Saved (25 page)

She stood up just a little taller and square
her shoulders off. “It’s fine, Jeff. Let’s just forget it and move
on,” she with absolutely no emotion in her voice.

I took another step toward her, and this
time, she took one toward me. Leaning down, I captured her lips
with mine.

“I love you, Ari. More than anything in this
world, I love you.”

She smiled up at me, but her smile didn’t
touch her eyes.

I was slowly losing her, and it was nobody’s
fault but my own.

CHAPTER
TWENTY-SIX

ARI

I tried really hard to not let what Jeff had
said to me back at the house affect me. I knew he was stressed, and
Scott was going out of his way to flirt with me right in front of
Jeff. I tried to make small talk with him on the way to meet
Gunner’s parents.

Ellie had sent me a text, saying things were
moving slowly with Gunner and his dad. She said they had barely had
said two words to each other since his parents had arrived last
night.

Ellie was waiting for me on the porch. She
practically came running over to Jeff’s truck. As soon as I got out
of the truck, she grabbed me and hugged me.

“How are you feeling?” She whispered in my
ear.

“Fine.”

“Lying bitch. Did you tell him?” Ellie asked
as she pulled away to look at me.

I shook my head. I could see the look of
disappointment on her face.

“Hey, sis. No love for your big brother?”
Jeff said as he walked up.

He took Ellie in a big bear hug and spun her
around. She started laughing and then told him to put her down.

“How are things with Gun and his dad?” Jeff
asked, looking up to the house.

“Well…um…they really need to spend some time
alone together, I think.”

Gunner had sent Jeff a text and said that his
dad’s old best friend, Drake was so happy to see his dad that he
pretty much came and took him to the barn for awhile.

“I was hoping maybe you could talk Gunner
into heading down there,” Ellie asked Jeff.

“Yeah sure, Ells, I can get him to do that.
You okay with that, Ari?”

I smiled, trying to act like I really gave a
rat’s ass what he did. At this point, I was so tired and weak that
I probably wouldn’t have cared if he said he was going to
Rebecca’s.

“Yep, no worries. Y’all have fun catching
up.”

Ellie took me by the arm, and then we started
to walk into the house.

The first person I saw was Grace.

She smiled and walked over to give me a
hug.

“Congratulations on your engagement, Ari and
Jeff. I’m so very happy for both of you.”

Jeff and I both said our thanks, and then
Jeff was somehow able to talk Gunner into heading down to the
barn.

As soon as they left and it was clear they
were gone, the attack began.

“Why the hell have you not told him, Ari? You
said you were going to tell him this morning!” Ellie yelled.

“Oh, Ari, honey. I have to agree with Ellie.
You need to let him know,” Emma said as she wiped her hands on her
apron. She walked over to give me a hug.

“Wait…what are we talking about?” Grace asked
as she looked between the three of us.

“Well, um…” I had to start
laughing.
Jesus, everyone was going to
know before Jeff.
I needed to tell him
tonight.

“I’m pregnant. I haven’t actually told Jeff
yet, but that’s because some bitch he slept with before we became a
couple is now saying she’s pregnant with his baby. It’s really a
soap opera that’s not worth watching.”

Grace got up and walked over to me again. She
took me in her arms.

Oh shit, here come the waterworks again.

I pulled back some and smiled. I looked over
at Emma and Ellie.

“I was going to tell him
this morning. I got up early and headed to the barn to clean out
the stalls before Mr. Reynolds came. I needed time to think. Y’all
know how the horses calm me down. How was I supposed to know that
his son was going to be the one coming? Or that his son was going
to catch me listening to “WooHoo” and singing out loud about oral
sex? Sorry, Emma and Grace. And how was I supposed to know that he
would flirt non-stop with me the whole time? Then, to have Jeff
accuse me of purposely flirting back with Scott just to make him
mad, that was the topper. I swear that I think Jeff wanted to fight
with me. So, by the time all that shit happened, sorry again Emma
and Grace, I just wasn’t really in the mood to tell Jeff. What
would I say?
Hey, guess what, dickwad? I’m
pregnant.
He might have accused me of doing
it to steal Rebecca’s goddamn thunder. Sorry, Emma and
Grace.”

