27
TATE
“Brace for Impact (Live a Little)” by Sturgill Simpson
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I shut the door of the truck that Quinn just jumped down from and turn to follow her up the walk to her house, some lingering exhaustion still clinging to me even with the long nap we had when we got back to my house from the airport. Even though we were only in California for a short time, it was enough for the trip to drain us both.
My cell vibrates when I reach Quinn’s side, and I pull it out of my pocket to see the word unknown on the display.
“How do your patients expect you to call them back if they’re callin’ from an unknown number?”
“No clue,” I mumble, putting my cell back in my back pocket and pulling Quinn into my body with one arm over her shoulder as we continue to walk up to the porch.
“Did they leave a message this time?”
“No message. Must not be an emergency.” Even as I say the words, I don’t completely believe them. “I need to talk to Russ about gettin’ us hooked up with an answerin’ service. They could filter out the calls that need to reach me and avoid leavin’ me worryin’ that someone needs medical care.”
Quinn hums and leans into my side. “That would beat you handin’ out your private number to each one of those floozies that come into your practice.”
I snort out a laugh and look down at her, careful as we steer our way up the porch steps of her and Clay’s house. “You make it sound like they got pregnant just to get my number, Grease.”
“Well, if you weren’t my man I’m pretty sure I would be desperate to get that number myself.”
I shake my head but smile at her crazy logic.
When we got home earlier this morning, I called her brothers to let them know we would be over later. As much as I knew they wanted to see her, her emotions were in overload territory and it was my job to help carry that load for her. They didn’t like it, but they gave us the time we needed. It was a good thing too, seeing that she could hardly hold her body up to just walk through the airport, falling asleep the second she buckled up in my truck before we even pulled out of the parking spot.
I drove us back to my house and carried her to my bed. She didn’t wake up once during all that until about an hour ago. While we were sleeping, I got an abnormal number of missed calls, though, and it’s been nagging at me ever since. The majority were from her brothers, three from the office, two unknown numbers . . . and one from my parents’ number.
It was that last call from my parents that was making me the most uneasy. They know better than to call. I made sure the last time I spoke to them that they knew never to contact me. It’s kind of hard to argue with someone when they say they want you to forget they were ever born—that they should consider you dead to them forever.
They had never given me a single hint that they actually had hearts residing inside of the two of them, so I doubt they’re calling to set up a reunion. No, something forced them to make that call. I’m just not sure I ever want to find out what it was.
“Hey!” Quinn calls out into the house after opening the front door and walking inside. I trail in after her, my mind still a million miles away. “I figured they would at least be around since they knew we were on the way,” she huffs while her eyes roam through the parts of the house she can see from where she’s standing just inside the entryway.
I shut the door and walk up behind her, not wanting her far from my touch with the unsettled nerves twisting my thoughts. Right before I reach out, my thoughts shift from her to the phone vibrating in my back pocket again.
“Hey,” Maverick says with a deep grunt, coming out of the kitchen and hugging his sister. “I just called you,” he says to me, holding his phone up and shaking it.
“Felt it, but we were walkin’ up so figured I would check it later. My phone’s been going off since we got back.” I didn’t realize I had been holding myself so tensely until he said he was the one that made my phone go off just now.
“Everything okay?”
“Gladys called a few times, but it was just some patients with questions. Other than that, yeah, nothin’ I need to deal with at the moment.”
He nods, brushing me off, but not in a rude way. He’s worried about his sister and that’s taking precedence in his mind right now. “And you? You okay?” he asks Quinn, his green eyes searching her face for clues as to how she’s feeling.
I look down and watch her lips, feeling my chest get tight when she smiles up at her brother. I’ll never get sick of seeing that smile.
“I told you yesterday on the phone that I’m fine, Mav. Honestly, I am.”
I hear Clay stomping into the room, but I don’t look away from her.
“You sure about that, sugar?”
