Last Chance: A Second Chances Novel (21 page)

He agreed with a nod. “Just call me if you need me. I’ll be here, training with Chance. He’ll be by within the hour.”

I grabbed my phone and keys off the counter. “Have fun. Be careful on the track.”

He winked. “Always am.”

Another beep buzzed from my phone so I hurried out to my car and checked it.

Summer: You’re not at home. Are you okay?

Luke didn’t live far from me, but if I didn’t text her back she’d probably call the police and file a missing persons report. Summer worried more than our own mother.

Me: On my way home. Be there in five.

I walked into my kitchen to find Summer pouring herself a cup of coffee. Her blonde hair was down in waves and she had on a white sundress. That was one of the differences between us. She loved cute dresses, while I was more of a jeans and T-shirt kind of girl.

“You know, there is such a thing as giving me my space,” I suggested firmly.

She turned and faced me, her lips pursed. “Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t just barge in, but with you still without your memories, I got worried when I saw you weren’t here.”

I held out my arms. “I’m fine. Perfectly intact.”

She gazed up and down my body. “I see that. You were with Luke weren’t you?”

“What makes you think that?”

Sighing, she set down her cup. “Because you weren’t with Grayson. When you weren’t here, I called to see if you were with him.”

My heart sunk. “Great. I’m sure he knows now too.”

“So it’s true?”

I expected to see an angry glare on her face, but there was only sadness. “Yes,” I whispered. “I was going to tell Grayson today.”

“Don’t you think it’s a little too soon to make decisions? Maybe you should spend more time figuring it all out.”

I shook my head. “I know what my heart tells me, Summer. When Grayson kissed me, there was nothing, no spark. But when I’m with Luke, it doesn’t matter if I remember or not.” I rubbed a hand over my heart and smiled. “I can feel him in here. It’s like he’s always been in my heart.”

Blowing out a heavy breath, Summer nodded. “I guess I’ve always known you felt that way. You were in denial for so long, I started believing your lies.”

“Speaking of lies, I need to ask you something.”

She moved closer, her curious gaze regarding me with concern. “What is it?”

“Grayson and I . . . did we ever do fun things together like hiking or white-water rafting? How often did we go out on adventures?”

Lips pursed, a look of concentration passed across her face. “Now that I think about it, I can’t recall you two doing much of anything besides working at the restaurant. A whole group of us did go to the white-water center once, but other than that, I don’t think you guys went very often. You did hang out with Evan and I at our house and played cards.”

I never doubted Luke, but it was good to hear it confirmed by Summer.

“Why did you want to know?”

“Because Grayson lied and said we did stuff like that all the time, and Luke said otherwise. I wanted to see what you had to say.”

Groaning, she ran a hand through her golden waves. “I can’t believe he’d lie to you like that. Makes me wonder if he’s lied about other things.”

I shrugged. “We won’t know until I get my memories back.”

She shook her head and huffed. “I hate all of this. It’s so unfair. All I want is to see you happy.”

I reached out and grabbed her hands. “I am. Which is why I’m going to follow my dreams.”

Her brows furrowed. “What do you mean?”

“Luke asked me to be his PR manager.” Her eyes widened, but I cut her off before she could speak. “I’m not going to forget my duties to the tavern. I still want to work there, but I also want to explore what I can do for Luke. You know how excited I was when I graduated.”

Tears filled her eyes. “I know. After Austin died and we moved down here, you put it all aside to take care of me. If doing this is what you want to do, I’m not going to stop you. I think it’s great.”

“Really?”

Laughing, she pulled me in for a hug. “Of course. The restaurant was Austin’s dream, not yours. Just let me know what days you want to help out and we’ll go from there.”

I squeezed her hard. “Thanks, sis. I think it’ll be good for me.”

She let me go and ruffled my knotty hair. “Yes, it will. And so will a shower. Grayson will be at the tavern soon. The sooner you let him know what’s going on the better. He wasn’t happy when I got off the phone with him earlier.”

Gut clenching, I nodded and took a deep breath, hoping to keep the nausea at bay. “I’ll take a shower and head over there. But I don’t think it’s a good idea for me to work with him for a while.”

She nodded. “I agree. We’ll keep you on opposite shifts.”

“Thanks, Sum. The last thing I want to do is cause conflict, but there’s no other way.”

A sad smile spread across her face. “We all knew someone was going to get hurt.” She finished up her coffee and headed toward the door. “Evan’s going to be there this morning, while I stay at home and watch Emma-Grace. But I’ll see you this afternoon.”

“Okay,” I called out.

Grayson’s car was the only one in the parking lot when I pulled in. Taking a deep breath, I got out and trudged to the back door. The sound of bottles banging together accosted my ears. I tiptoed as quietly as I could through the kitchen and peered around the corner. Grayson was angry, the muscles in his jaw tense as he pulled liquor bottles out of their boxes. I was about to go out and talk to him when he reared back and punched the wall.

