Chapter Twenty
Kace parked the car over two spots in the guest lot. That was sure to piss Jett off, but he didn’t care. He didn’t want anyone parking near his Mustang, and he wanted a reason to make Jett sweat a little. His brother should understand what was at stake. They always stuck together, but something in Jett had changed.
He crossed the lot to the main house where guests sat on the porch decorated with the pumpkins and bales of hay his mother liked so much and rocked in the wooden rockers Lock had made. Ranching had never seeped into his bones the way it had for Jett and Lock, but until recently, he never even gave that a thought. Gage had made a different choice and paved the way for him to become what he wanted. Choosing racing hadn’t seemed like a problem for his family. Until now.
“Evening,” the man in the rocker said.
“Hello. Are you enjoying the view?” The view from the front opened up to the treed lot the driveway snaked around. It wasn’t as pretty as the view from the back punctuated by the mountains, but his grandfather had done a good job of preserving the land to offer something scenic in every direction. His family had continued that tradition. Now he wanted to cut up their property. His grandfather might have taken Jett’s side. He never wanted to disappoint his ancestors. They were proud people who loved the land and had it taken from them. He was about to do it again.
“It’s a lovely night,” the woman said. “This is our first time here, but it won’t be our last. You look a lot like the owner. You must be related.”
He hesitated and shoved his hands in his pockets. He was in no hurry to go inside. Maybe if he stalled long enough, Tara would pull in, and he wouldn’t have to explain why she wasn’t with him.
“My family owns the ranch. You’re talking about my brother Jett. He’s the face of the place. My other brother, Lock, is the behind-the-scenes guy.” He stuck out his hand. “Kace Ryker. I just take up space here.” He didn’t belong on the ranch, hadn’t secured the money to invest in that team, and now Tara had thrown him out because of her ex.
“Well, you’re a handsome bunch,” she said.
“Now, Lee, don’t go embarrassing the boy. Men out here don’t care about their looks.”
“I disagree, Bob. Just look at him with all those muscles.” The woman chuckled hard enough to set her rocker moving. The man smirked and shook his head, but he looked at the woman beside him with love.
“Bob and Lee Morris. Please excuse my wife’s forwardness.” The man shook his hand first.
His father had taught him from the age of five to greet every guest like they were family. Dad would send him up to guests while he watched from the side to make sure he knew how to look them in the eye and shake hands. Whenever he could, he’d find Lock, who had only been three, and drag him up to the guests too, the way a big brother should. He needed his big brother, Jett, to help him out this time.
“Enjoy your evening.” He had wasted enough time hoping for Tara to arrive and pulled on the door. He headed for the kitchen where his family would be. And where he didn’t want to go.
Conversations coupled with clanking silverware and clattering pots like an orchestra playing out of tune vibrated through the closed swinging door that divided the kitchen from the dining area for guests. One voice rose above another until the only thing that could pop the bubble of noise was the prick of laughter. He pushed the door open on a long, exasperated wheeze.
“Finally.” His mother hurried around the large island. “Give me a hug.” She never waited for any of her children to agree. She threw her arms around him and pounded kisses on his cheek several times.
“Geez, Mom. I’m almost forty years old.” He tolerated the affection for another second before unhinging her from his waist.
“I don’t care how old you or your brothers are.” She pinched his cheek before trying to pinch his brothers’ cheeks too. Gage ducked. Jett glared. She pinched Jett anyway.
“I don’t know why you bother fighting her, Kace. She always gets her way.” Lock swatted her away as she came for his face.
“If I had children of my own, I’d want to hug them all the time too,” Calista said. “So I hug Izzi.” She gripped Izzi in a big hug. The two women pressed their cheeks together. Their smiles played wide. Calista had fit into their family like a good pair of brake pads. He had never thought that possible before this past summer. She had given them Gage back too. He should thank her for that someday.
“Can I get in on that hugging?” Gage said.
“Nope.” Izzi spun Calista away from Gage. “She’s mine. Get your own.”
“I want to hug my boys all the time. That’s a mother’s prerogative.” Mom punctuated the air with a finger and went back to wrapping food in foil.
Jett remained silent. He leaned against the counter in the corner with his arms crossed over his chest. The scowl on his face would be enough to scare off the grizzliest of bears.
“Hey, Jett,” he said.
Jett gave a barely visible chin raise.
“I left two plates for you and Tara. After we clean up, I have dessert.” She looked around. “Where is Tara?”
“She got caught up. She’ll be here soon.”
