped to the wrong conclusions and it cost me a lifetime of happiness. Please tell me there’s some way I can make this right. I miss you so much it hurts every second of every day. I’m going to do whatever it takes to get you back and never let you go. Be warned, my sweet Sonya, I take whatever I want and that’s your heart.
I love you,
Shane
I couldn’t just leave to get her, so I had to plan it out. Jack was going to hold down the fort along with some office help he was hiring. All day I checked for a reply. It took until the end of the day befor
e she responded.
Shane,
I don’t know how you could fix what you broke. I gave you all of me that night. I didn’t expect your love, but I didn’t even get your respect. I don’t know if I can deal with this right now. Please give me time.
Sonya
I wanted to reply right back. The fact that she didn’t miss me enough to just forgive me scared the fuck out of me, but Brent and Jack talked some sense into me. Brent talked to Sonya about me and he had no doubt that she still cared for me. He and Alana told me to give her space. Every day I was growing more and more antsy. Tomorrow, I was flying to New York whether she wanted me there or not. We had to work it out.
Sonya,
I gave you time. It’s been almost four weeks since I’ve seen your beautiful face. I love you and I know that you wouldn’t have given me your virginity if I didn’t mean something to you. Over the past three days of letting you stew, I’ve realized something. You wouldn’t be still mad at me if there wasn’t more between us. I just need you to listen to me and understand that I can’t apologize enough.
Love you always,
Shane
Chapter 7
I stared at his messages. Every time I read them, I was close to caving. He didn’t explain anything really, but according to Brent, Shane never meant to hurt me. Coming from Brent, I knew it was true, but how could I let my heart open up for him when I worried that he would destroy me again. He called me daily for a week. I never once picked up the phone.
Truthfully, I didn’t care anymore if he could hurt me. I missed him to the core. The ache in my chest had grown every day without him. When the first email came, I wanted to beg him to come get me, but I didn’t. There was no way I was going to be my mother. I didn’t need a man to define who I was, but I did need Shane to make me whole.
This time when he called, I answered. “Hello,” I said softly.
“Sonya,” he breathed happily into the phone. “Thank you for answering.”
“Shane, I miss you.” The doorbell rang and I walked to get it. Reynolds was driving my stepfather around today. I opened the door and there in front of me was Shane, looking tall, handsome, rugged, and thinner.
“I missed you, too.” Before I could respond, he picked me up off my feet and planted his lips on mine. “I owe you apologies and an explanation, but I needed to kiss you. Fuck, Sonya. I’ve missed you.”
He carried me into the house and closed the door behind us. Then after kissing me once more, he set me down on my feet. Shane tilted my chin to look into my eyes. “We need to talk,” he said in that voice that made my heart sigh. I simply nodded. My emotions were too chaotic to do anything else.
"Is there somewhere where we can talk privately?"
"Yes."
I grabbed his hand and led him up to the room that was mine. He stopped, putting his hand on the frame. "Sweetheart, I don't think this is the best place to talk," he said gulping down air.
"This will have to do. Come and sit down." I had to be stern with him because as much as I was angry and hurt, I knew that he cared and that was my weakness. Brent told me what Shane had told him, but I needed him to show me he was sorry.
He pulled me down to sit by him. Grabbing my hands into one of his large ones, he used the other to tilt my chin. “There’s so much to say and I’m grateful that you’re willing to listen. First, at the time I meant what I said on the phone that day. It was how I felt. I believed that you and Brent were more than just friends. There was an intimacy that was stronger than what you said. Since I knew Brent didn't get along with his family, I brushed off that you'd be related. See, he never mentioned you or maybe I never really listened. It doesn't matter why. I shouldn't have left and I sure as hell shouldn't have said that shit.”
As mad as I had been, I wasn’t anymore. The hurt faded the moment Brent told me what happened.
“The thing is…well. It’s complicated. My brother suffered an injury that hopefully only temporarily made him limp. If you know what I mean,” he said looking for understanding. I gave him a nod. I was feeling more and more guilty for knowing the truth and not saying anything. “As his twin and friend, I made him a promise to abstain. It had been easy until you walked down those stairs. Then, no promises to my best friend could stop the need I had for you. You were everything and I acted like an ass. Can you ever forgive me?”
I nodded because I didn’t have the words. He didn’t need to finish. The look in his eyes and the pained expression was everything I needed to forgive.
“You can forgive me?” He looked like he couldn’t fathom me ever letting him back in.
I knew he was sincere, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t scared. “Yes, Shane. But please don’t ever hurt me again.”
“Never baby. I wouldn’t do anything to hurt you again.” This time he cupped my cheek with his strong hands and tenderly pulled my face to his, kissing my lips gently.
