Wife Me Bad Boy (44 page)

There was a knock on the door. “Lacey, is that you? Come on in.”

Lacey came in and with her was my neighbor’s teenage daughter, Katie.

“What’s going on?” I said.

“Katie’s babysitting,” Lacey said.

“What?”

“I already paid her. We’re going out for a drink.”

“Lacey!”

“Go on. Get changed. You’ve got plans, woman.”

*

“Y
OU DIDN’T HAVE TO DO THAT,”
I said in Lacey’s car.

“It’s not just for you, it’s for me, too.”

“What do you mean?”

“I need to get good and drunk, Faith. You’re not the only one with man problems.”

“Matt?”

Lacey nodded. I knew what she was alluding to. We hadn’t ever talked about it directly, but I knew Matt was having an affair. All the signs were there—late nights at the office, hotels in the city, and the biggest tell of all, a weight on Lacey’s heart like a grindstone.

Lacey drove calmly but I could tell she was torn up inside. There was an edge to her. I had the impression things could go very wrong for her when they finally blew up with Matt. She’d been head-over-heels in love with him when they’d met. She’d invested everything in the relationship, all the time keeping it a complete secret from the brothers. That was no easy feat. I’m sure they suspected she was seeing someone, but if she didn’t want to introduce him to them, they weren’t going to pry. They completely respected her privacy, even while living in the same mansion.

But now he was breaking her heart, and I was the only one she could talk to about it. We passed the main street of our adorable, expensive-as-hell town and kept going down toward the valley.

“Madam, where are you taking me?” I said, trying to sound lighthearted. I wanted to cheer her up. She’d done the same for me many times.

She looked at me. “I
really
need a drink,” she said.

“It’s going to be one of those nights?”

“Hell, yes.”

“We’ll be calling the brothers for a ride home?”

“If we even make it home,” she said and laughed.

“You’re not planning on doing anything you’ll regret, are you?”

“I don’t know what I’m planning,” she said. “All I know is I’ve got to take control of my life, Faith. Matt’s cheating on me. I’m a beautiful woman in the prime of my life and I’m letting that asshole walk all over me. Plus, I always feel like a liar because I’m keeping it secret from the brothers.”

“They don’t care what you do in your love life,” I said.

“I know,” she said. “Fuck. What am I doing, Faith? All I’ll say is, I could do a lot worse than get in a little trouble down in the valley.”

I’d noticed a change in Lacey over the past few months but I’d tried not to focus on it. She hadn’t asked for advice regarding Matt, so I tried not to butt in. I’d be there for her when she was ready to break up with him, but in the meantime there wasn’t much I could do for her. The thing was, it seemed to be affecting her more and more. She was getting a little wild, a little irrational. I didn’t hold it against her. Suspecting your partner of cheating is it’s own kind of hell, and no one can judge what it’s like, but I was worried for her. I’d even considered telling the brothers what was going on, but I knew they’d step in, beat the shit out of Matt, and completely destroy any chance Lacey had of resolving the issue in her own way, however that might be. It killed me to see my best friend in so much pain, but apart from offering her my support, there was nothing I could do.

It wasn’t far to the Rusty Nail, the valley’s premier spot for late-night, early-morning, questionable decisions. The guys down there were a different breed. Every wife in the hills knew it, although few actually had the guts to come down and see for themselves. I always liked going there because we were likely to run into the brothers. They were good guys, extremely protective of me and Sam, and they were the closest link I still had to Jackson. I hoped we’d run into them.

Lacey pulled up next to a battered, beat-up, pickup truck. I recognized it as the one Forrester often drove. I noticed a wooden crate of wine bottles in the back. I still hadn’t tasted their latest creation.

“This looks like the place,” she said. “Let’s show these local boys something they’ll never forget.”

“I think Forrester is here,” I said.

She looked at me and shook her head. “It’s not Forrester,” she said.

“Who is it?”

“You’ll see,” she said. “Just remember, whatever happens, you mean more to me than anyone else in the world, Faith. All I care about is your happiness. That’s why I didn’t tell you sooner.”

“Tell me what?”

“You’ll see,” she said again.

