Sweet Dreams (Colorado Mountain #2)(48)
Therefore, I collapsed into Tate’s side, resting my head on his shoulder.
His arm around my shoulders got tighter.
It wouldn’t be until much, much later that I would remember that I hadn’t called Wood.
* * * * *
Apparently the tear reservoir had run dry by the time we made it to St. Vincent’s Hospital because when I hit the waiting room and Mom and Caroline fell on me, all I could do was hold onto both of them in our mini-huddle.
“I’m so glad you’re here,” Mom whispered in my ear, “missed you so much, hon.”
I just held her tighter.
After a long time, we disengaged and they stepped back. Carrie looked toward Tate first. Then her mouth dropped right open.
Then she muttered, “Holy cow.”
Mom heard Carrie and she stopped smiling sadly at me, looked up at Tate and then she blinked and her head reared back.
“Um… Mom, Carrie, this is Tate Jackson his my bo –”
“Boyfriend,” Tate stated firmly, his deep, rough voice filling the waiting room and I could swear Carrie looked like she was going to faint and I could swear this because her upper body started teetering in a random pattern all the while Mom blinked again, repeatedly.
I looked up at Tate in shock but he was looking over my sister’s head.
“Can I help you?” he asked and I turned to see who he was looking at.
Brad was standing there, looking pale, somewhat haggard even though he also looked like Brad but after all these months, all that had gone on before, more than a month in Carnal with the likes of Tate and Wood, he didn’t seem like my glorious, beautiful Brad anymore.
He had light brown hair he used product on to sweep back from his face and, like always, even in a hospital waiting room, his hair looked perfect. He didn’t wash it and let it fall as it lay. He styled it and sometimes he took longer fiddling with his hair than I did blow drying mine and this was saying something because I had a lot of hair. He was only three inches taller than me so he’d never liked me to wear very high heels. He had blue eyes that I’d used to think were piercing. Now they just seemed blue. And he had an absolutely great body but he honed this by going to the gym five times a week, never missing a scheduled visit. He even went in when he was sick, such was his aversion to the thought of losing his carefully crafted physique.
His eyes were on me.
“Ree?” he asked, staring at me like he’d never seen me before.
“What are you doing here, Brad?” I asked back.
When he heard my voice he breathed, “Ree.”
“We couldn’t get him to go away,” Carrie informed me.
Brad jerked as if pulling himself together and then his eyes moved to Tate briefly before they came back to me.
“This is my family,” he explained.
“Sorry?” I whispered, feeling my body get tight.
“He’s been sayin’ that a lot,” Mack muttered to Tate.
“I’m guessin’ you’re Brad,” Tate said to Brad.
“Yes, Ree’s husband,” Brad said to Tate.
Tate looked down at me. “Thought you signed papers?” I nodded to him and he looked to Brad. “I think in the eyes of the law that makes you not her husband anymore.”
I looked at Mom and Carrie. “Tate would probably know; he used to be a cop.”
“What’s he now, hon?” Mom asked.
“A bounty hunter,” I answered.
Caroline’s eyes shot to Tate and she repeated, “Holy cow.”
Brad got even paler.
Mack chuckled.
Mom’s round eyes hit Tate and she whispered, “Oh my.”
Tate ignored all of us and told Brad, “So I’m thinkin’ Ace’s question is still pertinent.”
“Ace?” Brad asked.
“Lauren,” Tate answered.
Brad’s eyes narrowed on me. “He calls you Ace?”
I threw my hands up. “What are you doing here, Brad?”
Brad started toward me but stopped abruptly. He stopped abruptly because Tate moved in between him and me and planted a hand in Brad’s chest.
“That’s about as close as I want you to her,” Tate said low.
Brad took a step back and glared at Tate. “I get that you’re a big guy but I’d like to talk to my wife.”
“Then you shouldn’t have thrown her away when she was your wife. Now she ain’t. Now she’s somethin’ to me and I don’t let men I don’t like get close to her and I gotta tell you, man, I do not like you.”
Brad’s eyes came to me and he snapped, “Ree!”
I moved forward two feet until I was standing behind and beside Tate and I leaned beyond him to Brad.
“Are you telling me that you flew all the way from Phoenix to cause this drama when my father is in ICU just because you feel like a schmuck because you totally screwed me over and you didn’t get to make yourself feel like a good guy and say good-bye when I left town?”
“No, I’m telling you when I heard about your Dad I knew you’d be here and I flew all the way from Phoenix so I could tell you I want you back!” Brad returned and everyone in the room got very still except Tate and me.
Tate didn’t get still, as such. Instead, he got the definition of still. His body completely turned to stone which was good because my bones turned to water and I had to grab onto Tate to remain standing.