Always My Hero (21 page)

Haley was going on a date? So much for her empty threats to steal Ryan back for herself. Things just got interesting.

“She had no right to leave you like that! I’m going to call her, tell her to get her butt back here.” Ryan’s features were set in a hard line as he reached in his back pocket for his cell phone.

Bree rested a hand on his arm. She didn’t say a word, just waited for him to look at her. Haley was a grown woman. She’d do whatever she pleased. Ryan sighed, nodding slightly before leaning in to kiss her on the forehead.

“I vote we pretend that freak lady is not my mother and she does not live with us.” Sensing that his mom was clearly in trouble, Wesley was pushing his boundaries.

“And what would Harry Potter have to say about that? The Dursleys were his family and look how they treated him? I think it’s always best to treat family with kindness and respect, don’t you?” Bree merely lifted a brow but by the way the smile fell off the boy’s face, she knew her message had been received loud and clear.

“Hey, bud, what do you say you sort Bree and I into our houses?” Ryan joined his son on the couch, rubbing his knuckles on the top of his blond head. Wesley giggled, trying to duck away from his dad’s reach.

“We need a sorting hat.”

“Oh! I’ve got one!” She really did. Bree had found it on eBay a couple of years ago and brought it to the library whenever she set up a Harry Potter event—which was at least twice a year.

“Of course you do,” Ryan teased as she raced off to get it.

She returned to find them in a tickle match on the couch, Wesley’s skinny arms and legs flopping around as he howled in laughter and then gasped for air.

“You better not make him pee on my couch,” she jokingly admonished.

“Yeah, Dad. Don’t pee on her couch.” Wesley dug his way under Ryan’s armpit and really got him good.

Hugging the Sorting Hat to her chest, Bree watched father and son playing. She felt happy. Haley gave this up, not once but twice. Bree didn’t know what could be more important than the love of family.

“Hey, this calls for some popcorn. I’ll be right back.” She ducked into the kitchen to fix a late-evening snack.

Humming the theme song to
Jeopardy
, Bree moved from cupboard to microwave to cupboard. She gathered supplies, started the popcorn going and located a bowl big enough for sharing. She debated mixing up a pitcher of lemonade and let out a squawk when Ryan’s big arms wrapped around her from behind.

“Sorry the evening didn’t end up going like we’d planned.” He nudged a lock of hair away from the side of her neck with his nose and kissed her once, twice, three times.

“S’ok. Really.” Had the popping started? She was finding it hard to concentrate.

“We’ll talk about that night another time, all right?”

That night? Oh! Right.

“You really looked like you had something you wanted to get off your chest and I’m all about honesty and talking things out.”

Thank God he couldn’t see her face the way he was holding her from behind. The guilt and shame she felt for not telling him about the miscarriage was surely on display for the world to see.

“Soon, Ryan. We’ll talk soon.”

• • •

Dade’s Grocery was a Scallop Shores landmark, and hadn’t changed a bit in the years that Ryan had been gone. He waved to Mable Sweeney, the head cashier. The woman had been there his entire life.

“Well, if it isn’t our hometown hero,” she gushed.

He smiled, even while gritting his teeth. The urge to argue the title was becoming less and less of a compulsion.

“You know Haley was in not too long ago. Funniest thing. She bought a whole bunch of those scratch tickets. Scratched ’em all off right at the next counter too.”

“Yeah? She win big?” Ryan rolled his eyes. Leave it to his ex-wife to waste her money on lotto tickets when she was supposed to be working on saving it.

“No, actually. And darned if she wasn’t upset about it. Asked me if I could spot her another twenty. Figured she’d just waste it on more tickets so I told her I didn’t have any cash on me. She stormed out.”

“She’s been a little stressed out lately, Mrs. Sweeney. Sorry about that.”

Okay, so she was probably looking for easy cash. The stubborn woman did not understand the concept of earning an honest living. And he really didn’t understand where this had all come from. It wasn’t like Haley’s parents had spoiled her terribly. They were simple folks. She’d been one of four kids, so money was more of a struggle than a surplus in their household.

