Chapter 27
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Every time Leo walked past that forsaken therapy center, a very immature part of him wanted to pick up a rock and throw it through a window.
Thankfully, his logic continued to win during those moments of insanity.
Months.
Kat had been gone for months, and he hadn’t heard a word from her. She wouldn’t return his calls. His messages were left unread. She refused any interaction with him even when he’d caught Jane on a call with her.
He’d known who Jane was talking to, even after she denied it when she hung up.
More than once, Reese had attempted to put him in his place. That was easy for him to say. He’d gotten the girl and the two of them were busy planning a June wedding.
Everyone was so annoyingly happy around here.
Weddings.
Babies.
Engagements.
But none of that was happening for him.
What did he have to do to have some good favor shine down on him?
He closed his eyes against each and every thought that threatened to rip his heart right from his chest.
Oh wait, that had already happened when Kat had left and taken that very vital organ with her.
The horse at his side pawed at the ground and snorted.
Leo patted her neck. Several yards away, Jane and Noah were giving some folks in suits a tour of the therapy center.
This spring they were planning on a grand opening.
It was the biggest talk of the town since those women from California inherited their father’s property.
Leo grunted his displeasure.
At the city girls owning a piece of prime property.
At Kat.
At his life in general.
There was a reason he believed nothing good came from the city. Plagues. Disease that swept through nice little towns like this one. Breaking hearts. Stealing land.
“Might want to ease up on the scowling.” Tripp’s amused voice tore Leo from his thoughts, drawing his wrath. He chuckled. “Didn’t your mom ever tell you that you need to be careful with expressions like that?” He waved a finger in Leo’s general direction. “It’s gonna get stuck like that.”
“Ha ha. Very funny,” Leo muttered. He tugged on the lead and guided his horse in the direction of the barn. Sprigs of green were peeking out of the brown earth. Everything seemed to be soggy these days with the rainfall and the last remnants of snow melting away.
Tripp’s steps followed him, and he rolled his eyes.
It wasn’t often these days that Leo spent time outside after his work was done.
With the building of the therapy center complete, Bo and Jane didn’t need him supervising its progress.
There was no reason to have a liaison between Sagebrush and Kat’s company.
Based on the way Tripp was following him like a lost puppy, Leo understood better than ever why he’d opted to hide away at his house.
“What do you want, Tripp?”
“Your brother is looking for you.”
Leo stifled a groan. Reese was the worst. He’d been pestering Leo to get out of the house and… just get out there again. According to him, this was just a bump in the road.
Yeah, he could say that because he’d found the love of his life.
“Tell him whatever it is, I’m not interested.”
Tripp had to be the most annoying cousin. He was always smiling, always cheery. The guy rarely had a bad day. How could anyone be that happy? He chuckled again and clapped his hand on Leo’s shoulder. “Come on, he’s your brother. Maybe he just wants to go out like old times.”
Leo shrugged out from beneath Tripp’s touch. “Let me guess, there’s something in it for you.”
That knowing smirk said it all. This was a setup. Reese was going to drag Leo to some bar where there would be dancing and lots of women. While Reese was happily taken and Leo was nursing a broken heart, Tripp would make out like a bandit.
“You ever get tired of being a ladies’ man?”
An arch of his brow was the only reaction Tripp gave Leo. It was as if he were asking, ‘you kidding?’ with that look alone. “What is there to get tired of? The women love me.”
Leo groaned. It was on the tip of his tongue to remind Tripp that Kat had very little interest in him, but that would only verify what everyone assumed.
He wasn’t over her.
Kat was the one. He’d been willing to do whatever it took to have her—including standing up to the man who terrified him.
And what had she done?
Gone and ran off with Chaz.
Just like it did any time he thought about the miscreant, Leo’s lip curled with disgust. That guy was getting everything, and he probably didn’t even appreciate it like he should have. He must have been born with a silver spoon in his mouth because that was how it looked from the outside.
Mr. Jerris handed the guy everything on a platter, ready for his enjoyment.
The job.
The girl.
“Come on, Leo. It’s been months and you haven’t even heard from her. Clearly, she’s over you.”
Leo whirled to face Tripp chest to chest, his breathing angry.
This was exactly what he had been avoiding while locking himself away in his house.
It took hardly anything to set him off. Kat might have left right after the new year, but it felt like she was still here.
When he was on the verge of sleep, he could hear her laughter.
There were still parts of the house that smelled like her perfume.
Maybe everyone was right.
Maybe he was crazy and he should move on.
His stomach knotted uncomfortably, making him feel more sick than anything else.
Tripp continued to stare at him expectantly as if he actually believed he’d been making progress.
The guy would never understand what it felt like to lose something so substantial in his life.
He’d had it easy. Two parents still living. No one capable of breaking his heart.
No wonder he was always so chipper.
Shoving the rope into Tripp’s hand, Leo stalked off.
“Is that a no?” Tripp called after him.
“It’s a not if you were the last guy on earth,” Leo called back.
Leo spent the rest of the afternoon and evening in his room. He refused to come out for dinner, mostly because he heard the kids’ voices. Serenity and her two boys were joining them for dinner.
