“Baby—”
She swiped quickly at her cheeks. “I’d better go before I make a fool of myself. I love you, my bears,” she whispered, her voice cracking. She hesitated for a second, the need for contact clear in her eyes and echoed by his heart, but she stopped herself. She turned and walked out the door.
Spencer hadn’t said a word since the restaurant. As the door closed, he headed into the kitchen. He reached into a cabinet for the bottle of whiskey and took down a shot glass. He looked at the shot glass in his hand and then shoved it back onto the shelf and slammed the cabinet. He walked to his bedroom and appeared a minute later in his swim trunks. The back door slammed closed behind him as he strode out to the pool, bottle in hand. Heath braced his hands against the kitchen counter, looking stricken.
Cody headed to his bedroom too, calling out, “I’d better go out there with him. I could use a little somethin’ strong myself.”
When Cody went out on the back porch, after changing out of his jeans, it was to find Heath’s T-shirt and jeans strewn on the porch, where he must’ve left them when he’d stripped and put on his trunks. Spencer had already taken a swim and was now sitting on the edge, the bottle in his hand. He curled his lip and tilted the bottle to his mouth and then handed it to Heath when he swam to the edge where Spencer sat.
Spencer’s swallow was audible, as though he was having a hard time getting it down. Cody walked around to them and sat down with his legs in the water, which was still warm from the sun. Spencer’s eyes looked haunted and his voice was hoarse as he said, “She cried the whole way home. I could feel her shaking as she cried. We broke her heart. My heart is breaking, man, and I fucking hate it.”
Heath took a drink from the bottle and then passed it to Cody but not before Cody noticed the way his hand trembled.
“Did I do the right thing?” That was all he needed to know from his brothers.
“They were holding her job over her head. The only difference was that we stopped it before more people figured it out, before her reputation was ruined,” Heath said, his hands clenching into fists on the edge of the pool. “We never should’ve pursued her once we knew. Should’ve known this would happen. I hated hurting her. She didn’t deserve that.”
Cody felt even worse, remembering the way Heath had talked about their evening together earlier in the week and the fact that they’d made use of the brand-new bed. Her bed. They’d changed the sheets and made it up nice for her, for the next night she spent with them, but it wasn’t meant to be.
The whiskey stung going down and didn’t ease the pain at all.
Chapter Twenty-One
Maizy sighed as she finished dressing. So much for her hope that a massage might ease the all-over ache she’d suffered from since she and the bears had broken their relationship off two weeks before. Even thinking of that night made her heart ache and her eyes burn with tears.
They hadn’t been in touch but Lucy had told her that all three men asked about her every time they saw Lucy. She’d also seen Spencer’s truck drive past her house one night after she’d come in from working late in her rose garden. When Chaz had broken up with her the pain she’d suffered hadn’t been anywhere near the magnitude of what she was struggling with now.
Clearing her throat of unshed tears, she slipped her boots on. She recalled the gentle way Spencer had slipped them off of her feet the first night she’d gone to their house. His whole demeanor had filled her with comfort, despite how intimidating he may have seemed.
Her heart ached with longing for him and she had to stop and just breathe for a few seconds before she started bawling…again. She’d been so embarrassed when the sobs had suddenly burst from her during the massage, but Lucy had just patted her consolingly and told her to go ahead and let it out. It hadn’t helped all that much. There was no cathartic feeling, only a terrible sense of loss.
The school day had been another long one and Lucy had insisted she come over for a massage after the shop was closed, and wouldn’t take no for an answer. Lucy had taken PJ home to Patrick and then had met her at A Divine Retreat, Lucy’s massage retreat in historic downtown Divine. She appreciated Lucy’s effort but still felt the same.
After inspecting her appearance in the mirror, noting with dismay her red-rimmed eyes and flushed cheeks, she shrugged and grabbed her purse, determined to get beyond the hurt somehow. Lucy put her phone down and went to her. “How do you feel?”
“Better,” Maizy lied, but Lucy snorted.
“Don’t bullshit a bullshitter, honey.”
