If You Only Knew (Harper Falls Book 3) (23 page)

“Because you’re a good sister and we have hot men who
we like to brag up,” Dani laughed.

“They aren’t really fighting?”

“I doubt it, Lila.”

“I don’t,” Rose said with a shudder. “Ninety-nine
point nine percent of the time, Jack is this easygoing, unflappable sweetheart.
Piss him off? Scary. One time I walked in on the aftermath. Jack took down guys
that had him by over fifty pounds. Blood, crying. It was pitiful.”

“You thought it was hot.”

“Okay,” Rose conceded. “We had wild shower
sex while those poor guys were still trying to get back on their feet.”

“They are friends, right?” Lila found it all a bit
confusing.

“And partners,” Tyler nodded.

“Tell her what happened,” Dani urged. “Tell
us all. You’ve been pretty vague about your trip to Mexico. Time to
spill.”

“We just got back yesterday. When have I had time to do
more than give you a rough outline?”

“You have plenty of time now. Wait a sec.” Rose
jumped up and grabbed the open bottle of wine, giving everyone a refill. She
plopped back down next to Dani, a look of anticipation on her face.
“Go.”

Laughing, Tyler started at the beginning, as much for her
own benefit as Lila’s. It had been such a whirlwind; she still tried to wrap
her head around some of it.

Almost an hour later, she sat back. It was an amazing story.
Full of action, adventure, intrigue, laughter, sex. Her friends were
particularly interested in the sex. Then the ending where the man sacrifices
his last race to be with the woman he… cared about. Pure gold. Better than a
Hollywood rom-com any day.

“I give it four and a half
wows.
”

“Why not five?”

“Because,” Dani said. “He still hasn’t told
you why he did what he did.”

“That’s as much my fault as his.”

“Why?” Rose asked. “He’s ready to talk…
finally. Suddenly you aren’t ready to listen?”

“I know. I wish I had a simple answer.”

“Give us the complicated one.”

“I’ve been letting myself remember what it was like
when Drew and I were together. I told you that.”

“Yes. Those memories helped you lose all the anger you
have carried around.”

“For the first time in a long time, I could look at
Drew without seething. I like how that feels.”

“We like how it looks on you.”

Surprised, Tyler turned to Rose. “How it looks on
me?”

“Is that the right way of putting it?” Rose asked
Dani.

“Sometimes, not always, you seemed sad,” Dani
explained. “More so in the past few months when you’ve been pushed into
Drew’s company.”

Rose nodded. “Before I got involved with Jack, it was
easier for you to avoid any contact. Suddenly, he was everywhere. I know you
acted like it pissed you off.”

“It did,” Tyler insisted.

“Yes. It also made you sad. The pissed off suited you.
That was healthy. It even brought a nice rosy glow to your cheeks.”

“Well, crap.”

“Like the one you have now.”

“Go on, I’m fascinated.”

“Uh oh.” Dani turned to Lila. “Tyler likes to
think she’s tough as nails. Let me tell you a secret. She’s a marshmallow.
Cries during greeting card commercials, coos over pictures of puppies.”

Tyler sighed. Her friends could be royal pains in the butt.
Good thing she loved them.

“I think you’re straying from the original point.”

“No, just setting the scene. As hard as you try, my
friend, it’s impossible to always hide the sad. Seeing Drew brought you down.
Rose and I are ecstatic to see you happy again.”

“I am happy,” Tyler nodded. “If I hear what
Drew has to say, I might lose it. I don’t know if I can stand another broken
heart — the same broken heart that is finally starting to heal.”

“Oh, Tyler.” Rose felt her own heart tighten in
sympathy. “I understand the need to keep the past in the past. I can speak
from experience. Once the air is cleared, you will knock this two-ton weight
off your chest that you hadn’t realized was there.”

“Tonight. We’ll go to his place. Finally, everything
can be brought out into the open. Let the chips fall where they may.”

“It will be fine, I know it.” Dani patted her
knee. “And, you can tell us what Drew’s house looks like.”

Tyler looked at the other women. Well, that was a surprise.

“None of you have been there?”

“No.”

Dani and Lila shook their heads.

“Any particular reason?”

