Chapter 16
SIXTEEN
KAIDEN
Laying here in my room, staring up at my ceiling has become my favorite thing to do since she left. Every inch of this place reminds me of her except this room—we never fucked in here. Her scent doesn’t cling to the curtains or the walls, it’s the only place I can hide from the memories of her. I hear the ghost of her voice and laughter each time I brave leaving this room. Tess burrowed herself inside me and I hate it. I’ve never gotten attached before. I’ve fucked plenty of women in town and had no problems never knowing their names, or slipping out before the sun rose the next morning. I liked it that way.
I’ve never wanted to share this life with anyone. I love living in the mountains and never being burdened by a woman trying to make me choose between this place or her. My own mother couldn’t stand living out here, I don’t know why I thought Tess would be any different.
“Have you read the email?” I loll my head to the side to see my brother standing in the open doorway.
“What email?”
Tyler rolls his eyes and shakes his head, then moves toward my side table where my phone rests. He grabs it and inputs my passcode. I scowl at the little shit, no matter how many times I change the code he always figures out my pin somehow. When he finds whatever it is he is looking for he tosses my phone to me. I grab it and peer at the screen with a frown.
“What the fuck is this?” I press.
“It’s the book she was writing for her English class while she was here. It’s not finished.” My brows hit my hairline at his answer. “The ending isn’t complete, brother. There’s a reason for that.”
I focus back on Tyler and frown. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
He shrugs and stuffs his hands in his pockets. “She can’t write the ending without the three main characters. Read the book, Kaiden. Seeing our life through her eyes might help you understand her a bit better, and then you can finally let go of this anger so we can go after our girl.”
I snort. “You and Dad can go right ahead and chase her, I’m not going anywhere.”
Tyler scoffs and shakes his head in disappointment. “Read the fucking book, dipshit. You know very well Dad and I won’t go after her without you. Don’t make us lose the girl who stole all our hearts. I love you, Brother, but I’ll never forgive you if you can’t get out of your own damn way and see that she is meant for us and this life. We just need to be patient until she finishes school.” Tyler doesn’t wait around for a reply, he slams my bedroom door on his way out. I growl in annoyance. I want to toss my phone and ignore the email but the truth is, I’m desperate for some sort of connection to her again so I begin reading.
How do you fight the magnetic pull you feel toward three men? You can’t, because they aren’t something you can ever replace. They are a part of your very being, ingrained in your DNA, they are your reason for thriving and wanting more. I was never anything special in my small hometown. I didn’t have the courage to chase my dreams or wants until I met my best friend who showed me it doesn’t matter what your family thinks of your choices.
I left my town and enrolled in college. I thought that was as exciting as my life would get until I met a man online who set my blood on fire. He listened and heard everything I said. Never did he judge me for my choices. He was a stranger who showed me more compassion than my own family. I never thought we would actually meet until we did…
That moment didn’t go as I pictured it would.
I snort out a laugh at the memory of her fainting in my arms and carrying her inside.
Not only did I meet the man who started helping me see I was worth more than my family had me believe I was worth, but I met his sons. Instant attraction doesn’t seem like the right word. The three of them set me ablaze and forced me to embrace who I truly am.
Over Thanksgiving break I fell in love with not just one man but three.
My breath hitches as I reread the line three times, letting her words sink in. Hope begins to bloom inside me. I try to fight it but now that it’s burning to life inside me, I have no choice but to allow it to consume me.
Not only did I fall in love with them, I fell in love with their place. I see a life here for the four of us. I want nothing more than to explore them and this place but I know I can’t have my dream and them.
I hate that I have to choose because I want them with every fiber of my being. I want the life I know I can have with my guys in the mountains. God, I want it more than anything in this world, but if I give in and stay, I lose my dream.
If I ever get the courage to share this essay with them, I would tell them that I love them and wish more than anything that I could stay. I hate that I have to leave them in the mountains while I go back to the city. I’ll never move on from them, I’m not who I used to be and that’s because of the three of them. That they helped me see I’m worth more than some small town and that I can be more than I was raised to believe.
Society will judge us but I don’t give up easily and I just hope they will see that?—
I scroll and try to find the rest of the fucking story but there’s nothing. I leap from my bed and rush across the room, then yank the door open, only to slam to a halt at the sight of my dad and brother leaning against the wall across from my room with their arms crossed over their chests.
