Learning to Breathe Again (38 page)

“
I’m not asking for years,
Jason! I just don’t want to jump from one fire into
another!”

“
I know, kiddo. And I do
understand. I’m just saying that sometimes, it’s better to just lay
it all on the line and go for broke. Jack’s just trying to give you
what you want but he can’t read your mind.”

Bayleigh sighed and laid her forehead against
the window pane. “Why does life have to be so complicated?”

“
Keeps things interesting,”
Jason responded. “I’m sorry, Bayleigh, but my nurse just told me my
next patient is ready. I can call you later if you still need
someone to talk to,” he offered.

“
I’m fine, Jason. But could
you have Nicole call me so I can see what she thinks about
reviewing the contract for me?”

“
Be happy to, sis. I’m
really proud of you, you know.”

“
Thanks, big brother. I know
you are but it’s still nice to hear,” Bayleigh told him before
disconnecting the call. She dropped down onto the sofa, staring at
her phone in her hand before she dropped it onto the cushion beside
her.

She rested her head against
the back of the sofa and stared at the ceiling. Times like this,
she needed her mother back. Her mom always had the answers when it
came to guys. The only time Bayleigh hadn’t listened to her had
been when she started dating Will. Her mother had tried to warn her
that Will wasn’t the one for her, he only cared about himself. But
Bayleigh hadn’t wanted to listen at the time. Will was
fun
and
edgy
and had that ‘bad
boy’ image down pat.

But then her mother had gotten sick and
Bayleigh hadn’t wanted to be left alone, so she’d continued to date
Will. And for a while, she’d thought he’d cared about her as much
as she thought she’d loved him. It had become clear pretty soon
after her mother’s death that he’d been more concerned about the
money he’d thought she’d come into. But even with that revelation,
Bayleigh had stayed with him.

Because she didn’t want to be alone.

She stared at the room around her. Now here
she was with the biggest news of her life, and she was still all
alone. Only this time, the guy in her life was interested in more
than just her inheritance. Jack was only interested in her.

Snatching up her phone, she placed a call to
Maddie as she quickly grabbed the essentials and threw things into
a suitcase. “I’m going home, Maddie,” she told her friend when she
answered her phone.

“
About damn time. I love
you, ‘Leigh, you’re the sister I never had, but I gotta tell you, I
was beginning to wonder about your sanity after I met Jack. That
man loves you.”

“
I know. I’m questioning my
own sanity at the moment. I just hope I didn’t blow it,” Bayleigh
snapped the suitcase closed. “Any idea when the last flight to
Austin leaves?”

“
No need to worry about
that. Rick was here and I wrote it out on a napkin for him. He
should be at the apartment in about twenty minutes and he’ll fly
you all the way to Waketon,” Maddie told her.

“
For once, I’m not even
going to argue about it. Tell Brian bye for me, would you,
please?”

“
Of course. Take care of
yourself, Bayleigh. You deserve every bit of this success and
happiness, you hear me?”

“
Right back at you, Maddie.
One of these days, I’m going to get the full story out of
you.”

“
Oh, look, my bartender
needs me. Gotta go be a bar owner now. Take care, ‘Leigh. Love
you!”

Bayleigh laughed as she disconnected the
call. Now that she didn’t have to rush to get to the airport to
catch a flight, she paused in her frantic packing and took a deep
breath as she took stock of what was in her suitcase and what she
was missing. She repacked it neatly and added a few more items and
then grabbed her computer bag and made sure her sheet music and
laptop were in there, setting both bags and her guitar case near
the front door.

RICK HAD HER AT THE AIRFIELD where he kept
his plane, had the preflight check done and the flight plan filed
in record time. Within forty minutes of getting to the airport,
they’d been in the air. From there, flight time was a little over
two hours.

“
Did you talk to him?” Rick
asked, checking the instruments as he flew.

“
I’m too afraid to, to be
honest. What if my brother is wrong and Jack’s not tied up in knots
over me? What if he hates me?”

“
Love and hate are two sides
of the same coin, Bayleigh. You have to care about something in
order to hate it. Be more worried about him being indifferent,”
Rick suggested.

“
Is that why you haven’t
given up on Maddie? She’s not indifferent?”

“
Maddie and I, we’re a whole
different ballgame,” Rick frowned. “One of these days, she’s going
to break and tell me why she won’t let me in.”

“
I always assumed you two
had some fight or something,” Bayleigh admitted.

Rick shook his head as he answered, “No, no
fight. No argument, no disagreement, nothing. It just seemed to
change overnight. For a long time, I thought it was because Brian
and I went after that douchebag she’d gotten pregnant by, but she’s
not mad at Brian. Hell, I don’t even know if she’s mad at me. I
don’t know what the hell you’d call it.”

“
If she ever opens up and
tells me, I promise I’ll figure out a way to clue you in,” Bayleigh
reached over and squeezed his hand. “I’ve never met a couple more
suited to each other. Well, except maybe Jason and Nicole,” she
amended.

Rick grinned over at her as the tower in
Austin checked in with him. He keyed the mic and answered them and
then motioned to her safety harness. “Buckle up, little lady.
Austin just informed me that we’re going to hit some turbulence as
we approach Waketon. They have storms in the area but nothing that
will keep us from landing. I’ll have you on the ground in less than
thirty minutes and we can figure out the rest of the plan from
there.”

“
Are you going to stay the
night?”