“I’ll be better eventually.”
“It’ll be good for you to let go a little and have fun this weekend at my bachelorette party. We’ll make sure you enjoy yourself.” Lucy’s wedding and subsequent binding ceremony were the following weekend.
“It should be me making sure that you enjoy yourself, Lucy. I’m the one who planned the thing.”
Lucy vehemently refused payment and gave her a hug that succeeded in drawing a few tears before she released her and gazed at her with concern.
She reached for the box of tissues and offered it to Maizy and said, “This is so wrong. I hate seeing you so miserable, honey.” Lucy even had tears brimming in her eyes as she spoke. “I wish there was something I could do.”
Maizy shrugged and thanked her. “It’s just going to take time I guess. It’s harder because I have to put on an act for everyone at school. I’ve had to pretend the gifts they sent were no big deal and that I’d dated Spencer a couple of times and then moved on.”
A wave of fatigue swept over her and Lucy handed her a bottle of water and instructed her to go home, eat some soup, and go to bed. She knew it wouldn’t be that easy. She’d been plagued with insomnia since that night two weeks before. The exhaustion would come on strong throughout the day and then, when she finally settled into her bed at night, she’d lay there wide awake, remembering the way they’d kissed her, the way they touched her and took their time with her, showing her pleasure that would never be equaled. She remembered how safe she’d felt surrounded by them and ached with emptiness in the lonely bed.
The lingering heat of the day assailed her as she stepped out of the shop and walked in the direction of where her car was parked. The lowering sun blinded her for a moment after being in the much dimmer retreat atmosphere. She’d left her sunglasses in her car and shaded her eyes as she walked and cried out in surprise when she plowed right into a very large, very hard male body.
“Oh! I’m so sorry! I wasn’t watching where I—”
She froze as he blocked the sun with his big body and she looked up into worry-filled green eyes. Heath grasped her shoulders, as she faltered, and said, “Baby.” With that one small word he said so much before he crushed her to him.
For a second, she thought she was experiencing a really kickass heat-induced mirage, or a fantasy so detailed that she’d lost her grip on reality. She clung tightly to him and breathed him in, determined to take everything she could from the moment before it disappeared. But he was real, his heavenly masculine scent was real. It was Heath. Her Happy Bear, only he didn’t look happy. He seemed broken and there was pain in his eyes.
He squeezed her even tighter and a small sob broke from her as she bit her lip to stop the waterworks before they started. “I miss you so much, Heath. I miss you all so much.”
His body trembled as he held her and he said, “I can’t stand this, baby. The guys are hurting as much as I am.” She shifted in his embrace and wrapped her arms around him even tighter and pressed her face against his T-shirt covered chest, not caring that she was soaking him with her tears and probably leaving him covered in streaked mascara. Another scent invaded her nostrils and she realized Heath had a large bandage on his biceps.
“What happened, Heath?”
Heath cleared his throat and chuckled as he gestured with a thumb toward Divine Ink next door. “I had an appointment with Seth this afternoon.”
“You did?” He had been next
door while she was having her massage…and her big blubbery cry. Oh no. No, no, no, no!
Heath nodded and she saw the way the muscles in his jaws bunched for several seconds as though he was gritting his teeth. “I heard Lucy mention to Seth that you were coming over to see her. I could hear you, baby. You were breaking my heart. I’m so sorry, Maizy.”
“I couldn’t help it. That’s so embarrassing. I know it’s hard for you, too,” she whispered as she stroked his chest.
“My, my. You’d think a teacher of young children would have more decorum than to fool around with her boyfriend in full view of everyone.”
The voice sent chills up Maizy’s spine. She hastily wiped her eyes and turned to face the owner of that hateful voice. “Miss Lester, I assure you that your assumption is mistaken.”
