The Second Time Around: a Hope Valley novel

by Prince, Jessica

  “We live in the same town. It’s impossible not to run into each other. I’m not going to spend the rest of my life avoiding the guy.”

  That seemed to do the trick, and she visibly relaxed. If only the little speech I’d just given had the same effect on me.

  * * *

  Bryce

  To say I wasn’t happy with how things were progressing with Tessa was a serious goddamn understatement.

  They weren’t progressing at . . . fucking . . . all.

  It had been nearly a week since random luck brought us together at the grocery store, and I hadn’t seen her since.

  I was beginning to get desperate enough to stage another “random” run-in when Cord came into the office the other day and threw me a line without even realizing it.

  The second he made the announcement that Rory and Tessa were looking for volunteers to help them pull off a haunted house for the Halloween festival, I hadn’t given it a moment’s thought. I immediately threw my hat in.

  Anything for a chance to see her, to spend time in her presence, to hear her melodic voice.

  West, Dalton, and Linc had also volunteered, along with Hunter, but something told me his offer to help had more to do with watching shit potentially blow up in my face than his charitable heart.

  While we waited for Rory and Tessa to join us in the barn so we could start going over their ideas, Hunt used the opportunity to give me shit. “You know, the quickest way to get this shit worked out would be to tell the truth, right?”

  Letting out a curse, I lowered my voice and turned to face him. “I’ll start taking relationship advice from you when you start rememberin’ the names of the random women you’re bangin’ your way through.”

  His smirk was unapologetic. “I remember their names. I just sometimes have trouble matchin’ the faces to them.” He could play casual, but I knew the truth behind his hookups, and whether he was willing to admit it or not, Hunter was punishing himself just as badly as I was.

  “Bet there’s one name and face you got no problem keepin’ straight.” That wiped the humor right off his face. It was a low blow. I knew it, and I immediately regretted making such a dick move.

  Before I had the chance to take it back, the barn doors opened and Tessa walked in with Rory at her back. Just like that, everything else disappeared, and all thoughts centered firmly around Tessa. My body reacted like I’d been stabbed with a cattle prod, and my heart kicked up to an almost unhealthy pace.

  It was the same response I had every time I laid eyes on her, but this time there was also an underlying concern. She didn’t look right. Her eyes looked glassy, there was an unnatural flush in her cheeks and neck, and when she spoke her voice was scratchy.

  “Thank you so much for coming, guys. Rory and I really appreciate it.”

  Cord moved in his wife’s direction, pulling her against his side with a claiming arm around her waist as Tessa spoke, explaining her vision for converting the barn. She spoke so animatedly and with such excitement I couldn’t stop staring. She was the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen, but when she was passionate like this, she was fucking spectacular.

  Her eyes skittered in my direction, and that flush grew rosier. “It’s um, well . . .” She coughed, reaching up to her throat as if it was causing her pain. “It’s going to be great,” she quickly added before looking back at Rory. “Ror, was there anything you wanted to add?”

  “Nope, I think that about covers it.”

  With the meeting over a whole hell of a lot sooner than I wanted, everyone broke off, but I kept my pace slow, watching Tessa reach up to cover her forehead with her palm as I grew closer. Spotting me, she quickly dropped her arm and pinned a smile to her face. “Bryce, hi.”

  When I finally stopped right in front of her, I noticed she looked even worse than I originally thought. The color on her cheeks had nothing to do with makeup. In fact, she wasn’t wearing any at all. “Hey, beauty. You doin’ okay?”

  She waved off my concern, but I didn’t miss the way she cleared her throat over and over before speaking again. “Yeah, I’m good. Totally good.”

  My forehead pinched in concern. “You sure about that?”

  “Just fighting back a cold. I’ll stop at the pharmacy on the way home, get some medicine, and I’ll be good as new tomorrow.”

  My arm moved of its own accord, reaching up to brush a lock of hair from her forehead. I had no right touching her like that, but I was damned if I could stop myself. “Anything I can do to help?”

