5. Tucker
Chapter 5
Tucker
“She fucking hates me, man.” I leaned back against the park bench, tilting my face toward the sky and blowing out a heavy breath.
“Watch your mouth!” Colt shouted from where he was pushing his toddler son on the swing.
I cringed. “Sorry.”
“Fucking! Fucking!” came the excited cry from Colt’s three-year-old son, Barrett.
Mac chuckled beside me. “You know he’s going to kill you, right? The two of us might have brains, but Colt’s the brawn. No question about it.”
The growl from our cowboy companion was loud enough that I jolted. Not gonna lie; I swallowed involuntarily when the man stared at me with storm clouds gathering in his brown eyes. I was the cause of that incoming storm, and instead of electing to duck and cover, I decided to walk straight into danger.
Pushing off the bench, I avoided eye contact with Colt, focusing on his son. When I reached where he was swinging, I threw on a bright smile. “ Can you say Tucker instead, bud?” I pointed toward my chest. “That’s me. Dr. Tucker, right?”
That kid gave me the biggest shit-eating grin and yelled, “Fucker! Fucker!”
Didn’t think I could make it worse. Guess I was wrong.
Colt’s deep voice rumbled beside me. “It’s not me you need to worry about. Because when Harper finds out, she’s going to tell Aspen, and then guess who’s next?”
Ooh, I had to hand it to him; he knew my weakness.
Not that it was hard to figure out when I’d been acting like a lost freaking puppy for the past five years, sniffing around for the tiniest scrap of news about Bex. Leave it to a small town to protect one of their own. Everyone remained tight-lipped when it came to sharing information about the girl I’d never stopped loving—not even when I’d been married to another woman.
Colt was right. If Bex found out I’d taught a toddler the mother of all swear words, I was toast.
Like you’re not already. You’re in a hole so deep rescue teams would give up and say your case was hopeless.
Mac’s hand came down on my shoulder. “It’s probably not as bad as you think.”
Shrugging him off, I scoffed. “Oh no? Let’s see . . . Yesterday, I had the pleasure of watching in slow motion as she fell, breaking her wrist. I could see it in her eyes that she debated driving out to the hospital in Enid to avoid having me touch her. Then this morning, I thought I’d check on her—as the treating physician, of course.” Mac snorted, and I shot him a glare. “And that’s when she really let me have it. Probably would have been even worse if Rose hadn’t walked in and reprimanded the two of us for causing a scene. ”
I dragged a hand down my face. “I’ve never seen her like that before. My Bex was so sweet, so loving, so full of optimism about life. Her eyes used to light up the minute she saw me. Now, she can barely stand to be in the same room with me.”
My best friend gave me a lopsided grin. “Well, look on the bright side. Can’t get any worse.”
Way to jinx me with those famous last words.
Groaning, I closed my eyes. “This whole thing is worse than I thought.”
“We pretendin’ what you did wasn’t bad?” Colt had no qualms about pouring salt in my open wound. “What’d you expect? For her to find out you’re divorced and fall into your open arms? To pick up where you left off like you didn’t break that poor girl’s heart?”
“Guess I know whose side you’re on,” I grumbled.
“I’m gonna shoot you straight, Tuck, because I don’t know any other way. If some man ever fucked with Aubree like you fucked with Bex? He wouldn’t still be walking this earth, if you catch my drift. You’re mighty lucky her daddy ain’t still around.”
Though I couldn’t argue with that, I did start to wonder if maybe I hadn’t been the one to teach Barrett the F-word.
Turning to Mac, I sighed. “Maybe it’s best if I bow out. I don’t want to hurt her any more than I already have.”
His eyes widened. “What? No! You can’t! I need you there, buddy.”
I shook my head. “If it comes down to a choice between Bex being there for Aspen and me being there for you, it has to be Bex. She’s family to the Sullivans.”
Mac gripped me by the shoulders. “You’re my best friend in town.” His gaze slid to Colt. “No offense.”
Colt mindlessly pushed the swing. “None taken.”
“You’re my best man. Stop trying to weasel your way out of it. ”
“Listen.” I gently pried his hands away. “Let Bex have this week. Once she’s gone, you’ll still have me. I’m not going anywhere.”
His brown eyes glittered with determination. “I think what we need is to alter the game plan.”
“No.” I gave a firm shake of my head. “Even if I stay in the wedding, I’m gonna lay low for a bit. Give her some space.”