Tabitha shrugged nonchalantly as she flicked a glance at Heath and curled her lip. “Doesn’t matter what it is. All that matters is how it appears. You’ve been seen all about town with three different men, who all seem to be close friends, in rather intimate embraces—”
“I most certainly have not—”
“Lady, you need to get a life, or get—” Maizy turned to him and shook her head. Anything he said to Tabitha would be misconstrued and spread around town. He bit back the word before he said it and tried to scoot her behind him but Maizy wouldn’t allow it. The fact that he was right—she did need to get a life or get fucked—didn’t matter.
Another tall, warm body came up to stand beside her and Seth Carter said, “Is there a problem here?”
Tabitha scowled when she looked over at Seth, who was soon joined by Lucy. Like any bully, Tabitha backed down once she realized she was outnumbered by people who planned to stand up to her. She sniffed and walked away with her nose up in the air with a parting shot. “Disgusting perverts.”
Lucy growled quietly and said, “I am getting damned sick and tired of that fucking bitch. Who shoved a burr up her ass anyway?”
Seth chuckled and said, “Sis struggles with expressing her feelings.”
“I hate her fucking guts.”
Seth and Lucy both smiled at Heath and Maizy, and Seth said, “I think we’ll leave you two to your conversation.” Lucy winked at Maizy and waved as she walked away, looking rather satisfied with herself.
“Did she call you?” Maizy asked, once they were all alone again.
Heath covered a wide yawn and then said, “She texted me when you were done. I don’t think she was purposely trying to get us together.”
“No. She would see it as ‘expediting the outcome.’ I feel like such a baby now, Heath. I’m sorry you heard me.” Damn, how loud was I wailing that he could hear me through the wall? Loud enough, evidently.
He held her shoulders and gazed deeply into her eyes without saying a word for a long time. “I love you, Maizy, and hearing you cry tells me you still love me…us.”
She nodded. Turning her gaze down the street, she could see Tabitha standing on the sidewalk the next block down, watching them.
Heath noticed her, too, and walked Maizy to her car. “I’m not giving up, Maizy. Cody said we should leave you alone to give you a chance to heal but seeing you just makes me more determined.”
Dark clouds moved in front of the sun and the wind gusted as he opened the door for her and closed it once she was in. It wasn’t a question of whether or not they loved each other. The question was whether that love was enough, when it was forbidden.
* * * *
Heath walked into the house and found his brothers in the kitchen. Without preamble, he said, “I saw her this afternoon.”
He picked up the toolbox and went out the back door to get started for the evening. Spencer followed him outside, buckling on his tool belt, with Cody on their heels.
Cody said, “We need to leave her alone, Heath.”
Heath knew the words were hard for his brother to say so he didn’t get pissed off at him. Cody was the realist in the bunch but Heath also knew that Cody still trusted his instincts.
He looked up at his brother. “She’s in so much pain, Cody, and I can’t stand it. It’s not over yet. Not by a long shot. What we have…it goes bone deep for her, too. I don’t know how it works out, but it ain’t over yet. Hand me that level, will you?”
As he pointed at the needed tool, the site of the new tattoo Seth had started for him that afternoon throbbed on his biceps. A shapely little belly dancer with long black curly hair. He welcomed the sensation. He welcomed every prick of the needle that would embed the reminder of their sweet little Maizy in his skin for the rest of his life.
Cody breathed out through his nostrils, looked between him and Spencer a couple of times, and then got to work as well. If they couldn’t have her in their arms on their night off, the least they could do was finish her deck. Heath had to believe that it would be hers one day, just like the three of them would.
* * * *
Saturday night, Maizy sat next to Lucy in the limo on the way to male stripper heaven as Imagine Dragon’s “Radioactive” thumped over the vehicle’s impressive sound system. She would’ve preferred a night spent at home in her comfy jammies and a chick flick but she wouldn’t have missed Lucy’s big night for anything.
Maizy had planned the stereotypical bachelorette party for Lucy, complete with a limo trip to a ladies-only strip club in Morehead. The Booty Parlor had received an enthusiastic thumbs-up from several of the girls who had gone there for Rachel’s bachelorette party a few years before. Camilla Parks had also given it her seal of approval after laughingly telling them that an old boyfriend had worked there and she knew several of the male dancers who were still employed there.