  She didn’t smack my hand away or curse me out for invading her space, and when she offered me a polite smile, I couldn’t help but view it as a win. “Thanks for the offer, but I promise, I’m good.”

  I had to clench my teeth and ball my fists to keep from moving closer, from wrapping my arms around her and pulling her against me. The desire to touch her whenever she was in the same room was almost too much; it took everything I had to control myself.

  She took a step back and nervously tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, casting her eyes down as she shuffled toward the door. I kept pace, walking beside her as she murmured, “Thank you. For being here, I mean. It means a lot.”

  “Nothin’ to thank me for, beauty. I’m happy to help. You thought up somethin’ really great here.”

  She looked up at me as we walked at a slow pace. “I’m glad you think so. The kids are really excited.”

  I studied her profile, seeing the bright, sincere grin on her face clear as day. “You did it, honey. I remember you telling me about wantin’ to make a difference in these kids’ lives. It wasn’t just talk, you really did it.”

  Her grin turned almost bashful. “Well, I’m trying, at least. It’s not really a sprint. More like a marathon . . . or a climb up Everest.”

  “Still. I’m proud of you, Tessa. Really proud.”

  She came to a stop beside her car and turned to face me fully. “Well, I should probably get to work.”

  “All right, honey,” I murmured. One step at a time, I told myself. I didn’t want to let her leave. I wanted to do everything in my power to drag this out, but if I pushed, I’d send her running. She was already as skittish as a newborn foal. I needed to handle this whole situation with kid gloves. “See you later, yeah?”

  “Uh huh. Later.”

  “Have a good day, beauty.”

  As hard as it was and as much as every part of me rebelled against it, I somehow found the strength to turn and walk away from her without looking back. It was only temporary, after all. I’d find another way to run into her if it was the last thing I did.

  Chapter Ten

  Tessa

  There were no two ways about it. I wasn’t long for this world. I was knocking at death’s door, the Grim Reaper was on his way to get me, yadda, yadda, yadda.

  You could use a million different metaphors to describe it, but it all boiled down to one thing. I was dying.

  In the past few hours, the head cold I’d barely begun to battle hadn’t just won, it had made me its bitch. Breathing through my nose had become impossible. My head felt like it was about a million sizes too big. My throat was now permanently on fire, and my body had begun to shake with chills that wouldn’t go away no matter how many layers I added.

  “Tessa, you have a visitor—good Lord, honey. You look like death warmed over.”

  I glanced up and spotted Diana standing just inside my office door. “Really? Because I feel like I could do a triathlon right about now,” I deadpanned.

  “Seriously, darlin’, I think you should probably go home for the rest of the day.”

  “I’m fine. It’s just a cold. You can send whoever’s here back,” I said right before I began coughing uncontrollably.

  “Jesus Christ, honey. You sound terrible.”

  “Bryce?” My head whipped up and around at the sound of his voice. The motion was a huge mistake. Even though I was sitting, the world began to spin and I felt like I was about to topple over.

&nbs
p; Throwing my arms wide, I tried to balance before I humiliated myself and fell out of my chair.

  “Fuck.” He moved fast. Rounding the desk, he dropped a paper bag on the surface before crouching down right in front of me.

  “Language,” I chastised weakly. “There are kids here.”

  “It’s barely after noon. They’re all at school. Their ears are safe, I promise.”

  “Still, you should try to be more careful.” My gaze shifted to the paper bag he’d placed on my desk. “What’s that?”

  “Brought you some soup for lunch since you weren’t feelin’ good, but now I see it’s a little too late for that.”

  He brought me soup? Damn it! Those walls around my heart took another precision hit. There was no way in hell they’d be standing much longer if he kept up this kind of behavior.

  “That was really sweet,” I croaked, my throat in flames with each word I spoke. “Like, really sweet. And thoughtful. Who knew you could be so thoughtful?”

  His smile was devastating. “What can I say? I’m full of surprises.” His hand felt like a block of ice as he pressed it against my forehead, and I immediately batted it away.

  “Gah, that’s cold!”

  “Tessa, beauty, you’re burnin’ up.”

