The Step Dare (Peach State Stepbros #3)

Chapter 26

26

Brenner

I must’ve crashed hard for a little while after Taylor left because I feel groggy as hell when I open my eyes. I’m surprised our parents let us sleep in, but since they’re having an afternoon wedding, we have some time. I’m also super glad they haven’t seen that the second bed in Taylor’s and my room is untouched. I can’t imagine not having him in my bed every fucking night for the rest of my life, which should be a total mindfuck, but it’s not. It’s my favorite thing ever.

Damn it. Now I can’t go back to sleep. Groaning, I roll over and see Taylor’s phone on the nightstand. I stumble out of bed and look at the time. Hmm. He said he’d be five minutes, but I’m pretty sure it’s been more like twenty. I assumed he’d go to the buffet, but maybe he got snagged by family or someone in the wedding party and is eating with them.

I take a quick piss, wash my hands, brush my teeth, and get dressed, before grabbing both our phones and heading down to find my man.

When I get to the restaurant, I scan the tables to find him. The hotel and venue are both oversized cabins, with a lot of dark-brown logs and a rustic feel that’s perfect for Dad and Nicole.

I spot my dad first, at a table with Nicole, both sets of grandparents, and my uncle and his wife.

“Good morning, sleepyhead,” Dad says with a wide grin. I swear I’ve never seen him happier than he is right now, and that fills me with more joy than I know what to do with.

“I can’t help it. I worked my fingers to the bone yesterday.” Everyone at the table laughs, but I keep looking around for Taylor. Where the fuck is he? “You two kids ready to tie the knot?” I tease.

Dad takes Nicole’s hand and kisses it. “I can’t wait.”

“Me neither.”

“Damn, Dad…smooth. You got moves.” I wink, but my chest feels tight, and I can’t put my finger on why. It has nothing to do with Dad and Nicole. There’s not a doubt in my mind that if it’s possible, my mom is looking down at us right now and is so damn happy for him.

“He gets it from me,” my grandpa says, and we share another round of laughter, while my gaze roams the room, searching for Taylor.

“We have a few hours before we all need to get ready, right?” I ask, though I know the answer.

“Yep.” Dad tells me what time we’re meeting in the groom’s suite, where we’ll all be getting ready together.

“Have you guys seen Tay?” I nervously wring my hands together, the tightness inside me growing. I’m likely overreacting. Maybe I missed Taylor and he went up in another elevator, or maybe he’s with the guys, or went for a walk, or a million other possibilities.

“No, I haven’t. Did you text him?” Nicole asks.

“He left his phone in the room.” She cocks her head slightly, and before worry can set in, I say, “I’m sure he’s with the guys since my lazy ass didn’t want to get out of bed with him this morning.”

I feel Dad’s gaze on me, and it takes me a moment to realize what I said. If I try to cover it, it will just look worse, so I play it off like it’s nothing. “I’ll go wrangle him up.”

“Okay. Tell him to text me,” Nicole says, and I let out a relieved breath that she doesn’t sound worried. If she’s not worried, I shouldn’t be either.

“Will do.” I slip away before they can ask me anything else.

I wait until I’m out of view and heading toward the elevators before I call Atlas.

“This better be good, Brenner.” His voice is groggy with sleep, which makes my hope sink.

“Is Taylor with you?”

“No…is he supposed to be?”

“What’s wrong?” I hear Troy ask and figure he’s in bed beside Atlas…which is where Taylor and I should be.

“Nothing’s wrong. I’m sure he’s fine. He just went to breakfast and never came back. He left his phone in the room. And he’s not in the restaurant, and our parents haven’t seen him.”

“You probably missed him and he’s back in your room,” Atlas assures me.

“Yeah, you’re right. I’m heading there now.”

“I’ll have Troy message Colin to check with him too.” Atlas is trying to help, and I appreciate it, but the fact that he’s asking around also makes me more concerned. Maybe I’m not freaking out for no reason.

“Thanks, man. I’m getting into the elevator and might lose my signal. Hit me back if he’s there.”