“Hey, Camilla, do your men know where we’re headed?” Summer asked as she and her newly-married sister, Margot, sat side by side, pouring tequila shots for all the ladies who wanted them.
Maizy watched Camilla with interest as she waved a hand nonchalantly. “Of course! Ben and Quinten are right down the street at the Dollhouse throwing Patrick and Beck their last hurrah.”
Lucy growled and said, “Shit, don’t remind me.” She sucked down the shot Margot handed her and nodded when she offered another.
“Whoa, girl,” Camilla said through her laughter. “You’re gonna be shit-faced before we can even get you front and center with Jacob. Wait…What did Beck do this time?”
Grace piped up, after coughing over her shot, and said, “Hey, now, don’t be hating on my sweet Beck. How do y’all know it was him that got in trouble?”
“Because it was,” Lucy growled. “The shit.” She frowned into her tequila shot but then giggled. “It’s a damned good thing he’s really good at makeup sex.”
One of the women, Chloe, a friend of Lucy’s from out of town said, “Spill, Lucy. What did he do?”
Lucy let out a sigh of disgust and turned to her friend. “I know he was trying to be helpful, but Beck decided to do my laundry for me while I was at my morning appointments.”
Someone giggled and said, “Oh, shit.”
Lucy looked ready to gnash her teeth. “I may have flipped my lid…a little. He separated colors, bless his heart, but he washed my delicates with my slacks and jeans and then…”
“Oh, crap.”
“He put it all in the dryer. There was even some ‘dry clean only’ stuff in one of the loads.”
Charity shook her head in disgust and raised her index finger. “Justin did my laundry once, when we were first married. Once. I would’ve flipped the fuck out too, Lucy.”
Lucy looked like she was just warming up to her tale and Maizy had to hold back a giggle. The girl was a sight when she had her back up. “So, I was understandably stressed, since some of the lingerie was ruined, and my pants were shrunk too short to wear again. I was justified in how I felt. He backed off, made himself scarce, and I’m all thinking ‘smart boy.’”
“Oh, crap,” someone said with a giggle-snort.
“So he comes back with a sack from the pharmacy and slips it
into my hands and gives me this super-sweet kiss. I’m thinking he’s just about back in my good graces because he not only gave me some space, he got me something to make up for it. You want to know what was in that bag from the fucking pharmacy?”
The peanut gallery was a mass of giggles and every one of the girls was on the edge of her seat, all nineteen of them, waiting for the answer.
“Midol. Fucking Midol.”
“That shit!”
“What a douchetard!”
“Dumb shit!”
“Oh my gawd!”
Everyone started talking all at once and Lucy burst into laughter. “Like I said, it’s a good thing he’s great at makeup sex.”
Charity snorted. “I thought you were walking a little bowlegged tonight, honey.”
Everyone burst into laughter and Lucy shushed them as Chloe sat forward, giggling, and flapped her hands. “I have to tell you, Lucy. That’s all my fault.”
“Huh?” one of the girls called out. Lucy quickly explained that Chloe was Beck’s ex-girlfriend and that she and Lucy had become fast friends the month before when they’d met under pretty dire circumstances. She and her best friend, Emily Anne Bancroft, were both from Lusty, Texas, and had come to Divine for the bachelorette party and were staying the night at the Hourglass Inn in Divine.
Giving her the floor, Lucy downed her shot and said, “This I’ve gotta hear, Chloe.”
Chloe said, “Sometimes I have really bad PMS. Cramps, moodiness, crying spells, you name it. It used to really bother Beck to see me like that and once I told him that I just needed to go to the grocery store and get some Midol, and that he needn’t worry. After we talked, I went to bed with a hot water bottle and took a nap. When I woke up, there was a little bottle of Midol sitting on the bathroom counter. I thought it was the sweetest thing, because, you know…he’s not the type to go tampon shopping or anything like that.”
Maizy the Bear Charmer [Divine Creek Ranch 16] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 26
