“Blew up” was an understatement. It had been ugly. Candace’s brother James had tried to destroy Brian and everything he’d worked for. Macy hated to think about it. She’d had to come forward with information that could’ve taken James down in return—and probably would’ve brought shame on the entire Andrews family. It had taken everything she had in her to do it.
But Brian hadn’t been angry at her for her indecision about confessing what she knew. And it had all worked out in a truce, albeit a very tense one.
“This is all very interesting,” Macy’s dad said, “but what’s this about you wanting to race again?” She didn’t think she’d seen him grin that big since before she’d gotten hurt.
Jared had been cutting his steak. His hands froze. The hopefulness that bloomed on his face as he slowly raised his eyes to hers broke her heart. “Really?” he asked.
“I’m not so against the idea anymore.”
“That’s awesome. You should come out for the roping next weekend. I’ll set up the barrels for you; you can make a few runs. Get some practice in. I know everyone would love to see you.”
All her old friends? Half of them would probably throw rocks at her. And at Jared’s house? No, thanks. “Oh no, that’s… I’m not ready for all that yet.”
“I’m inclined to not take no for an answer.” Ugh, and there was the smile that had charmed her right out of her virginity at an age that would probably make her parents reassess their feelings and throw him out of the house if they knew.
“Well, you might just have to,” she fired back, sounding more flirtatious than she’d intended. It was a little too much…Jared staring at her across the table like he wanted to eat her alive, and Seth texting her under the table about her moaning in his ear. And she still didn’t think she’d come down from Friday night. She’d be riding that high for a long time yet.
Jared put a hand thoughtfully to his chin. “What kind of blackmail can I resort to? Your parents are sitting right here. Hmm…”
Yeah, you just go there, buddy. My dad has guns. Lots and lots of guns.
Her parents laughed at that, and he joined in, giving Macy a wink.
“Seriously, though. Saturday around noon. Come on out.”
“You really should go,” her mom said. “It would be good for you to get out.”
“I do get out.”
“Yes, but…” She trailed off, and Macy raised her eyebrows, her mind supplying the end to that thought. …it would be good for you to get out with different people.
Oh no. They weren’t about to start that up, were they? She wondered just how much Jared had told them. Her parents had always been accepting people, but if Jared had made it sound like she was hanging out with a thug, that would change. She was her own person; she did what she wanted to do. But she was close with them, and their approval was important to her. It always had been, and for most of her life, it had always been fairly easy for her to attain.
Jared had better not tarnish their image of Seth before they even got a chance to meet him. Who was she kidding, though? He’d probably be fairly adept at tarnishing it all on his own once they did.
While she stewed over it, the others took a trip down memory lane over dessert, and before long her mother was pulling out old photos of her and Jared and their friends, and all that crap.
She smiled and chatted and reminisced with them, but underneath it all, she only wanted to bolt from the table. Why did she ever have to open her big, fat mouth?
“I hate to break up the party, but I’m still really tired,” she announced, easing out of her chair.
“Oh, so soon?” Her mother looked crestfallen. “The coffee should be ready in a minute.”
“No, thanks. I lived on coffee yesterday. I’m coffee’d out.”
“Will you please call me when you have time to talk?”
And when would that be? “All right, Mom.”
Jared stood as she edged closer to the door. “Can I walk you out?”
Shit, she should have seen that coming. And it was like insta-happiness dawned across her parents’ faces. Seething, she shrugged and hoped the fake smile she plastered on wouldn’t give away her aggravation. “Suit yourself.”
She kissed her parents good-bye as Jared went into the foyer, making sure he’d be able to help her into her coat and open the front door for her. She let him go through the motions without a fuss, thinking how none of it meant as much as when Seth had done similar things. Maybe because she hadn’t expected it out of a guy like him. Or maybe because when Seth had done it, it hadn’t reeked of desperation.
The thought made her sad all of a sudden. Jared hadn’t done anything to deserve her annoyance, really, except still care about her at a very inopportune time.
“Please come by Saturday,” he said as they strolled out into the chilly night. His warm fingers curled around hers. “The weather’s supposed to be great.”
She tugged her hand away and shoved it into her coat pocket. “Jared, I need you to stop this.”
“What?”
“I explained to you Friday.”
“I’m just trying to be your friend.”
“Then I’m going to have to ask you to stop that too, if this is the way you go about it. Getting Mom and Dad involved was not the thing to do.”
“I’m sorry about that.” He leaned against the front fender of her Acadia, looking as if he was getting comfortable, and she sighed. “I got to thinking yesterday, and I sorta got beside myself, I guess. I wanted to talk to you some more. Then you didn’t come home all day—”
“What did you do, camp out on the street?”