“I guess there hasn’t been any reason to go. We always
seem to end up here or we go out.”

“He’s just down the road. Drew never invited you and
Jack over?”

“I get the feeling he likes his fortress of solitude.
But as I said, you can describe it to us in detail. Jack says he just finished
putting in a pool. On the roof.”

Tyler didn’t have to close her eyes to picture it. A pool on
the roof. It was such a silly thing. Or so it seemed when she was sixteen and
planning her dream house. She and Drew got a little silly at times. Then again,
why not? The basic design was grounded in reality. After that, they threw in
pure fantasy.

That’s what the pool had been. Something Tyler had seen in a
magazine. She never really imagined she would know someone who had one. She
couldn’t wait to see it.

“What is that little smile about?”

“Just thinking about stuff.”

Dani and Rose exchanged glances.

“You’re thinking about having sex in that pool.”

“Pool sex? Really?”

They all turned to Lila, laughing at her wide-eyed
amazement.

“I mean, obviously I’ve read about that kind of
stuff.”

“Ah, do you remember when you were that young and
innocent?”

“Yes,” Dani said, her green eyes twinkling.
“I was twenty-two and just out of college. Then I spent two sex-filled
weeks with little Lila’s big brother. Talk about an eye opener.
Innocent
went out the window after the first day.”

“Hey, there are some things a sister doesn’t need to
hear.”

“I agree.” Rose winked at Lila. “All you need
to know is that Alex keeps Dani happy — in
every
room of the
house.”

“Enough,” Rose said, taking pity on Lila.
“Look at her cheeks. We have a blusher, ladies. That’s a first for this group.”

“That’s because, according to Father Malloy, we are
shameless hussies.”

“And proud of it.”

Tyler, Dani, and Rose clinked their glasses together.

Lila laughed with them. She took a sip of wine. It wasn’t
easy to make new friends. She had come to Harper Falls on blind faith. Her
business was booming, her brother was safe, in love and only a few minutes
away. Lila could honestly say the women in this room were three of the best she
had ever known. The day she decided to move across the country was a very good
day indeed.

“You still haven’t told me why Drew and Jack are
fighting. Or not fighting. Was that point ever settled?”

“It seems unlikely. Though Jack has a good reason to be
pissed. You see, Drew had been lying to him for almost ten years.”

“I DID NOT lie.”

Drew didn’t know how many times he said that in the last ten
hours. He did know Jack wasn’t buying it.

“Did you let me believe you were borderline
suicidal?”

“Maybe, but—”

“Then you lied.”

As soon as he arrived at work that morning, Drew called Jack
and Alex into his office. As his best friend for the past ten years, Jack had
dealt with the racing issue much longer than Alex. Still, he didn’t think
anyone would mind if he explained it all at once. It seemed silly to tell the
same story twice.

Jack didn’t mind Alex being present. His problem was with
Drew. He listened in silence until the story was completely told. Then he let
loose with a string of expletives. Drew gave him points for some creative
combinations.
Horse ass sucking ball licker
? Really?

“Somebody should be writing these down. I could have
used some of them yesterday when I went off on you,” he said to Alex
during a brief pause.

“You think this is funny?”

“No.”

Drew tried to sound contrite — he failed. The fact was he
did think it was a little funny. If not the situation, then Jack’s reaction to
it. His normally laid-back partner was blowing a gasket. How could he not find
that amusing?

“Yes, you do. I know that smirk.”

“I do not smirk.”

Jack rounded on Alex. Up until now, he had kept wisely
silent.

“I ask you as an impartial observer. Is that or is that
not a smirk?”

“I’m Switzerland,” Drew said, holding up his hands
“In fact, I don’t know why I’m here. This is between the two of you.”

“You’re here because this twisted, shit-eating jerk
pulled you into his lies.”

“Wow. I hope you use some industrial strength
antiseptic before you kiss Rose with that mouth.”

“And that’s another thing. Do you have any idea how
hard it was for Rose and Dani to keep your activities from Tyler?”

“When did I ask them to do that?”

“When you put them in the position of not wanting to
cause her any more pain.”

Jack held up his hands to mimic a scale.

“Lie to her or hurt her?”

The hand representing the lie sank.

“Surprise, surprise. You picked the lie.”

