Six
I
t was a great party.
Matt looked around the room at the friends and family gathered
for Evan and Angelica’s rehearsal dinner. Sage Lassiter was standing against the
wall, nursing a single beer and looking as though he’d rather be anywhere else.
Marlene Lassiter, Angie’s aunt, brought J.D. a tall bottle of water, and Matt
was sure the older man wished it was a beer. And J.D.’s nurse Colleen looked
fabulous in a red dress that gave the society women here tonight a run for their
money.
Angie was cuddled in close to Evan and as the happy couple
whispered together and shared a secretive smile, Matt frowned to himself.
Where the hell is Kayla?
As the maid of honor she had
attended the rehearsal but when he’d tried to give her a lift to the dinner,
she’d insisted on driving her own car. Had she gone home? Was she trying to
avoid him?
Scowling, he took a sip of his scotch. If she didn’t show up in
a few minutes, he’d go looking for her. The past two weeks had nearly killed
him. To be so close to her and
not
touch her had
been much harder than he’d thought it could be. But that was the plan. Be with
her. Be a part of her life. Show her that he wanted her with him. That she could
trust him.
But it was taking so damn long, he was ready to pitch the whole
plan out the closest window, toss her over his shoulder and cart her off to bed.
Once he had her there again, he would spend
hours
convincing her just how much he loved her. How important she was to him.
He knew it was his own damn fault that he was in this
situation, but what man wouldn’t panic when he was unexpectedly slapped in the
face by love? Nine months ago, he’d run as far and as fast as he could. Now, he
had to find a way to prove to the only woman who mattered to him that he would
never run from her, from what they could have together, again. He didn’t have
everything worked out yet. He couldn’t promise he’d be staying in Cheyenne
forever, but he knew he didn’t want to live his life without Kayla in it. All he
had to do was figure out what the hell to do about all of this.
Checking his watch, he realized the dinner was about to start.
Dylan Lassiter hurried into the room, straightening his tie with one hand and
smoothing his hair with the other. He looked like a man who’d been...busy. Well,
at least someone was.
Matt knew it the moment she entered the room. He felt the
nearly magnetic charge in the air. His gaze locked on her and when she smiled,
everything inside him tightened. She wore blue. A dress with a scooped neck, a
tight, short skirt and skinny straps that snaked across her shoulders. The black
pumps she wore had three-inch heels and made her legs look even more amazing
than usual.
She took his breath away. And judging by the knowing smile
lighting her eyes, she knew exactly what she was doing to him. He made his way
to her, and going against his own damn plan, he pulled her in for a quick, hard
kiss. “You look amazing.”
“Thank you,” she said, lifting one hand to her lips as if
feeling the kiss he’d left there.
Oh
,
yeah.
He couldn’t imagine now how he had kept from touching her for
so long. Couldn’t think why he’d had the idiotic idea to go slowly when all he
wanted to do was snatch her up and never let her go.
But he would have to let go soon, wouldn’t he? Unless, Matt
told himself, he could find a way to keep them together. His heart filled and
his mind raced and he knew suddenly what he had to have. What he needed,
wanted
more than anything else in the world. All he
had to do was convince Kayla.
“Matt!” Evan hurried up to them. “Sorry Kayla, I just need a
second with Matt.”
A little irritated at being interrupted, especially now that he
knew just what he wanted to do, Matt asked, “What’s up?”
“I just wanted to let you know I’m going to need you to head
back to L.A. right after the wedding.”
Beside him, Matt felt Kayla stiffen.
Great.
Perfect timing.
“That new account you signed on? He wants to double down on his
advertising budget and I need you to handle it personally.”
“Sure,” Matt said tightly. “Fine. I’ll take care of it.”
“I know you will,” Evan agreed with a wide smile. “Okay, and
that’s all the shop talk allowed tonight, I swear.” He scanned the crowd,
spotted Angelica and said, “See you two later, huh?”
When he was gone, Matt stared down at Kayla.
“You’re leaving soon.” It wasn’t a question.
“Yeah,” he said, shoving one hand through his hair. If he could
have, he would have kicked Evan for ruining tonight. For putting Kayla and him
at odds before he’d even had a chance to smooth her into bed where he could
romance her into the future he suddenly could
see
so
clearly.
