30. Bex
Chapter 30
Bex
My welcome home was being told that I no longer had entry access to my building as the doorman handed over the key to a storage locker. I wish I could say I was surprised, but truthfully, the only shock was that Aaron hadn’t trashed all of my belongings rather than having them moved.
Checking into a hotel, I should’ve spent the evening catching up on work emails and putting the wheels in motion on finding a new place to live, but instead, I kept running over the heartbreaking scene I’d played a part in earlier that morning.
I’d known Tucker would be wrecked by the news of my indefinite departure. The idea of causing him pain made me nauseous, and there had been half a second when I debated sneaking out before he woke. But that would have been wrong. We’d never gotten a chance to say a proper goodbye the last time I left town, and I refused to play the coward.
The anguish in his eyes haunted me every time I closed mine. The echo of his cries as he begged me to stay was still ringing in my ears .
It had taken every ounce of my strength to walk out that door when all I wanted to do was run back into his arms. Inside my head, I chanted over and over that my life was in Chicago and that I needed to go back.
But your heart is in Oklahoma.
Bringing a pillow to my face, I let out a scream that would rival that of a wounded animal.
Leaving Rust Canyon might just be the biggest mistake of my life.
My first stop when I walked through the doors of Brooks and Andrews was the HR department. Only to discover that I needn’t have bothered.
Had Aaron told everyone at the firm that he was the one who had ended our relationship? Yes.
Did it bother me? Not in the slightest. If that’s what he needed to soothe his wounded ego, then he could have it. All that mattered was that I wouldn’t be stuck with him for the rest of my life.
Though it did become an issue for me when I was called in for a meeting with the senior partners and the company psychologist because they’d heard my extended absence was due to a mental breakdown. According to Aaron, I’d fallen to pieces after being dumped, and he worried that I might be a danger to myself.
Asshole.
At the end of the day, I had no one to blame but myself. I knew better than to get involved with someone I worked with, so this was the price I paid when things went south.
After jumping through a million hoops to prove I was of sound mind, I was allowed to return to my desk.
Awareness prickled as I walked through the office. I could feel all eyes on me, but I kept my head held high. If they wanted to see a show, they would need to head down to the Theatre District after hours.
Closing the door to my office was pointless when the walls were made of glass, so I left it open. Sinking onto my desk chair, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath to center myself.
I could do this. I was good at this. My personal life had no bearing on my ability to practice law.
When I opened them, I was disappointed to learn my caseload had been significantly reduced, which meant it would be more difficult to hit my minimum required billable hours for the month. They might not have fired me for allowing Aaron to dip his pen in the company ink, but they were going to make it impossible for me to keep my job.
The writing was on the wall. I needed to look for a new position before the partners were forced to fire me. Going out on my own terms was the far better option.
By eleven, I found myself staring at my computer screen, having burned through the minimal amount of work allotted to me since my return. What the fuck was I supposed to do with myself for the rest of the day?
Not wanting to be caught searching for a new job on the company server, I decided to browse apartment listings in the city. When the site asked me to enter an amount I was willing to pay for rent, it gave me pause. I made decent money, but staying downtown was expensive, even for a one-bedroom, and I needed to be mindful that I might be facing a gap in employment.
Resigning myself to a long commute on the “L” each day, I broadened my search to the outer community areas of Chicago .
Why are you searching for a new job and a new apartment up here when your dream home and soulmate are waiting for you in Rust Canyon?
The ache in my chest kicked up, and I let out a near-silent groan, dropping my forehead to the polished wood surface of my desk.
A knock sounded on my open door, and I made sure to plaster on my most professional smile before lifting my head to greet my visitor.
It turned out to be Molly, another junior associate. Her cheeks were flushed, and she pressed a hand to her rapidly rising chest.
“Rebecca,” she breathed out.
I fought the urge to flinch. For the rest of my life, hearing my legal name would conjure memories of Aaron. There was no point in correcting anyone at Brooks and Andrews when I had one foot out the door, but as soon as I landed a new job, I would make my preference to be called Bex known.
“What’s up?”
She fanned her overheated face. “Have you seen the man hanging around at reception?”
Waving a hand toward my computer screen, I couldn’t keep the bitterness from my tone. “Been a little busy.”
Stepping further into my office, she lowered her voice. “Swear to God, he glanced my way, and my panties burst into flames. He’s got that kind of rugged look where you can just tell he’s good with his hands.”
“That’s nice.” I brushed her off. The only man I was interested in was nearly a thousand miles away.
“And that twang. He’s got country boy written all over him.”
She had my attention now. “What makes you say that?”