I end the call, my hands shaking, my heart beating too fast. Logically, I know I’m jumping the gun here, that I don’t need to be this worried, but I can’t help it. What if something happened to him? What if I lose him like we lost Mom?

I pace the elevator, grateful it’s empty and wishing I had a fidget spinner or something to keep my restless hands busy. As soon as the doors open on our floor, I rush out, jogging down the hallway to our room. The red light flashes when I slide the card over the lock.

“Fuck.” I do it again, and when I see green, I push the door open. “Tay?” But I know I won’t get a response. The room looks just like it did when I left, and I don’t feel him in here, don’t smell that Taylor scent or sense him the way I do.

My phone rings, and I fumble it, dropping the stupid thing to the floor. Atlas’s name shows up on the screen, so I quickly bend to pick it up. “He with them?”

“No. He’s not in the room?”

“Fuck. No. I…”

“Hey. He’s fine, Bren. He probably went for a walk around the lake. He’s good. I promise. We’re on our way, and then we’ll go find him, and he’ll tell you you were being an idiot for worrying.”

I want nothing more than for him to tell me I’m being an idiot for worrying. “I’ll meet you guys out front,” is all I can manage to say.

I scribble a quick note, telling him to keep his ass in the room and call me if he comes back, then hurry downstairs. On the way, I shoot Mila a text to see if she’s seen him, but sometimes she’s terrible about checking her phone.

Blood rushes through my heart, making it feel like it’s going to break a hole in my chest. I push open the doors to go outside, the whole time hoping I don’t see our parents. Nicole is expecting Taylor to message her. It’s their wedding day. The last thing I want is for them to worry. Please don’t let them have a reason to worry.

My gaze snags on Atlas, Troy, Colin, and Ash, and I nearly stumble as I hurry to them. “No one has seen or heard from him yet?” I hear the panic in my voice, not having the strength to hide it.

“No, I haven’t seen him all morning,” Colin says.

“Me neither,” Ash confirms.

I run a hand through my hair, tug on the strands until I feel a burn in my scalp. I’m losing my fucking shit, and I don’t know how to stop it.

“What about Mila? Has she seen him?” Troy asks.

“I texted her, but she hasn’t messaged back.” I tug my phone out and call her, but it goes straight to voice mail. “She might’ve gone for a jog.”

“Then Taylor’s probably with her,” Colin tries to soothe me.

“When the fuck have you ever known Taylor to go for a jog?” I snap, then immediately get buried in guilt. “Shit. I’m sorry. I’m freaking the fuck out.”

“No worries. We get it.” Atlas squeezes my shoulder. “He’s fine, Bren. It’s a big day. I’m sure he just needs some time to himself. Come on. We’ll go find him. You come with me,” he says, and sends Troy a look.

“I’ll go with Colin and Ash,” Troy confirms, and we go separate directions.

There’s the lake, docks, numerous gazebos, and trails all around the property. There are a million places he can be, all of them making a lot more sense than something bad happening to him, but I can’t help remembering my mom just getting a cold, and then going into the hospital and dying.

“You good?” Atlas asks.

“No,” I answer honestly. “I just…need him.” I’ve never needed anyone or anything, not for a long time, and not the way I do with him.

“And you have him. You’ve always had him. From the second I met you both, I knew it was only a matter of time before you ended up together.”

“Yeah?” I ask, trying to focus on what Atlas is saying while we make our way around the lake.

“For sure. And this is coming from a guy who didn’t think anything positive about relationships until I fell in love with Troy…but I knew you and Taylor would be good for each other.”

We are good for each other. The best. And I think I’ve always known it too. “Tell me again that he’s going to be okay, Atlas.”

My friend puts his arm around me, the guy with a heart of gold, even if he rarely shows it. “He’s going to be okay.”

As we hurry on our way, I hope like hell he’s right.

We make it as far as we can around the lake before heading for the trails. Each second that goes by, my pulse slams faster, my worry intensifying. If the others found him, they would message us. I haven’t heard from Mila either, and all I can do is hope they’re together.