A cocky smirk curved on his lips. “Good luck doing that when you’re partnered for the scavenger hunt tomorrow.”
Fuck. I’d forgotten all about that. We would be stuck together the entire day.
And if I were a betting man, I’d lay odds that Bex’s outburst this morning was merely the warning rumbles before the volcano erupted.
The explosion was imminent. I could feel it in my bones.
Against my better judgment, I walked back to the church with the guys when we knew the shower was winding down. Bex might not want to see me, but I’d promised to help with the cleanup, and I wasn’t about to go back on my word.
You see the irony there, right? You broke your promises to Bex; why wouldn’t you break them to her mother?
There would never come a time when I wasn’t tormented by the hell I’d put Bex through. Especially when it could have all been avoided if I’d used my damn head.
I hung back when Mac made his grand entrance, bearing a bouquet for his bride while every woman in attendance swooned in unison. He was a showman, playing it up for their audience when he dipped her back and kissed her like they were in one of those old-school romantic movies.
The sound of chairs scraping as they were pushed back from tables had me jumping into action. I kept my head down as I stacked empty paper plates before dumping them in the trash.
I was just about to go back for a second round when a hand gripped my elbow, and my mother’s voice said, “Take a walk with me.”
My gaze landed on her, then shifted to all the work that needed to be done before this space was cleared. “I don’t think—”
“I wasn’t askin’.” Her tone left no room for argument.
Maddie Grant might be tiny, but she was fierce and had no tolerance for bullshit—growing up with four older brothers would do that to a woman. Thirty-one years of experience with her as my mother told me she was pissed, and I was the target of her anger.
She yanked me through the same door Bex had fled through earlier, and as soon as it slammed shut, she spun around, blue eyes narrowed. “I don’t care how you do it; you make things right with that girl.”
Not this again. It made me wonder if they had some kind of schedule as to whose turn it was next to press the issue.
“Ma,” I sighed out her name. “She wants nothing to do with me.”
“If your sister could swallow her pride to make up with her husband after the mistakes she made, then so can you.”
My father was a saint because saying no to this woman was damn near impossible when she had her mind set on something.
“This isn’t the same situation as Evie and Jenner’s,” I countered. “Doesn’t matter how much I still love Bex; she doesn’t feel the same way about me.”
She arched an eyebrow. “You sure about that? ”
My world came to a screeching halt. What had happened during that shower to make her believe there was even the tiniest chance that Bex might still have feelings for me?
“Son, what you did to that girl—” My mother shook her head sadly. “She’s not over it. You don’t cry like that ten years later unless you’re still in love.”
Gut twisting, I croaked out, “I don’t want her to cry anymore, Ma. I can’t take back what I’ve done.”
Bex’s words from earlier echoed in my brain.
“What you did was unforgivable, Tucker Grant!”
I hung my head. “And I don’t think I can fix it either.”
Ma clicked her tongue. “Not with that attitude, you can’t.”
“She’s with someone else now.” I tried in vain to reason with her.
“I don’t see him anywhere, do you? What kind of man doesn’t accompany his girl home, doesn’t go out of his way to meet her mama? Not any man I’d want near my daughter, that’s for sure.”
It sure didn’t help that her high expectations were set by my brother-in-law, who would lay down his life if it meant my sister’s happiness. But there was only one Jenner Knight. Most men, myself included, weren’t half the man he was.
Wouldn’t be a terrible idea to give him a call and see if he had any advice, though.
“End of the day, I’m not in the business of breaking up other people’s relationships.”
“No, only your own.” The words were said under her breath, but I still heard them.
I rubbed over the ache in my chest. “Low blow, Ma.”
Cocking a hip, she challenged, “Where’s the lie, Tucker Grant?”
“Still hurts,” I grumbled .
“As it should.” Damn, she was going for the knockout today.
When I opened my mouth to respond, she held up a hand. “Think about what I said. At the very least, you owe her an apology.” With that, she stepped past me, re-entering the building.
How did you apologize to someone who didn’t want to talk to you?
Cracking open a cold beer, I kicked back on my couch. With my phone poised in my hand, my thumb hovered over the contact. Desperation had me tapping the number and bringing my cell to my ear.
It rang twice before a humor-filled voice teased, “If you were hoping to catch the tiny terrors, they’re back home with Evie.”
