Chapter 6
Chapter Six
SAbrINA
H ow to get out of dodge ASAP—in 1 hour or less:
1.Get my bags.
2.Check out of the hotel.
3.Catch the next flight home. Even if I have to have a dozen stops before Dallas, get out of this stupid city now!
Home was where I could safely process all that I was feeling. I told myself that I could never like this new Cal and was lucky we hadn’t gotten married. I never could have lived a life with that guy. Even while feeling sorry for him.
Seeing Cal was like experiencing the death of a friend all over again. He looked like the someone I once loved, but he was a doppelg?nger, the evil twin version, and I found myself mourning the loss of my friend Cal all over again.
And then there was the guy at the elevator, that Cal had showed a spark of the one I once knew. A flash of something had flitted in his eyes that with anyone else, I would have interpreted as hurt or confusion. But hurting Cal had never been my role, only his.
I speed-walked through the hotel lobby, aiming for the bank of elevators, but stopped short when I caught sight of a long-legged gentleman sitting in a chair near the elevators, holding a Stetson. I made a beeline for him.
“I could punch you in the nose.” I stood before him, arms akimbo.
Jace Shepard dropped his hat onto the chair next to him and put up both hands. “I swear, Sabrina, I did not tell Morgan to hire you. I told her you weren’t a good fit.”
“And yet she sought me out.” I narrowed my eyes at him. “Did you know I was in town?”
He shook his head.
“Why are you in town?”
“I came when I heard Cal got shot. I swear he’s got a death wish. You know, every year we do a fishing trip. This year, he canceled to take this Peru job, which half his team had voted to not take. And he got shot. So I came to make sure he was okay and then maybe drag him away from here, someplace where I’d hope to knock some sense into him. Now this attack from his dad is just gonna make it all worse.” Jace picked up his hat and brushed off the seat next to him.
I sank into it with a weary sigh. “His dad is doing this?” I didn’t know why I was surprised. Half my business was from people trying to escape controlling parents.
Jace nodded as he shifted to face me. “I bet you were blindsided by Morgan approaching you.” His brow was knitted with concern.
I let my head fall back to rest against the edge of the seat. I looked at the ceiling as I replayed the events in my head. “I knew one day, somehow, our paths would cross again. I just thought it would be different than this. So when Morgan asked me to meet with him, I saw that as a sign.”
“Why? Did you think you could get him back?” His voice was soft, the question gentle.
I didn’t have to think about that for one second. “Yeah, I’ll admit revenge had crossed my mind.” I’d called it closure, but revenge would have been sweet.
Jace startled and drew in a breath with a hiss. “Judas Priest, Sabrina, I didn’t mean get him back revenge-style. I meant win him back.”
I rolled my head to the side to look at him and laughed. “You know, I didn’t even think of that. He made it clear back then that he didn’t want me.” I shrugged a shoulder. “So I let go of that a long time ago.”
He placed his hand over mine and squeezed. “I’m sorry if this brought up buried stuff. I really did try to warn them off you. I never want for you to get hurt.”
I smiled softly. “I know. And you can make it up to me when I come out there in a few weeks. You can let me take your kids home forever.”
“Done,” he said with a laugh. “Meredith called this morning. Jonah cut Nathan’s hair. She says it looks awful. Big chunks missing everywhere. And this on the heels of the Sharpie incident. We’re ready for some peace and quiet.”
The Sharpie incident had been the twins drawing all over each other using the colored markers. On their arms, legs, and faces. Know what erases a Sharpie mark? Nothing but time.
“It’s like your children aren’t supervised.” I winked, knowing they were.
“Give them three minutes alone, and they could take down an entire city.” He shook his head in resignation.
“Aside from seeing Cal, you know, they offered me twenty-five K for a few weeks of work with him. Change his image and all that.”
Jace gave a low whistle. “Damn, that was like offering a map to a lost trail rider. I bet you snatched it up.”
“I’m gonna ignore that fact that you might be implying I’m lost with this goal of mine. But yeah, that money would have replenished my empty coffers, which, as you know, is a requirement for the adoption agency.”
Jace rubbed at the inner corner of one eye with his thumb while he avoided eye contact. His expression bothered me, like he was trying to hide his pity or poking himself in the eye to keep himself from saying something.
I crossed my arms. “I know y’all don’t think I should adopt, but I am tired of being alone. You know this. I have tried waiting. I have tried dating. I’ve tried in vitro. None of those are working out for me. It’s time I take charge of my life.” We’d had this discussion a bazillion times.
“It’s not that. It’s the single parenting. Hell, coparenting is rough. These kids eat us alive every day. You know, my sister refuses to babysit them. They switched out her expensive face cream for mayo.”
I smothered a laugh. “That’s your kids, Jace. Not all kids are like that.”
“Yeah, but you don’t get to choose, and you’re getting a kid who essentially was abandoned. Mere was reading up on attachment disorder. She said if you do adopt, you’re just gonna have to move next door. You can’t be all by yourself in Texas.”
Tears stung my eyes. “That’s so sweet. I just…” I pressed my hand to my mouth to keep from crying. I really did have great friends.
“Hell, woman, I don’t know what part you thought was sweet.” He shook his head, confused. “Where are you headed? Want to do…” He glanced at his watch. “Brunch?”
It was my turn to shake my head. “I want to get home. I have to call the potential client I came to town to see, and then I’m going to grab my bags and try to catch the next flight home.” I stood, and Jace did too. “I hope you get your fishing trip. I hope Cal survives this smear campaign too. And I hope that’s the end of my involvement. I’m going to focus on what’s ahead for me. Like trying to find another way to make twenty-five K.”