“I think it’s great you two are dating.” Calista brought out a chocolate cake from the refrigerator.
“It’s not serious.” He hoped his face didn’t give him away. After the last few hours in her bed, it had become more serious. So much so he was still stewing that he had to sneak out the back when her ex showed up. He wanted her to tell him why she had been afraid, but if she couldn’t trust him with that information, they might not have a future.
“I give this one a month,” Lock said. “I’d give it less if you were driving. You wouldn’t have time to get involved this late in your season if you were still on the team.”
“Did you have to bring that up?” he said. “You couldn’t go one hour without reminding me what I lost?”
“If you’ll excuse me. I have things to check on.” Jett hurried through the door.
“I’m just stating the obvious,” Lock said.
“Lockwood, that’s enough. I don’t want to talk about Kace’s racing tonight.” Mom tightened the foil around the bowl that didn’t need tightening.
“Mom, I’m going to race again. It’s what I do. You can’t avoid it.”
“I don’t want you in a car like that before you’re well. I can’t lose you too. I’ll be right back.” She adjusted her glasses and went through the door much like Jett just had.
“Boy, you’re a mood killer.” Lock cut off a huge piece of cake and took a bite. The chocolate oozed through his fingers.
“You’re a slob, Uncle Lock.” Izzi reached for the sponge.
Lock stared at the ground, then back at his hands. “Sorry.” He grabbed a plate. “I have to check on the horses. I’ll see y’all later.”
“I didn’t mean to break up the party.” He grabbed a beer out of the fridge. He wasn’t hungry anymore. As the minutes ticked by, he had no choice but to admit defeat. Tara wasn’t showing up.
“I think you two could use some quality brother time. Izzi, did you feel like showing me how to use that app we talked about?” Calista put the rest of the food away and gathered her big tote bag.
“Sure. I have homework too.” Izzi shrugged into her jacket.
Calista kissed Gage. “I’ll be at your house for a while.” She and Izzi left.
“You can clear a room.” Gage cut a piece of the cake too. He plopped it on a plate and dug in.
“It’s a gift.” And not a very good one. No one wanted to be around him, including Tara. What had Drew said to Tara to keep her away, or was she avoiding him now because he’d become angry with her for asking him to make his presence unknown?
“So where’s Tara? Did you two have a fight?” Gage said, reading his mind.
“Not exactly.” No, he’d been a complete ass to her when she had needed him to understand. He had only wanted to protect her from whatever had frightened her. She had never shared the history of her marriage, and he hadn’t asked. Things must have been far worse than she had let on.
“Off to a rocky start, then?” Gage continued to devour that cake.
“Something like that. Man, take a breath while you eat.”
“Can’t help it. It’s my sweet tooth. Do you want to talk about what’s going on with Tara?”
“Talk about Tara and me with you?” He put the beer on the counter. He didn’t want that either.
“I guess.”
“No.”
“Good. But if you change your mind, I’m here.” Gage drove the fork into the cake.
Mom stuck her head back in the doorway. “Kace Richard, if you want to sell your piece of the land, you have my blessing. There, I said it.” She ducked back out, not waiting for a reply.
“What just happened here?” He stared at the door, expecting his mother to come back in and say she was only joking.
“She’s trying to come around. Your accident shook her more than she wants to admit. But you seem to be doing so well since the accident she knows she can’t stop you. None of us can. We were worried for a while, but it looks like you really are okay.” Gage rinsed his plate and stuck it in the dishwasher.
“Jett is going to be furious.” And everyone else would hate him if they found out he wasn’t totally fine, but he didn’t think he had to tell them. When he was behind the wheel, he was fine. As long as it stayed that way—and there wasn’t any reason that it shouldn’t—they never had to be the wiser. Once the season ended, he would work harder on recovery. He’d be perfect by the start of the new season. He had to invest in this team, or there wouldn’t be a new season come February. That was the story he needed to stick with.
“Jett is fighting mad already. You’re really going to sell?”
“I don’t have any other choices. Would you sell?” He forced his gaze to meet Gage’s.
“If it was for Izzi, I would. Like if she needed surgery I couldn’t afford any other way.” He scratched at his chin as he considered the question.
“Jett would mortgage a piece of the land for Izzi’s health.” They were always supposed to stick together and help each other. His need for money was no different than any other time he needed Jett. His career was on the line, yet Jett would allow him to drown. He didn’t understand.
“Did you ask him to sponsor the team for you?”
“He can’t afford that with the lawsuit hanging over his head.”
