by Jane Jamison
Jackson whacked Jayden on the arm. “Your coffee’s not any better, you know. I told you to make it weaker today. She can’t handle the way we like it.”
Her vision blurred as she laughed so hard she cried. “No, please. Everything’s great. It just went down the wrong pipe.”
Jacob rubbed comforting circles on her back. “We’re not very good in the kitchen, but we wanted to give you a meal to welcome you to Forever. You know, something more than a microwave dinner and an apple like last night. I guess we should’ve just invited you to Milly’s.”
She smiled, letting them know she was fine. “I really appreciate the effort. You’re all very thoughtful.” Darting her gaze from one brother to the next, she added, “Thank you for watching over me as well as unpacking my things. I’m sorry I wasn’t very grateful last night.”
Jayden shrugged then downed the coffee as though the heat didn’t affect him. “Don’t worry about it. I’ve heard we’re a bit much to handle right off the bat.”
“I know I wasn’t very nice to you, but I’m glad you were here.” She reached out and placed her hand over Jackson’s. “I needed the rest.”
“Tell us about your writing, Emma.” Jacob’s obvious interest sent warmth over her. “Jayden put your laptop in the other bedroom and kind of made it into an office for you.”
“Yeah. I didn’t mean to, but as I was unpacking, one of the files fell to the floor and I sort of read the story. I hope it’s okay.”
“Oh. Um, sure. No problem. Like I told Jacob yesterday, I’m trying to finish my book. It’s a dream of mine.”
“Dreams are what separate us from real animals.”
She searched Jackson’s face. “What do you mean by real animals?”
Jackson leaned forward, his mug cupped in his hands. “Never mind. Are you ready to tell us what’s wrong? Are you ready to tell us the reason why you fainted? Will you tell us the truth this time?”
Jayden and Jacob studied her, their expressions open and earnest. Jacob played with a piece of toast then tossed it on to his plate. “We want to help. Let us help you.”
“I told you. I was very tired. That’s all.” She yearned to tell them, but the words wouldn’t come. How could she tell men she barely knew that she was dying? She’d come to Forever hoping to use her remaining time to finish her book and to live her life where no one would know her secret and take pity on her. She took another sip of her drink and avoided looking at them.
A knock on the front door broke the strained silence. Jackson shoved back his chair and strode toward the door. Emma listened to his footsteps and took a bite of the undercooked omelet.
“I’m here to see Emma Rand. Where is she?”
She gasped, her hand lifted in the air, the food an inch from her mouth. Dropping the fork, she took a couple of deep breaths and tried to hide the turmoil raging inside her.
Chapter Five
Emma tried to keep her anger in check as she stormed through the living room toward the front door. The smile faltered on Brian’s face when he saw her.
“Hi, babe.” His tone was cheery.
Jackson’s scowl matched her mood. “Do you know this guy, Emma?”
“Unfortunately, I do.” She crossed her arms, resisting Brian’s attempt to hug her. “What are you doing here? I told you I didn’t want to see you. How did you find me, anyway?”
Brian shifted from one foot to the other as he watched Jacob and Jayden come into the room. “You know Kelly can’t keep a secret to save her life.”
Kelly, Emma’s closest friend, and the only one who knew Emma had gone to Forever, had been sworn to secrecy. Still, Emma should’ve known better. Kelly had always found Brian too charming and too persuasive to resist.
“So this is Brian?”
How did Jacob know about Brian? She wanted to ask but needed to take care of her unwanted visitor first. “What do you want?”
He took a step forward then stopped when Jackson growled. “Hey, man, chill out the beast, okay? Emma and I are friends. Very close friends.”
Had Jackson actually growled? Like an animal? Nothing made sense. Not the Carr brothers and not Brian. Still, she had to take care of one situation at a time. “Guys, would you mind leaving us alone? I’m sorry to cut our breakfast short, but I need to handle this…situation.”
“Are you sure, Emma? We don’t mind hanging around.” Jayden stepped closer to her as though he wanted to protect her.