Chapter 8
I craved her, but I had to hold it together. I didn’t plan to stay in this house one more night. For some reason, they kept us in separate bedrooms. One day was too much for me. It was like being separated by an ocean. I didn’t like her stepfather one bit, something about him said that he was a creep and the mother was a pathetic mess. Her accident wasn’t as bad as they had played it. Sonya told me all about the call she received after I left. Then, she got here, and well, it was as if they were looking for a free servant. And her stepfather was looking like he wanted something else.
“Babe, get your shit together. We’re leaving,” I said after dinner.
“What?! I’m not leaving yet. I promised another week.” I knew this fight was going to happen, but I promised I wouldn’t hurt her so I needed to shield her feelings as best as I could.
“I can’t have sex with you here. If we go to a hotel you can come visit every day, but with them being like they are I’m forced to sleep in another room.”
“Tell me about it.”
“Then, if you feel the same way, why not just leave?” I asked. There was constant tension between her and her mother that I didn’t understand until the butler let me in on a little family secret. Let’s just say, if I ever saw her first stepfather, he’d be a dead man. The reaction from her mother disgusted me. She ran away from me to comfort that shrew of a woman? She wasn’t a shrew; she was worse. Mrs. Ingles was a vile woman with a selfish streak a mile wide.
“You’re right. We should just go.” She nodded her head and walked to the dresser where her things were stored. Immediately, Sonya grabbed a handful of clothes and set them on the bed.
“That was easy.” I thought it was going to be a bigger deal, but then again I didn’t feel any love lost between mother and daughter.
She pulled the suitcase from the closet and looked me in the eyes with a smile on her face. It wasn’t a smile that reached her eyes; something was bothering her. “I just want to be alone with you and away from them.”
“Let me ask you this, Sonya. Has he hit on you this whole time?” She froze in her spot and I knew I was right, but I didn’t like it. What else had he done? I’d kill him if it was more than the flirting.
“No. It’s everyone once and a while, but it’s not like he’s serious. It’s a creepy but harmless way, if you get me.” She offered an explanation that I still didn’t care for. He was an old pervert looking to cash in on years of marriage to that old bag.
“No. I don’t get you. There’s nothing harmless when a grown man who’s supposed to be your father figure is hitting on you. I saw what happened at dinner. If you didn’t think I saw that accidental brush of your hand, you were wrong, honey.”
“I’m sorry. I thought when you got here that it would stop, but it’s like he wants the risk of you catching him. I’ve told him that I want nothing to do with him.”
“So then why did you stay?” I had to ask the question that popped into my head.
“Because I had nowhere else to go and my mom said she wanted to make things right between
us.” That was what I get for asking a question that I shouldn’t have. It was my fault she stayed here. If anything, I would have come with her and we would have left after one night. Then again, she was trying to build a relationship with her shitty mother.
“And you weren’t sure if leaving was worth losing your relationship?”
She finished zippering her suitcase, looking up at me sweetly. “Yes, but it really hasn’t been worth it. I’m glad you came for me.”
“So am I. Now, let’s go and get a room and plan this out.”
“Don’t you have to get back to work soon? Jack told me that you guys are always busy.”
“Yeah, I do, but he’s got it together for right now. He’s really smart about the scheduling and planning the guys’ projects. He makes my day a lot easier. Truthfully, he’s been taking over a lot since I fucked up with you. I’ve been working and working for hours at the shop, but on the motorcycles only.”
“I’m so sorry that you had to suffer, too. Let’s not dwell on it. We’re together now, and I think that’s all that matters.”
“Damn right, babe,” I said. She had the right idea and I couldn’t wait to show her my appreciation for her willingness to forgive. Pulling her tightly into my arms, I kissed her softly. A damn knock at the door interrupted our kiss. I closed my eyes and rested my chin on her head for a moment. I was stiff as fuck and needed to calm down before the door was opened.
“I have to get it before someone just comes in.” She truly seemed concerned about that and it ticked me the fuck off. Nobody should be coming in uninvited.
“Is that typical?” I asked through gritted teeth.
“Not really, but it’s happened once or twice.”
“That’s once or twice too many.” I stepped away from her and to the door. Placing my hand on the handle, I felt the ease of it opening because it was being opened from the opposite side. Fucking asshole.
“Excuse the fuck out of you. What are you doing walking up in here?”
“I was making sure you weren’t in here.”
“What the fuck is wrong with you? Do you have a death wish or something? You stay the fuck away from her.” I closed the door in his face. “Grab your other things or I’ll just buy you new shit.”
