Chapter 33
Chapter Thirty-Three
Nash
O ut of body experiences were always something I’d heard about but was never familiar with. The sudden feeling of being an outsider looking in on life unfolding before you with no control over how it plays out.
The only time I ever came close to something of this nature was about five years ago, when I first left California after spending a year and a half living with Dex’s crew. It’s then I fell even more in love with the open road.
I spent six months on the road, back and forth through the southern border of the country, in search of some antique watches a client of mine had lost. His ex-wife had taken off with her lover and stolen his most prized possession of antique timepieces worth nearly ten million dollars. Why a man had so many watches was beyond me.
Bottom line is I spent so long without a decent place to rest my head at night. Even if I had the money for it, I had to keep a low profile in my line of work. That meant skeezy motels and even worse places to eat where I wouldn’t be forced to talk to anyone or be recognized if someone were to come asking around about me. I was so detached from the world and every other person; I felt like I was outside of my body watching life happen around me.
So much has happened in the last week. I’m not sure I’ve had time to process it all. It’s as if I’m right back in the sketchy dive bar in Alabama, where I found the briefcase of watches stashed under the floorboards in the filthy bathroom, right before I arrived back in Crossroads.
From my father’s passing, to Monroe’s pregnancy—which I have yet to fully accept is real—to the night I just spent with Bailey and her family, nothing about this seems like reality.
When I left the dinner party at the King’s Ranch, I was uneasy, to say the least. Not only were Mayor King's comments about my father and our ranch out of pocket and frankly suspicious, but the conversation we’d had in his study was not something I’d planned on. Neither was Bailey almost overhearing us as she and Jase were close by in another room.
At first, when I noticed her demeanor change from just moments before, I could have sworn she’d overheard. Though I chalked it up to the awkward conversations her parents had provoked, that made her feel slightly embarrassed. I didn’t blame her. I was uncomfortable with the way things played out, too.
When she stayed behind, I had to fight with the doubt that riddled my brain and focus on how I was going to prove to her I’d meant every word I’d said. I want a future with Bailey King, and I’m determined to do whatever it takes to make her mine.
Showing up at her daddy’s ranch, and kissing her in the middle of the driveway in front of him and everyone else was only the beginning. All of Crossroads was soon going to know the woman was mine and only mine. Showing up at her daddy’s ranch, and kissing her in the middle of the driveway for him and everyone else to see—just hours after he warned me away again —is only the beginning. All of Crossroads is soon going to find out the woman is mine and only mine.
The festival is in full swing. Patrons lining up outside the Stingers Beer Garden, and around to the HoneyBees' tent Bailey is currently in. When I agreed to work at the event for Jase, I didn’t picture being so incredibly busy I wouldn’t be able to stop by and spend any time with Bailey. What was the point of coming out to the festival if I wouldn’t spend any time with her?
“I can’t believe I’m back at one of these things,” Theo says, patting me on the back as he stands beside me with his guitar strapped to him. Much like Monty, Monroe and I, Theo’s thick, brown hair is a testament of our Bishop blood. Though unlike our variations of blue and green eyes, Theo’s honeyed hazel eyes make his golden complexion practically glisten in the sunshine.
Those attributes have deemed him Country Music’s Golden Boy.
I don’t bother looking my brother’s way, instead focusing my attention on the blonde beauty currently across from me, smiling like she’s the happiest I’ve ever seen her. “Thought you and Beau would come out here for the holidays over the years?”
Theo nods, his attention following the direction my eyes are zeroed in on. “Yeah, but I’d never stay more than a few nights. Never long enough to come out here, nor would I have done so if I had the time. But tonight feels different.”
The sun has set, illuminating the sky in a blanket of stars visible on this clear autumn night. The breeze has picked up, but I’m so amped up I can feel a damn thing. Bright twinkling lights flicker above us, draped along the roofless tent we procured, to allow for a clear view of the sky. This time of year is usually decorated for the upcoming Christmas season though in Crossroads, they typically wait until after the Harvest Festival to decorate storefronts and the town square around city hall.
Running a hand over my beard, I muffle a laugh. “I never thought I’d be back in Crossroads, so there’s that.”
