Chapter 32
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
NASH
Even though I hoped I’d done something good by getting Nat back to Havenbrook, I couldn’t help but worry I’d made the wrong choice in keeping it from Rory. She’d wanted her sister home—even if only at their grandma’s request—and I’d seen a way to make that happen, so I did. Maybe that was part of my whole problem—I leaped before I looked, and sometimes that meant I found myself up shit creek without a paddle.
Still, I hadn’t seen another way around it. If I’d included Rory in the plan, she would’ve told me not to bother. She’d wanted to do it all on her own—just like everything else—which was why she hadn’t asked Will or Mac to invite the youngest Haven home. Nat wasn’t the only obstinate one in that bunch.
Since the last thing I needed today was for my old-as-dirt truck to break down on the side of the road, I’d borrowed Drew’s to pick up Nat from the Memphis airport. She’d texted me that her plane had landed about twenty minutes ago, so I pulled up to the arrivals and scanned the area for her. Almost immediately, I spotted her standing by the windows, her bright-pink hair serving as a beacon.
I pulled up as close to her as I could get, rolled down the passenger’s window, then put two fingers in my mouth and whistled. Her head whipped in my direction, just like I knew it would, a huge grin splitting her face as she wove through the crowd toward me.
She chucked her small suitcase into the bed of the truck, then climbed into the cab. “Sure, I come all this way, and you don’t even get outta the truck to help me load my suitcase in the back. Southern gentleman, my ass.”
I shrugged. “I wouldn’t do it for Asher, so I don’t do it for you. You been gone too long to remember that rule you put in place?”
“I made that up when I was young and stupid…and didn’t know how damn heavy my bags could be.”
I grinned at her, hooked an arm around her neck, and tugged her closer to me. “It’s good to have you home, Nattie.”
“Ugh, I don’t wanna smell your pits, Nash, for fuck’s sake!” She shoved against my chest, twisting my nipple while she was at it, but she had a smile on her face too. We might’ve talked a few times a month, but it’d been too damn long since she’d been back home.
“I put on deodorant just for you.”
“Yeah, well, you might wanna use some more. You smell like a garbage truck.”
“Always so sweet to me. Careful or I’m not gonna wanna bring you back here.” I steered us onto the road, glancing over at her as she buckled her seat belt. “You sure you can only stay till Monday?”
“Um, yes. Completely, one hundred percent, without a shadow of a doubt certain.” She slid me a look out of the corner of her eye. “Forty-eight hours is my limit, and I’m stretching it to fifty, just for you.”
“C’mon, now, Havenbrook ain’t that bad.”
“Maybe for you. You didn’t grow up with the stigma of a last name like Haven or havin’ a daddy like mine.”
I snorted, amused at how easily she seemed to have forgotten. “Nope, but King didn’t serve me too well either.” I didn’t bother to comment on the lack of interest my old man had shown in my life. Between Nat and I, our fathers had both ends of the spectrum covered.
She shot me an apologetic look but didn’t say the words. Apologies weren’t Nat’s style, even when she was dead wrong.
Twisting around as much as the seat belt would allow, she tucked her leg up on the seat and faced me. “You about ready to tell me what’s up?”
“Soon. Did you let anyone know you were comin’?”
“No—which, by the way, my momma’s gonna kill me for. Obviously, I’m throwin’ you under the bus for that. I didn’t know why you needed me, so I didn’t wanna say anything.”
Then this was truly going to be a surprise, not just for Gran but for all the other Havens as well.
“Spill,” she said. “And while you’re at it, you can explain why Asher keeps textin’ me, askin’ for a minute-by-minute play of what’s goin’ on. Why isn’t he here too?”
“Because, while Gran loves Asher, she wasn’t all that interested in seein’ him for her birthday.”
Nat shook her head. “I don’t understand.”
“Rory’s throwin’ Gran a surprise party. Today.” I glanced at the clock. “Right now, actually.”
“ What ? Why didn’t anyone call me?”
I shot her a pointed look. “I believe someone tried. About two dozen times.”
She rolled her eyes. “Why didn’t anyone who I’d talk to call me?”
“You can’t pick and choose how you get the information, your highness. You’re bein’ a brat about this.”
“About what?”
“This stupid beef you have with Rory. We’re not kids anymore.”
“She tried to dictate my life, Nash. Like, a lot.”
“Of course she did. You’re the baby, and she’s eight years older than you. I bet she hasn’t tried in years.”
“That’s because I don’t answer her calls.” She held up her hand like she wanted to smack me upside the head. “ Hello .”
“I’m pretty sure she’s tried to dictate your sisters’ lives too—fairly recently, in fact—and they haven’t banned all communication with her.”
“That’s because they live here and they don’t have a choice. If they tried it, she’d probably hunt them down and torture them until they finally spoke to her again.”
My mouth ticked up on the side. Yeah, she probably would, but that wasn’t anything she should apologize for. Rory was bold and brave and headstrong. Her tenacity was what had gotten her where she was today, had turned her into an amazing mom, woman, and businessperson. It was part of what I loved about her.
“This is the second time you’ve defended her,” Nat said. “And what the hell is with that dopey grin on your face?” She narrowed her eyes at me, then darted her gaze all around the cab of the truck like she was thinking through something. After only a few seconds, she gasped and shot an accusatory finger at me. “‘Downpour’ wasn’t for you , it was for her !”
I cringed. I’d had my fingers crossed she wouldn’t figure that out until we were closer to Havenbrook. Hopefully she had enough sense not to start punching me while I was hurtling us down the highway at seventy miles per hour. With Nat, you never knew.
“It wasn’t just for her. It was for you. And Gran too.” But, yeah, it was mostly for Rory.
“You’ve got about thirty seconds to start talkin’ and tell me exactly what the fuck is goin’ on.”
I blew out a long breath in defeat. I should’ve known it’d only take her ten minutes to figure out something was awry.
“ Tell. Me. ”
“Goddamn, you’re a bossy shit, you know that?”
“I will cut you.”
I wouldn’t put it past her, so I talked. I gave her a very minimized account of what had happened between Rory and me, minus the too-intimate-for-anyone-else details. Like how all the dreams I’d had about her hadn’t stacked up in the least to the first time I’d been inside her. Or how I couldn’t stop thinking about her when we weren’t together. Or how I’d started to feel at home in her house with her, and even with her girls. Or how I felt more for her than I had for another woman…ever. Or how I didn’t care anymore if every last person in Havenbrook saw us together, because I was pretty sure she was it for me.
When I finished, Nat stared at me with her mouth agape. After a few quiet seconds, she said, “I can’t believe you’re sleepin’ with the ice queen.”
“Don’t call her that.” My tone was low but firm. I might not be ready to tell Nat I’d fallen for her sister, but I sure as hell wasn’t going to sit idly by while she talked shit about her.
“Sleepin’ with and defendin’. Will wonders never cease?” She shook her head. “Now I know why Asher’s been blowin’ up my phone. He’s probably waitin’ to hear if I strangled you to death.”
“Pretty sure he’s already picked out which suit I’ll wear in my casket.” I glanced over at her. “So, what’s the verdict? Am I dead to you?”
She sat back in her seat, crossed her arms, and gazed out the window at the blur of the passing scenery. “Undecided.”
Well, it wasn’t exactly acceptance, but it also wasn’t death by strangulation. I’d take it. Now to hope Rory didn’t kill me.