“Let’s see.” Molly ticked off attributes on her fingers. “Flannel rolled up to his elbows. Jeans molded to his thighs and ass to perfection. Cowboy boots peeking out from beneath the hem of said jeans. All he’s missing is the hat.”
Heart rate kicking into triple time, I shook my head slightly. There was no way. It had to be a coincidence.
Shoving my chair away from my desk, I stood.
Pulse pounding in my ears, I walked as fast as my heels would allow toward the firm’s partitioned reception area.
When I got closer, I noticed a crowd had gathered. They all had one thing in common: every single one of them was female.
Their hushed words layered over one another.
“Damn. What I wouldn’t give to take that cowboy for a ride.”
“The man is a walking billboard for forearm porn.”
“Forget about the forearms. Look at his thighs. Those jeans are worn in all the right places.”
My manners took a backseat to the urgency coursing through my veins, and I shoved my way through.
The air froze in my lungs when I caught sight of him through a wall of glass.
He came for me.
“Tucker.” His name slipped past my lips, barely audible.
Several heads whipped around to gawk at me. One stunned voice asked, “You know him?”
Swallowing, I nodded.
Molly clapped her hands. “Show’s over, ladies. Looks like this one’s already taken.”
There was a chorus of disgruntled murmurs, and one muttered, “Lucky bitch,” as they dispersed .
A shoulder bumped mine, and I tore my gaze away from the man of my dreams, standing only ten feet away after I’d left him broken on his bedroom floor two days ago.
“Heard him ask for a Bex when I passed by on my way back from a coffee run. Took me a minute, but then I remembered that you used to go by that when you first started here.” Molly’s smirk couldn’t be contained. “If that’s who you were doing down in Oklahoma, it was time well spent.”
She had no idea.
With trembling hands, I pushed through the glass door. Almost like he could sense my presence, Tucker spun on his booted heel, and the love shining in his eyes acted like a defibrillator, restarting the rhythm of my heart.
His voice was thick when he spoke. “Bex, I—”
I held up a hand to cut him off. “W-what are you doing here?”
A sheepish grin crept onto his face as he ran a hand through that tousled sandy-brown hair. “I love you so much that I can’t stand the thought of another day spent without you.”
Our receptionist, Bella, clasped both hands to her chest as she let out a wistful sigh.
Even though tears blurred my vision, hope filled my chest like a balloon, and I teased on a watery laugh. “Didn’t even make it two days, huh?”
Tucker stepped closer, shaking his head. “Baby, if I thought the ten years without you was hell, that was nothing compared to the torture of these past two days. When we were kids, we had no idea what we were missing out on when it all fell apart. Now that I’ve gotten a taste of what having you in my life, in my arms, in my home feels like, I can’t go back to the way things were before.” He took a deep breath before continuing, “As much as I’d love for you to come back to Rust Canyon, if this is where you need to be, then we’ll make it work. ”
“Do the long-distance thing again?” I hedged.
“No.” His tone was firm. “Wherever you are, that’s where I’ll be.”
The butterflies inside my belly flapped so wildly that it was a wonder my feet remained on the ground. “You would do that?”
“Don’t you get it, Bex? I would do anything for you.” He swallowed so hard that the tip of his Adam’s apple bobbed the length of his throat. “I’ve made some pretty big mistakes when it comes to us, but I refuse to allow letting you go become one of them.”
A sob slipped past my lips, and I threw my arms around his neck, burying my face in his chest. The soft flannel soaked up my tears as Tucker’s hand soothed over my back.
“What’ll it be? We moving my life up here? Or am I takin’ you home?”
Home. That one word held so much meaning.
It could be applied to this man, the town we grew up in, or the house he built for me.
I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that I wanted all three rolled into one. Because combined, they painted a picture of the life I always dreamed of—the fairytale ending put off for far too long, lying dormant while waiting for us to find our way back together.
Peeking up at him, I blinked away the tears and gave a decisive nod. “Take me home, Tuck.”
He cupped my face with trembling hands as his eyes slid closed a beat before reopening. “You sure?”
“It’s where I belong. With you,” I whispered before pressing my lips to his.
When we broke apart, his blue eyes sparkled, and the biggest grin split his face. “Then, let’s go home. ”
Leaning into his side, I walked out of Brooks and Andrews, closing a chapter of my life that had merely been a placeholder while I killed time in anticipation of this moment, even if I hadn’t realized it was coming.
Tucker represented my painful past but also my bright future. If possible, our love had grown deeper after all we’d been through. The obstacles had made us stronger, more resilient, and now it was time to claim our reward.
A beautiful life together.