I was confused, I didn’t know what she was talking about, but suddenly I felt very apprehensive about entering the bar.

Chapter 28

Jackson

H
OLY HELL. SOMETIMES, YOU’VE GOT
an idea in your head of what’s going to happen. You’ve seen it all play out a million times. It’s like a book you already read, a movie you’ve already seen, and then, something completely unexpected happens.

That’s how it was when Faith walked in.

I was sitting next to Grant, the waitress batting her eyes at me like boy’s are an endangered species and I’m the last one left alive. Grant had been around the block more than once with Sue. He was keeping his eye out for something new.

I wasn’t keeping my eye out for anything. I had my night planned. I’d have a few beers, go home, get an early night. Next morning I’d get back to work on the farmhouse.

But then Lacey walked in, and behind her was Faith.
My Faith.

Immediately, I ducked behind the beer taps and pulled Grant down with me. Luckily the place was busy and she hadn’t noticed us.

“Jesus Christ,” I said.

Grant had no clue why we were ducking. “What is it?” he said.

I indicated toward the door. Lacey and Faith looked around and found a high table by the wall at the opposite end of the bar.

“Did you tell Lacey we were going to be here?” I said.

“I might have,” Grant said. “I didn’t know she’d bring Faith.”

“Fuck.”

“Relax. She hasn’t seen you.”

“Fuck,” I said again.

“What are you so afraid of, Jackson? She’s your woman. She always has been. All she’s doing is waiting for you. Tonight’s as good as any for you to break the ice.”

“Jesus,” I said again and bit my tongue. “Sorry for swearing.”

Grant laughed. “You can swear all you like in front of me, brother. I ain’t sensitive.”

“Fuck me,” I said again, and laughed. “This is ridiculous. I know it is. It’s just, you ever felt like you really let someone down, and then you don’t know how to make it up to them?”

“You didn’t let her down, Jackson.”

“I put a baby in her, told her she was mine for the rest of her life, and then disappeared.”

“You were protecting her. She was the one who got involved with Los Lobos. You were undoing that. We’ve been over this a million times. You’ve got to let all that go, Jackson. It’s her choice whether or not she’ll forgive you for disappearing, but you’ve got to at least give her the chance to decide.”

I looked over at Faith. It was the first time since my return that I had a good view of her. So much had changed. She looked more in control of her life, more mature. She had money, nice clothes. I was proud of her. She’d made something of herself.

And I knew then, it was something that happens very rarely in life. It was a second chance.

“Lacey did this on purpose,” I said. “She knew I’d be here.”

Grant nodded. “She might have.”

Faith, was every bit as beautiful as the night I first set eyes on her, all those years ago. My mind cast back to the image of her entering the motel bar, soaking wet, desperate for help, and she stole my heart in a split second. She was doing the same thing now. Just like the first time I saw her, I couldn’t take my eyes off her. She was striking in every way. In this light she was even more beautiful than I remembered. She was making my heart pound.

You ever race a train to a crossing? We used to do that when we were kids. Damn fool thing to do. Get up to a hundred miles an hour, middle of the night, turn off the headlights, cross in front of a thousand ton machine moving almost as fast as we were.

That’s the rush I got when I set eyes on Faith. She had
class
. She was like a triple-A steak that had just walked into a hamburger joint. She blew every other woman in the world out of the water. I was sure every guy in the place noticed her.

I’ve never been to places like Paris or Rome, but seeing her again put me in mind of places like that. She was elegant, and that’s not a word I use lightly. She was stylish, confident—she walked on those expensive high-heels like a runway supermodel. I just put down my beer and stared at her. Grant had to slap me on the arm.

“There’s your woman,” he said.

“There she is,” I said under my breath.

“Now when are you going to put everyone out of their misery and go up to her?”

“Fuck,” I said again.

“Calm down, brother.”

“Did she have any relationships with other men while I was gone?” I said. I was sure I knew the answer, but my heart was pounding so fast in my chest I had to stall.

“We’ve been over this, Jackson.”

“Don’t fuck with me. Has she been with other men?”

Grant looked over at the women. They were sitting at their table, waiting for service.