  “Am not,” I argued pathetically. “Your hands are just freakishly cold.” Another chill wracked my body, and I pulled my cardigan even tighter around me. “Is someone blasting the A/C in here?”

  “The heater’s on,” Diana answered, looking to Bryce with worry written all over her face.

  Bryce reached up and brushed my hair back, and in spite of how damn cold his hands were, it felt so good that I actually leaned into his touch. “You’re runnin’ a fever, Tessa. We need to get you home and in bed.”

  “Too much to do,” I objected, even as my body listed closer to Bryce’s.

  He got to his feet, grabbing me under my arms and pulling me up with him. “Nope. That’s it. I’m takin’ you home, beauty. Let’s go.”

  I felt too terrible to keep up the fight as Bryce gathered my stuff. I leaned against him, giving him most of my weight as he guided me out of the office and down the hall.

  “Make sure she stays in bed,” Diana ordered to our backs.

  “Will do.”

  But my co-worker wasn’t done. “Give her plenty of fluids, and if you can, convince her to stay home tomorrow as well.”

  “Don’t worry,” Bryce told her. “She’s not gonna be in tomorrow.”

  I didn’t bother snapping at them for discussing me like I wasn’t right there.

  The temperature had been in the high-fifties earlier, but when we stepped outside, it felt like I was being smacked in the face by a wall of ice. My teeth began to chatter as I burrowed closer to the huge, warm man at my side. “S-so c-cold.”

  His arm around me tightened. “It’s okay, baby. You’ll be okay. I’m gonna take care of you.”

  He led me to his truck and beeped the locks, pulling the passenger door open. Instead of giving me a chance to climb in on my own, he lifted me up, his hold strong but gentle at the same time, and tucked me into the seat, buckling my seatbelt for me.

  I must have dozed off right after that, because the next thing I knew, I was lightly jostled awake as he lifted me from the truck, cradling me in his arms as he started toward the inn.

  “I can walk, you know. It’s just a nasty head cold.” I muttered, laying my head against him.

  His chest rattled against my ear as he spoke, “I’m sure you can, but I’m carryin’ you anyway.” If he wanted to do all the heavy lifting—literally—who was I to argue? “Keys in your bag, baby?”

  “Yeah.” I reached blindly for my bag that was hooked over his shoulder, and fished around until my fingers wrapped around the key ring.

  Once I had it in hand, he set me gently on me feet, took the key ring, and unlocked the door to my room. With a hand at the small of my back, he pushed me through the door, following after me before closing the door behind us.

  If I hadn’t felt so awful I might have noticed how much smaller the large room seemed with him standing in it, but I could barely stay up on my own two feet.

  Dropping my purse and satchel on the small bar as he moved past it, he stopped in the kitchenette and crossed his arms over his chest, ordering, “Bed. Now,” in an unyielding tone.

  I stopped at the side of the bed, kicking off my shoes and stripping out of my jeans, too delirious to realize the show I was unintentionally putting on for Bryce. As soon as my feet were free and I kicked my pants away, I crawled into the center of the bed and collapsed with a weary sigh, my arms and legs spread out like a starfish.

  His rich, velvety chuckle hit my ears, but I was too exhausted for it to affect me the way it usually did. “I meant under the covers, beauty,” he said, his humor-filled voice much closer now.

  “This works,” I muttered, my face smooshed into the bedding. “Too tired.”

  A second later, his hands hit my bare legs, and the shiver that sent through me had nothing to do with my feverish state.

  Shifting me around, he worked the comforter and sheet from beneath me and flipped them over my body, tucking me in and brushing the hair from my face. “Try to get some sleep,” he murmured gently, his knuckles skimming across my cheekbone in the softest caress. “I’ll be right back. Just gotta make a phone call.”

  My shoulders sagged as he moved away from the bed.

  I wasn’t sure if it was being sick or something a whole lot more, but my vision grew cloudy as tears formed in my eyes. I had to squeeze them closed to keep them from falling. It was all too much. I hadn’t had anyone take care of me like this since I was ten years old, and for Bryce to be so tender and caring was beating against my already weakened defenses.

