Lovers at Heart (32 page)

“But you can buy a few nights’ worth and just use those over and over.”

“Kaylie, I want to be sexy all the time. I don’t mean that I’ll stop wearing jeans and T-shirts, but I want to know that what I have on underneath my jeans, seven days a week, is appropriate for making him lose his mind. I want to walk into my closet and find something that begs me to pull myself out of efficient Max and morph into seductress Max. I wanna have options. The guy has a social calendar. I want to make him proud.”

That’s all Kaylie needed to hear to let loose. Max tried on so many outfits that her head was spinning. She stood in front of the mirror in a pink, lacy baby-doll nighty. “Wow,” she said. She turned to the side. “Look at my butt. And look at these.” She grabbed her breasts and lifted them up. “They’re kinda hot, huh.”

“Steaming.” Kaylie took the elastic from Max’s hair, and Max watched as her hair billowed around her shoulders. “Now you’re steaming hot and entirely too fuckable for him to turn away.”

“Oh, turning away hasn’t been an issue,” she said with a coy smile.

They left Victoria’s Secret with several large bags and sexy lingerie for every occasion. Kaylie took her hand and dragged her into Hot Allure, a trendy clothing store known for upscale and sexy clothing.

Kaylie and Max picked through the racks, plucking outfits off the racks and carrying enormous piles of clothes into the dressing room.

“You don’t know how long I’ve been wanting to do this,” Kaylie said. “This is like every girl’s makeover dream come true.”

“Now I feel like Julia Roberts in
Pretty Woman
. I really appreciate your help. I would never pick out half these things. I’m still not sure they’ll fit.” She held up a red formfitting dress that looked too thin to fit over one leg much less her whole body.

“It stretches. Trust me,” Kaylie said. “I have an eye for fashion and figures and, girlfriend, we’re going to feature your figure in fabulous fashions.”

“What are you, on a fashion high or something?” Max laughed.

An hour and a half later, they collapsed onto a bench in the center of the mall, surrounded by bags of dresses, slacks, sexy skinny jeans, heels, lingerie, even accessories.

“Your man is going to be so excited. Every night of the week!” Kaylie squealed.

“Uh-oh. Kaylie.”

“What? Oh no. You look like something awful happened. Did you spend more money than you meant to? I’ve done that. Should we return it all? Well, except the baby-doll nighty. Every girl needs a baby-doll nighty.”

Max shook her head. “I have no idea where Treat is. I left him in Wellfleet, and my phone won’t get here until tomorrow. His number is on my phone.”

“How did you get his number last time?” she asked.

“I got it from Scarlet, but I don’t want to bother her again.”

Kaylie and Max both wrinkled their brows.

Kaylie took out her cell phone and started texting.

“What are you doing?” Max asked.

“I have an idea. He’s Blake’s cousin, so I’ll text Danica. She’ll ask him, and he’ll know how to find out where he is.” Kaylie looked up at Max while she waited for a return text.

“Thank God for the sister network,” Max joked.

“Max, what was your plan? Once you got the clothes, what were you going to do?”

“I hadn’t thought it out that far. I forgot I didn’t have my phone. I was sort of thinking about calling him.”

Kaylie’s phone vibrated. “She said hold on a sec.”

Max sighed and threw her head back. “How can I be so together at work and so disorganized with my personal life?”

Her phone buzzed again. “It’s part of being a woman. We can’t be perfect all the time.” She read the text. “Girlfriend, fate is on your side. He’s at his father’s ranch.”

“In Weston?” Max jumped to her feet. “It really is fate.” Her eyes grew wide.

“Settle down, doe eyes. Now what?”

Max gathered as many bags as she could carry and started for the exit. Kaylie scrambled to pick up the remaining bags and hurried behind her.

“Max!”

Max held up her bags and made a beeline for the exit. Every determined step brought her closer to Treat. “Home. Shower. Sex it up. Ranch,” she called over her shoulder to Kaylie.

SURROUNDED BY HIS FAMILY, Treat was beginning to see his life a little more clearly. Yes, he was successful—more than successful. He’d started with one resort and now owned twenty-seven, each one more successful than the last. Of course his father was proud. But there was also no doubt in his mind that he’d done it to escape his guilt. If it were not for Max, he might never have dealt with what had been hanging over his head for too many years.

