Wounded Love (A Rocky Harbor Novel Book 3)

by Marianne Rice

  “Yes.” Rachael pointed a wooden spoon slathered in a sweet vanilla batter at Ellie. “But this time he hugged me first. You make him happy.”

  “How do you know this has anything to do with me?” Ellie reached for a coffee mug and poured herself a cup of pumpkin spice.

  “Please.” Rachael continued stirring her batter, a knowing smile on her face. “It’s so obvious you two are getting it on.”

  “Rachael!” Ellie nearly spit her coffee out.

  “Sorry. I suppose this is an improper employer-employee discussion, however Colton is my brother so I feel entitled to speak my mind.”

  Ellie glanced at the clock on the microwave. “I need to wake CJ and get him ready for school.”

  “How’s he feeling?” Rachael turned somber and stopped stirring.

  “I never know until I wake him up. He’s so lethargic and his teachers have called me about him falling asleep in class. I had him tested for mono last week but the test came back negative. We meet with a new specialist on Monday. I hope he’ll be able to figure out what’s going on.”

  “Poor kid. He’s lucky to have a mom like you.”

  Ellie sipped her coffee and remembered Colton’s words at dinner last week. If she’d gone to her parents and asked for money or connections, would CJ have had a diagnosis by now and possibly a treatment for whatever had been infecting his body? No, had there been something seriously wrong the doctors would have found it awhile ago. Or so she hoped.

  For the most part he was healthy and happy. It was the lethargy and lack of appetite lately that had her concerned.

  “Let me know if I can do anything for you. If you need me to hang out here and check in guests or clean rooms or whatever. Okay? My schedule is pretty open and I’ll be spending a lot of time here in your kitchen anyway.”

  “Thank you. I appreciate it.” For the first time in her life she had girlfriends and a small support system. Not used to calling on others for favors, it would take some getting used to. Having Rachael babysit CJ the other night wasn’t as awkward as she’d thought, but she needed to find some high school girls to watch him instead of taking advantage of her friendships.

  “So how do Colton and CJ get along?”

  Guilt crept up once again. Now that she and Colton had progressed in their relationship she knew she had to tell him about their son. He abandoned them years ago and she needed to know why. He owed her an explanation, and she owed him the truth. Could he handle the responsibility of a child when he had his own demons to fight? While they may have moved their relationship forward on a sexual level, they had yet to talk about anything too personal.

  “Ellie?”

  Setting her mug on the counter, Ellie picked up a banana and peeled it. “They haven’t really crossed paths yet.” She took a bite and smiled at Rachael’s disapproving look. “I need to get CJ ready for school.”

  “Whatever you think is best,” Rachael muttered before returning to her batter.

  Ellie hadn’t a clue what was best. Maybe it was time to take up Maggie on her offer.

  Thirty minutes later she had CJ dressed, fed, and on the bus for school. He liked seeing his friends and playing at recess. Occasionally he’d talk about a book they were reading or a piece of history he learned in social studies, but other than that, school wasn’t high on CJ’s list.

  After she’d done a load of laundry and dusted the upstairs rooms, she called Maggie and set up an appointment.

  “We don’t have to meet in the office. If you’ll feel more comfortable we can go somewhere for coffee.”

  “I’d like to meet somewhere private, if that’s okay.”

  “How about this,” Maggie started. “Why don’t you come over for dinner? Graham can hang out with CJ and help him with homework or play video games or whatever. It will be good practice for him.”

  Ellie laughed. “You have quite a few years to go before your unborn child will be doing homework. Are you sure he won’t mind?”

  “I’ll double check with him and will call you back.”

  “Sounds good. Thanks, Maggie.”

  “Hey, that’s what friends are for.”

  “I’ll bring dinner.”

  “Perfect. I’ll be in touch.”

  Feeling better after her conversation with Maggie, Ellie continued with her chores and looked through her cabinets for dinner ideas for Graham and CJ. It would have to be another pizza night.