“He could get a loan.”
“And if I crash again, he’ll lose his money. And if he loses the lawsuit too, I would never forgive myself.” He couldn’t ask that much. He only wanted what was his sooner than later.
“I’m sorry. The lawsuit is my fault.” Gage leaned against the counter. He had been the tour guide when the guest suing them ended up hurt.
“It’s that dumb shit who leaned over the cliff’s edge for a selfie’s fault.” No one blamed Gage except Gage, which was so typical of him.
“Are you worried you’ll crash? Is that why you won’t ask Jett to sponsor you?”
“I never worried until the last accident. Crashing is part of the job. The safety precautions are top notch in the sport.” But if he couldn’t keep his focus because of his symptoms… He couldn’t finish the thought. He looked at his brother. “So you wouldn’t sell if you were me?”
Gage would be the only one of his brothers who would understand. He lived on the ranch because he had had to. He helped out because he was Gage and he always did the right thing, but Gage had never wanted to be a rancher.
“That’s a tough one. Maybe at one time, if the circumstances were right. But now, I think I want to take my little corner and eventually build a house for me and Calista to grow old in together. A place for grandchildren to come visit.”
“When did you become the sentimental one?” Did he want those things? His mind approached the idea as if it were a fresh wound that might sting when touched. Before the crash the answer would have been no without hesitation. He had no time for a wife or children, but since the crash, his mortality became tangible. A reality he didn’t want to think about, but the concussion symptoms weren’t making it any easier. When he was in the hospital, waking up to see his brothers there had been the thing that saved him. Jett had been standing right by his head. Now Jett was willing to stop speaking to him.
He and Tara might have had something worth exploring, but he might have been wrong about that one. He should have known he wasn’t any good with relationships.
“I’m not getting any younger, and I got a second chance at happiness. I’m not screwing this up. And speaking of that, I’m heading home, bro. Sorry you missed dinner. How about we catch a beer tomorrow afternoon?” Gage grabbed his jacket off the hook by the door.
“I have some plans during the day.”
“You and Tara?” Gage dugs his keys out of his pocket.
“No, that thing with Kennedy.” He couldn’t look Gage in the eye.
“Are you crazy? You’re actually going to go?”
“It’s the head injury.”
Gage shook his head. “That’s why she was here earlier looking for you. I hadn’t realized you two were spending the day together. Good luck. You need it, bro.” And went out the back door.
Kace dropped into the chair and held his head. His phone vibrated in his pocket. He debated on ignoring it. Whatever the call was, it could wait. But it could be Tara needing his help. He would race back to her if her ex was giving her trouble.
He dug for his phone. It wasn’t Tara. “Hello.”
“Is this Kace?” The male voice held a familiar note.
“Who’s calling?”
“Kace, it’s Drew Paxton.”
He should have known. “What’s up?” He couldn’t ask how Tara was. It might tip the guy off that he had been at Tara’s house an hour ago. He would like to see Drew’s reaction when he found out he had been in Tara’s bed too.
“I would like to increase my offer on your land.”
He stood. “That’s very generous.” And suspicious. It wasn’t as if a bidding war existed. If anything, Paxton should want to negotiate for a lower price.
“I’m in a hurry. If you have any other offers on the table, I want to beat them. Will ten percent over asking price take care of that?”
“What’s your hurry?”
Paxton remained silent. A muffled sound came across the line before he spoke again. “Tara has agreed to marry me again. I want your land as a wedding present.”
The throbbing pain on the right side of his temple forced his eyes closed. He gritted his teeth, but the pain worsened.
“Ryker? Are you still there?”
“I’m here. I’ll need to get back to you.” The stabbing pain turned his stomach. If he stayed on the phone another second, he would vomit on his mother’s clean floor.
“I knew you had other offers. Listen, I don’t want to play games. Just tell me your price, and I’ll match it.” His desperation reeked over the phone. He could name his price and give the extra to Jett, making up for the problems he’d caused. He had Paxton right where he wanted him.
“I’ll call you tomorrow.” He ended the call and dropped into the chair again.
Tara had agreed to marry him? The man had to be lying, or he had forced Tara’s hand. Was she that easily swayed? He fumbled with his phone until he could get the call through. It went to voicemail.
“Babe, it’s me. Where are you? You said you’d meet me for dinner. Call me, okay? I need to talk to you.”
He sat at the kitchen table for a while and waited for the world to stop spinning. But it wasn’t going to. Not in time to race and not without Tara.