Ryan had always enjoyed visiting Haley’s house. Her mom stayed home to take care of the kids. Her father was a mechanic for the school, making sure the buses were kept in perfect condition. When they’d been dating, he had told her he’d hoped to have a large family like hers someday. At the time she’d agreed. Looking back, he realized she probably would have said anything if she thought it was what he wanted to hear.

Snatching up a plastic basket, Ryan headed for the cereal aisle. He’d left Haley alone at the hardware store for the first time and he didn’t want to be gone too long. His dad had a little fridge in his office, so he could pick up some milk while he was here, too. They were running a special on granola bars, so he threw some in the basket to pack in Wesley’s lunches for school.

The store was largely empty on a Wednesday morning. Ryan passed a mother and toddler with a tiny “shopper in training” cart. He remembered Wesley at that age. Sighing, he wondered why he was in such a melancholy mood. He was worse than a woman, seeming to have babies on the brain now. Scrubbing a hand over his face, he headed for the beer aisle. He needed to pick up some manly refreshments.

“Hey, Ry, what are you doing here?” His friend, Doyle, paused halfway down the aisle, like he’d been caught doing something he wasn’t supposed to.

“Um, shopping. Isn’t that what most people come to Dade’s for?” He shook his head and made a beeline for the middle cooler.

Ryan’s stomach clenched as he recalled an unpleasant memory from childhood. They were maybe ten years old. Doyle and another kid, Kenny, had tried to talk him into stealing from Dade’s. They told him he could join their club if he’d shoplift. Could have been anything. They weren’t picky. But they could keep their stupid club. His dad and Mr. Dade were good friends and there was no way Ryan was stealing anything from anyone, especially a friend of the family. Fortunately, ring-leader Kenny moved away shortly thereafter and Doyle quit being such a dick.

“You aren’t pissed about last night, are you? She said you’d understand.”

Aha. Doyle was the reason Haley couldn’t decide between the red dress and the black one. Huh. She’d hooked up with one of his football buddies. He ought to feel bad for the guy. But it wasn’t like Haley was back in town to stay. Still, it didn’t explain why his friend was acting so odd.

“It’s not your fault. But she was supposed to be spending time with Wes, you know? It’s been a long time and they have a long way to go in order to rebuild their relationship. I didn’t expect her to just up and leave.”

“Hey, man, I’m sorry. She called and said she needed to get out. Asked if I’d swing by and pick her up.”

“Well, I hope all the fuss she made over her appearance was worth it.” Ryan started to chuckle, then stopped when he saw the guilty look on Doyle’s face.

“Come on, dude! It’s not like I care. We haven’t been married for years. I’ve moved on. I’m with Bree now. Relax, you’re welcome to Haley and all of the high maintenance that goes with her.”

All right, so giving his friend permission to boink his ex-wife was a little on the bizarre side. And in the beer aisle at Dade’s Grocery, no less. Ryan looked around to make sure no one was a party to their conversation.

“I never meant ... I thought ... Shit.” Doyle opened his mouth and closed it several times. He swiped a palm over his face that was ... sweating. What the hell?

Ryan set his basket of groceries on the floor and clapped a hand on Doyle’s arm. This had officially gone well beyond weird. He shouldn’t feel the need to reassure the man, but Doyle looked so damned upset.

“You understand she’s only staying with me to get back on her feet, right? It’s not like we’re getting back together. Is that what she’s telling you?” Ryan narrowed his eyes.

“No! Actually I was talking about before. I meant to tell you. I’ve always meant to tell you.”

A sick twisting in his gut told Ryan that now would be a good time to cover his ears and walk in the opposite direction. Whatever had Doyle looking so miserable could not be pleasant. And he’d be just fine with his old friend choosing to keep this little confession to himself.

“I don’t know what you think you need to tell me, but I’m sure it can wait. We’ll have drinks sometime over at Smitty’s. I’ll kick your ass at darts.” He realized his poor choice of words when Doyle visibly winced. Jesus.

“No, this is something I should have done a long time ago. It’s just that I thought, we all did, that you and Bree were in love with each other.”

There it was again.

“We figured it was only a matter of time before you hooked up. That you were finally going to break things off with Haley and be with the one you were meant to be with.”

So the entire football team seemed to realize Bree was his destiny a good friggin’ thirteen years before he’d wised up and figured it out for himself. But if everyone had known, how had he managed to keep his true feelings from Haley? She should have gone ape shit on him.