“
I am now,” he check a few
of his gauges. “There’s a storm front I checked on before we took
flight. I knew we’d get to Waketon ahead of it, but it’s moved in a
little faster than I thought it would. I could do it if I had to,
but there’s no reason for me to hurry back,” he flipped another
switch. “I’ll call Brian and give him an update and then I’ll check
into a hotel. I always keep a change of clothes on board, so it’s
no big deal.”

He hadn’t been kidding when he’d warned her
they were going to hit some turbulence. If she hadn’t tightened her
harness, she was pretty sure her head would have hit the ceiling a
couple of times, and a few other times, she probably would have
been dumped on the floor.

They landed in Waketon without any problems
and Bayleigh helped Rick secure the plane for the night. She could
see the flashes of lightening as it danced across the sky in the
distance. Rick went inside the hanger to talk to the guys inside
and then they walked around to the front of the building and the
parking lot. She glanced over as a truck pulled into the parking
lot and she smiled as she recognized her brother.

“
Hey, Jason! Thanks for
coming to pick us up,” she greeted him as she gave him a hug. “This
is Rick, Brian’s business partner and a great friend to have in
your corner. Rick, my brother Jason.”

The two men shook hands and Jason grabbed a
couple of the bags Rick set on the ground. “Come on, we need to get
home before this storm hits. It’s triggered a couple of tornados
north of here already and I want to be off the road and safe before
it gets here,” Jason told her as he led them over to his truck.

“
Yeah, the tower out of
Austin advised me of that. I adjusted our path a little to stay out
of its way. If they’d given me any indication it would be here
before us, I would have stopped in Austin for the night,” Rick
answered as they loaded the bags in the extended cab. Rick slid
into the back seat and Bayleigh took the passenger seat.

Bayleigh glanced at her brother. “You didn’t
tell Jack I was coming back, did you?”

“
You asked us not to, so no,
we didn’t,” Jason shook his head as he headed for his home. “How
long you going to make him wait to find out?”

“
Not long. I don’t want to
give myself a chance to chicken out,” Bayleigh admitted.

“
Trust me, Bayleigh. You
chicken out and I’m hauling your ass over there myself. No way in
hell I’m letting you do to this poor guy what Maddie’s been doing
to me for the last couple of years,” Rick muttered.

Bayleigh shook her head as Jason threw her a
questioning look. “I guess that settles it then. Do you think you
can drop me off at his place?”

“
Don’t need to, he’s still
in the office,” Jason jerked his chin towards the building coming
up and sure enough, Jack’s truck was still parked in front and a
light was still on in the front area. “Do you want me to
stop?”

Bayleigh took a deep breath and nodded.
“Might as well get this over with now.” Her brother whipped the
wheel and they turned into the lot.

She looked at her brother and he gave her a
knowing smile. “He won’t turn you away, sis. But if you need me to
come get you, just call.”

“
Thanks, Jason. And Rick,
thanks for flying me out here tonight.”

“
Anytime, ‘Leigh,” Rick
pushed open his door, giving her a hug before sliding into the
front seat.

“
Go put your man out of his
misery, Bayleigh,” Jason told her with a wink as Rick moved to shut
the door. “Talk to you tomorrow.”

Bayleigh raised her hand and stepped back
from the truck, already turning to head up the steps that led to
the front door. She heard her brother pull out of the lot and back
onto the highway as she stepped up to the door.

Her hand was trembling as she turned the
doorknob, remembering the very first time she’d ever entered this
office. She smiled as the bell sounded above her head and she heard
the muttered curse coming from Jack’s office and she took a couple
of steps into the room.

Stopping just shy of the receptionist’s desk
as she heard Jack coming down the hallway, she waited for him to
see her.

“
Can I help…” his voice
trailed off as he realized who was standing there.
“Bayleigh!”

“
I’m sorry to barge in on
you like this but I seem to have lost my way and I was wondering if
you could help me?” her eyes drank in the sight of him, from his
mussed up hair and short sleeved golf shirt to the well-worn, tight
jeans.

Jack glanced from her to the large window
behind her and back. “What are you doing here, Bayleigh?”

Bayleigh’s heart dropped to
the floor. Jason was wrong, Jack wasn't tied up in knots over her.
He was pissed at her. He didn't want her anymore. He didn't
love
her any more. Her
eyes filled with tears as she stared at him.

“
I-I,” she stammered out,
stopped took a deep breath, started again. “I had some news today,
some wonderful, awesome news and when I looked around to share it
with, I had no one,” she looked at him but his face was impassive.
The man could be carved from stone.

“
Maddie not around?” he
quirked an eyebrow.

“
She was there, and I even
called Jason. And they're happy for me but it's not the same as
sharing it with the man I love,” she held her hand out to him in a
silent plea. Jack ignored her outstretched hand and stepped past
her towards the door. Bayleigh’s head fell forward and she bit the
inside of her cheek to keep from sobbing. And then she heard
the
snick
of the
lock and the
thud
of the deadbolt being turned. She spun around to stare at Jack
as he advanced on her.

Startled, she backed away from him but soon
came up against the desk. Jack didn’t stop until he was standing in
front of her, hands braced on the desk on either side of her
hips.

“
I’ll ask you again, why are
you here?” his voice was low, demanding.

Bayleigh took a deep breath and laid her
heart completely out there. “Because I love you and I miss you and
I needed to be with you,” her eyes never strayed from his, begging
him to believe her.

Jack reached out and trailed his fingers down
her cheek. “What changed?” he asked.