She placed her palm on his chest then took it away. Just that one touch had made her desire come alive. Swallowing, she lifted her chin and turned to give the brothers a big smile. “Thank you. All of you, for everything. For last night”—she paused to give her words more emphasis just for Brian’s sake—“and for this morning, too.”
Jacob grumbled something under his breath that only his brothers seemed to hear. Taking her hand, he gave it a squeeze then glared once at Brian before brushing past him and out the door. Jayden followed, with Jackson taking up the rear. Jackson bumped against Brian’s shoulder and shot him a glower, an obvious gesture of warning. She watched the brothers walk down the path to their pickup then closed the door. Taking a steadying breath, she turned and led Brian into the living room.
“Who are those guys?”
She clenched her fists to keep from slapping him. “Those are my landlords. They’re my friends, too.”
A sneer lifted the corner of his mouth. “Friends, huh? What kind of friends? Is that why you’re thanking them for last night? Exactly what did they do for you? Or more to the point, what did you do for them?”
“Are you seriously asking me that? And you expect me to answer? Don’t you remember? We’re no longer a couple, which means you don’t have a say in anything I do or who I do it with. Have you forgotten you dumped me?” Rage flashed inside her and churned in her stomach.
“I’m asking because I still care.”
She snorted, liking the way he frowned at her derisive action.
“Okay. Never mind them. I came here to talk to you about your problem.”
“My problem? Why do you always call it that? It’s a brain tumor, Brian. A real, live, get-your-affairs-in-order mass of cancer stuck inside my head. As I recall, you didn’t want any part of it. At least, that is until you found a cure for my problem.” She made air quotes around the word problem.
He sat on the edge of the sofa and patted the seat beside him. “Sit down and we can talk about it calmly, in a rational manner. Plus, I want to tell you about more great news.”
Could it have been a mistake? Was Brian here for a different reason? One other than the experimental surgery? Was he going to tell her that the scans were wrong? That she wasn’t given a death sentence?
She sat next to him but pulled her hand away from his grasp. “Go ahead. I’m listening.”
“I want to talk to you about Dr. Harding’s work.”
Her hopes came crashing down. The more she thought about the experimental surgery, the more she didn’t like it. “We’ve already had this discussion, and I told you I’d call you if I wanted to try it. What about it now? Has something changed?”
“I consulted him about your condition again, and he’s still willing to let you be the first patient to receive his revolutionary new kind of surgery. It’s a fantastic opportunity. It’s a real chance to save your life. I can’t let you pass it up.”
She stayed silent, not knowing what to think any longer. Experimental surgery, at best, was risky. But to be the first? Most of the time, the first patients to try a new procedure didn’t live. Not that she wasn’t already on death’s doorstep. “Let’s skip to the bottom line. What are the chances of this new surgery working?”
His face clouded over like a child pouting. “Okay, I’ll admit it. The chances aren’t great. Less than five percent. But it’s better than your chances are now. What’s wrong with you, Emma? I thought you’d call me back and take this. What other choice do you have?”
No choices at all. But there h
as to be more to this than he’s telling me. “I know you, Brian. What’s in this for you?”
He tried to act shocked at her question, but once she gave him a stern look, he didn’t attempt to lie. “That doesn’t matter. What matters is that you could be healed.”
“And what’s on the other side of the coin? If it fails, which it more than likely will, where does that leave me?” She struggled to keep from letting hope take hold. Wishes rarely came true, and medical wishes were even less likely to happen.
Brian looked at the floor. “You could suffer significant brain damage. Or worse. But you have to give it a try.”
She laughed, unwilling to let him see her cry. “Terrific. I have a ninety-five percent chance of losing what little time I have left.” She walked to the door although her limbs felt like they had hundred-pound weights on them. She flung the door open and held her back ramrod straight. “Thanks, but no thanks. I want to enjoy the rest of my life. However short it may be.”
“Don’t be a fool, Emma. Any chance is better than no chance.” He came to her and grabbed her by the arms. “If it works, we can be together. You can come back, and we can get married. You have to do this for us.”
