Heartless (8 page)

“Ashley and I go
way back, kid.” Derek liked basking in the glow of his brother’s praise. He
didn’t relish the idea of telling him he’d messed up by betraying his best
friend. Even if it was fifteen years ago, it still felt like it happened
yesterday.

“I remember you
and Ashley were an item back in college. That was before she hooked up with
Josh, right?”

“Yeah.” Derek
sighed. No sense keeping the truth from J.T. any longer. If his kid brother
could learn from his stupid mistakes and not repeat them with his future bride,
then maybe it would be worth the embarrassment of discussing his weakness where
his ex-girlfriend was concerned. “Ash was the best thing that ever happened to
me, man. I was selfish… caught up in football and partying. I guess I wanted to
get the most out of the whole college experience. Long story short, I didn’t
give her the attention she deserved.” He clenched his jaw, trying to suppress
his bitterness. “Obviously, Josh did.”

J.T. whistled
under his breath. “Man, that must have been rough, watching your ex fall for
your best friend.”

“You have no
idea.” Derek dropped his head into his hands. “I was spiralling out of control
back then. The closer they got, the harder I tried to push them away. I’d stay
out all night, gettin’ loaded, tryin’ to find relief from my pain at the bottom
of a bottle just like this one.” He smirked. “Needless to say, it didn’t work.”

“Jesus, I had no
idea it was that bad.”

“No one knew. I
sure as hell wasn’t about to bring my problems home to Mama and Dad. I knew how
disappointed they’d be. It wasn’t easy for them to put us all through school.
Money was always tight just trying to keep the ranch goin’. I didn’t want them
to think I was pissin’ their hard-earned money away at school.”

“Yeah, but you
graduated on time, so you must have gotten your shit together.”

“I did,
eventually. I realized that I could either shut Josh and Ashley out of my life
or figure out how to deal with it. I didn’t want to lose either one of them, so
I dealt.”

J.T. drained his
beer bottle and raised his hand to the waitress, indicating they were ready for
two more.

“I don’t know if I
should,” Derek said before draining his own bottle. “I have to drive back to
the house.”

J.T. shrugged.
“You can grab a room across the street if you need to, no big deal.”

His brother was
right. It had been a long time since he surrendered to the lure of alcohol, but
he couldn’t remember a time when he was more tempted. The pressure of the case
he was working on, his brother’s death, and the uncertainty with Ashley
suddenly seemed like more than he could endure without a liquid remedy to help him
get through the night.

Chapter Five

Four beers later, J.T.
had to excuse himself to resolve a conflict between two of his wait staff,
leaving Derek alone to watch the live band.

“Derek McCall… I
thought that was you.”

Derek looked up to
see his old high school girlfriend, Heather Collier, wagging her pink-lacquered
fingernail at him.

He grinned. “I
don’t believe it.” He slid out of the booth to draw her into a hug. “Girl, how
is it you look as pretty today as you did at our senior prom?”

She rolled her
eyes as he released her. “You sure you don’t need glasses, McCall?”

He laughed.
Heather was as sweet as she was sassy, and every guy on the high school football
team wanted to date her back in the day. The years had been kind to her. “I’m
serious. You look great, Heather.” Her blond hair was shorter, a shade or two
darker, and she was curvier than she used to be, but she was still a head-turner.

She smiled.
“Thanks, so do you.” She pointed to the empty seat across from him. “You mind
if I join you?”

“No, not all.” He
waited for her to sit down before he motioned to their waitress. “So tell me
what you’ve been up to.”

The waitress
approached their table and Derek ordered one more beer while Heather ordered a
white wine.

Heather waited for
the waitress to leave before she said, “Well, I married Todd Baxter right after
we graduated college.”

Derek laughed. “No
way!” Todd and Derek had played football together in high school, but he lost
touch with his old friend after they graduated. “How is Todd?”

She shrugged. “I
don’t know. You’ll have to ask his new girlfriend.”

Derek winced. “Oh
man, I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. These
things happen.” She pulled her phone out of her purse. “I’ve got three great
kids to show for it, so I have no regrets.”

Derek took the
phone she offered and smiled as he looked at the screensaver of her three
teenagers. The boy, who looked a lot like the Todd he remembered, was flanked
by his two younger sisters. “Wow, you’ve got a nice lookin’ family. You must be
proud of ‘em.”

“I sure am.” She
slipped the phone back in her purse. “How ‘bout you, Derek? You got a wife and
kids waitin’ on you at home?”

“No. In fact,
Nashville isn’t even home anymore. I’ve been livin’ in Arkansas for the past
fifteen years.”

“No kiddin’? What
made you move out there?”

He couldn’t tell
her the truth, that he ran because he couldn’t face the harsh reality of his
actions. “I got a job offer.”

She grabbed a handful
of beer nuts and started popping them into her mouth, one at a time. “Really?
What do you do?”

“I’m a career
cop.” He chuckled. “Detective inspector, actually.”

“No way.” She
smiled. “I wouldn’t have pegged you for a cop. You wanted to play pro ball back
in the day, remember?”

Derek rolled his
eyes. “Didn’t we all? Eventually I had to decide on a real job, so I changed my
major to law enforcement in college. I’m glad I did. I love it.”

“Good for you.”
She leaned back and looked at him appreciatively. “Damn, you look good. It’s
true what they say about men and aging. For women, it’s all downhill after
forty, but men just keep getting sexier.”

He knew she was
flirting with him, but with Ashley still fresh in his mind, he couldn’t even
entertain thoughts of another woman.

“Well, well, isn’t
this cozy?”

Derek looked up
into Mike’s smug face. It didn’t matter that his conversation with Heather was
innocent, or that he didn’t owe Ashley’s son an explanation, he still couldn’t
help but feel like he’d been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

“You couldn’t wait
to drop my mom off so you could head over here and knock a few back with your…”
He gave Heather a cursory once-over, taking in her short black skirt, high
leather boots, and tight white tank top. “
Friend.”

