Unforgiven (7 page)

He turned off his key and watched as Ben climbed out of his Range Rover. His brother’s short hair was in the same David Beckham style he always wore. He had dark shades, which he pulled off as he stepped to the front of Samuel’s new Beemer, a two-door compact he wasn’t about to part with. Ben waited, glancing around with a guarded expression.

“Well, now or never,” Samuel muttered before he opened the door and climbed out, reaching for his bag in the passenger seat. “Nice place you have, here!”

Ben didn’t say anything. He seemed to take it in again, glancing to the house and the smoke coming from the chimney.

“I see that Logan and Joe beat me here,” Samuel said.

Ben looked back to him and nodded, but something seemed to strain between them. He had never really found out why Ben had blown him off, too, and not shown for his wedding. Ben was the one brother he hadn’t expected that from.

“So what are your plans for this place?” he said. He knew Ben had been soul searching, as he’d put it, since his less than favorable departure from the oil industry, the scandal that had rocked his career and left him scrambling to find his footing. He’d become the patsy in a career-burning pipeline project built on false promises and falsified reports. Ben had been the only one to stand up to a company he’d been a part of and helped build, and he’d paid the ultimate price.

“I don’t know yet,” he replied. “It came for sale at a great price, so I saw it as an investment. Carrie, I think, would like to do more. What do you think about me becoming a fishing guide or hotelier?”

Seriously? Ben was about the last brother he’d think could pull that off. “If you said Joe, I’d say sure,” Samuel said. “Would be right up his alley—hunting, fishing, guiding. But you? You’re a lot like me and Jake, a city boy looking to make it big.”

This time, Ben gave him a look that was anything but friendly. He shook his head. “I’m not like you and Jake. That’s the thing, Samuel. You two are the babies of the family. We watched out for you. I wanted better, had better. Not so sure that’s what I want anymore.”

He glanced to his brother’s Range Rover, the nice alloy wheels. He had to wonder. “What is it you want?” he said.

Maybe he didn’t understand Ben. After all, he was still trying to figure out why he’d picked Carrie, a slim, short blonde who was cute and perky and far from the supermodel type Ben had always dated. Yet here he was with the environmentalist who’d fought him tooth and nail when he tried to sell her community on the pipeline deal.

“Peace is what I want,” Ben said. “Just to be happy. What about you, Samuel? What do you want?” He sometimes could be so philosophical, but at other times he was much more outgoing than any one of them.

“I was wondering when you’d get here,” Logan called out. He appeared suddenly, wearing a down vest, blue jeans, and hiking boots. His dark hair was threaded with even more gray than the last time Samuel had seen him at Christmas. The lines around his eyes weren’t just from age, as he was much older than Samuel, but because he’d seen more horror and dealt with more of life’s rougher side during his tours in Iraq with the marines. Logan was tall—they all were, although Samuel was two inches shorter than all his brothers. That bothered him at times, even though he was still considered tall at six feet.

Logan hugged Ben, patted his back, and then reached for Samuel, pulling him into a hug he hadn’t expected. It touched something inside of him, an ache he hadn’t acknowledged, and he reached around and hugged his big brother back.

When he heard a vehicle coming down the heavily treed road, he tensed.

He stepped out of the hug, but Logan kept his arm around him as they watched baby Jake, the football star of the family and the man who’d slept with Jill, pull in with a rental SUV. He parked behind Samuel, and it could have just been them in that moment when he opened the door and stepped out.

“Hey, guys, Joe,” Jake said, looking up. Samuel followed his gaze to see Joe on the balcony, watching them. “Okay, I’m here. You got me here, Logan, but seriously, whatever it is you think you’re going to accomplish, having us all here, I think you’re wasting everyone’s time.” Jake looked to Samuel with an unfeeling expression.

Logan actually squeezed Samuel’s shoulder—maybe to warn him, he wasn’t sure.

It was Ben who stepped between Jake and Samuel, ready to stop whatever it was he thought was about to happen: a punch, a brawl, anything. “Knock it off, Jake,” he said. “We all made a promise when we were kids that whatever happened, nothing would ever come between us, and that if something so bad happened that it would tear this family apart, we’d come, no questions asked. And you came. We all came.” No one said anything as Ben stared long and hard at Jake and then Samuel. “I, for one, am not leaving here until we’re a family once again.”

