Weekend Surrender (The Surrender Trilogy, #1)(43)
Her phone rang, and she reached for it, pleased to see Zoey’s name pop up.
“Hey, Zoey.”
“Uh oh, did it go that badly? Is your mom pissed?”
Rachel laughed a little, “No, in fact she was very supportive. Concerned for the baby and me, but supportive. She offered to let me move in with her.”
“What? You can’t go to Oklahoma!”
Now Rachel chuckled a little. “I’m not. She just offered, which was very sweet of her considering she’s in a two bedroom place that’s barely big enough for her, much less her daughter and a baby.”
“So, if she was supportive, why are you crying, Ray?”
Rachel held her breath for a moment, thinking about it. Zoey was as close as a sister to her. They shared all of their secrets, and Rachel had been completely honest with her about why she had been at the Brooks brother’s ranch, without going into too much detail about her sexual escapades.
“What if they don’t want us, Zoey?”
Zoey’s laughter filled her ears, and Rachel frowned at the phone. “Girl, those four have been moping around like wounded animals for two months! They show up everywhere they think you will be, ask everyone about you, leave messages on your phone, send flowers to your door, and otherwise beg you to give them a chance. I love you, Ray, but what the fu-ck is wrong with you?”
Rachel flinched like Zoey had just smacked her in the face. “Excuse me?”
“Rachel Lia Morgan. You are an intelligent woman, and you have found not one, but four amazing men who want to love you and care for you, why are you ruining it for yourself?”
“They could break my heart…”
“And the pope could wear a pink tutu for the Easter service, and Brad Pitt could suddenly shave his head and move to Tibet to become a monk, but none of those scenarios are logical or likely, so again I ask, what is your fu-cking problem? You’re talking yourself out of the best thing you’ve ever had in front of you, because you’re afraid of your father.”
“He left me, Zoey. If he can walk away from his wife and child to create a whole new family, then why wouldn’t these four guys do the same? I barely survived daddy leaving, and every guy I’ve dated has hurt me by walking away from me—”
“Pfft. Have you ever considered that maybe you pushed them away?”
That stopped Rachel in her tracks and she fell silent.
“Rachel, you have been running from commitment ever since we were kids. Just once, trust your gut and give these guys a chance! I’m not saying you have to marry them, I’m just saying, be honest with them and give them a chance to decide what they want.”
Zoey was so right that it irked Rachel, and she refused to respond. Childish, and immature, but damn it she didn’t like being wrong. Just because she was pregnant, didn’t mean she had to make a long-term decision about her relationship with the guys, and it was still possible they would choose to walk away, right?
Ending her phone call with Zoey, she stiffened her spine and called Rogan.
****
Rogan was dying inside. He and his brothers had walked around like zombies for almost two months hoping Rachel would change her mind, but she hadn’t. In fact, she had avoided them all at every turn. Phone calls went straight to voicemail, when they showed up at her office she had her secretary blow them off and hurry them out the door telling them she was at some forgotten ‘meeting'.
It was painfully obvious she was just as broken up as they were. She had lost weight, and her eyes had a shadowed, haunted look he had never seen before. When she had spotted him watching her at the diner, she had turned away, and quickly asked for her meal to be boxed up. He hated knowing she was afraid of them in any way. It made him feel like shit.
Hudson hadn’t told them about the gifts he was sending her until last week. That was when he had the idea to give her the charm bracelet. He thought if they sent something with more meaning behind it, it just might be enough to crack the icy shell she had built around herself. Rogan never expected it to work when he selected the tiny cowboy hat charm, but right now, he sent up a prayer of thanks for Hudson’s brilliance.
Until today, he had nearly given up hope they would be able to get back on the right path with her, but today, Rachel had left a message on their home answering machine. She sounded upset, but her voice still managed to make Rogan’s cock hard in his jeans. He hadn’t even waited to tell his brothers she had called. He had just picked up the phone and called her back immediately.
She was short with him, but she asked him if she could come to talk to the four of them tonight. It was perfect. They would be able to get her to sit still long enough to hash this whole relationship out, and this time chivalry be damned, he was keeping her until she listened.
Rushing out to the barn to tell Parker the news, he sent Sawyer and Hudson a 911-text message. Parker was knee deep in manure when Rogan found him, but he seemed to sense the urgency and dropped his shovel instantly.
“What is it? What’s wrong?”
“It’s Rachel, she called and wants to come over tonight to talk. To talk to all of us.”
A myriad of emotions crossed Parker’s face, and Rogan waited patiently for his reaction. His eyes finally hardened into deep brown pools of pain. “Great, so she’s coming to get our hopes up and kick us in the nuts again. Fabulous.”