Jace lifted a brow. “What about that matchmaker documentary? Is it going to happen?”
I’d been asked to pair up with my good friend Nick Trask, an A-list actor, and help him find love. A widower for a handful of years, he’d asked me to help him get a second chance at love and had casually mentioned that to a director friend, who was now trying to sell it as reality TV.
“Magic 8 Ball says all signs point to yes.” I opened my arms for a hug. “But it won’t pay out for a while. Longer than I am willing to wait.”
He wrapped me up. “Well, if the Magic 8 Ball says yes, who can argue with that? Can I give you a ride?”
My phone chimed at the same time Jace’s did. We pulled them out.
“That’s interesting,” I said, looking at the screen. “Clever line. Optium says CEO will test dating safety on new app and will use a matchmaker. Ruse or desperation.”
Jace looked between his phone and me. “Since when did you turn on notifications for Cal?”
“When Morgan Baker approached me.” I tucked my phone back into my purse.
“Will you turn them off again?”
I shrugged. “Maybe. I probably should. Though I’m curious to see how this plays out. You should get to Cal. I’m guessing his PR person released the news about a matchmaker, but the smear campaign is getting the headlines. He could probably use a friend.”
He nodded and stuffed his phone into his pocket. He started to turn, then stopped. “Did you ask him why he did what he did back then?”
I knew what Jace was referring to. “Back then” meant when Cal had practically left me at the altar.
“I didn’t really get the chance. Why don’t you tell me now?” I quirked a brow.
“I only know the basics, and it leads to more questions than answers. Besides, it’s his story to tell. But, man, I wish he would tell it.” He placed a hand on my shoulder. “Call if you need anything, and I’ll still see you next month at the ranch.”
I placed a hand over his. I’d once been mad at Jace for knowing what he had known and not telling me, but my father had helped me understand that telling me would have been like picking sides. He was too loyal a friend to both of us to do that. And—I knew this to be the cruelest part of it all—whatever Jace knew, telling me would not make anything better. Jace couldn’t fix the break by spilling his guts.
So, whatever it was, it had to be bad. But not knowing nearly drove me mad. When the mind didn’t have the slightest idea of what to make of a situation, it created its own narrative. And the story—or the several stories I’d created—had been just awful.
I gave his hand a squeeze. “I’m looking forward to getting away. Cricket and I are already planning some girl-only retreats. So prepare yourself to single parent.”
We said our goodbyes, and I watched him walk out of the lobby. Then I went to my room and called my potential client, who didn’t answer. The client hadn’t responded to the two emails I’d sent either. Rubbing the pads of my fingers over my thumbnail, I considered my next step.
I moved to the window to look outside at the city. Mindy was busy, and it had only been half a day since we’d last talked. This wasn’t out of the ordinary, yet my gut told me something was off.
Ha. Something was definitely off. I’d just seen Cal Beckett for the first time in ten years. So, yeah, things were definitely off. And that was likely why my gut was all twisted up.
I pulled out my phone and read the article from the notification earlier:
CEO of Optium, Calvin Beckett, talk show’s favorite safety guru, is being called out for profiting from selling families on personal safety while not having a safety plan of his own. The accusation is that Beckett, known for his initiative rewarding women’s safety, avoids personal relationships, as he believes a family would be too hard to protect, and that there really is no such thing as safety.
I tucked my phone into my jacket pocket, glad my name hadn’t been mentioned. I thought about Cal at the elevator.
“I’m the guy who took your virginity,” I mimicked. I threw up my hands in frustration and disbelief. “Well, duh. What did that have to do with anything?” I mean, sure I’d chosen him to give it to. I’d chosen him because he’d be the one. Well, jokes on me.
If that fun fact hadn’t meant anything when he was dumping me with no explanation, it certainly meant nothing now. He’d wielded it like a sword intended to cut me. All because he’d been surprised that I had come willingly to match him.
I might not have gotten the closure I’d wanted, but I had gotten under his skin, and I took pleasure in that. The infuriating ass.
Seeing Cal again had been the worst kind of wonderful. He was a glass of cold water, and I’d been parched. As ugly as his reaction had been, seeing him had been weirdly refreshing. I hated myself for feeling that way. But maybe that was the power of first loves.
I stared out at the Seattle skyline, curious to know what had brought him to this city after college, when he was either going back to the family ranch in Wyoming or to Denver, where his dad’s company was headquartered. He’d been groomed to do either. Yet he’d gone in a completely different direction. His Wikipedia page said he’d spent four years working for a private security firm before starting his own.
The rumbling of a motorcycle downshifting caught my attention, and I looked toward the street. Three floors up gave me an advantage. I could see both the ground and the skyline.
A motorcycle idled at a red light, and the biker’s attention was on my hotel. I didn’t need to guess who rode the bike. By the length of his long legs and the way he stretched them out to balance the bike, I could tell it was Cal. There was something so familiar about the way he moved. He’d always had the agility of a cheetah, fluid and smooth and quick to respond. After all these years, I still knew his body.
Jace was right. Cal seemed to have a death wish. Because who rode a motorcycle when, just hours before, they’d been wounded by gunshot? A person who punished himself with pain, that was who. And his presence was confirmation that I’d gotten to him.
Okay, Calvin Beckett. You’re not going to let me walk away with the last word.
I gave him time to park his bike. Game on.