Samuel knew by the expression on Ben’s face that he meant every word of what he was saying. For Samuel, the only reason he had come was the promise he’d made, the one thing that had gotten him through the tough times as a kid when their dad left and Logan became the one they looked to to take care of them. That was the only reason he was here now with a brother he absolutely hated.

***

Samuel was settled into one of the lodge rooms. He hadn’t thought of bedding, but thankfully Joe and Logan had brought enough sleeping bags for all of them. His room was large, with a window that faced east, a bed with a queen mattress, and a bathroom down the hall. He especially liked the hardwood floors. They weren’t just any hardwood but fir, which was something he didn’t often see anymore. The lodge had been built for quality and longevity. The entire second level looked down into an open great lounge. A huge stone fireplace was the feature of the room, with sofas set up in a U shape around it. Log beams crossed the ceiling, and the place echoed when he walked.

Joe looked up when he was on the stairs. “Hey, get down here now. Logan’s grilling steaks. How do you want yours?” He had an armload of wood and was feeding a few logs onto the fire. It crackled, and Samuel could feel the warmth it threw off as soon as he stepped off the stairs.

“Rare, same as always.” He stopped at the bottom and took in Ben, who was lounging on one of the sofas, his feet up on the heavy square wood table. Jake was across from him on another sofa.

It was uncomfortable, and Samuel stood there, staring down at his brothers in a way that had him feeling for the first time in his life like the odd man out. He shoved his hands in his pockets as he noticed Jake take a swallow of his beer, watching him.

“How’s Jill?” Jake asked, still holding the bottle between his fingers.

For a minute, he was tempted to say, “None of your damn business.”

“Why, what’s going on with Jill?” Ben asked, looking from Samuel to Jake, obviously picking up on something. “What’s up, you two?”

Logan appeared beside Samuel and handed him an open beer. “Joe, check on the steaks for me,” he said. Joe didn’t say anything as he left out the back.

“She hasn’t been feeling well,” Samuel said. “She thought it was the flu, went to the doctor. He ordered some tests, but she hasn’t heard back yet. Should probably call and find out,” he said, but he hadn’t thought much more about it, as Jill had seemed fine when he left.

“When I called, she was sick,” Jake said to Ben. “She dropped the phone and then disconnected. I tried calling again, but she didn’t answer.”

“Well, I’m pretty sure that was because she didn’t want to talk with you,” Samuel couldn’t help himself from saying.

He felt Logan’s fingers squeeze his shoulder as the entire room tensed. The way Ben was watching him, he was starting to realize it seemed he had taken a side—Jake’s.

“Enough, Samuel,” Ben said. “Don’t start that, not again. We’re here now because you two blockheads have decided to allow a woman to come between you, and nobody leaves until this is worked out.” He leaned forward and reached for his beer on the table.

“Or they beat the crap out of each other,” Joe said as he walked in with a pair of tongs. He jabbed them Samuel’s way. “You were the one responsible for all this. You get cold feet and you’re done with a woman? And you.” He stepped in closer, tapping his tongs together and pointing them Jake’s way. “Pining for a woman who was with your brother, giving her a shoulder to cry on. Of course she was going to fall into you.”

“I get it, Joe.” Jake was up out of his seat, all six two and solid muscles. He was a big guy, and if he wanted to take a round or two out of Samuel, he could have done it. “You know it’s done with her. I get it. Samuel, she wants you, she’s with you, and yes, what I did was stupid. For the life of me, I wish I could go back, as I’ve found someone now who makes me happy. Chris and I are together. I asked her to marry me,” he added.

“Hey, congrats,” Ben said, still lounging, flashing that million-dollar smile. “So our little brother is getting married.”

“No, I’m not getting married,” Jake said. “Chris said there’s too much uncertainty, and that was one of the reasons I called Jill, to find out the paternity of the baby now. We all need to know who the father is, Samuel or me. If it’s you, Samuel, I’m done and out of the picture for good. Chris and I can move on with our life together. But if it’s mine…” He didn’t say anything else.

“If it’s yours, what, Jake? Say it,” Samuel said. He wanted to know how much of a prick his brother was going to be about this baby—Jill’s baby.