There’s not much time left before I have to tell our folks I can’t find him, that Taylor is missing on their wedding day. How can I break Nicole’s heart like that? How can the universe be breaking mine too?

We’re heading toward the trees when Mila jogs down one of the trails toward us.

And she’s alone.

She smiles when she sees me, but then a concerned look washes over her face. “What’s wrong?”

“Have you seen Taylor? He left our room for breakfast this morning and no one has seen him since.”

“I saw him earlier with an older guy, maybe in his forties…they were walking out of the hotel. He didn’t see me, though, and I didn’t speak to him. Things looked intense. I figured it was a wedding issue.”

An older guy? My heart drops. Who in the hell would he be with? “What did he look like?”

“Um…tall. Clean cut. Short, sandy hair. Similar to Taylor’s hair, so I thought he might be related…an uncle or something.”

My heart stops. The Piece of Shit. Taylor is with the Piece of Shit. “I gotta go,” I say, then run back for the hotel. I hear Atlas and Mila behind me but don’t stop, can’t, not until I get to Dad.

The whole time, I tell myself he won’t hurt Taylor. He never had in the past, but why is he here? Why is Taylor with him? And just because he didn’t physically hurt Taylor in the past doesn’t mean he won’t now.

My head is pounding, my chest hurting from the cool weather and running as I hurry into the elevator, hitting the button over and over as if that will make it move faster.

As soon as I get to Dad and Nicole’s room, I’m banging on the door, feel like I’m outside my body, like none of this is real.

The door pulls open.

“Bren? Is everything okay?”

“I can’t find Taylor.” I shove into the room, and it takes me a moment to realize our friends are right behind me, that along the way Colin, Ash, and Troy showed up and must have been in one of the other elevators. “We were in bed, and he said he was going for breakfast. I wasn’t ready to get up, so I stayed and fell back asleep. I haven’t been able to find him since. We looked everywhere. Mila said she saw him with a man this morning, and…and it sounds like Chris.” My hands fist. “Fuck! This is all my fault. Why didn’t I go with him?”

“Chris?” Nicole asks, voice shaking with panic.

My gaze meets hers. “I’m so sorry. I fucked up. I should have taken care of him.” I turn to my father, his body a blob through my tears. “Dad. Please…we have to find him. I can’t handle it if anything happens to him. I love him.”

I love him so fucking much, I ache with it. I can’t imagine my life without him. I think I’ve always loved Taylor, and I always will.

I swipe at my tears.

“Bren?” he says, clearly feeling stuck between me and Nicole, both of us losing it.

“I’m sorry. I know the timing is terrible. We were going to wait until after the wedding to say anything, but…” I step closer to Nicole. “I’m sorry,” I say again. “I didn’t mean to mess anything up.”

“Oh, Brenner. You have nothing to apologize for, do you hear me? Nothing at all. You have always been so good to my son. You’re the best friend he’s ever had. He’s thought the sun rises and sets with you every day since the moment he met you.” She holds my face in her hands, the same way my mom used to do. “It’ll be okay, do you hear me? We’re going to find Taylor, and everything is going to be okay.”

It doesn’t matter how many times I’ve heard that today, I don’t know how to believe it, but still I say, “Okay.”

When she pulls away, Dad wraps an arm around her and leans in, kissing her forehead. I see all the emotion behind it, the thank-you because of how she’s being with me, the I’m sorry and it’ll be okay for Tay, and the I love you too .

“Do you have his phone number?” Dad asks Nicole.

“Not anymore,” she replies.

“Okay, you call the police. I don’t know if they can do anything. Taylor’s an adult, and he hasn’t been gone long, but let’s see what they say. Can you stay here in case the police come and so someone is here when Taylor gets back?” he asks, and I love that he’s not telling her what to do, but asking her since Taylor is her son.

“Yes. I…”

“I know,” Dad says. “We’re going to find him. I promise.”

“I’ll stay with Nicole,” Mila says.

God, she’s fucking great.

“Perfect. Now let’s go get Taylor,” Dad tells us, and somehow, I know he’ll make sure everything will be okay.