“Yeah, what gives? I get why you came back. But now that you’ve helped Monty with the ranch and our father is no longer with us, therefore no longer a problem, what’s keeping you in town?” Beau’s question is rhetorical, given the knowing smirk on his and Theo’s face.
I chance a glance at my two brothers, who watch me curiously. The three of us, along with Monty, are only about two years apart, respectively. Beau and I are the closest in age by only sixteen months, though our looks couldn’t be more different. His blonde hair is a stark contrast to mine, as is his lack of facial hair.
“Monty hasn’t given y’all the rundown?”
They nod, giving me equally teasing smirks like they know exactly what’s going on but want to badger me with questions. Beau pats me on the shoulder. “We want to hear it from you.”
“Well, Beau’s going to have to give me the spark notes version because my time is up. It’s my time to get back out there, the people are calling. Gotta give them what they ask for.”
I swat Theo on the shoulder before he races off to the small stage we assembled for him and the impromptu concert he offered to give tonight as part of the entertainment of the beer garden. The usual live band that plays nightly at Stingers gathers around him, playing another one of his hit songs.
The noise level increases, making it almost impossible for Beau and me to keep our conversation going. “So, our baby sister is having a baby?” He asks, making small talk.
“Yeah, that’s something I don’t think I’ll ever get used to hearing.”
I don’t need to be reminded of that bomb dropped on us. I still can’t believe it, nor do I want to imagine what the next six months are going to be like before she gives birth. Or thereafter, when she’s raising the baby as a single mother.
To say Monty took it badly would be an understatement. I’ve never seen the man so defeated, chastising and blaming himself for letting her down. Considering what Bailey told me about Monroe being an adult and capable of making her own decisions, along with my brothers, we tried to make Monty see reason.
Monroe was absolutely devastated about the way he’d found out. She adored Monty. He was her father for all intents and purposes, but the man continued to see her as the defenseless little girl she was when our mother left and father refused to acknowledge she existed. We all still saw Monroe like that, so of course it was going to be nearly impossible for us to assimilate to the idea of her having a child, but I didn’t blame her for her decision to do this on her own. I just did a shit job of showing her I loved her and was here for whatever she and the baby needed.
It was no surprise to anyone that I did a shit job at loving people. The gorgeous woman less than forty feet away from me was a perfect example of not appreciating something I loved.
I loved Bailey King. I realized it last night as I lay restless in bed, replaying the look on her face when I walked out of her father's study with him right behind me. When I thought she’d overheard us, my heart sunk, a feeling I’d never experienced and never again wanted to feel.
It’s why I did what I did, kissing her for everyone to see and claiming her as mine in front of her family when I’d picked her up earlier this morning. I hoped she’d understood what I was trying to say, but I was never good with words. How was I going to explain to her I didn’t want to be anywhere else but with her?
Last night, spending the night alone at the apartment was painful. Not able to lie together, our bodies tangled into one, like we’d spent the last two weeks, was something I never again wanted to go through.
“Hey, why is Monroe over there arguing with Jase? Something going on between those two?” Beau asks, pulling me out of my thoughts.
I turn my attention toward where Beau is staring, only to see he’s right. Monroe is having an awfully heated conversation with Jase, which makes no sense whatsoever.
“I’ll be back,” I say, as I leave my brother and head toward the HoneyBees booth. Concern laces my expression as I head their way, careful not to alert them to my presence.
Jase’s voice is tense, filled with an emotion I can’t quite read. It’s not anger nor sadness, but a feeling of apprehension.
“Monroe, we have to talk about this. We can’t just go on ignoring it. I gave you two months to come to terms with what’s happened. I can’t keep waiting without knowing what we’re doing.”
Her response is slightly less apprehensive, but nonetheless, I can hear the fear and pain in her tone. “I know Jase. It’s just…it’s a lot to process. My brothers didn’t take the news well. How the hell do you think they’re going to feel when they find out it’s your child?”
This right here is a pivotal moment in our lives, of that I am one hundred percent sure. Something that’s going to affect our relationships profoundly. Only right now, I have no idea how to respond to what I’ve just heard.