“Stop it,” Logan said. He stepped in front of Samuel and then glanced Jake’s way. “Joe, steaks ready?”

Joe appeared a lot more clean cut than he used to be. His short dark hair was freshly cut, and he wore nice clean jeans and a new T-shirt. “Yeah, just shut off the grill. The steaks are resting. Grab some beers, and let’s plate up.”

Samuel waited for a minute, about to follow everyone into the large dining area with the long table and benches, but Logan rested his hand on Samuel’s shoulder to move him along.

“Come on,” he said.

Samuel didn’t miss the look of concern. It was so big brotherly of Logan, as if he’d appointed himself his overseer, so he started walking and glanced back, seeing that Ben was doing the same with Jake.

***

Samuel could hear his phone ringing from somewhere in the house. It had to be in his jacket, which he’d left in that massive living room. He put down his fork and knife and left the half-eaten steak and baked potato on his plate. He almost smiled at the realization that if one of the women were here, a salad or vegetable of some kind would have been made and the men forced to eat it. But this was truly a Wilde brothers weekend away, the guys eating as they liked to eat.

He slid around and stood up. “Let me grab that.”

Logan had been sitting beside him. He didn’t say anything but gave him a look that said loud and clear that there wasn’t a chance he was leaving.

He could hear them talking as he hurried out and found his jacket. The phone had stopped ringing. He saw then that he had two voicemails, so he pressed the phone to his ear.

“Samuel Wilde, this is Doctor Watts. I’m calling about Jill Robertson. I’ve left a few messages and haven’t been able to reach her. We have this number for an emergency contact. If you could have her call me, we really need to reach her.” The doctor then left his number.

Samuel listened to the next message, which was also from the doctor’s office. He called the number the doctor had left, and it was answered by his answering service. “This is Samuel Wilde,” he said. “Doctor Watts called me and left two messages, as he’s trying to get a hold of my girlfriend, Jill Robertson.”

“Can I have your number? I’ll page the doctor.”

Samuel rattled off the number and hung up, realizing as he turned around that Ben was behind him, arms crossed over his dark sweater.

“What’s going on?” he asked.

“I don’t know, but Jill’s doctor left two messages. I’m not sure what’s going on—” His cell phone rang then. “Hello?” He wondered if he sounded as worried as he felt.

“Samuel, Doctor Watts here. Is Jill with you?” The doctor sounded unusually urgent.

“No, I left her at home. I’m actually away with my brothers. What’s going on?”

“My office has been trying to reach Jill, but she hasn’t been answering. We’ve left several messages, and it’s rather urgent we get a hold of her.”

“What’s going on?” Now he was starting to panic.

“Can’t really discuss it with you over the phone without the mother’s consent.”

“Seriously? Jill is pregnant with my kid, but you’re telling me you can’t tell me.” He glanced up to see Logan and Joe step into the room, Jake behind them.

“Look, all I can say is we need to get Jill into the hospital now. Is there another phone number where I can reach her?”

He glanced at his watch. It was late, after seven. She could be sleeping, or maybe she had her earbuds in, listening to music, and couldn’t hear the phone. That had to be it. The problem was that he was so far away he couldn’t just go home and check. “Her work number. Did you try her office? I can’t see how she’d be there, though. She was working from home. Maybe she didn’t hear the phone.” He was rubbing his head, frustrated.

“We tried her work and left a message. Spoke with the receptionist there earlier. They said Jill hadn’t been in.”

“I’m going to have someone go over to my place and check. She could be working, maybe didn’t hear the phone. I’ll call you back.” He hung up the phone and turned, as Logan was now in his face.

“What’s going on?”

“The doctor is trying to get a hold of Jill. Something’s wrong. He wants her at the hospital. I knew I shouldn’t have left. I knew it.”

“Is there a problem with the baby?” It was Jake, stepping around Ben and Joe, now appearing as worried as Samuel felt.

“Something, I don’t know,” Samuel said. “He wouldn’t really say, as Jill’s just my girlfriend. She has to give her consent for the doctor to talk to me, and she hasn’t done that yet.”

“I don’t understand. I thought you flew to Vegas and got married,” Jake said, and Ben was frowning, looking to him and then Logan for answers.