  His voice carried from farther across the room. It was obvious he was trying to keep quiet, but I strained to listen to the one-sided conversation he was having with whoever was on the phone.

  “Hey. Yeah, it’s me. I need your help with somethin’. What kind of medicines should I get for a really nasty head cold and fever?” There was a short pause, followed up by. “No. It’s not me. I’m fine, but I have Tessa here, and she’s really sick.” Another pause. “Christ, Ma. It’s just a cold. I can take care of her. Just tell me what to get.”

  My whole body locked up. Not only was he calling his mom for advice, but he spoke as if she knew about me.

  “No,” he clipped. “Don’t come up here. I swear, I have it under control.”

  Oh God, please don’t let his mom come here and see me in this state.

  “Yeah. I will. I’ll call you again if she doesn’t get better. Uh-huh. Okay. I said okay. I promise to text you with regular updates. Yeah, all right. Love you too. Bye.”

  His family knew about me. They knew about me. I couldn’t believe that. The battering ram against those walls was relentless.

  I sniffled, batting away the moisture that had slipped from my eyes just as the mattress depressed and Bryce’s comforting hand landed on my hip. “You good, Tessa?”

  I really wasn’t, because I’d discovered something that rocked me to my core. More than ten years had passed, and I was still so in love with this man it physically hurt.

  “Yeah,” I croaked, keeping my face turned away. “Just need sleep.”

  His palm brushed in a soothing circle. “All right, baby. You sleep. I’m gonna run to the store to pick up a few things. I’ll be back as fast as I can.”

  It was a wonder I didn’t choke on the golf-ball sized lump in my throat, but I somehow managed to eke out, “O-okay.”

  A moment later, his lips pressed against my temple. Then his weight on the bed disappeared. I listened as he moved around before finally, the door opened and clicked shut. It wasn’t until I knew I was alone that I let the tears come freely. And a short while later I managed to cry myself to sleep.

  * * *

  The next time I woke, my whole body was shaking. I was curled up in a tight ball
, my muscles and jaw locked up tight against the cold that had seeped into my bones.

  “B-Bryce?” I called his name, praying he was there, because I didn’t want to go through this on my own. Now that I’d gotten a taste of the sweetness that came with him taking care of me, I didn’t want him to leave.

  “Shh. I’m here. I’m right here.”

  He tried to get me to roll to my back, but I fought as hard as I could. If I came out of my little ball, I was going to freeze to death. “N-no,” I moaned. “T-too cold.”

  “Come on, Tessa. I need you to work with me, baby. I got you some meds, but I need to take your temperature first. It’ll only be a second.”

  God, I hurt. My whole body ached. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt this bad.

  I allowed him to do his thing, barely registering the soft curse when the thermometer beeped and he checked the display.

  “Shit, Tessa. We have to get your temp down. Can you sit up for me? Just a little so I can get some meds in you.”

  It sounded like his voice was coming from a tunnel. I was teetering on that point between asleep and awake as he cupped the back of my neck and helped me up. He pressed something to my lips, and I opened my mouth, swallowing the medicine and wincing at the burn in my throat.

  “Just one more, baby. That was for the fever, now I need you to take something for your cold.”

  He repeated the action one more time before letting me settle back into the pillows. When he moved to stand, something came over me, and my hand shot out, my fingers wrapping around his wrist. “Stay,” I rasped. “Please?”

  His hip pressed against mine as he shifted on the bed. He took my chin between his forefinger and thumb, tipping my face up as he leaned in close. “Not goin’ anywhere, beauty. I’ll be right back. I swear.”

  I let my arm fall back to the bed as a wave of relief washed over me. Sleep began to tug at my consciousness once again, making everything feel foggy, like I was in a dream state. I didn’t have a clue what was real, and what was only in my mind. All I knew for sure was the bone deep chill was finally gone, and all I could smell was citrus and the outdoors. I melted deeper into the warmth next to me, nuzzling into the smell.