“Then that night of the bonfire at the pond? When you didn’t show up, we all figured you’d finally made your move.” And they’d nailed it. Dead on.

“What’s your point, Doyle?” Neither confirm nor deny.

“I figured if you hadn’t broken up with her yet, you would be by morning. You know? I assumed she was fair game.”

“Wait. Haley?” Ryan whipped his head around, lowering his voice to a hiss before leaning toward the other man. “You slept with Haley the night of the bonfire?”

Doyle’s nod was brief and barely discernible, but his hangdog expression told Ryan all he wanted—or didn’t want—to know.

“I guess you made up or something. I never understood why you ended up staying with her, let alone marrying her. She never told you, did she?”

“Were you hoping to marry her yourself?” The giant elephant sitting on his chest made it hard for him breathe, let alone get the words out.

“God no! You’re right—too high maintenance for me. I mean, she’s a great time, but—” Doyle seemed to realize he was digging himself in deeper, the more he continued to talk. He snapped his lips shut.

“She never said a word. I guess Haley had herself an agenda and I was just part of her big plans. Christ Almighty, I am such a schmuck!”

“Or you could choose to look at it this way, that it might have taken a little longer than you’d planned, but you ended up with the right girl. Right?” Doyle’s eyes darted nervously, like he was plotting a quick exit.

“Yeah, you’re right. Bree would never lie to me about anything so important.” If he’d only known about Haley and Doyle, his life would have been a lot different.

“I should take off. I just thought you should finally know.” Doyle shrugged, snagging a twelve-pack of Bud out of the cooler and turning back to him, almost as an afterthought.

“She told me something last night. Well, she asked me for a loan first. When I told her I couldn’t come up with the money she kinda freaked out. Said she owes some money to some guy back in LA and she’s running out of time before it’s due. You know anything about this?”

What did you get yourself into now, Haley? Ryan spit out a handful of curses as he glared at the floor.

“Nope. News to me. Which would be our normal pattern, I guess.”

Doyle gave a half wave and hurried to the cash register to pay. Ryan grabbed his own twelve-pack, picked up his basket of groceries and headed in the opposite direction, intending to take his time while he waited for Doyle to check out and leave.

He thought he was being so noble, doing the honorable thing and staying with a girlfriend he’d betrayed because he’d mistakenly figured she was in love with him. Joke was on him. Haley used him as her “get out of Scallop Shores” card.

All those wasted years he could have been with Bree. The woman he’d never stopped loving. The woman who deserved better than the jerk who’d taken her virginity and left with no explanation.

Her first hint that something was wrong came when she knocked on Ryan’s door and he didn’t answer—but Haley did. The smug smile on the woman’s face was all Bree needed to be certain that she was missing some key information. Information she sure wasn’t going to get from Ryan’s ex-wife.

“He’s not here. Ryan left to drop Wesley off at school. Something about needing to speak to his teacher.”

“Why? What’s wrong?” Bree reached out a hand and tried to push the door open further. Wrong move.

“Excuse me! What goes on in our son’s life is none of your business. Go back to stacking library books. I need to get ready to join Ryan at our store.” Haley looked down her surgically sculpted nose and wiggled her fingers to indicate Bree should back up so she could close the door.

Fine. She’d worry about Wesley later. She turned around, skirted the icy spots on the porch and descended the stairs, heading for her car. If something were wrong, Ryan would tell her. Then again, if something were good, he’d tell her. Wouldn’t he?

Buckling in and cranking the heater, Bree frowned as she poked at the radio presets. Every channel always seemed to play their block of commercials at the same time. She backed out of the driveway and headed to the warehouse on the waterfront where they’d met a few days before for the initial shoot.

What concerned her most was that he’d forgotten he was supposed to join her for the rest of the calendar photo shoot. Damian didn’t need him for the whole thing, but Ryan had planned to be there just the same. So if this thing with Wesley was more urgent than she realized, that would definitely distract him. She was sure he’d be along as soon as he could.

Three hours later, Bree had to admit Ryan wasn’t coming. Only a handful of the models were here today. Jamie needed her help wrangling escapee kittens who wouldn’t stay in their little orange basket. It was like herding … cats.