I looked around at the three
women who were just standing there, staring at me. Poor Grace
looked even more confused, Emma looked like she was trying to
process what I had just spit out, and Ellie,
that bitch,
was trying to hide the
fact that she was laughing.
Some best
friend she is.

“Okay, well…wow, Ari, honey. Let’s pour some
sweet tea and go sit out on the porch. I think we could all use
some fresh air right about now,” Emma said as she pulled out four
mason jars and filled them with ice and tea.

***

When we were outside, I sat
down in the rocking chair and just rocked. Closing my eyes, I
pictured holding a baby while rocking her to sleep on this porch. I
loved it here so much. I loved the country air, the smells, the
sounds, and the dead silence. I took a deep breath and opened my
eyes. I had three women just staring at me.
What the hell?

I panicked. “Oh. My. God is there a bug on
me?” I said.

Standing up, I started jumping around while
Ellie laughed her ass off.

“Ari, for Pete’s sake, sit down girl. There’s
no bug on you,” Emma said with a laugh.

***

We talked for a good thirty minutes about me,
the baby, Jeff and Rebecca. I was emotionally exhausted and tired
of talking about me.

Just then, a BMW pulled up. Emma had a huge
smile on her face.

“Looks like Jim, Michelle, and Lynda are
here.” Emma got up and started to walk down to greet them.

I glanced over at Ellie, who had a sour look
on her face.

“Heather is going to freak. Have you talked
to her?” I said.

Ellie shook her head then looked at me. She
clearly didn’t want to talk in front of Grace.

Lynda came running up the steps and then
hugged Grace. “Aunt Grace! Oh gosh, I’m so happy to see you. Where
is Uncle Jack?”

Grace let out a giggle as she returned
Lynda’s hug. “He’s with Drake, Gunner, and Jeff down at the barn
sweetheart.”

“Is he okay, Aunt Grace?”

Grace smiled and nodded her head. “Excuse me
sweetheart. Let me go say hello to your parents.”

Lynda turned and smiled Ellie.

“Ellie! How was the honeymoon? I’m sorry you
had to cut it short. I hate that Uncle Jack had a heart attack, but
I sure hope this pushes him and Gunner to make up.”

Ellie and Lynda talked for a few more
minutes. I tried desperately to tune them out. There was something
about Lynda that I didn’t like.

Just then, Josh pulled up in
his truck. I tried to see if Heather was with him. He parked and
got out alone.
Shit.

“Holy hotness. That boy has me drippin’ in my
panties every time I see him,” Lynda said as she started to walk
toward the steps.

I glanced over at Ellie to
see she was at me.
Yeah, I really don’t
like this bitch at all.

“Um, you know, Lynda, our friends Heather and
Josh are kind of…well….”

Lynda spun around and looked at Ellie. “Kind
of what? Are they seeing each other?”

Just then, Heather pulled
up.
Shit, this is gonna be
interesting.

Josh turned and watched as Heather parked.
She got out, looked up at Ellie and me, and waved. Her smile faded
for a quick second, and then it was replaced by a totally fake-ass
smile. I looked over at Josh. He quickly turned away from Heather
and said something to Grace. Then, he started to walk down toward
the barn.

Oh shit.
Ellie and I glanced at each again, and I was
pretty sure that Ellie’s face matched mine.
What the hell was going on with those two?

“I guess we’re about to find out now. Aren’t
we ladies?” Lynda said with a snarky attitude.

“Hey, y’all! Looks like everyone decided to
get here at the same time,” Heather said with a laugh.

“Hey there, Heather It’s so good to see you
again, especially so soon after the wedding. I’m surprised to see
that you didn’t come with Josh,” Lynda said.

Fucking bitch.

Heather looked at Lynda, confused as all
hell. “Why would I ride with Josh?”

“Oh, well, your friends here seem to think
that y’all are a couple and all. I just thought if you were then
you would have driven out here with him.”

