Beautifully Broken Pieces (Sutter Lake, #1)(74)

I let out a chuckle, my first laugh since Taylor had walked out my door yesterday. I had a plan, I had an in, and I wasn’t taking no for an answer.





I pushed the door to my truck closed with an elbow as I balanced Taylor’s tea and a massive bag of treats in my hands. I rolled my shoulders back, readying myself to do battle if necessary. I slowed a few steps from the porch. There was an SUV I didn’t recognize parked next to the house. California plates.

Shit. Had she called someone to come and get her already? I really fucking hoped not. But if she had, I was going with them. I was taking Jensen’s advice and not leaving Taylor alone for a second. I bounded up the porch steps and pressed the bell. Nothing. There were zero sounds of stirring coming from inside the house.

I pressed the bell again and followed it with a strong knock. Still nothing. A lead weight once again settled in my gut. What if something was wrong? I pounded on the door. “Taylor! It’s Walker. If you don’t answer the door in sixty seconds, I’m coming in.”

I set her tea on the porch railing while I searched my pocket for my key ring, I had an extra set for the cabin on there. Before I could get them, the door swung open. “Jesus, do you know what time it is?” Standing in the doorway in nothing but boxers, hair tousled in a way that said he’d been having a little too much fun last night, was Liam Fairchild. Fuck.

I said nothing. Liam blinked against the sun, letting his eyes adjust to the light. “Oh, hey man. Walker, right?”

“Right.” My voice was rough as burlap, and my mind spun, going in directions that made me want to puke up the baked goods in my stomach.

“Who is it, Liam?” A sleepy voice I recognized all too well said from inside.

“It’s Walker.”

Taylor appeared in the hall, hair a teased rat’s nest, and wearing nothing but an oversized t-shirt. What in the actual fuck? My jaw turned to granite, and I was sure my eyes were raging. Taylor’s eyes moved from me to Liam and back again. “I thought I told you I needed some time?”

My breath came in quick pants. “And you spend that time half-naked with some guy?”

Taylor’s eyes turned hard, blazing with that blue fire I loved so much. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me.”

“How I spend my time is none of your damn business! I told you I needed time and space to figure things out, but you never listen! You just push and push and push! Why can’t you respect what I ask for?”

“You want me to respect what you ask for? Fine. I’m outta here. I don’t need this shit.” I pelted the bag of goodies at the shirtless rock star still standing in the entryway. “Here, help yourself, though it seems you already have.” I spun on my heel, taking a swipe at the cup of tea still balanced on the rail. It flew into the drive, splashing everywhere.

I jumped into my truck and tore out, sending gravel flying. I only made it half a mile before the need to empty my stomach overtook me. I swung to the side of the road and heaved into the tall grass until the only thing coming up was bile.

I knew Taylor was terrified. That, I could handle. I could go as slowly as she needed, coaxing her every step of the way. But I never expected betrayal. Not from her. The image of Taylor and Liam half-dressed flashed in my mind. Suddenly, I was retching again. If only I could rid my heart of Taylor the same way.





40





Taylor





“What the fuck, Tay?” Liam’s words struck out like a whip.

I leaned back against the hallway wall and slowly sank to the floor, my entire body trembling. What had I done?

Liam crouched in front of me. “Taylor, why did you let him think something had happened between us? That is beyond messed up.”

Tears filled my eyes and began to spill over. “It’s the only way he’ll let me go.”

“Fuck.” Liam turned, sitting next to me on the floor and pulling me in to his side, his arm around my shoulders.

“He deserves better than me. I don’t think I can do this, Liam. I’m scared all the time, and I don’t think that’s going to change.” Just saying the words aloud brought on a flash of memories, but this time, they weren’t of my mother wasting away in a hospital, they were of Walker. Images of his large, vibrant body filled with tubes, of the gauze covering the wound on his chest. I shuddered, and Liam pulled me closer to him.

“You are one of the best people I know. So loving. So giving. But you’ve been slowly disappearing into nothing since your mom got sick. You don’t laugh as much, and we have to battle for you to let us in. Hell, we practically had to kidnap you to go on vacation with us last spring.” I exhaled a slow breath, knowing he was right.

Liam squeezed my shoulder. “But Carter said the last couple of months when she talked to you, you sounded more like your old self. I was at her and Austin’s one night when you called. Taylor, she burst into tears when she got off the phone with you. She said it was the first time she’d heard your real laugh in over a year. Not the polite one you use because it’s appropriate. Your real one.”

Tears continued to fall. I knew exactly the conversation he was talking about. I had been telling her about a dinner at the Coles’, recounting some story about Irma. I’d had tears in my eyes then too, but only because I was laughing so hard. Walker and the Cole family had brought so many wonderful things to my life. But I was so scared. Would it be worth the pain if I lost one of them?