She looks over at Clay when she hears his voice, and I lose sight of her smile. She doesn’t answer right away, moving away from me to give Maverick a hug before stepping in front of Clay.
“Positive.” She turns, the braid she pulled her hair into before we left swinging in an arc, and beams that heart-stopping smile at me. “Plus I had one hell of a support system with me.”
I feel my face get soft as I smile at her. She winks before looking away and giving Clay a hug.
“Where’s Leigh?” Quinn asks as she steps back and into my side.
“She’s at the PieHole dealing with some prep for tomorrow or somethin’, I don’t know. Said she wanted to have her mornin’ clear for some girl time with you, but I think she really just got sick of dealin’ with his broodin’,” Clay says with a gruff laugh, pointing at a scowling Maverick.
“Ask,” Quinn says to Maverick, sighing and ignoring her brother’s joke.
He frowns, giving her his back as he walks toward the kitchen. Taking it as a hint, we all follow, and she grabs my hand before we step into the room.
“I’m just worried about you,” Maverick says, holding the back of his neck as he leans against the counter. “Seein’ her wasn’t easy for me, Quinny, but I hadn’t been thinkin’ she was some kind of fairy-tale mama. It couldn’t have been that easy on you, darlin’.”
Quinn walks over to the island directly across from him and hops onto it. I stand next to her with my hip against the counter and let her run the show. I look up, seeing her studying Maverick with a reserved look of love and acceptance—no pain—before glancing back at him.
“What do you want to hear? That it sucked seein’ her? It did, but probably not because of what you’re thinkin’. Mav, I felt nothin’. Not one thing gave me a connection to her other than the fact that I clearly favor her in looks. I walked in there and it was like lookin’ in a freakin’ mirror. I think that shocked me at first, but after that, nothin’. It was like everything I had ever thought I would feel if I saw her vanished. The things I thought I needed from her didn’t matter anymore. All I felt was pity for her.”
“Pity? You felt sorry for her?” Clay asks, a hard, bitter tone to his voice.
She turns, looks at me, and takes a deep breath. I can’t tell what’s she’s thinking, but I know what she’s telling her brothers, what they want to believe, is true. She really is okay. I press a ghost of a kiss against her lips and she pulls back, rolling her forehead against mine on her way to look back at her brothers as they lean against the counter in front of her.
“Yeah,” she breathes, then clears her throat before finishing. “I felt sorry for her because she left. She left and because of that, she’s missed this,” she says, lifting her hand and pointing between the three of them. “She’ll never know what a strong man her eldest son is, how he protects us and worries about us like a parent and not a brother. She won’t get a chance to know the proud and courageous man her middle son is. How he beat all the odds to take back the life he wanted. And, well . . . she won’t know me. So yeah, I feel bad, because in my book, we have the whole world together and she’s got nothin’.”
“Christ,” Maverick whispers under his breath.
“Fuckin’ hell,” Clay hisses.
I give the hand I had been holding a squeeze and let go when her brothers both push off the counter and step toward her. I want them to have this moment with her, alone.
“I’ll be outside, darlin’.”
She leans over and gives me a kiss before I turn and walk out of the Davis house with a full fucking heart knowing that I’m one lucky son of a bitch and the woman that I love with all my damn heart doesn’t have a single fucking ghost clouding her eyes when she looks at me anymore.
Fuck, does it feel good.
When I got back to Pine Oak six weeks ago, I was too afraid to believe that I would actually win my fight for Quinn. I was determined, that’s for sure, but fuck, was I nervous. Now here I am, her love given to me freely and her trust earned.
I glance over the pasture to the stables, seeing everyone down there busy at work. It’s getting to be the end of a long workday and I bet they’re ready to get home.
I take a deep breath and look up at the cloudless sky. The sun is shining and there isn’t a single thing about the day around me that isn’t perfect—except for the feeling crawling up my back. There’s something in the air, and even with everything in my life sailing smoothly, I feel a storm rolling in.
“Shit,” I hiss under my breath.