Heather actually looked like
she was about to throw up.
Huh, she looks
like how I feel.
She quickly peeked at me
and then Ellie and then back to me again. I just shrugged my
shoulders.
Hell if I know what to say to
that.
Josh and Heather had been going back
and forth for so long. When he took her home the other day, I
thought for sure they would have moved on, especially when Heather
sent a text to me, saying Josh and her were polishing off a bottle
of wine.

Heather’s shoulders slumped as she took a
deep breath. “No, Lynda, Josh and I are not a couple. We’re just
friends.”

Lynda did a little hop as she made a
high-pitch sound. Then she started to make her way down the porch
steps.

“Uh, Lynda, where are you going?” Ellie
called out after her.

“I’m gonna go say
hi
to a certain cowboy
who makes my panties melt. I’ll catch up with y’all
later!”

I walked up to Heather slapped her on the
head.

“Hey! What the hell did you do that for?”

“Oh. My. God. Heather! You just gave her
permission to go after Josh. What’s wrong with you? The last time
we texted it sounded like you and Josh were moving past this whole
friendship bullshit.”

Heather tried to smile at me as she looked at
Ellie and then back at me. The minute I saw the tears, I knew.
Grabbing her hand, I pulled her into the house and up the stairs to
one of the guest bedrooms. Ellie followed right behind us.

The second the bedroom door shut, Ellie and I
both said, “Spill it!”

Heather sat down on the bed and just lost it.
I’d never seen her cry like this before. A part of me wondered if
it had to do with her parents. She had tried to be so strong,
putting up a front for everyone.

Ellie dropped to her knees on the floor in
front of Heather while I sat down next to her on the bed.

“Oh, Heather, no. What did that bastard do?”
Ellie said rubbing her hand up on Heather’s shoulder.

It took Heather a minute or two to calm
down.

“Shit, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to break
down like a baby,” Heather said as she looked back and forth
between us.

“Heather, what did Josh do? He seemed so sad
when you pulled up and got out of the car.”

“Oh. My. God. Ari! I messed up so bad with
him, and I don’t think it can ever be fixed.”

I looked at Ellie with a confused look on my
face.

“Wait…
you
messed up? Josh didn’t do
anything to you? What in the world could you have possibly done to
him?” I asked as I ran my hand up and down her back.

Heather shook her head. She took a deep
breath and then slowly let it out.

“The other night, after the whole jail thing,
Josh brought me home. It was so wonderful to just spend time
together. I mean, we talked, we laughed, and we drank lots of wine.
Then, he just stood up, and grabbed me, pushed me up against the
wall, and then kissed the living hell out of me.”

Ellie looked up at Heather and smiled.

“And what happened after that?” Ellie
asked.

She looked at me and gave me a quick
wink.

“I fucked up.”

Wow. For Heather to say that, I knew this was
not going to be good.

“I’m sure it’s not that bad sweets. Tell us
what happened,” I said as I moved to sit down on the floor next to
Ellie, so Heather could look at both of us.

“Well…considering I was totally about to ask
him to take me to my bedroom…I felt the need to just blurt out that
I’d never been with anyone. I thought it would have scared him off
but it did just the opposite. The look in his eyes changed from
pure lust to.”

“Pure love?” Ellie asked as she wiggled her
eye brows up and down.

“No! I don’t think it was love. Shit, I don’t
know what it was. All I can remember is that he called me princess
and said he would never do anything I wasn’t ready to do. Then I
had a flash-back….”

Heather broke off her sentence while she
tried not to start crying again.

“It’s okay, sweets,” Ellie said.

Just take your time,” I added.

“So, anyway, I had a flash-back to my father
calling me princess on my sixteenth birthday, and I just panicked.
I started to push him away, and I yelled for him to put me down and
…..oh god. He was so confused! I’ll never forget the look in his
eyes.”

“What happened after that? Did he get mad?”
Ellie asked.

Heather let out a small laugh. “No…it sure as
hell would’ve been easier if he had. He did just the opposite. He
was so sweet and he admitted that he had feelings for me. He said
that he had feelings he had never felt for any other girl.”