Not when the only thing I feel is a blinding rage building up inside me, fiercely bubbling to the surface, about to explode right before our eyes.
“You fucked my sister?” I shout, taking Jase by the collar of his shirt and slamming his back against the metal column holding the tent up over the booth. My ire overpowers my reason as it builds within me.
At first, I swore I was imaging it. Actually, I prayed to fucking God I was, because there is no fucking way Jameson King is the asshole who got my sister pregnant.
Jase and Monroe exchange terror stricken glances, unsure what to say now that I’ve caught them. “Nash, please let him go,” Monroe pleads, tugging on my sleeve as she tries, and fails, to pull my arm. My grip on him tightens as my anger continues to build full force until I can barely see or hear a damn thing.
“Is this some sort of revenge plot you’ve come up with?” I continue to bark out at him, this time causing a few more heads sitting in the tables nearest the tent to turn our way. Thankfully, the music Theo is playing is loud enough the entire crowd can’t hear us, but those closest to us will have no issue witnessing me beat the shit out of my so-called best friend. “I fucked your sister, so you fuck mine and get her pregnant?” I laugh, though it’s humorless and cold. “You were always one to try to one up me in everything we did as kids. Well, you’ve done it, Jase. You won this game.”
“Fuck you Nash,” he finally blurts out, pushing me away. I release him only because there are more than a few people gathering around us and I really don’t want to be arrested before I get to say what I need to say. “It’s more than what you think.”
“Tell me, did you or did you not, fuck my sister and now she is pregnant with your kid?” His silence is deafening yet speaks volumes. He can’t fucking admit it, but he’s also not a fucking dumbass trying to deny it.
“What the hell is going on here?” Monty shouts, as he and my brothers push through the crowd and rush over to where we are, Theo’s guitar still strapped to his body.
“It didn’t mean anything.” Jase yells at the same time my sister shouts, “Nash, please, it wasn’t just sex.”
The desolate look on Monroe’s face makes me almost feel sorry for the asshole, but then I remember the urge to make him bleed and it all goes away. “You wanna try again, Jameson? Cause apparently you fooled my sister into thinking it meant more, but now you’re telling me it wasn’t shit?”
Monty shifts uncomfortably, his gaze darting to Jase. I’m surprised the man can keep calm since his anger and frustration have been brewing inside him these last few days. “Jase, what the fuck is Nash talking about?”
Though Jase doesn’t get the chance to reply before he’s interrupted. “Nash, what the hell is this?” This time it’s Bailey who appears before us, mortified by the scene I’m causing in her place of work.
My heartbeat feels like a thunderous drum in my ears, echoing a truth I had to have been blind not to see. Her hand falls against my shoulder, gently tugging me in her direction, and I can see the moment realization appears in Jase’s eyes.
“You are one to fucking talk, Nash,” Jase answers. “Fucking my sister right in front of my eyes. I guess it’s my fault right, I’m the one who nearly forced you to live with her.”
I can’t help the laugh that leaves me, though I’m in no mood for laughter. It’s delirium which has me laughing like a madman at the absurdity of what’s unfolding before us.
I nod, incredulous. “Yeah, it never made any sense to me. I figured it was a test. Trying to prove my loyalty and whatnot, but now it makes so much sense. Your guilt is what drove you to make a mockery of all of us.”
My words hang in the air, heavy with the weight of his revelation. As if a veil has been lifted, exposing the raw reality beneath. One we all foolishly thought could be easily ignored. This is exactly what I feared, the reason I knew Bailey and I were a bad idea.
Bailey comes to my defense, clearly not aware of everything that’s going on. “Jase, it’s not that simple. Nash isn’t the only one to blame for our relationship, okay? We’re adults. We can decide if we want to be together, even if it bruises your ego about some false pact he broke by dating his best friend’s sister.”
“The same pact you chose to break, for what? To get back at me?” My words are harsh, but at the moment I have no desire to filter out my rage.
“Nash, what the hell are you talking about?” Bailey asks her brother, and Jase opens his mouth to respond, but I cut him off, my voice rising despite the crowd forming around us.