“Do you see now, Son, that she didn’t choose the city life over you or us? She chose to go back so she could finish what she started because we all showed her she was more than some small town girl. We helped her believe in herself enough that she wanted to go back.”
“I want her back, Dad,” I grit out. A broad smile scratches across his face as he nods.
“Took you long enough, dumbass,” Tyler adds. I shoot the shithead a glare that just makes him laugh.
Dad holds up his car keys and wags his brows. “Road trip?” he asks.
“Fuck yes.”
“Hell yeah,” Tyler and I both say in unison. The three of us all rush down the stairs. I side step Dad’s mattress that’s still in the living room as I grab my coat off the sofa and shrug it on.
“Are we expecting anyone?” Dad asks, drawing both mine and Tyler’s attention toward the front of the house. I stalk across the room and peer out the front window to see headlights coming down the driveway. That bud of hope that was burning inside me is now a raging inferno. Tyler throws the front door open and steps out onto the porch with Dad and I hot on his heels.
I squint my eyes, trying to get a better look at the car, but it’s too fucking dark. When the car finally comes to a stop in front of us, the hope inside me dies. It’s not her car. When the driver steps out, my brows slam together in surprise.
“Van?” I rasp out. My brother smirks as he crosses his arms and leans against the side of the car. Another guy climbs out of the passenger side and moves around the car to stand next to my little brother.
“What are you doing here, Son?” Dad asks. He can’t hide the happiness in his voice at finally seeing my brother after all these years.
Van shoots the guy beside him a look that has them both smiling. I clench my fists at my sides in irritation. “It’s great to see you and all that shit but we have somewhere to be,” I snap.
“Calm your tits, Tarzan. Jane is just fine,” the fucker with my brother says.
“Who the fuck are you?” Tyler snaps, brushing his shoulder against mine, showing this fucker that we’re ready to throw down if he makes another smart-ass remark.
“Both of you cool it, this is Hudson. He’s Peyton’s stepbrother.” I keep my face blank of surprise at Van’s revelation. “Considering both of us are going to have to grovel and beg our girl’s forgiveness for what we just did, you both should show him some fucking gratitude, assholes.” Tyler and I both reel back. Before I can go off on my little brother, Dad cuts in to try and diffuse the situation.
“What are you talking about, Van?” Dad asks.
My brother rolls his eyes, which just serves to piss me off. He and Hudson both step aside, offering us a clear view of the back door. When none of us says a word, Hudson groans and scrubs a hand down his face, then points his finger at me and says. “Tarzan.” He shifts his hand and points at the back door of the car. “Jane is inside the car, passed out drunk. You’re welcome, asshole.”
It takes me a second to process what he’s saying but when it finally sinks in, my eyes widen and my mouth parts in shock.
“Peyton is furious at us for getting involved in this shit but Tess is our friend, and I’ll only say this once,” Van warns as he runs his gaze over the three of us in warning. “If you hurt that girl or if this is just some fun for you all and you don’t see a future with her, tell me now. Because if any of you break her heart, God won’t be able to save your asses from me. Am I clear?”
“I appreciate what you have done for us, Brother, but respectfully, go fuck yourself.” I snap my head to the side and stare at Tyler in shock. “She’s ours. Your friend or not, Tess Cohen belongs to us, now hand her over.”
“Looks like they have already stamped their claim on her,” Hudson says with humor in his tone.
“She does have Daddy tattooed on her ass. I would say I definitely branded her as mine. Step aside, boys, and let us deal with her. We’ll see you next week,” Dad says as he moves down the porch steps toward them with Tyler and I hot on his heels. Van shoots us all a grin, the fucker is going to make sure we all know we owe him one after this. He may have been a priest but he has never been above blackmailing his siblings.
The moment dad pulls the door open and we see her lying there in the back seat passed out, I feel like I can finally breathe for the first time in three weeks. She looks beautiful. God, I missed her so much my chest begins to burn. How I thought I could ever go on living without her in my life is a fucking mystery to me.
Tess Cohen is ours and it's about time we made sure she knows that, because she’s adding mine and Tyler’s name to her ass as well.