  ***

  Colton

  The past few nights had been more therapeutic than the hordes of shrinks and hundreds of hours of physical therapy he’d endured over the past year. If he knew sex with Ellie would relax the tension in his shoulders and ease the tremble in his leg, he would have jumped in her bed weeks ago. Heck, he would have tracked her down the second he reached American soil.

  Colton texted his brothers to see if anyone wanted to work out with him at The Warehouse. He’d made slow progress entering back into the real world, as Rachael called it. It wasn’t like he holed up in his rusty trailer all day. Most mornings he went for a run with Sadie, then spent a few hours online searching for jobs before going to The Warehouse to lift weights or spar.

  He’d even accepted his brothers’ and sister’s dinner invitations every night, which was why he didn’t get to Ellie’s until after nine. Avoiding her kid hadn’t been part of his plan but it just so happened to work out that way. There was still residual anger and hurt left behind from her hasty abortion and then pregnancy with some new guy. Colton knew they needed to talk about it if anything real was going to happen between them.

  The burning question was, did he want anything real to happen between them? Even if he were still seeing a therapist, this wouldn’t have been a question he’d bring up. It was no one’s business what happened between him and Ellie ten years ago and it wasn’t anyone’s business today either.

  Frustrated that his brothers hadn’t responded yet—most likely because they were cozying up with their wives—he shot off another group text.

  You 2 pansy asses home knitting blankets and drinking tea or are you coming to the gym?

  Luke sent a selfie of him and Sage curled up on the couch, a satisfied smile on her face and a shit-eating grin on his. Yeah, couldn’t blame Luke for blowing him off. Graham texted back a moment later.

  Watching Ellie’s kid. Maybe later?

  What the hell? Colton stared at his phone, tempted to call his brother and chew him out for spending time with Ellie when he had his own woman. Instead he snagged his keys off the counter, called for Sadie to follow, and jumped in his truck. He made it to the Inn in record time. Ellie’s car was missing from the lot. In its place was Graham’s fancy Volvo.

  A tsunami of jealousy, confusion, and rage rippled through his body as he yanked his door open and called back to Sadie to stay. He hadn’t asked Ellie if his dog would be welcomed inside the Inn. Another thing they had yet to discuss.

  Slamming his door behind him, he took the stairs two at a time—which he couldn’t have done a few months ago—and flung the front door open, not caring if she had guests milling around.

  The Inn was dark except a few lamps in the corners of the rooms and he followed the sounds of the television and laughter. Colton passed through the kitchen and down the hall toward Ellie’s private suite. Her door was closed and he continued to the end where he knew there was a small living room.

  Colton had only been in her bedroom and private bath, but he’d seen the living area from the outside when working on the trim. It wasn’t a room he had thought much about. The bedroom suited him just fine.

  Rounding the corner, he stopped in the doorway and took in the scene. Graham sat on the floor, his back against the couch, and CJ sat to his left. Both had controllers in their hands and were yelling at the television.

  “I’m gonna beat you this time, kid.”

  “Nuh uh. Your guy is stupid and slow. I’m the awesomist.” CJ bit his lip and scrunched his nose, still managing to make some impressive s
ound effects out of his mouth.

  The scene would have been funny if he wasn’t so pissed.

  “Maverick.” His brothers had been obsessed with Top Gun when they were kids, each taking on a persona. With Graham’s obsession with flying, he’d won out on Tom Cruise’s character while Colton got the cold-hearted ass’s nickname, Iceman. And the name suited him perfectly right now.

  Graham kept one eye on the screen and one on Colton. “Dude. This kid is awesome. You can take my spot after I die.”

  “Which is gonna be in two seconds.”

  “What the hell is going on?”

  When his brother finally took the time to look up at Colton he had to have read the anger etched in his face. Hell, it was lined with permanent freaking marker. Graham dropped the controller and hopped to his feet. “This old guy needs a break. I’m going to get us a snack from the kitchen. I’ll be right back.”

  If Graham wasn’t his brother he’d smash his face in. Or snap his neck. Or at least kick him in the nuts. This was Colton’s territory. Graham had his own perfect little life and could stay the hell out of his.