I don’t turn to Bailey, keeping my gaze locked on my best friend. “I’m talking about the fact that Monroe is pregnant with Jase’s baby. That your brother fucked my sister because I fucked you.” The moment the words leave my lips, I know I fucked up, but like everything else in my life, I have no control over it.
“We should take this somewhere more private,” Monty suggests, though I’m baffled by his composure.
Of course, he’s the oldest, wisest, and levelheaded of the bunch, but this is our little sister, his most prized possession. Monroe is like a daughter to him and here he is, facing the man who got her pregnant and is planning to leave her to face all of this alone, and somehow his fist isn’t shoved into her deserving face.
Beside me, I can sense Bailey’s anger. She’s fuming as she pushes against my chest. Her palms are small against my broad chest, yet she uses all the pent up tension inside her to make me falter back slightly.
“Fuck you, Nash,” she cries out. “Don’t try to belittle what happened between them the way you did with us.”
I reach for her, placing a hand above hers against my chest, but she pulls away, tears brimming in her eyes at my harsh tone.
Monroe wraps an arm around Bailey, the two best friends embracing as tears stream down Monroe’s face as her gaze flicks back and forth between Jase and I. “No, don't worry, B. Jameson took care of doing that all on his own.”
Jase’s brows furrow, helplessness flashing in his blue eyes. “Monroe, please,” he pleads, reaching for her, but I don’t let him get near her.
I push him back, my fist aching to do so much more, but I’ll be the only one affected by that. “Don’t you fucking touch her? You’ve done enough.”
Jase scoffs, laughter echoing in the open walls around us as anger vibrates within him. “You were gone for ten years. You hurt her on purpose for so long, and you think I’m the villain here?”
This has gotten way too outta control, but there’s no stopping the truths that are about to come out. Bailey asked me if I ever was going to talk about the reason I left town ten years ago, well there is no time like the present.
The sky is completely dark now, only the bright lights around us illuminating us in a spotlight for all the spectators to witness the unraveling of our family legacies. “You wanna talk about that, Jase? Since we’re all gathered here reminiscing about the past. Wanna tell them why I left?”
“What is he talking about, Jase?” Bailey snaps, her eyes shot wide as tears threaten to come out. This is it. The truth she’s been so eager to discover will finally be brought to light.
Silence hangs heavy in the air, the weight of our unresolved issues crackling like electricity. It’s clear we’re at a crossroads, and the path forward is going to require every single truth to be revealed before we can move on.
“Nothing. Just another lie, I’m sure.” I have to give it to Jase for not cowering down in all this. He never was the brave one, but I never expected him to be a coward.
“You're telling me you forgot how you told me to leave? Wait, I mean threatened with telling your daddy about what you saw that night Bailey snuck out of my room?”
His blue eyes have never looked so angry, not even the night he caught me with Bailey had I sensed such hatred from my so-called best friend. I’d betrayed him, but he’d done me so much worse. Gaslighting me into thinking I was the one who’d fucked up, the only one to blame, only to do this all behind my back to what, enact some form of karma?
I ought to praise him for how eager he is to fight back. Jase was always a lover, not a fighter, except the time three years ago when he found me in a bar in Tennessee. He may have gotten all the fight out of him then, but now it’s my turn. “You used my pitiful threat as an excuse to leave because you wanted to, Nash. You could have fought back, but you didn’t. You took the coward's way out and left.”
“Like you’re trying to do, leaving Monroe to fend for herself,” I shoot back. My brothers take a step forward, sensing this fight is about to get physical.
“I’m doing no such thing. I told Monroe I would be there for her and the baby. She’s the one who wants nothing to do with me.” He nods slowly, a mix of understanding and shame etched in his features.
“Yeah, well, I’m not surprised.”
Bailey pushes past me, getting between her brother and I. “Nash, what is Jase talking about? What threats?” She swallows back the tears brimming in her red, swollen eyes as her gaze flicks between her brother and I.
I take two steps in his direction and am oddly proud he doesn’t cower down. This man right here, the one who was my best friend, who loved unconditionally and with all of him, is a man I would be proud to call family. But something about the way he and Monroe went behind all our backs and did this seems wrong. I know it makes me a hypocrite, but I can’t help the bitter taste it leaves me with.