“For us? So if I’m fixed, cured, back to the way I was before, you’re ready to resume our relationship? To act like it never happened?”
He didn’t answer. But then, what answer could he have given? She squirmed out of his hold. “I’m asking you again. What’s in it for you? Please don’t insult me by saying you’re doing this for us, much less for me.”
He tensed, anger stiffening his body. “Fine. If you agree to do the surgery, Dr. Harding has promised me a very prestigious internship. I’ll get to work with him side by side, almost as an equal partner. My career will hold limitless promise, and my future will be as good as gold.”
Emma closed her eyes against the pain racing from one side of her head to the other. The quick stabs of agony heralded a burgeoning migraine. She couldn’t stand to look at him again, so she kept her gaze on the yard outside.
Strange. The Carr brothers’ pickup is still here.
“Get out, Brian.”
He started to argue, but she thrust her arm outward and pointed toward the front walk.
“Like hell I will. I won’t let you ruin this for me.”
She let out a yelp as he grabbed her by the arms and threw her to the floor. Taking her by the wrists, he pushed her arms above her head and straddled her body. She fought, yanking her arms and kicking her legs, but she was no match for him.
“Stop it, Em. Stop fighting me and listen.”
“Get the hell off me!”
His hold tightened as he took her wrists with one hand and clutched her chin with the other. “Not until you see things my way. I’m not going to let you screw up my chance with Dr. Harding. You’re going through with it even if I have to tie you up and throw you on the operating table myself.”
He crushed his mouth to hers and thrust his tongue inside her mouth. Taking hold of her breast, he squeezed and pushed his thumb down on her nipple. She tried to bite his tongue, but he withdrew it and bit her lower lip. Blood seeped into her mouth.
“Damn it, Em. What the hell did you do with those men? Did you fuck them one by one or all at once?”
She wanted to hurt him, so she shot at him the only way she could. “You’re damn right I did.”
Shock registered on his face a second before rage did. “You slut!”
She grinned, determined to keep going. “I took them all, one at a time then all at once. I let them do things to me that I never let you do. Because they’re all men. Not assholes like you.”
His nostrils flared as he glared at her, but she wouldn’t stop. “And you know what? I enjoyed every second of it.”
Pushing as hard as she could, she knocked him off her. On her knees now, she hurried to scramble onto her feet, but Brian was right behind her. She cried out as he took her arm and whirled her around to face him.
The slap echoed in her ears as the world went blurry. She landed hard on the floor, knocking the breath out of her. Brian was on top of her before she could gather her wits.
“I’m taking you back with me, and you’re doing what I tell you to do. I won’t let you ruin this for me.”
She glowered at him. He lifted his arm again, and she dragged in a breath, preparing for the next strike. But the blow never came.
Instead, Brian’s eyes grew wide, and a second later, he was off her, his body flying through the air. She struggled to turn on to her side but didn’t have the strength.
“No, Emma, don’t try. I’ll take care of you.” Jayden slid his arms under her and lifted her as Jackson had done before.
She clung to him, putting her face against his strong chest. But she couldn’t ignore the sounds of fighting. Jayden placed her on the sofa then took her face in his hands.
“Let me take a look at you.” He studied her, a worried expression darkening his features.
She tried to look past him, tried to see what had happened to Brian. A shout—Brian’s?—split the air, accompanied by two growling sounds. “What’s going on? What happened to Brian?”
Jayden blocked her view as she tried to look past him. “Don’t worry about him. He won’t hurt you again. Jackson and Jacob are teaching him a little lesson is all.”
She sucked in a breath. “What are they going to do to him?”
Jayden shrugged. “Not that he deserves it, but he’ll live. We just hope he’ll learn his lesson and stay away from you.”
She shook her head. “They won’t hurt him too much, will they? He’ll be okay to drive home?” Although she no longer loved Brian, she didn’t want to see him hurt. Not even after how he’d treated her.
“Like I said. Don’t worry about him. My brothers will make sure he leaves on his own steam.” He ran a thumb over her forehead just as a sharp pain slashed from the back of her head to her temple. “Are you hurting? Do you have medication you can take? Or should I take you to the doctor’s office?”