Max hadn’t returned his calls. Each hour that passed was like a slow, torturous draw of his fingernails from his nail beds.

“Dude, you gotta stop moping,” Dane said as he patted Treat on the back.

“Moping?
Pfft
. I’m fine. Just worried about Dad,” he lied. They’d had to wrestle their father back into submission more than a few times. The man was an ox and would probably outlive them all.

“Right. Like I can’t smell woman troubles a mile away.”

Treat shook his head, but he knew Dane could see right through his veil of denial. Hell, everyone probably could. You don’t find a woman like Max very often; she was smart, competent, loving, and sexier than she could ever know. There was something else that he couldn’t put his finger on, but he was pretty sure that it had to do with the fact that Max loved him—and yes, he was sure that beneath that feisty, stubborn exterior and her fears about relationships, she loved him—for him. Not for his money, or for what he stood for, or any of the other ridiculous reasons that beautiful women had clung to him over the years.

He carried apple cider out to the table, stopping when he caught sight of his father and Rex walking down by the barn. Rex had a pinched look on his face, and his father suddenly stopped walking and put his hand on Rex’s shoulder. Treat could practically feel that secure weight on his own flesh. He knew the look his father was giving Rex, and he would bet the discussion had something to do with him.

He’d better go face it head-on.

Savannah touched his arm before he could take two steps. “Leave them,” she said.

“I’m sure it’s about what I said last night.”

“No, it’s not. Let them be.”

Treat narrowed his eyes at his sister. “What don’t I know?”

Savannah took the apple cider from his hands and set it on the table, ignoring his question.

“Savannah?” He stared her down. He’d be damned if his little sister would tell him what to do.

“Leave it alone, Treat,” Hugh said as he approached from behind. He set plates and silverware on the table, then turned to Treat. “Rex seems tough, but he’s not as tough as you might think. He’s having a hard time with Dad’s health issues.”

Treat shot another glance at Rex, who was looking everywhere except at his father, while his father's stare never wavered.

“Why wouldn’t he tell me? We worked in the field for hours, side by side, and all he did was snap at me.”

Hugh shook his head.

“Would you tell you?” Josh asked. He brought the burgers to the table and motioned for everyone to sit down. “Think about it, Treat. He’s here every day, slaving to help keep the family business alive, and suddenly you sweep in and expect him to just accept it. Meanwhile, the one person he loves the most lands in the hospital. It’s a lot to deal with.”

I failed him again?
“So, what? I should have asked his permission to come back to my own father’s ranch and help out? I thought it was what he wanted all these years.”

His three siblings exchanged a look that said perhaps that’s exactly what he should have done.

“All right. I get it. I’ll talk to him.” He started for the barn.

“Treat!” Savannah hollered. She came to his side and touched his arm. “He’s hurting. Please don’t push him. You know Rex. When he’s ready, he’ll open up to you. He always does.”

When it came to his siblings, hurting them was the last thing he ever wanted to do. His father and Rex started toward them, and Treat turned away. Was he doing more harm than good by being there? What the hell was going on in his life? One day he was on a strong, straight path, and the next, the very foundation he built his world on was filling with fissures.

A few minutes later, Rex and Hal joined them at the table. Rex snagged a burger and bun, eyeing the rest of the food, and set to work building a massive dinner plate.

“Dad, you have a follow-up with Ben next week. I’ll take you,” Treat offered.

“I’ve got it covered,” Rex said gruffly.

“Rex’ll take me. Tell me what’s happening with that pretty little gal I met,” his father said, clearly trying to steer clear of the whole Rex situation.

Treat bit back the hurt he felt by his father’s refusal and tried not to let the kick to his gut show on his face. He had to remember that healing himself was not the only priority here. He’d stirred the hornet’s nest with Rex, and now it was his turn to wait it out—just like Rex had for the past fifteen years.

“Not much to tell, Dad. She’s afraid I’m giving up my life for her and I’ll resent her for it.” He stabbed at the salad Savannah had dished onto his plate with a sisterly pat on his back.

“Since when have you sat back and waited for things to happen?” his father asked. “Where’s that boy I raised who went out and showed those highfalutin, suit-wearing executives how to do things?”