“Right after the wedding?”
“Apparently,” he said. “Look, I didn’t want to do this right
now, but since it’s in the open—Cheyenne will always be home to me, but I’ve got
a life in California, too.”
“Yes, I know.” Her eyes were shadowed.
“Kayla...” Damn it, this wasn’t going at all as he wanted it
to.
She shook her head. “You don’t owe me an explanation this time,
Matt.” Lifting her chin, she gave him a small but determined smile. “You’re
leaving. I’m staying. It’s not like I’m surprised. We all knew you would be
going back to L.A. eventually.”
Yeah, they had known that all along. But until now, he hadn’t
really let himself acknowledge that leaving without her was completely
unacceptable. How could he go back to a life without her in it? Impossible. Now
all he had to do was make her see things his way. “Let me get you some wine.” He
took her arm and steered her through the crowd toward the bar.
“Matt, wine isn’t going to solve anything.”
Stubborn until the end. “Sometimes a glass of wine is
just
a glass of wine.”
As they crossed the room, J.D. Lassiter picked up his bottle of
water, frowned at it and instead reached for a nearby glass of champagne.
Tapping a spoon against the delicate crystal until he had everyone’s attention,
the older man let his gaze sweep the crowd before saying, “Dinner’s about to be
served, so I wanted to say a few words before we get started.”
His nurse was close at hand and she looked worried, Matt
thought as he handed Kayla a glass of white wine. Frowning himself, he studied
J.D. and realized that the man’s skin had a gray cast to it.
“Is he okay?” Kayla whispered, their differences set aside for
the moment.
“I don’t know,” Matt answered, but knew that there was no way
to stop J.D. Lassiter once the man had decided on a course of action.
“We’re all here to celebrate my girl Angelica’s upcoming
marriage.”
Smatterings of applause broke out, before J.D. shushed them all
with a wave of his hand. “I’m a big believer in family,” he continued, his voice
going softer. “A man makes mistakes in his life, can’t avoid them. But the one
thing you should be able to count on is family.”
Kayla glanced around the room, wondering if anyone else but she
was noticing that J.D. didn’t look too well. But the others were clearly just
listening to the words.
“All of us gathered here tonight are family. By blood or by
choice. Doesn’t matter. The only thing that
does
matter is that we’re here for each other come what may. So I’ll ask you to lift
your glasses—”
He stopped. Eyes going wide briefly, his expression vaguely
surprised, J.D. dropped the champagne flute and the fine crystal shattered on
the tile floor. He didn’t seem to notice. He took a single step, then slumped to
the floor and lay still.
The next few minutes felt as if they’d been pulled out of time.
Kayla knew only moments went by but everything took place in such slow motion it
was as if hours were crawling past. She watched as if from a distance even
though she was right in the middle of it all.
Chaos erupted. Angie screamed. Colleen dropped beside J.D.,
loosening his tie and collar. She checked his pulse and as Dylan and Sage
dropped to the other side of their father, she began CPR.
Horrified whispers ran just beneath the shouts and choked,
muffled sobbing from the people gathering in a tight circle around the fallen
giant.
Kayla moved to Angie, wrapped one arm around her and held on as
Evan dialed 911. Holding on to her friend, feeling the other woman’s tremors
wracking through her own body, Kayla watched helplessly as Colleen continued
CPR.
Matt herded the crowd back, giving those trying to help J.D.
the room they needed. Matt’s gaze locked with Kayla’s and she knew exactly what
he was thinking. It didn’t look good. There’d been no change in J.D.’s
condition. He lay still and quiet, the only island of calm in a churning storm
of emotion.
Sage and Dylan hovered over their father, helping Colleen as
they could, focusing on the old man as if they could use the strength of their
will to heal him.
And Kayla thought wildly, there was a part of her
half-expecting J.D. to sit up, laugh that booming laugh of his and tell everyone
it was all a joke. A prank.
But he didn’t move and as seconds passed and the sounds of
approaching sirens grew louder, Kayla hugged her friend tighter, knowing that
nothing was ever going to be the same for any of them again.
