Gaining Miles (Miles Family #5)(4)

Shannon.

Her name drifted through my mind like a cool breeze. Soothing. Beautiful. Shannon Miles, the woman I’d loved from afar for longer than was strictly healthy.

She’d been through hell the last couple of years. As happy as I’d been to see her husband go, I’d hated the pain it had brought her. He’d been unfaithful off and on throughout most of their marriage. I hadn’t known. Oh, I’d suspected. Strongly. But I’d told myself over and over that it was none of my business. I had no place getting in between a married man and woman.

That was one of my life’s biggest regrets. If I’d trusted my gut and exposed Lawrence years ago, maybe I could have saved her, and those kids, a hell of a lot of pain.

But then again, it was hard to say how that would have turned out. Maybe she wouldn’t have believed me. Maybe she wouldn’t have been ready to hear the truth. Maybe the crushing responsibility of being a single mother to four young kids while trying to keep her family’s winery afloat would have made her even more miserable than her husband had.

I doubted it, but it gave me some comfort to think I hadn’t ruined her life by keeping out of it.

Shannon had been the name my heart had whispered for a long time. I hadn’t always loved her. The first time we spoke, that day on the edge of the vineyard when Cooper had run off, hadn’t been the moment I’d fallen for her. I’d noticed her, and maybe deep down, a part of me had known I’d love her one day. But back then, she was a married young mother, as unavailable as a person could get.

No, I fell for her kids first. They were they reason I’d stayed. Back in those days, I’d been little more than a drifter. No permanent home, no ties to anything. I’d wanted it that way, thinking I could outrun the pain of my past. The Miles kids had given me a reason to plant roots. I’d stayed here for them, and I’d never regretted it.

However, watching Shannon live a life with another man—especially a piece of shit like Lawrence Miles—had been a special kind of torture.

But now, Lawrence was gone. It had been a long, hard road for Shannon. His selfishness had come back to haunt not only her, but her entire family. Fortunately, justice had prevailed, and their ordeal was over.

And today, I’d decided it was time.

I heard the boys—Cooper and Chase, if I wasn’t mistaken—coming down the path to the clearing. Probably giving each other shit, by their tones and the laughter that followed. Chase was one of mine in much the same way the Miles kids always had been. He and Cooper had been best friends since they were five. In our own ways—separately, of course—Shannon and I had adopted Chase as one of ours. Now that he was married to Brynn, he was a Miles in everything but name. Although really, he always had been.

“Ben, dude, what’s going on out here?” Cooper asked, dragging a chair over. He didn’t sit down. “Having a party without us? What’s up with that? I know we’ve been busy or whatever, but still. Have some manners, man. Give a guy a heads up.”

“Coop.” Chase tried to get Cooper’s attention.

“I guess the beer makes up for it, though. Beer me, good buddy.”

I opened a beer and handed it to Cooper. Chase looked at the fire, then at me, then back at the fire.

“Um, Coop?”

Cooper dropped into the chair and took a long swig. “I can’t stay too long. Cookie’s at the ranch late tonight. She’s been there all day, and I miss the fuck out of her. So fair warning, as soon as she texts me that she’s on her way home, I’m bailing on you guys. Sorry if that violates bro code.”

“Cooper,” Chase said, his voice sharp.

“What? Get a chair and grab a beer, bro. What’s wrong with you?”

“Look.” He pointed at the fire.

Cooper’s head swiveled toward the fire and his eyes widened. He looked at me, the flames dancing in his eyes. “Dude.”

I waited. Cooper was about to unload a verbal assault and it was always better to let him do it, then speak afterward. But he stayed quiet.

Had I actually rendered Cooper Miles speechless?

A big smile crossed Chase’s face. “Fuck yes. Fuck. Yes.”

“Fuck yes, indeed, boys,” I said and took a drink.

“Took you long enough,” Cooper said.

“Don’t start with me, Coop,” I said.

He put up his hands, as if in surrender. “I know, I know. Your clocks need to be in sync. I get it. You were right about me and Amelia. But what changed?”

I took another drink, pondering my answer. “Well, her divorce is final, although it’s more than that. Things were hard for a while, but they’ve settled down. And like you said, our clocks need to be in sync.”

“And they are now?” Cooper asked.

“I hope so. And if they aren’t, maybe I’m ready to give hers a nudge in the right direction.”

Cooper grinned at me. “This is awesome. Do you know how awesome this is? There are definitely parts of this that I don’t need to know, or talk about, because it’s my mom. But I’m really fucking happy for you.”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself,” I said. “I’m not out here burning this thing because I put a ring on her finger.”

“Holy shit, Ben,” Chase said. “Are you going to propose?”