Isn’t everyone asking me to sit back and wait for Rex? And isn’t that just what I’m doing for Max? Isn’t that what Max wants?
His father must have read his mind.

“Son, I’ve seen you pull out your cell phone more times than I can count. Do you love her?”

All eyes were on him. Treat put down his fork and looked at his family, and in their eyes, he saw so much support that it took the tension out of his gut and formed a cradle around his heart.

“Yeah, I do.” He nodded, hoping they didn’t notice the way his voice cracked.

“Then I don’t see why you’re sitting around here waiting for something to happen. Take that lame ass of yours and make it happen,” Rex said. He followed that up with a big bite of his burger.

Treat’s heartbeat sped up. What was he waiting for? He was giving her time. Time for what? To decide they weren’t right for each other?

“It doesn’t work that way with Max,” he said. “She’s…complicated. She’s got stuff to deal with, and I don’t want to push her in ways she might not want to be pushed.”
Bullshit. I want to. I’m just afraid she’ll run—again
.

“What are you afraid of, Treat?” Rex’s eyes darkened, narrowed. It was a challenge, not a question, and he wasn’t talking about Max.

“Nothing scares me, little brother. I’m here. I’m baring my soul and fighting the demons that have strangled me for years, which is more than I can say for you.”
What the hell am I doing? I should walk away, not argue with Rex.

His brother rose to his feet. “What’s that supposed to mean? I’m here every damned day, taking care of the family business while you’re out doing whatever you please. At least I didn’t abandon Dad.”

There was a collective gasp from his siblings. Treat felt his father’s eyes on him.

“I never abandoned Dad. I built a life and a business,” Treat retorted.

“Right. A life? You travel endlessly. You live a life of leisure while I hold down the real job.”

“What’s this about, Rex?” Treat rose to his feet, meeting his brother’s stare. “No one made you stay. No one made you give up whatever else you wanted to do. Your whole life you wanted to be a rancher. I didn’t.”

Treat walked around the table, confronting his brother. Rex’s breath was hot on his face, his nostrils flared, and his biceps jumped up and down to the pace of his fisting hands.

“I came home every single time you called, without fail,” Treat said in a calm and even tone.

“No, you didn’t.”

“What are you talking about? Every time you called, I came. Every goddamned time.” Treat had the urge to grab his brother’s enormous shoulders and shake the shit out of him. Make him spit out whatever he was holding back.

Rex’s index finger poked his chest so hard he took a step back. “You left. You abandoned the family, Treat. You abandoned me and left me to figure out how to hold things together.”

“I went to college! What the fuck did you want me to do?”
Abandoned?

“I was fifteen! What the hell was I supposed to do? Dane was a mess. How was I supposed to watch over the other three kids and take care of the ranch—and Dad? Fifteen, Treat. Fif-teen!”

His face grew red, and his eyes flashed with a rage that had Treat grabbing his brother’s shoulders and staring down at him. “I never abandoned you. I went to school, Rex. College. It was what I was supposed to do. It was Dad’s plan for me. I was doing what he wanted me to do, not abandoning him.” The truth of his own words gave him pause.
It was Dad’s plan for me. It’s true. It was Dad’s plan for me. How could I have repressed that?

Rex twisted out of his grip. His body shook so hard Treat thought he might attack him at any moment. He readied himself for the blow that was sure to come as Rex took one fist in his palm and rubbed it hard.

Treat shot a glance around the table. His siblings were watching without so much as a flash of stress. They must have known what was eating at Rex. His father slowly rose to his feet but made no move to come any closer.

Rex’s eyes shot darts; his venom-filled voice pierced Treat’s thick skin. “I called you a few weeks after you went to school and said I couldn’t do it. Dane was out of control, Josh basically locked himself in his bedroom for weeks on end, Hugh was pulling away, and Savannah had disappeared for the weekend with her friend. I didn’t know what to do.”

“What? When?” And then he remembered. It seemed like a hundred years ago. Treat remembered the panicked call. It was a Saturday, and he was out with some girl. He couldn’t even remember her name.

“You said Savannah went to some keg party and you couldn’t find her. A goddamned party! I left my date and went back to my dorm and called every one of her friends’ parents. I was going frigging crazy looking for her from a million miles away, and you called me a few hours later and said she was back home, that her friend had lied about it all to get her in trouble.”