* * *
At the hospital, Kayla felt absolutely useless. She
couldn’t help J.D. Couldn’t help her friend. Couldn’t help herself.
Angie was bereft, huddled against Evan’s chest, her quiet sobs
echoing in the eerie stillness of a cold, antiseptic waiting room. Colleen sat
beside Marlene, offering what comfort she could while Sage and Dylan paced
relentlessly across pale green linoleum. No matter what happened with J.D.
tonight, Angie had already made the decision that the wedding would be postponed
indefinitely.
No one could think of a wedding right now and Kayla had
promised to make all the necessary calls as soon as they knew what was
happening.
Until then, Kayla was grateful for the warmth and strength of
Matt’s arm around her shoulders. It felt good to have him with her. Even though
it tore at her to think that soon he would be gone again, right now, he was
here. With her. And she knew somehow that as
long
as
she needed him, he would stay. All night if necessary. Even longer. As that
thought slid through her mind, she realized that she believed in him.
She wasn’t sure when it had happened, but Kayla was convinced
now that he really did want her in his life. How that would work out, she didn’t
have a clue, but maybe together they could find a way.
As an anonymous voice bristled over the loudspeaker, Marlene
cried into a tissue and Dylan offered to bring everyone coffee. But before they
could respond, a doctor strode into the waiting room and everyone there leaped
to their feet. They had been waiting so long—now they would finally have
answers. But judging from the look on the doctor’s face, Kayla knew none of them
was going to like what he had to say.
“Ms. Lassiter,” he said, stopping directly in front of
Angie.
She stood up, with Evan, Sage and Dylan flanking her in a
protective half circle. “Yes?”
“I am sorry,” the doctor offered, his gaze shifting between the
family members before coming back to Angie. “We did everything we could, but
your father passed away.”
Angie swayed in Evan’s arms, Marlene cried out and even Colleen
had tears streaming down her face. The Lassiter men, including Evan, were stoic
but pain gleamed in their eyes.
Kayla was stunned. Shocked. J.D. had been ill, but to die like
that? The night before his daughter’s wedding? To go so suddenly, so quickly. In
one moment, everything had changed.
It was staggering to realize that life, so wonderful, so
precious, could end in the blink of an eye. Kayla’s heart hurt for her friend
and the rest of the Lassiters. Their world had just changed forever. But maybe
it was a lesson, too. To not waste time. To be sure to tell the people you love
while you still had the chance.
Now, she looked up into Matt’s green eyes and saw that he too
had been hit hard by this news. But he only held her tighter, closer, as if he
could somehow protect her from anything else that fate might throw at them.
* * *
A few days later, Kayla was still fielding phone calls
from people wanting to know how Angie was dealing with her father’s death. She
wanted to shout,
How do you think she’s feeling?
But
she didn’t, because she knew that others felt just as helpless in the face of a
tragedy as she did.
To make it worse, she hadn’t seen Matt since the night J.D.
died. He’d spent the night, and in the darkness they’d held on to each other,
each of them giving and taking comfort.
But just like nine months ago, in the morning he was gone. No
word. No kiss goodbye. Nothing. She hadn’t heard from him since. For all she
knew, he’d already left and gone back to L.A. At the thought, something inside
her twisted in pain.
Why would he do that again? She’d actually tried to call him
this time, but hadn’t reached him. Was he finally making it a clean break? But
what about everything he’d said over the past couple of weeks? What about what
they’d both felt? Was that nothing? Was she supposed to just ignore the pain and
pick up the pieces of her life again? Pretend nothing had happened? Nothing had
changed?
She was so confused and torn, Kayla hadn’t even gone in to work
the past few days. She had stayed shut away in her house, reliving the night of
J.D.’s death. Trying to come to terms with what she was feeling, thinking. Yet
every thought circled back around to Matt. She didn’t know what to do about it.
About him. Her feelings for him.
But she
did
know that she wouldn’t
go through what she had before. She wouldn’t drown in misery and agony. If there
was one thing J.D.’s death had taught her, it was that life was too short. It
went too fast. And could end all too unexpectedly.