“I don’t think a single guy got past the first date with her. And there wasn’t many of those either. She just couldn’t get over you, Jackson. She waited for you. And now you’re back and you won’t go talk to her? How unfair is that?”

“Shit,” I said. “Grant, what am I supposed to do? I never even felt this nervous when I had to kill people.”

“Jackson. You’re really worked up.”

“Of course I am. Look at her. You ever seen a lady like that before in your life? She’s the love of my life, Grant. She gave me a son. I walked out on her twelve years ago and she doesn’t even know I’m back in town. You’d be shitting yourself too if you were in my position.”

Grant looked at her and raised an eyebrow. “You want me to go over? Break it to her gently that you’re back.”

I shook my head. I’d been waiting so long for this moment. I’d played it over in my mind a million times. The moment I revealed myself to Faith had to be special. It had to be perfect. After waiting so long, she deserved at least that much.

From behind my beer I glanced over at her—her light brown hair, her big, dark eyes like pools of water, her knockout body. She still had all the right curves in all the right places.

I got up from my seat.

“You’re going over already?” Grant said.

“I don’t have time to play games any more,” I said. And I wasn’t kidding. Just looking at her made my dick hard. I had to get her back. But first, I had to take a deep breath to calm myself. I looked down at my jeans to see if there was a bulge. There was. I was so hot for Faith I could hardly contain myself.

I downed my beer.

I couldn’t believe I hadn’t said anything to her when we were in her car that night. I’d been feeling strange. I’d been off my game. I’d given her the necklace. She must have put it together after that. I was glad. If she at least knew I was still alive, if she suspected I might be back in town, then it would be less of a shock to her now when I showed up out of nowhere.

The adrenaline started pumping through my veins. I focused on the task at hand. I’d always been good at focusing my will, building the confidence I needed to go through with a deed.

After all this time, I was going to reclaim what was mine. I was going to reclaim my woman and my child. She’d drop her panties for me again, bend over, take what I gave her, and beg for more. I knew I could win her back. This was my natural habitat, my hunting ground. She was in my territory now, and she wouldn’t escape. I’d show her that I’d been faithful to her. I’d show her I’d been true. I’d show her that I loved her.

I put ten bucks on the bar. “Have yourself a beer on me, buddy. I’ll be occupied for a while.”

Grant shook his head.

“You seem real cocky all of a sudden,” he said.

“You’ve got to be the man you choose to be,” I said.

What if Faith slapped me in the face? What if she burst out crying and ran out of the bar? I could take it. I could take whatever came. Like Grant had said, she deserved this much. If she was angry at me, that was fair enough. She had every right. But the very least I could do was pay her the courtesy of allowing her to be angry. Of allowing her to lash out.

“Sue,” I said, speaking to the waitress, “what’s the nicest wine you’ve got in this place?”

Lacey told me about the business she’d started with Faith and I knew she’d appreciate a good vintage.

Sue shook her head, as if to say don’t order the wine.

“Listen,” I said to her. “I’ve got some of ours in the back of the truck. Would you mind if I brought in a bottle?”

She shrugged. She didn’t care what I did. She was annoyed that another woman had caught my attention. I didn’t care if she was disappointed. I didn’t care about anything except Faith.

I slipped out to the truck through the back door of the bar and grabbed a bottle of the pinot noir Grant had been perfecting. It came from my father’s vineyard. Grant had worked it during my years of absence and he’d done a good job. He said he’d wanted to slash the vines at one point, because the grapes were bitter, but he’d decided to give them a second chance and was glad he did. It was a fine wine. Grant had a gift for developing subtle, complex flavors. In the glovebox was a pocket knife with a corkscrew on it. I grabbed that too.

When I got back into the bar, Faith was still sitting there with Lacey. Sue hadn’t gone near them, which I was thankful for. I approached decisively. This was one of the moments in my life I had to act with confidence or not at all.

“Have you ladies tried the second chance Pinot Noir from Socorro Valley?” I said.

Faith looked up at me and the blood drained from her face. The entire world froze. The music in the bar disappeared, all the sounds died. My vision narrowed and faded so that the only thing I could see was her face. My heart pounded in my chest.