The Truth (7 page)

He heard a small voice on the other side of the door, “Grayson, is that you?”

He hadn’t realized he’d been holding his breath until his lungs released it in one large exhale. “Yeah, Ryan, it’s me. Could you open the door and let me in?”

“Sounds like you, but how can I know for sure? Mom won’t let me open the door without her.”

“Pull up the stool in the entry and peek out the hole on the door. You will be able to see me.” Grayson listened to the sound of the stool scraping on the wood floors and stepped over to stand in clear view of the peep hole.

“Hi, Grayson.”

“Hi, buddy, can you unlock the door for me?”

Ryan opened the door and threw himself at Grayson, sending shooting pains throughout his body. “I heard you got shot. Can I see?”

“Easy buddy, you’re a lot stronger than you were yesterday.”

“Really?” Ryan crooked his little arm and making a fist, lifted his sleeve to check his bicep.

“So where’s your mom?” Grayson asked, walking slowly toward the living room. His ribs ached, his head felt like it was going to explode, and he wasn’t sure how much longer his legs were going to hold him up.

“She’s in the shower. You wanna play video games with me?” Ryan plopped on the couch and swung a remote his way, elbowing Grayson in the side.

His eyes watered as a blaze of light flashed before them. “I’ll just watch you play,” he responded, his voice cracking with the effort.

When Lexie finally emerged from the bedroom, Ryan was deeply engaged in a race of Mario Kart and Grayson was resting his head against the back of the couch, holding his arms tightly to his chest, his forehead lightly covered in perspiration. He was in a lot of pain, and he realized that the smart thing would have been for him to go home and rest. But he had to talk to Lexie. Nothing was more important.

“Grayson, what are you doing here?” Lexie sounded both happy and anxious.

He watched her closely, filled with a mixture of curiosity and fear. Something wasn’t right, and he was incredibly frustrated she didn’t trust him enough to tell him what was wrong.

“Why didn’t you come pick me up?” he asked her, never taking his eyes from hers. “I know you’re not sick, and I also know you’re avoiding me. What I don’t know is why.”

“Ryan, do you think you could go play Legos in your room so I can talk to Grayson in private?”

“Ah, Mom … after this race?” Ryan whined, never taking his gaze from the television screen.

“Now please.” Her tone was stern, her meaning clear.

Ryan turned off the television and mumbled under his breath, as he walked to his room with his head hung down.

They both listened to his door close. Grayson didn’t take his eyes off her. “What’s going on, Lexie? Why do I get the feeling I’m not going to like what you have to tell me?”

Looking down, she took his hand and held it in hers. She traced an invisible path along the line of his knuckles. “You’re an incredible man … ” she began, as she tried to blink away the tears in her eyes, “but … ”

“But what, Lexie?”

“I … I can’t do this.”

“Can’t do what? Me? Us?” Grayson sat forward on the couch, his eyes still locked on hers, registering shock and a touch of anger.

“Yes … No … it’s hard to explain.” She looked down again. “It’s because of … ”

“Because of what? What’s changed? Two days ago, we were fine.” He slowly rose from the couch and began to pace. His moves were listless, his words slightly slurred, but he could feel himself starting to panic.

“It’s not you, it’s me.” Her voice pleaded for understanding.

“That’s B.S. and you know it.” He spun around, physically flinching at the effort. “You and I have something here. So what changed in forty-eight hours? Is it Ryan? Because you know how much I care about him. You can see that can’t you?”

“Ryan is crazy about you,” she said. “It’s not about Ryan, or you. It’s me. I’m not ready for a relationship in my life right now.” She wouldn’t meet his gaze.

“You’re a coward.” He shook his head in disbelief, as he turned and walked out, slamming the door behind him.

Jordan looked like he wished he were anywhere else but here. Grayson refused to feel bad; he hadn’t called him. It was the nosey ass bartender who’d called him, and the guy should’ve just minded his own damn business. After all, he was a grown man; he could drink away his sorrows if he chose to. Granted, he hadn’t taken into consideration the amount of pain medication he was on when he’d started on the Scotch, but he was still capable of getting his own cab.

“Come on Hunter, let me take you home.” Jordan tried again to remove the glass from his fingers.