“All I can do is say I’m sorry, Jack. You took a few
unrelated incidents and came up with a false conclusion. Maybe I should have
set you straight. I didn’t. Water under the bridge.”

“I don’t think so.”

“Are you honestly telling me that after everything we’ve
been through, this is going to break our friendship?”

“What?” Jack gave him an
are you crazy
look.
“I’m pissed, Drew. Seriously, bone-deep, pissed. I’ll get over it,
eventually.”

Drew sighed with relief. Pissed he could handle. Losing
Jack? He didn’t ever want to go there.

“What can I do? Name it.”

Jack shook his head. “This is one I’m going to have to
stew over, Drew. No quick fixes.”

Drew sighed. He didn’t feel like laughing anymore. In
essence, he had lied to his best friend. Letting him think the worst. Leaving
him to worry without explanation. What Drew thought to be a minor omission was
a much bigger deal to Jack. He would respect that and deal with the fallout.
However long it took.

“There might be a way.”

Drew turned to Alex.

“A way to what?”

“To get Jack over his mad. Or at least speed up the
process.”

Hell yes, Drew wanted to shout. Whatever it took, he was on
board. He looked at Jack. Ultimately, this was up to him.

“What did you have in mind?”

“In the Army, if a couple of my guys had a dispute, I
would have them fight it out. In this case, since you’re the injured party, I’d
say one shot. Hard as you want. Pick your spot.”

“You want me to hit Drew? You think that will clear the
air?” Jack sounded unconvinced, but he looked intrigued.

“Not clear, exactly. More like lessen the toxic smoke
he’s been blowing out of his ass.”

“I thought you were Switzerland?”

“Jack is right,” Drew said with a bit of twinkle
in his eye.

“When you pulled Dani into this, you pulled me
in,” Alex told him.

“Fine.”

Drew didn’t have any room to grumble. Jack was as angry as
he’d ever seen him. Alex needed to stand up for his woman. He wondered what
Rose and Dani would have to say when he saw them? Not something he was looking
forward to. Maybe if he showed up with a bruised face, they would cut him a
little slack.

“What do you think?”

He could almost see the wheels turning in Jack’s brain. Drew
knew from experience that his partner would weigh the pros and cons carefully before
coming to a decision. It might take hours, even days before—”

“Count me in.”

Okay. So much for mulling things over.

“Let’s do this.”

Drew moved his jaw from side to side, making a memory of how
it felt pre-punch. It might be hard to chew for a few days.

“Not now. We have a video conference at eleven-thirty.
I’d rather not have to explain why one of us has a messed up face.”

“One punch,” Drew called after the exiting Jack.
“That was the agreement. Jack? Damn it, Jack. Answer me, you bastard. What
are you laughing at?”

Alex shook his head. He followed Jack out of Drew’s office
without a word.

“Brilliant,” he said when he was sure Drew was out
of earshot. “Brilliant and evil. He’s going to spend the day thinking
about that punch. When are you going to do it? What part of his body will you
hit? Did you see him rotating his jaw?”

“I did. He deserves to suffer a bit.”

“Mission accomplished.”

Alex slapped Jack on the back then left to take care of some
paperwork. A necessary evil that could only be put off so long.

Jack sat in his chair, swiveling until he faced the bank of
windows that covered the west-facing wall. He was not a man easily angered.
When he got mad, it didn’t last long. The rage he had vented at Drew was
already gone. By the end of the day, he doubted he would be able to raise
enough steam to make punching his friend at all satisfactory.

With a weary sigh, Jack lifted his gaze. Harper House. One
look at the imposing structure and he felt all his remaining anger fade away.
Drew had grown up in that place. Not a home. A cold edifice dominated by an ice
queen who wasn’t capable of even the smallest gesture of kindness or affection.

Yet in spite of that, Drew had a big heart. He was loyal to
a fault and when he loved, he did so with everything he had to give.

Jack couldn’t imagine what it was like to give your heart to
a woman and then live without her. Ten years. An eternity.

It was a relief to find out Drew’s racing was never
motivated by a death wish. Jack would have appreciated discovering that little
bit of information sooner. Still, if it helped get him through, Jack wasn’t
going to quibble.