After trying for a family for years, my sister and her husband were now blessed with three kids under the age of three. Their home was pure chaos, but they were happier than ever.
Not ready to dive right into the heavier topic that had spurred my call, I turned the conversation around to focus on Jenner. “How’s the team doing? You guys are out in New York, right?
His heavy sigh came through the line. “Honestly? It’s not the same with Goose on injured reserve. I don’t think we can pull this off without him.”
The Indy Speed were coming off back-to-back championships, hoping for a third straight, but they never expected their goaltender to end up seriously injured and unable to play for the foreseeable future. Though the game was the least of his worries. The guy was lucky to be alive.
“Sorry to hear. I know how badly you guys want it. ”
Jenner chuckled. “Everyone wants it that bad. If twice is all we get, that’s better than most.” When I remained silent too long, he pressed, “But I get the feeling you didn’t call me to talk about hockey, did you?”
My head dropped back on the cushion. “I was hoping you might have some words of wisdom for me.”
“Oh yeah?” His voice rose with interest. “What about?”
Swallowing hard, I said, “Bex.”
His sharp intake of air was audible. He knew the whole story.
“Yeah,” I breathed out.
“Evie mentioned she was headed back to town.”
“She’s here now, actually. “
“Okay,” he said slowly. “Can’t imagine it’s going well if you’re looking for help.”
I scrubbed a hand over my jaw, where the first hint of a five o’clock shadow had formed. “It’s bad, man. Like, really bad. And everyone is on my back about fixing it when she doesn’t want to be in the same town as me, let alone the same room. I tried backing out of the wedding to give her peace, but Mac wasn’t having it. I don’t know what to do.”
“All right.” Jenner paused. “You already know this, but I’m married to someone who has a history of running and shutting down when faced with emotionally charged situations. To this day, I still have so many regrets about how I handled the situation when she ran. When she completely blocked me out, cutting off all contact, I thought I was doing the right thing, not fighting her when she filed for divorce. I wanted her to be happy when it felt like all I brought her was pain.” He scoffed. “I couldn’t have been more wrong.”
I understood where he was coming from, but as I’d told my mother earlier, our situations were very different. Chasing after Bex, fighting for her, hadn’t been an option. Legally tied to another woman, I’d been forced to let her go with no way to mend either of our broken hearts.
Jenner continued, “Even when she came back, she kept me at arm’s length. I didn’t want to push her and risk driving her away again. And you know me; I would have waited for her forever, but my patience is no match for when Evie gets in her head. And in her mind, she thought I didn’t want her. As it tends to do when tensions run high, the dam broke one night. Fucking killed me to hear her accuse me of wishing she’d never come back to me, but it opened the door for us to clear the air and be honest with each other.” He chuckled. “That night gave us one of the greatest gifts we’ve ever received. Two of them, if we’re counting.”
My nose wrinkled. “Yeah, really didn’t need to hear that last part.” I loved the guy but didn’t need to think about him sleeping with my sister.
A bark of laughter sounded through the phone. “Sorry, but it’s true.”
I tried to steer us back on track. “Honestly, I’m confused. Mac’s in my ear saying Aspen doesn’t think Bex loves the guy she’s seeing. My mom is convinced she’s still in love with me . But what you’re saying about how things came to a head with Evie feels like what’s happening here. There’s a storm brewing.”
“Might be the best thing for you guys. If nothing else, you can clear the air and move on. I know that’s not what you want to hear, but—”
“There is no moving on, Jenner. Not for me, anyway.”
He hummed. “Yeah, I feel that. I was the same way. It was your sister or no one.”
“I’m glad you guys worked it out.”
“You and me both, brother. Not sure if anything I said helped . . .”
“It did. ”
There were voices in the background, and it sounded like Jenner covered the receiver to speak to someone—probably a teammate. “Well, I gotta head out. But keep me updated, yeah?”
“You got it. See you guys sometime next month. Can’t wait to hug my favorite little munchkins.”
“Don’t tell my siblings, but they love Uncle Tuck the best. He takes them to see the farm animals.”
That brought a smile to my face. The first one in what felt like forever. “That’s because they’re country kids at heart, forced to live in the city.”
“You might be right about that. I’ll catch you later, Tucker.”
“Thanks for listening, Jenner.”
“Anytime.”
We hung up and I pulled in a deep breath, closing my eyes. All that was left to do now was to wait for the moment when the sky would open up and emotional hell rained down on me and Bex.