Legend (Arizona Vengeance #3)(25)

    “Maybe you should invite him to go do something with you and Charlie,” I suggest.

Legend nods. “Maybe even ask him to babysit.”

I grin at him. “Now you’re thinking.”

Legend smiles but it fades away until his expression becomes troubled.

“What?” I ask, noting the stiffness of his body.

He shakes his head, as if he doesn’t want to tell me, but then he says, “Tacker said something as he was leaving Sunday night…and well, I can’t stop thinking about it.”

I don’t say anything, but merely wait for Legend to tell the story in his own way.

“They were leaving,” he continues. “And Dax had already gone out the door and was down the steps. Tacker was just walking out, and thanking me for the invitation. In that Tacker sort of way. Gruff. Not many words. He started to walk past me, and then he turned back around and for the first time since I’ve met him…he was ‘open.’?”

“Open?” I ask, not understanding.

Legend has that look on his face as if he doesn’t understand either and is having a difficult time expressing himself. “Open, like…I could ask him anything and he’d answer. He didn’t have that wall around him and it threw me for a moment. Then he said, ‘I’m not sure how I would have survived this night on my own.’?”

“Oh,” I say as the implication hits me. “What did you do?”

“I immediately invited him to stay the night, and hang with us on Christmas day. I mean…I was afraid to let him leave. But he declined and said he was actually going to spend Christmas day with Bishop and Brooke over at Coach Perron’s house. I got the impression the invitation came from Coach and wasn’t to be ignored.”

    “Thank God,” I murmur. “Is he…um…suicidal?”

“I have no clue,” Legend admits with frustration in his voice. “He seems fine at practice and games. He’s distant when he does show up at personal events, but I’ve never gotten any indication he’d do something to himself. I guess if you had to press me, I’d say no, he’s not. Just really deeply depressed.”

“Should you talk to someone about it?” I ask him.

“I’m going to talk to Bishop. Off the record sort of stuff, but I do think we’ll try to push Tacker into doing things with us more. Something needs to be done to break him out of this.”

I give Legend a wan smile and I feel for him. I feel for Tacker too, but mainly now for Legend, who is struggling to find his footing in this new life and is now worried about his friend.

Legend pops the cork out of the bottle but sits the wine down. “Before we do another thing,” he says as he claps his hands together and rubs them briskly as if he has a nefarious plan. “I have something to give you.”

That seems to jolt me, because even though I bought him a present, I didn’t think he’d get me one.

“I got something for you too,” I exclaim and move toward the bags I’d dumped, hoping beyond hope he likes the cashmere scarf and cologne I picked out.

    Instead, his hands go around my waist—having stealthily come around the island—and he pulls me back. Spinning me toward the living room, he pushes me toward the fireplace where I see a small but shiny gold bag.

Legend bends over, picks it up and turns to give it to me. “I wasn’t sure what to get you, but then this just sort of called out to me.”

I look up at him, give a smile, then back down to the bag. It’s adorable that there’s no bow, no tissue paper and only a piece of milky white tape holding the top together. I slip my finger under the edge and pop the tape off.

Inside is what is obviously a jeweler’s box.

My heart starts beating faster, and I think that’s probably the norm when any woman gets jewelry.

I pull out the square, flat box covered in black velvet and drop the bag to the ground. I glance up at Legend once more and he’s staring at me with eagerness. I give my attention to the box again, and slowly lift the top.

My breath catches and I stare at it just a moment before a wide grin breaks out on my face.

“I love it,” I practically squeal as I lift the necklace from the velvet bed.

“Are you sure?” Legend asks skeptically.

I hold up the pendant to study it, and it sparkles so beautifully.

It’s a flamingo encrusted in pink Swarovski crystals and hanging from a gold chain. “It’s absolutely perfect.”

“Here,” he says softly and takes the necklace from me. “Let me put it on you.”

    A shiver runs up my spine over the seductive tone in his voice. I turn to face away from him and he places the necklace over my head, bringing his hands to the back of my neck.

He works the clasp deftly and when he finishes, he rubs a thumb down my bare skin.

I turn back to him on shaky legs and he looks down at the pendant sitting just below the line of my collarbones. His eyes drag up slowly to meet mine. “It’s whimsical. Like you.”

“You used to hate whimsical,” I remind him.

He shakes his head and dips his face closer to me. “Never hate. Just severely annoyed.”

I go to laugh but it’s cut off by his mouth on mine. My hands curl involuntarily into his shirt and I give him a slight jerk to let him know I like it.