“No. I checked once in the morning and then tried again in the afternoon.”
She narrowed her eyes. He’d gotten “beside herself” thinking she’d spent the night with Seth. “You don’t have to worry about me. I’m a big girl. I can make my own decisions; I can take care of myself.”
“Macy, you can do better than that guy.”
Hell no. She lunged for her car door handle, elbowing him out of the way when he tried to intercept her. “I don’t owe you any explanations.”
He won, grabbing the handle before she could open it. “I’m sorry, okay? But listen to what I’m saying. You know it. In your heart, you know it. It’s never going to work. You think they’ll go for it?” He pointed toward her house. She stopped trying to pry his hand away and glared at him as her breath burned her lungs. “You think they’ll welcome that in their house?”
“It’s not up to them.”
“Don’t go like this. Please. Just think about coming over Saturday. I swear I won’t get out of line. I have the girls this weekend. They would love to see you there. It would make their weekend, Macy, really.”
Oh, that wasn’t fair. “You’ve proven you won’t back off when I tell you to, so no. I’m not putting myself in this situation again.”
“What if I promise I’ll be good?” He grinned at her.
“No.”
“Just tell me what it’s gonna hurt. You can see some old friends, laugh about old times, get a little piece of your old life back. I want to help you with that, if nothing else. You were awesome. If I can be a little part, a tiny part, of you getting back to that, then hell. I want in.”
Jared wasn’t supposed to be a part of her getting her old life back. She searched his face, looking for any signs of insincerity. Or veiled lechery. Nothing was there except his earnest, pleading blue eyes.
“Jared…”
“Come on. Just one day. If you don’t have fun, I promise I will never, ever bug you about hanging out with us again.”
She crossed her arms, glared at him some more, chewed her bottom lip. Finally she released her breath in a huff, dropping the defensive stance and trying for her car door again. This time, he let her. “Fine! All right. I’ll freaking come over.” After opening the door, she put her finger in his face. “Listen to me. You try one thing, you say one thing that even remotely offends me or pisses me off, and I’m out of there. You got that? I’m serious, Jared.”
He’d been grinning like the Cheshire cat, but he dropped all expression at her tirade. “I got it. I do. Yes, ma’am.” He saluted her.
She rolled her eyes and escaped into the interior of her car, yanking her keys from her purse and jamming one in the ignition.
“Saturday. Noon,” he said.
“I know.”
“Good night, Macy.” With a final grin that had a little too much triumph behind it for her liking, he shut her door.
Seth’s sleepy voice as he answered his phone was the best damn thing she’d heard all day. Chuckling, she pulled her own covers up to her chin. “You were asleep.”
“Yeah,” he yawned.
“But you answered on, like, the first ring.”
“Been waiting on you.”
“Really?”
“You didn’t answer my text earlier, though, so I didn’t know if you’d call or not.”
“Sorry. I was at my parents’ having dinner.” Her brow furrowed. Should she tell him her ex-boyfriend was there? Or that they were hanging out this weekend? Was he the type to get mad about something like that? If he was, it probably wouldn’t be worth the drama. Wasn’t like he had anything to worry about.
His laugh was slow and warm and…oh, what she wouldn’t give to hear it beside her instead of across a state line. She rubbed her thighs together restlessly.
“That’s awesome,” he said.
“Why?”
“Call me deranged, but if I’d known you were at your parents’, I probably would’ve kept it up.”
Thank God he hadn’t known, then. She would’ve been glued to her phone all night, and her mom might have flipped out. “You must feel a little better.”
“Well…I’m all right.”
“Everything…the same?”
“Pretty much, yeah.”
She wanted to ask how things were going with his brother, but that would probably be the last thing he wanted to talk about. “Where are you?”
“Stephanie’s guest bedroom.”
“Hmm. I guess you have to be quiet then.”
“I’ve got no problem with that.” His voice dropped to an intimate timbre that made chills run from the tips of her toes to the roots of her hair. “I already miss you, Macy.”
She’d missed him before she’d gotten in Sam’s car and rode away. Her hand, which had been resting on her belly, inched downward of its own volition. To think just a couple nights ago…
“Can I take your mind off things?” she asked softly.
“That would be f**king splendid.”
“I was thinking about something earlier, just before I called you.” Her heart rate accelerated. She hadn’t exactly intended on letting him know just yet where her thoughts had been wandering, but if he wanted to occupy his mind with other things, she was certain she had the solution.