  “Dude. You’ve got smoke coming out of your ears.”

  “Why the hell are you here?”

  “Easy, bro.” Graham took him by the shoulder and steered him down the hall and out of earshot of CJ. Colton shrugged him off and moved ahead of him. When they reached the kitchen, Graham leaned casually against the center island and shook his head. The urge to wipe the slight smile off his brother’s face with his fist ran through Colton again.

  “What’s going on?”

  “So you and Ellie, huh?”

  Colton took a menacing step toward Graham, who held up his hands in laughter. The ass never could take anything seriously.

  “Ellie is out with Maggie having girl time. Mags volunteered me to babysit.”

  “Why didn’t she ask me?”

  “Dunno.” Graham shrugged. “You and CJ tight?”

  Colton glared at his brother. It was an innocent question. He had no idea about their past, the child that never happened. The bedroom Olympics. Past or present. “No.” Colton opened the fridge and grabbed two water bottles, chucking one to his brother.

  “Hey, man. It’s all perfectly innocent here. I’m a happily married guy. Just getting some Wii practice with the kid while the wife does whatever women do when men aren’t around.”

  Tilting the water bottle back, Colton finished it off in two long gulps before replacing the cap and tossing the bottle in the recycle bin. “Sure.” That’s as close to an apology he’d offer. Things may be innocent but it didn’t change the fact that Ellie hadn’t asked him to hang around and play video games with her son. It was like she was trying to keep CJ a secret, or away from Colton.

  “Let’s go back and hang with CJ. I’ll let you take him on next. He keeps kicking my ass.”

  “Sure. Whatever.”

  Colton had played his share of meaningless video games in the hospital. It kept him distracted from the loss of his leg, the loss of his buddies, the loss of Ellie. Graham headed down first and handed CJ a juice box.

  “I’m going to take a break. Mind if Colton plays a round or two?”

  The little boy whipped his head around and grinned from ear to ear. He had a gap on the left side and few teeth that looked too big for his tiny mouth. “Your name is Colton?”

  Yeah, that looked bad. Colton avoided Graham’s curious glare. He’d figured out Colton and Ellie were an item and now learned he hadn’t really met her son yet.

  “Yeah. I sort of met you once a few weeks ago but you weren’t feeling great.”

  “I get sick a lot. That day I puked all over my mom.” He giggled at the memory. “It went all over her back and legs and arms. It was disgusting.”

  He’d never forget her running into him, fresh from the shower wearing only a thin robe. “Glad you’re feeling better.”

  The kid dropped his controller and stood. He was tiny. Big green eyes and head he hadn’t quite grown into yet. Scrawny thing.

  “Your name is really Colton?” CJ looked up at him in awe.

  “Yeah. Not too common of a name.” He looked questioningly at Graham, who held up his hands and shrugged.

  “My name is Colton too. Colton James but my mom calls me CJ. Except when she’s mad, then she yells Colton James Fairfield!”

  Colton James? The room started to spin and he braced his hand on the wall for support. “Your name…it’s Colton James?”

  “That’s my dad’s name. He couldn’t be with us when I was born so my mom named me after him.”

  Graham rested his hand on Colton’s shoulder and gave a strong squeeze. “Colton?” he whispered.

  “How…how old are you?” Colton swallowed the lump in his throat and waited for the answer he knew the boy would give.

  “I’ll be ten on April twenty-six.”

  The floor fell out from under him and Colton pushed Graham aside to get away. Get some air. Ellie stood in the hallway, her face ashen white, her eyes round and big with lies.

  “I can explain.”

  “I bet you can.” Colton didn’t trust himself to say or do anything he wouldn’t regret. Pushing past her, he walked steadily out the front door.

  “Colton, wait,” she pleaded to his retreating back.

  Once in his truck, he accepted Sadie’s greeting and then gave her a stern look, which she read perfectly. He buckled and mustered up all the control years in the service had ingrained in him, pulling out of the parking lot like the civil human being he was not.

