Chapter 4 #2
“Ohhhh.” Eden rubbed her hands together. “She’s trying to warn off the ex-girlfriend. Nicely played, Rylee.”
I thought of Rylee’s words in the heat of the moment. She can’t have you back.
“This can’t go anywhere, obviously. But she’s a cool girl. I like hanging out with her.”
“Why can’t it go anywhere?” she demanded. “And don’t give me that age-gap crap, big brother. She’s a grown woman, who takes care of herself and has been for a long time.”
I suspected my sister knew the whole story about Rylee’s childhood, but I had no intention of getting into that with her. Anything Rylee told me would be locked in the vault.
“The age is a factor, sure, but it’s more than that.”
She knocked her fist against her head. “Hello, the girl travels the world, earns a boatload of money, is fierce as hell. She’s already lived more life than most people your age, so what’s the problem?”
She had a point. Rylee wasn’t an immature, spoiled princess who’d lived a sheltered life and was looking for someone to take care of her. But damn, I was developing a serious hero-complex where this girl was concerned. I didn’t want anything or anyone to hurt her.
“We live in different states. And like you said, she travels all over the world. It’s not like we could be together, even if we wanted to.”
“Do you want to?”
“I just met her.”
“Way to avoid the question.” She flashed her phone at me, showing me the picture Rylee had posted of us. “That looks like two people who want to… explore the possibilities.” When I didn’t respond, she said, “I haven’t seen you smile like that in a long time. I miss that.”
I studied the photo. I couldn’t deny it. I did look happy with Rylee.
“It’s complicated, sis. I like her, and I think she feels the same way. But that doesn’t mean it’s worth pursuing.”
“What’s the alternative?” she demanded, her mouth pinched tight. “To go back to a lifeless house—”
“Hey.” My sister and Austin had recently spent the night at my house and she chastised me, claiming the house was nice, but felt empty and soulless, whatever that meant. It provided shelter, and that was good enough for me.
“An ex-girlfriend who harasses you—”
“You know I don’t give a shit about Kelly anymore.”
“A job that owns you.”
“My job…” Is my life. And even I knew that was a problem. There had to be more to life than work, even when that work was as gratifying as mine. “Is…”
“All you’ve got? I know.”
The truth always stung, and no one dished it out better than my sister.
“That’s not all I’ve got. I’ve got friends. We go hunting, fishing, bar hopping now and then. I workout, date, travel.” On the surface, it sounded like a full life, so why did it feel so empty?
She sighed. “I know you want to settle down and get married, Cam. You’ve always been a ‘family first’ guy,” she said, making air quotes around the words.
“All of your friends are married and have kids. You can’t tell me you don’t want that.
Something is missing in your life; anyone can see that. And that’s it.”
“Yeah, well if that’s true, I shouldn’t be wasting time with someone like Rylee. I should find a nice girl, in my own zip code who wants the same things I do.”
“Yeah, how’s that been working out for you?”
“Things with Kelly were getting serious, before she screwed everything up by hooking up with Smyth.”
“You can’t tell me that you actually would have considered marrying a woman like that. She cheated on you, and if you tell me the signs weren’t there—”
I silenced her with one look because her late husband had apparently been cheating on her for years, before he died, and she’d missed the obvious signs.
“Fair enough,” she said, as though she could read my mind. “It’s not always easy to tell. But—”
“I don’t want to talk about this anymore.”
“What do you want?”
“Right now? I want to go grab something to eat, get a workout in while I listen to Rylee’s radio interviews, then meet her at Jimmy’s later for a beer. Is that okay with you, Warden?”
“Why do you want to invest so much time in Rylee if you’re sure it can’t go anywhere?”
God help me, she was relentless.
“Because I like her. I have fun with her, and according to you, I need to have more fun.”
“So, that’s it?” she demanded. “You hang out with her for a couple of days? Maybe sleep with her, if you’re lucky, then head home and dive back into work and your boring routine, like y’all never met?”
No way could I forget Rylee. And if I slept with her, I was pretty sure she’d stake her claim on my heart, whether I liked it or not.
“What’s the alternative?”
“Give me a break, Cam. It’s a ten-hour drive from Oklahoma to Tennessee. A one-and-a-half-hour flight. If you wanted to see the girl on the regular, you could find a way.”
“I’m busy with my work and so is she. It’s not that easy, and you know it.”
She stood, tossing the pillow at me. “All I know, is if I were you, and met someone I had that kind of chemistry with, I’d follow her anywhere.”
“That’s you, not me.”
She smacked me lightly upside the head before she said, “That’s why I’m happy with the love of my life and you’re still alone. Time to get your shit together, and fight for what you want.”
Fight for what you want.
Those words were echoing in my head long after she walked away. Damn her.