She shook her head and immediately regretted it as the agony threatened to tear her head in half. “There. On the table.”
He looked around and found her medication bottle on the floor. “It must’ve rolled off.” Popping off the lid, he handed her two pills. “Do you want water?”
From the sound of the fighting, she knew they’d moved outside. She wouldn’t see anything even if she sent Jayden off to get water. “No. I don’t need it.”
She took the pills then tried to get him to move so she could stand. “I need to see what’s going on. Can you help me to the door?”
Jayden glanced over his shoulder then back at her. “Jackson will give me hell about it, but okay. But just to the door. After that, it’s into bed for you. Deal?”
“Deal.”
She tried to get to her feet, but Jayden had a different idea. He lifted her again, cradling her as he’d done before. She didn’t complain but relaxed her body against his. At the door, he turned sideways so she could look outside.
Jackson stood at the driver’s side of Brian’s car while Jacob lounged against the hood and glared at Brian, who sat behind the wheel. She couldn’t hear what Jackson said to Brian, but the blood splatters on Jackson’s and Jacob’s shirt told her part of the story. The other part came when Brian glanced her way.
His face was bloodied, and one eye was already swelling. For an instant, pity for him welled in her heart. But then the memory of him sitting on top of her, holding her down, flushed all her sympathy away. He deserved what he’d gotten and more.
“Should we call the police?” But would it matter? If Jackson wanted the law, he’d call them himself.
“Naw. Jackson takes care of things in Forever. Your ex is lucky he’s still able to drive. When we heard you cry out then came in and saw him on top of you, we almost lost control.”
What did losing control mean? Would Brian be dead if they had? “I’m glad you came back when you did. But how
’d you know? I thought you’d already left.”
“We had a feeling something was wrong. Or should I say someone was wrong.”
Jackson lifted his head, turning his attention from Brian to Jayden and Emma. A scowl lowered his forehead.
“Let’s get you to bed before Jackson has it out for me.” Whirling around, Jayden carried her to the bedroom and set her on the bed.
“Thank you, Jayden. And thank your brothers, too. I don’t know what would’ve happened if you three hadn’t come back.”
He smiled then brushed her hair into place. “Don’t worry about it. We’ll always take care of you.”
She started to ask him what he meant, but he was up and striding to the door before she could speak. Instead, she sighed and lay back on the bed. Closing her eyes, she hoped she’d taken her medication in time. If not, the headache would keep her in bed until tomorrow.
* * * *
“I’m glad we decided to stick around outside Emma’s. That jerk of an ex-boyfriend is no good. Truth is, we should’ve stuck around inside with her. We could’ve prevented him from hurting her.”
Jackson mounted his horse then trotted toward the herd of cattle, with his brothers bringing their horses beside his. The broad expanse of their ranch stretched out before him, and as it always did, the sight of the cattle and horses grazing in their pastures gave him a much-needed sense of calm.
“She needed to face him on her own. She has to be through with him before she can be ready to accept us. But I’m glad we were there to help once he started getting rough.”
“By the look of things, I’d say she’s already over him. She didn’t want anything to do with him, which is what got him so riled.” Jacob shot Jackson a pointed look, taking Jackson’s thoughts back to his time in the bathroom with her. Had she given herself to him out of the connection she sensed between them? Or had she done so to help herself get over her feelings for Brian?
Jayden urged his horse forward and twirled the lasso above his head, picking up momentum before he threw it. The rope was an extension of his arm, sliding easily over the calf’s head and around its neck. Trained for roping, his horse backed up and pulled the slack out of the rope. The calf yanked at the rope but couldn’t break free. Jayden was off the horse in a second and grabbed the calf’s back leg. He tossed it on its side, with the calf letting out a bellow. The calf bucked and grunted, but Jayden brought its legs together and soon had its three legs secured in a lariat. He threw his hands into the air, mimicking the way he would do in a rodeo to signal the timekeeper to clock him.