“I said — ” Grayson hiccupped, “I said I got this.” Downing the remaining contents in his glass, he slammed the glass to the counter and stood from his stool. The bar began to spin, and he could no longer see Jordan. Reaching for the bar to steady himself, he missed, bumped into the stool and sent it clattering to the floor. Hands beneath his arms steadied him as he hung tightly to the bars edge struggling to find his feet. He turned and looked into the eyes of his partner.

“Thanks, Wayne. Let me buy ya drink.” Grayson attempted to set the stool upright and almost fell again.

“Not tonight, it’s time to get you home.” Jordan led him through the crowd toward the front door.

“Can you believe she dumped me?” Grayson swayed, and grabbed the jacket of a man passing by to hold himself up. The man turned around, causing Grayson to stumble again. Grayson hit the man’s chest with a hard thud before stumbling backwards and craning his neck to look up into the man’s angry face. “Just like that … done … finito … over.”

The man reached down and grabbed Grayson by the shirt, lifting his feet off the ground. “Sounds like a personal problem,” he spat. His eyes were slits, his cheeks twitched, evidence he was clenching his jaw, and he set Grayson back on his feet.

Grayson tried to straighten his shirt, knocking himself off balance again. He bumped into someone standing behind him, who in turn cursed, and shoved Grayson the opposite way, sending him crashing into the broad chest of the angry stranger. The man placed one hand on Grayson’s shoulder, and forming a fist with his other, pulled his arm back.

Grayson squeezed his eyes closed, preparing for the impact. He slowly opened one eye and peeked at the man when nothing happened. Jordan had a hold on his arm.

“I don’t think you really want to assault a police officer, especially in front of his partner.” Jordan released the man’s arm and stepped beside Grayson. “We were just leaving.”

Heading for the door, Grayson stumbled again. “She won’t even tell me why. She’s a coward, that’s why, and I told her so.” Grayson stopped to brace himself against the doorjamb as he slowly lifted his foot to step outside. The light from the sun burned his eyes like hot coals, and the constant spinning of the world beneath his feet began to force the scotch back to the surface.

“Easy there, I’ve got you.” Jordan wrapped his arm around Grayson’s waist and led him to the passenger side of his truck.

When Grayson awoke in his bed, the sun was beginning to rise again to start the next day. His head pounded, his mouth felt like it was filled with cotton and his body ached. He threw back the covers, unsure how he’d gotten out of his boots and jeans, and made his way to the kitchen.

Running cold water into a large glass, he poured it down his dry throat before filling it again and swallowing some much needed pain medication. Taking the glass with him, he paused, noticing Jordan sprawled precariously on his couch.

He touched him on the shoulder. “Jordan, you don’t have to stay here. I’m fine, and you don’t look comfortable. Go on home and get some sleep.”

Jordan slid up to a sitting position and rubbed his eyes. “How are you feeling? And what time is it?”

“I have no idea what time it is, and I feel like I lost a heavyweight fight with Rocky Balboa. Was I in a fight?” Grayson sat on the empty end of the couch and took another large drink of water. He hoped his bruised body would heal quickly, he was the best man at his friend Mark’s wedding in a couple of weeks, and although Mark would get a laugh out of his current appearance, his bride-to-be would kill him.

“Yeah, you were. With a barstool and the barstool won.” Jordan chuckled at the memory. “And please tell me you didn’t really call Lex a coward yesterday.”

“I did, and she is. She pulled out the ‘it’s not you it’s me’ card, tucked her tail between her legs and bailed. What else would you call it?” Grayson sighed in frustration. “It just doesn’t make sense.”

“Actually, it does.” Jordan blew out a breath.

Grayson could tell he was struggling with something. “Jordan, if you know something, tell me. I know and appreciate your loyalty to her, but man, I can’t lose her.” He ran his hands over his face, and looked into Jordan’s eyes. “Please.”

“She should be the one telling you this. I told her she should, and now she’s got me back in the damn middle.” He shook his head. “Has she ever mentioned her past relationships?”

“No, not really, she listened to mine, but then changed the subject.” Grayson braced himself, fearful that he would learn there was someone else.