Especially when I regretted my betrayal more than anything. “You expected me to have fought back against the beloved King family? Think I stood a chance against the most powerful man in all of Crossroads? Hell, the fucking state of North Carolina, for that matter. Or are you going to stand here and pretend he didn’t tell you what he did?”
“What the fuck are you talking about, Nash?” This time it’s Jase who asks looking confused, only further confirming my suspicion. He genuinely had nothing to do with the threats and ultimatum his father gave me that kept me away for so long.
This is the moment the truth has no chance against me. I’m no longer in control of my emotions or actions. Without caring who I hurt, I let it all come to light. “About how Daddy King approached me after you left. Appeared out of nowhere or had been tipped off by one of his goonies that always lurked around our property. He made good on those useless threats you spewed. Threatened not only my livelihood but my family’s. How he single-handedly threatened to ruin Monty and Monroe’s lives in Crossroads if I didn’t leave. How he shoved a hundred thousand dollar check in my face and told me never to step foot in Crossroads again.”
Bailey, along with everyone else who’s still watching gasps as a thick and palpable silence follows, allowing those around us to process what’s been revealed.
“You did take the money?” she whispers, though I hear it. She knew, of course, she did. Last night, Bismarck King was determined to make sure I stayed away from his daughter. It’s no surprise he would have told her the truth just to ensure she did.
“Fuck no I didn’t.” For the first time since this argument started, I direct my attention directly at Bailey. “You really think I’d do something like that, Angel?”
Her eyes soften slightly, though the tension in her expression doesn’t ease away. “What do you want me to say, Nash? I don’t know what to believe anymore,” she admits, her voice tinged with both doubt but hope as well. She wants to believe me. Believe I wouldn’t betray her, use her in such a deplorable way, yet she can’t allow herself to fully trust me.
It’s then I know she knows more than what she’s letting on. Bailey had to have heard the conversation between her father and me last night. Maybe he’d told her something different, something that had given her a reason to doubt me.
I take a deep breath, trying to ease the tension inside me and calm the whirlwind of emotions barreling through me. “Believe what you want. I was never good enough for your family, Bailey. Just a pity project, much like they’ve turned Monroe into. Us Bishops will never be seen as anything more than the fucking peasants we are to a King.”
“What on earth is this commotion all about?” Mayor King shouts as he barrels through the crowd and reaches us. The instant regret that crosses his face makes all of this fucking worth it.
“Oh, who do we have here, the man of the hour himself? Maybe Daddy King can clear this all up for us once and for all.”
The man’s features tighten, stiffer than I’ve ever seen him as his fingers tighten into fists at his side. The wrinkles around his eyes deepen as he scowls. “Nash, I think it’s best you and I talk somewhere private before someone, multiple people, are hurt by your stupidity.”
Monty slams a hand down on my shoulder. “Nash, I think Mayor King is right.” He knows it’s coming, they both do. My oldest, wisest brother is the only one of all of us who knows the truth—the secret I’ve kept for so long but can’t stand the thought of staying quiet one second longer. Even if this will hurt so many of the people I love and care about.
“Oh, we’re far beyond the point of no return, Bismarck. Can I call you Bismarck? It seems our blood runs through the streets of this town. We’re practically family. I’m fucking your daughter, your son’s fucking my sister, and wait, you fucked our mom too, so there’s that.”
“What?” The question is so loud I know it came from multiple sources.
“Nash, I suggest you…” King continues, but I’m done allowing him to talk over me.
“What, keep my mouth shut? Too late for that. Here’s another story time for you all. Once upon a time…”
“Nash, please stop,” Bailey pleads, tears flowing out of her eyes making me feel like a total asshole, but this goes far beyond just the two of us. I can’t keep quiet about this, not anymore. Not when it affects so many of us.
“No, Bailey. I won’t. Because if this thing between us is ever going to amount to something more than it is, we need all these goddamn secrets and lies put to rest. The reason for the rivalry between the Bishop’s and the King’s is because your father had an affair with our mother. More than that, they had a child—a brother the two of us share.”