  The pain in his chest ran through his veins and wrapped around his heart. He’d seen his men get blown to pieces by a road side bomb. Experienced a shock so intense it permanently tattooed his life when he saw lives being ended one by one while his own flesh had been on fire and branded with shrapnel. He couldn’t feel or do a thing, just watch as the world died around him.

  And it was happening again. Only this time it was Ellie. She was no better than a terrorist, coming in dressed as a friend only to tear him apart piece by piece.

  Somehow Colton had made it back to his trailer, the stoplights and turns never registering as his body went into auto pilot getting him and Sadie home safely. Once inside, he poured some kibble in her bowl, filled another with water, and slid to the floor by her side, petting her as she ate her dinner.

  The tear that slid down his cheek was licked clean by his faithful companion. Sadie would never lie to him. Never pretend to love him, pretend to abort his child and then deliver and raise him in secrecy.

  The sweet, beautiful, innocent brunette wouldn’t fool him again. She’d already ripped his heart out once. Shame on him for falling for it again.

  Some time later he heard tires on the dirt driveway. His leg throbbed like a mother and Sadie lay curled into his side. Not wanting his intruder to witness his struggle to get off the floor, he rolled to his side, then to his knees, slowly bringing the circulation to both legs. Sadie got up and nudged her head into his face as if knowing how much pain Colton was in.

  When he thought he could stand, he gripped the counter above his head and pulled himself up to two legs. Or rather one real leg and one fake.

  Just like his life. Half of it was real. His shitty childhood. His time overseas. His team killed before his eyes. The other half was fake. Ellie.

  In no time at all Ellie had entered his life and taken up half the room in his head. He wouldn’t give her credit for taking up space in his heart. She gutted it out a decade ago and left it torn and battered and unable to hold anything more than a grudge.

  Heavy footsteps sounded by his front door and Sadie’s ears perked, her body pressing protectively against Colton’s leg. At least he had one loyal companion in his camp.

  The doorknob turned and Graham’s tall frame entered the cramped sardine can.

  “Ever hear of knocking?”

  “And if I did would you open the door? Or even respond?”

  Colton ignored his brother a
nd, picking up Sadie’s favorite ball, shoved past Graham, exiting the close quarters that suddenly got even smaller. Once outside he threw the ball as far as he could, wishing he could get rid of the pain that stabbed at his chest so easily.

  “I take it you don’t want to talk about it.”

  Colton continued to ignore his brother, patting Sadie on the head when she returned with the ball, not caring about the slime and dirt that got on his hands. He chucked it again, this time in a different direction. The sun had set and he couldn’t see where the ball had landed, but Sadie would know.

  “I get that.”

  Sure he did. Graham had a beautiful wife waiting for him at home, a baby on the way. What the hell did he know about Colton’s shitluck situation?

  “I’m going to put the pieces together here. You and Ellie had a thing back when you were kids. You didn’t know she had a kid. Reconnected a few months ago and she neglected to tell you the kid was yours. How’d I do?”

  Not even close. Sadie slowed her pace, telling Colton she’d had enough fun for the night. He hadn’t taken it easy on her with the ball. Or maybe she was doing her protect-her-owner thing. Either way, it was cold and he wanted to go inside and drown his misery in a case of beer or bottle of jack. Didn’t matter to him.

  Turning his back on Graham again, Colton trudged up the step to his trailer and followed Sadie in, letting the door slam behind him. He washed his hands and grabbed a beer from the fridge, finishing half of it before making his way to the couch.

  “It’s not a good idea to drink alone,” Graham said as he helped himself to a beer as well. His brother was used to getting his way, making people laugh, lightening a serious situation.

  Not tonight. They sat on opposite ends of the beat up couch, sipping their beers and staring at a dark television. Graham got up every so often to get them both a refill. After another chunk of time went by, Graham stood and stretched. “You’re out of beer. Guess I’ll be going then.”

  They’d only had three apiece, and Graham’s third beer was still full, resting on the side table. Of course his brother wanted to make sure Colton didn’t get himself piss drunk and do something stupid. Kind of hard to do with only six beers. Too bad he hadn’t stocked up on any hard liquor since he’d been home.