It wasn’t that Leo didn’t like the kids. On the contrary, the boys were great. Smart, too.
It was the overall joy that Leo couldn’t stomach. Did that make him a bad person?
Probably.
He grabbed his phone from the table at the side of his bed and opened the messaging app.
Countless messages had been sent to Kat, especially right after she’d left—and without saying goodbye no less. She’d disappeared on him without a word after promising they could talk.
That part had hurt the most. The morning he’d come back from his chores, he knew instantly something was wrong. The house had been eerily quiet despite not being any different than most other mornings.
He’d taken the steps two at a time to check on Kat in her room since he hadn’t seen her outside or eating in the kitchen.
The door had been ajar and when he pushed it open, he was met with emptiness.
Leo rubbed his eyes with his finger and thumb, hating what the memory did to him. The anxiousness and hollow sensation followed him even now.
When he’d called her, it went straight to voicemail. That was probably when she’d been on a plane. But after that, he’d called several more times. Then sent text messages that were never answered.
He’d been embarrassingly persistent for the first two weeks after she’d left—until Jane stopped by and told him everything.
Kat was engaged.
Kat wouldn’t be taking his calls.
Things were over.
Denial had been a constant companion for the month following. Then that was replaced by anger.
Now, all he felt was a deep-seated numbness that no amount of food, sleep, or exercise could shake.
Leo scrolled through the messages he’d sent Kat. Message after message, pleading for her to call him—to give him something.
There were angry ones. Desperate ones. Even some that resembled acceptance.
Lumped together, they were the sum of his soul staring back at him.
He heaved a sigh and tossed the phone aside just as the door creaked open. “You coming down for dinner?” Reese asked.
Leo gave him a flat look—one that said ‘what do you think’.
Reese huffed as he glanced over his shoulder before shutting the door. “You need to let go, Leo. I get that you liked—”
Leo shot to his feet, his hands in his hair as he paced. “I loved her, Reese. Love. Don’t you dare come in here and tell me to let her go again.”
Reese didn’t even flinch. He simply stared on.
“What would you have done if I told you to forget about Serenity, huh?”
“I would have told you to jump off a cliff.”
“Well, then do me the courtesy of telling yourself that.”
His older brother sighed. “She made her choice.”
“And Serenity made hers,” Leo snapped back. “She told you to leave for that training program.” Then he let out a baffled laugh. “And you did.”
“I didn’t really have a choice.”
Leo shook his head, pointing a finger at Reese. “We all have choices. That’s why Kat is in New York right now. She chose him.” Well, she actually chose them. Her father and Chaz.
“Exactly. She made her decision. It’s been months. You can’t keep letting this drag you down. Eventually you’re going to need to take control of your life again. Find a reason for life to be worth living again.”
Leo stared off at nothing in particular as that familiar burning sensation threatened behind his eyes. “I don’t know if I can. She was it, Reese. Her soul connected with mine on a level I’ve never experienced before.”
“Then you have to find a way.”
Leo’s eyes cut to his brother where he still sat on the edge of the bed. He looked tired. Happy, but tired.
Were Leo’s own decisions wearing on his brother, too?
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Reese shrugged. “Sometimes you have to take a leap of faith. Sometimes things aren’t as they first appear to be. Jane says the wedding date hasn’t been set. She thinks Kat is dragging her feet on the whole thing, and who could blame her?”
Dragging her feet.
Did that mean Leo still had a chance?
He gripped the back of his neck and stared up at the ceiling. “I’ve tried, Reese,” he whispered. “She won’t take my calls. She screens everything with this area code except Jane’s number and she’s no help at all. I thought we were supposed to help out our family.”
Reese chuckled but sobered the second Leo leveled him with another scowl.
“Look, all I’m saying is that until she’s married, you still have a shot.
Things have cooled down. Maybe Noah would let you use his plane to head out to New York and plead your case again.
Who knows? Maybe Kat is just as miserable as you.
And if that’s the case, I can’t think of a single father who wouldn’t want to help his daughter find happiness even if that meant letting her live a life halfway across the country. ”
“Really?” Leo didn’t want to hope. He didn’t want to feel the warmth of it curl around his heart and offer him anything he couldn’t reach out and grasp onto tightly.
“Really.” Reese sighed as he got to his feet. “Just because she’s avoiding your calls doesn’t mean she doesn’t want to talk. Take it from me. She might very much want to talk but she doesn’t know how to tell you that she’s feeling just as lost as you are.”
Leo scoffed. “Serenity has sure turned you soft.”
His brother grinned. “Serenity has given me everything I could have ever wanted out of this life. I’d be nothing without her. And if that’s how you feel about Kat, then I suggest you stop moping around and start making a plan. Nothing is impossible.”
Leo waited until his brother had shut the door behind him before he reached for his phone again.
He considered sending Kat another message then thought better of it.
Reese was right. He needed a plan—a good one.
He knew men like Mr. Jerris. The guy thrived on the power he had.
Leo just needed to get through to him in order to have a chance with his daughter.
He just hoped that he wouldn’t be too late.