Heather smirked.
“Man, you know you’re getting old when your girlfriend’s son busts you for
messin’ around on his mama in a bar.”

Derek didn’t see
the humor in the situation. He knew Mike wouldn’t waste any time running back
to Ashley to tell her that he’d seen Derek in a bar with a woman hours after he
left her. “Not that I owe you an explanation, but Heather and I just ran into
each other. We went to high school together and were just catchin’ up over a
drink.”

Heather looked up
at Mike and smiled. “Tell your mama she’d best not be lettin’ this one out of
her sight, honey. I’ve seen half a dozen women eyein’ him all night.”

Mike folded his
arms over his chest and glared at Derek. “Why don’t you hook up with one of them
and leave my mother alone, McCall?”

There wasn’t a
woman in this bar that could make him forget the woman he loved, but he wasn’t
about to discuss his feelings for Ashley with her overprotective son. “What
your mother and I do or don’t do is none of your goddamn business, kid.” He’d
had a rough day and the last thing he wanted was to get into it with Mike, but
he’d never backed down from an argument in his life, and he wasn’t about to
start now.

Mike sighed.
“Look, I’m sorry about your brother, but the service is over. Don’t you think
it’s time for you to go back home?”

Derek stood up,
getting in Mike’s face. “You really think I’m gonna let you run me outta town,
kid?” He smirked. “You’re crazy.”

“What the hell do
you want, McCall?”

There was no use
pretending anymore. Mike was a grown man, and if he wanted to call Derek out,
he might as well give him good reason. “I want your mother.”

Mike shoved him
back, hard, causing Derek to lose his footing. “You stay the hell away from
her! She doesn’t need a dirt bag like you messin’ with her mind.”

Derek tried to
remind himself that Mike was his best friend’s son and no matter how much he
may want to, he couldn’t take his anger and frustration out on him. “I’m not
gonna tell you again. You need to mind your own business, man.”

“Oh yeah? You
gonna make me?”

There was no way
he would have let anyone else disrespect him like that, but if he took a shot
at one of her sons, Ashley would never forgive him. He had no doubt Mike knew
that, and that’s why he was baiting him. “You need to leave, now.”

J.T. walked up
behind them, slapping Derek on the back. “Is there a problem here, guys?”

Mike and Jay had
both been close with J.T. growing up, and as far as Derek knew, they were still
friendly.

Mike nodded toward
Derek. “Why don’t you ask your brother?”

Derek knew where
Mike was going with this, and he didn’t want Ashley’s reputation smeared just
because her sons seemed determined to make him pay for his past sins. “This
isn’t the time or place, kid.”

Mike glared at
him. “Who the hell are you to tell me what to say or when to say it?”

When Mike was
being stubborn and obstinate, he looked every bit his father’s son, and Derek
knew from experience that Josh didn’t walk away from a fight unless he walked
away a winner.

“Did you know your
brother had an affair with my mother when she was still married to my old man?”
Mike asked J.T.

J.T. looked to
Derek, obviously expecting his brother to refute the claim.

Derek could have.
It was only a one-time deal, not a full blown affair, but it didn’t seem to
matter now. “You’re drawing a crowd,” Derek said, lowering his voice. “You may
not give a shit whether I look bad, but I thought you had a little more respect
for your mother.”

“I did, until I
found out she slept with you.”

It was killing
Derek to know that a kid he once loved like a son openly despised him now. He
knew that Mike and Jay’s hostility was warranted, but he was only human. He
made a mistake, one lousy mistake, and he tried to make it right by leaving and
giving them the space they needed to rebuild their broken family. It’s not like
he set out to take their mother away from them. He loved her, but he knew he
could never compete with her children, nor would he want to.

“What do you want
me to say? I’m sorry, okay? I wish it never happened, but it did. I can’t take
it back.”

“If you were
really sorry, you’d have the decency to get the hell out of town.”

J.T. stepped up,
wedging his body between the two men as he faced Mike. “Listen, Derek’s right.
This isn’t the time or place to talk about this. I’m gonna have to ask you to
leave.”

Derek didn’t need
J.T. to fight his battles for him, but it was still nice to know his brother
had his back.

Mike took a step
back and scowled at Derek over his brother’s shoulder. “Seriously? You really want
me to leave after what I just told you?”

J.T. raked his
hands through his hair, looking tired and defeated. Obviously, the day had
taken its toll on his him, too. “Look, I’m not perfect, so who the hell am I to
judge Derek for a mistake he made years ago?”

Mike shook his
head. “I should’ve known you’d defend him. Fine, I’ll go.” He pointed a finger
at Derek. “But I meant what I said. You stay the hell away from my mother, or
I’m going to make you wish you had.”

Ashley was roused
after a fitful night’s sleep by the persistent ringing of her doorbell. She
groaned and pulled her duvet over her head, hoping her unwanted guest would
take the hint and leave her alone. One of her favorite things about summer
vacation was sleeping in, but her intruder was clearly intent on robbing her of
that pleasure this morning.

Muttering a curse,
she grabbed her short black robe from the foot of the bed and slipped it on
before padding barefoot down the stairs. She stood on her tiptoes to steal a
glance in the peephole before opening the door. Derek McCall with a tool belt
strapped to his waist. Lord have mercy. The man clearly missed his calling. He
should have been a contractor or at least posed as one for some glossy men’s
magazine.

She looked in the
mirror hanging above the bench in the foyer and groaned once more. Her face was
scrubbed free of make-up, her hair was tousled, and she had morning breath. If
the mere sight of her didn’t send him running in the other direction, he was a
braver man than she gave him credit for.