Jordan continued. “In high school, she was in love with a boy named Kyle. He was a nice kid, they dated, well, forever it seemed. A couple of years after high school he proposed and she accepted. He was a rookie cop at the time, making a name for himself and working hard to build a solid foundation for them both.” Jordan paused. “She really should be the one telling you this.”

“I agree, but for whatever reason, she isn’t, and if this is leading to why she’s running from me, I would really like to understand.”

“It was a week before the wedding, and Kyle responded to a domestic abuse call. The woman, girl actually, had been raped and beaten by her stepbrother, and was holding a gun to him and her own mother, who hadn’t believed her when she’d told her what was happening behind closed doors.”

“That’s terrible.” Grayson could imagine the scene. The girl’s desperation, and her belief that she was out of options.

“Kyle was able to calm the situation, and had the girl safely out of the house. The boy had confessed at some point and Kyle had him cuffed and was leading him from the house. That was where it went bad.” Jordan appeared to go back in time, reliving the scene as he talked.

“The mother, having learned the horrible things done to her daughter, snapped at some point, and pulled a gun of her own from a drawer. She shot at the boy, and killed him, but she also shot Kyle.”

Grayson gasped.

“Kyle didn’t live out the night, and Lexie was with him at the hospital when he died.”

Grayson’s stomach knotted, and his chest tightened. He leaned forward and placed his throbbing head in his hands, picturing the pain she’d endured.

“You’re a police officer … ”

“And I was just shot … ”

Jordan nodded his head.

Grayson recalled the look on her face when she sat beside his hospital bed and his heart broke for the young girl who’d watched her fiancé die. Fear crept in when he realized his badge could cost him the woman he loved.

It had been two weeks since Grayson walked out her front door. Two very long weeks. She knew it was for the best, but her heart wasn’t as easily convinced. Making the situation more difficult was the fact he’d kept his word and made multiple requests to spend time with Ryan. Her son wasn’t speaking to her for sending Grayson away, and his silent treatment was compounding heavily with the emptiness she felt.

Marissa had told her she was her own worst enemy. Jordan informed her she was making a huge mistake and mumbled something about letting the criminals win. He didn’t understand. The fact he also wore a badge made it impossible for him.

She pushed the stack of napkins into their holder, and reached over for another stack when the bell above the door chimed. Her heart beat fast as she turned toward the door and she sighed when she saw it was Eva from the bank next door. She knew Grayson was going back to work today, and she hadn’t realized how much she’d hoped he’d maintain his old routine. She didn’t like the feeling of disappointment that overwhelmed her.

She faked a professional smile, and stepped behind the counter to get the teller’s order.

“I heard about the shooting.” Eva stated, pulling her wallet from her purse. “It wasn’t your brother was it?”

“No, he’s fine,” she replied placing the lid on the tall vanilla latte. No, it wasn’t her brother, it was simply the man she loved. “It was his partner, Deputy Hunter, but he’s doing fine.” She rang up Eva’s purchase and handed her the change.

Eva’s mouth opened like a sucker fish against the side of a fish tank. “Hey, isn’t your brother’s partner also your boyfriend?”

“No,” Lexie answered in a dismissive tone.

Eva looked down at her cup and ran her finger slowly around the plastic lid. “I thought you two were seeing each other.” Looking up, her cheeks turned red. “Do you think he would go out with me if I asked him?”

Lexie looked at the young, tall, curvy blonde with the kewpie mouth and large blue eyes and her stomach clenched. “I wouldn’t know.”

Eva leaned back as if she’d been struck. Lexie hadn’t meant to snap at her, but the visual of Grayson with anyone else was painful. Eva nodded her head, lifted her hand in a silent wave and walked out of the shop.

Leaning against the counter, Lexie lowered her head, ashamed of the way she had behaved. How was she supposed to move on from Grayson when he was in her every thought? How was she supposed to smile and wave when he came by to pick up her son and she wasn’t included? How was she going to be okay when every single, attractive female in town was competing for his affection? She ran her hands over her face, and expelled a breath before she attempted to lose herself in work.

The bell over the door rang again, and she smiled at the two beautiful blondes walking toward the counter. “What are you two doing here?” She asked, coming around to hug them both.

Aimee Morrison, one of her dearest friends, bobbed her head toward her mother, Emily Sinclair. “Mom can’t seem to find the perfect something new.”