A gasp escaped my lips and he jerked his head toward me, a heavy sigh escaping his lips. “Fuck, Lara, I didn’t know you were here.”

His knuckles were bleeding so I rushed over to him. “What the hell are you doing?” I cried, taking his hand. I held it under the faucet and turned on the water. He hissed when the cold liquid poured over his cuts.

“Getting out my frustrations,” he answered, his voice pained and defeated. He sat down on one of the stools and lowered his head.

When he looked up at me, my heart ached. There was a time when the old Lara loved him, but I wasn’t her anymore. “I’m sorry,” I said.

“For what? Choosing Collins over me?”

“You know it wasn’t easy for me.” He huffed and averted his gaze. “Besides,
he
hasn’t lied to me like you have.”

His head jerked my way. “What are you talking about?”

I turned off the water and pulled up another stool so I could mend his cuts. Grabbing a towel, I wrapped it around his hand and squeezed.

“You lied about our relationship, Grayson. You said we were adventurous and did all sorts of things together, but it wasn’t true.”

He scoffed. “Let me guess, Collins told you otherwise.”

I nodded. “And Summer confirmed.” Jaw clenched, he closed his eyes. “Why, Grayson?”

Shoulders hunched, he lowered his head. “I wanted you to see in me what you saw in Luke. He’s adventurous, and the type of guy I knew you wanted to be with. I thought if I could be that kind of man, you’d pick me.”

“You didn’t have to lie about it. I know you’re a good guy. Showing me who you really are is what I wanted.”

Grayson’s head lifted, eyes blazing. “You want to know who I really am?” Sliding the stool back, he stood and held out his arms. “This tavern is who I am, Lara. It was my dream to open a restaurant with my brother.” He walked around the bar, out to the tables. “You and I ran this place perfectly together. It’s true, we might’ve spent most of our time here, but there are a lot of memories inside these walls.”

He stopped at a table near the front door and glanced over his shoulder at me. “Right here is where you first told me you loved me. We’d worked all day and were about to leave, but you sat down to take a break. When I sat down with you, you looked at me and the three best words I’d ever heard came tumbling out of your mouth. In that moment, I was the happiest I’d ever been; at least until the day I proposed to you.”

He pointed to the back hallway. “In the kitchen one night, we were joking around and you threw a handful of ice cream at my head. It turned into an all-out fight and the whole room was covered. It was the first night we ever made love. Then we spent the rest of the night cleaning up the kitchen.” A small smile spread across his lips, and he let out a small laugh. “We were so exhausted the next day.”

I stood and walked around the bar. “Sounds like we had some crazy times in here.”

He nodded. “You loved me, Lara. You might not remember it, but it’s as clear as day to me. However, the worst night of all is when you sat in that seat,” he said, pointing toward the bar, “and broke down because of Luke. He hurt you numerous times and you finally allowed yourself to let the pain go. You cried for what felt like hours and
I
was the one who held you. I knew then that I was never going to let anyone hurt you ever again. So when I tell you that I love you, it’s because I love you with every bone in my body. I might have lied to you, but I didn’t do it to hurt you. Being with you has been the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

Swallowing hard, I closed the distance between us, wrapping my arms around his neck. He held me tight and the tears flowed down. “Thank you for being honest with me.”

The stubble on his cheek brushed across my neck and he breathed me in. “It doesn’t change anything, does it?”

“No,” I murmured regretfully.

His hands slowly slid down my back and he let me go. “Then I guess there’s nothing left to say.” He looked down at me, his green gaze showing utter torment.

My heart broke and I sobbed, especially when he turned on his heel and stormed away. The back door slammed shut, but then it opened and footsteps pounded on the floor.

“Lara!” Evan shouted. His figure appeared in the doorway, but my vision was too blurry to see him clearly. He rushed over and pulled me into his arms. “It’ll be okay. He’ll get over it eventually.”

I hoped and prayed he did. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt him.

E
van walked me to my car, and Grayson kept his back to us the entire time. I didn’t want to go back home to drown in my sorrows, so I went to the place I knew I’d find happiness.

Chance’s blue sport bike was in the driveway, along with a red truck I’d never seen before. The sound of dirt bikes revved out back and I could hear shouts from a voice I didn’t recognize. I walked around the side of Luke’s house. Luke and Chance looked amazing on the track, their motions smooth as they made their jumps.

“Come on guys, speed it up!” a guy shouted at Luke and Chance. He glanced over at me and then did a double take. “Who are you?”

I waved and then held out my hand. “I’m Lara. Luke’s . . .” I didn’t know what to call myself so I settled on saying, “friend.”

The guy stood and shook my hand. “So
you’re
the girl who had Luke all bent out of shape this past year.” Frozen in place, I stood there speechless, but then he laughed and waved me over to the seat beside him. “I should introduce myself. I’m Zayne Putnam, Luke’s trainer.”

“It’s nice to meet you.” I sat down beside him and cleared my throat. “How’s he doing?”

He snorted. “The past few days have been amazing. I guess with you back around, it’s really helping him.”