“I thought it was you,” Mayor King shouts, shoving his fist into my jaw. The gesture catches me off guard and makes me stumble back, but before I can retaliate, Monty’s arm comes around my neck and holds me back.
“Get it together, Nash. Don’t fucking do something you’ll regret.” There’s that voice of reason again. Monty is too damn virtuous for his own good.
His statement catches me off guard, something I wasn’t expecting to hear. I wipe at the blood pooling on my lower lip. “You thought I was your son? The son you had with my mother?”
“Delia didn’t tell me until after you were all born. I didn’t…She wouldn’t tell me which one of you it was. I thought maybe that’s why you’d been drawn to Jase, but when I heard what happened between you and Bailey,” he pauses, clearly disturbed by the thought. “I felt fucking sick to my stomach at the possibility?—”
“That we were siblings,” Bailey answers for him.
“Holy shit,” someone gasps, and holy shit is correct. That’s why he forced me to leave. He couldn’t stand the fact that there was a possibility I was his son, and I’d fucked his daughter—my sister.
From the corner of my eye, I can see that sometime during all the chaos, the rest of the King family had joined us. Brynn stands beside her mother and oldest brother, staring unbelieving at what’s unfolding before their eyes, though Magnolia King doesn’t seem shocked in the slightest.
Of course she knew, a good wife always knows. She should be scathing that her bastard husband had a child with another woman, but of course a woman with a reputation as hers would never react that way. Sweep things under the rug to keep up appearances. Though the mortification that’s hidden beneath her composed expression isn’t because of the truths coming to light, but the fact it’s happening in the middle of town for all to see and judge.
“That’s why Jase freaked out when he discovered Monroe was pregnant,” Billie says, reminding us she’s here. So the girl knew her bestie's secret and kept it from Bailey. “He thought he not only shared a baby with her, but also a sibling.” She glances over at Bailey apologetically, who still has her arm wrapped around Monroe. Bailey nods in understanding.
Mayor King shakes his head, not seeing any other way out of this other than to part with the truth—-the whole truth. “Jase didn’t find out about my child until about two months ago, coincidentally about the same time you showed up in town. I thought you’d told him and that’s why he was completely freaked. But he overheard a conversation between his mother and one of her friends. Only he hadn’t heard it was a son.”
It’s all making sense now. The missing puzzle pieces I never had are putting this all into perspective. “He thought Monroe could be his sister.”
“It’s me.” This comes from Beau, who sidesteps around Monty to stand before the man he claims is his father. I nod in understanding, but I’m confused as to how my brother knows the truth. “Franklin confessed it to me when I went to go see him for the last time, two days before he took his last breath.”
There’s no trace of emotion on my brother’s face, just a simple understanding—a resignation to the truth he bears. To be frank, it should have been obvious. Beau’s the only one of us with hair a gleaming shade of gold and not the stark, almost black hue the rest of my siblings carry.
“Okay everyone, back up,” Theo announces on the mic that he’s currently still holding. “The Stingers Tavern and HoneyBees booths are closed until further notice. Family emergency. Please find your way out through the nearest exit.”
Leave it to Theo to step into damage control mode. Given his recent interaction with the media he’s familiar with crisis control and putting some of those strategies to use.
Loud boos and awws ring out amongst the crowd. “Don’t worry, I’m in town for a few days. I’ll make it up to y’all. Stay tuned on my social media account for information about a private concert I’ll be hosting here in Crossroads.” The boos erupt into full-blown cheers as, in no time, the crowd clears out, leaving only those whose last name is Bishop or King behind. Except for Billie Cole, of course.
“This can’t be done here,” Bailey says, looking around at the group that’s hung back. “Mama, daddy, you both need to leave. Neither of your children are in a position to have a respectful conversation with either of you. So I suggest you wait us out if you want to have any sort of relationship with us.”
With a slight nod, and her head hung low, her mother turns away, Mayor King following directly behind her with his tail between his legs. Now it’s all about damage control after the spectacle they just put on in front of the entire town.
Bailey looks down at her feet for a moment, contemplating her next move, before meeting my gaze once more. “As for the rest of us,” she says, her eyes never looking away from mine. “Stingers in twenty minutes. This can’t be discussed out here.”