When the Heart Falls (34 page)

Before he had finished, realization dawned on Andy and she dropped her head to his shoulder, shaking it back and forth. She felt his hand tighten on hers.

“Oh my God.” She raised her head to look at him with new eyes. “Jason McCoy.” Andy knew she was glowing, but she couldn’t help it, she was genuinely glad to see him.

Jason smiled back at her and it made her hands tremble. The feeling of joy was replaced by disappointment and embarrassment. The man she had been mentally undressing, the one with the magnetic eyes, deep voice and muscular frame was a kid. The man swirling her senses as he twirled her around the dance floor, making her feel things she didn’t know she was capable of feeling, the man she wanted desperately to kiss was her ex-boyfriend's younger brother, which made him younger than she was. Which made him off-limits.

Andy sunk lower in the driver's seat with her hand pressed to her forehead, drowning in mortification with the memory of what she had allowed to happen.

Bile was rising in her throat with the cadence her conscience was drumming in her as she drove along the dirt road. He’s Josh’s brother, how could you?

How could she have slept with her ex-boyfriend's brother? Jason was not an option for her. But she hadn’t recognized him at first. She didn’t know the best man she was tingling from head to toe over was Jason McCoy. She just knew he had her in a tailspin and made her heart thump through her shirt.

Remembering how Josh McCoy had treated her when they were together, the awful things he said and did, the cheating, the lying, should have made her run when she discovered Jason’s identity.

Nine years ago she would’ve turned herself inside out to please Josh. He was her childhood love, her college love. Andy shook her head. She had been so stupid to love a man incapable of human compassion. A selfish son of bitch who loved no one but himself.

Andy pulled her car to a stop in front of the white picket fence surrounding her grandparents’ house. This was the first easy breath she had drawn since flying from the hotel fifteen minutes ago and the incessant pounding in her head had dulled to a rumble. Sliding her sunglasses down her nose, she leaned over to check her reflection in the rear view mirror.

“Nice, Andy.” She rolled her eyes, then retrieved the brush from her purse, removed the haphazard pony tail and tried to tame some of the tangles from her long hair. After a few strokes she gave up the effort and snagged her baseball cap from the glove compartment. She licked her fingers and ran them under her eyes, attempting to wipe away the smudged mascara.

She abandoned that unattainable task too. She would have to sneak into the bathroom to get cleaned up as quietly as possible. The last thing she needed was to draw extra attention to her early arrival.

She opened the gate and walked up the brick path to the screen door. As soon as she was within reach, the heavenly scents of Grandma’s breakfast cooking filtered into the air.

With a smile she entered the kitchen and was greeted by the sight of her grandmother wrapped in a floral apron, pouring batter onto the steaming waffle maker. Belgian waffles. Her favorite.

The door slammed behind her. Without looking in her direction, Betty spoke.

“Good, Andy. You’re here earlier than I expected.” Her voice spoke plainly but Andy heard the underlying meaning in her greeting.

Choosing to ignore the unspoken question she grabbed a piece of crispy bacon from the plate and nibbled on it.

“I thought I’d get an early start for home. I need to see how Megan’s doing.” She leaned against the deep ceramic sink. Careful not to let her grandma see her appearance, she kept her head bent and her attention on the bacon.

“I’m sure your sister is faring just fine. She probably sweet-talked some gentleman into doing her fetching.”

Andy laughed. She was probably right. Megan could get a guy to do just about anything for her. Oh Megan. Andy could cry. Why had she picked this weekend to sprain her ankle playing sand volleyball? Andy really could’ve used her sister’s help. Megan would’ve kept her from doing something stupid.

Betty continued to prepare the bounty of food for her family with the same effortlessness she always displayed. The efficiency was inevitable when you spent your life cooking and caring for a family and various ranch hands.

Andy shoved the rest of the bacon in her mouth and excused herself from the kitchen. She felt dirty and disheveled. Her body screamed for a shower, but that was out of the question. She slid along the wall, practically leaping past the doorway into the living room to avoid being seen by her parents.

She escaped into the bathroom as the effects of a hangover and the weight of the events after the wedding reception sunk deeper into her mind.

Andy freshened up as best she could then inspected herself in the mirror.

Not bad, she thought, noting the smudges under her eyes, the general puffiness around her face and the complete lack of color. I could pass for a hospital patient recovering from food poisoning.

With her hands gripping the sink and a determined stare, she tried to give herself a badly needed pep talk. That lasted all of ten seconds. She bowed her head, her eyes stinging with tears. She had felt so good last night, been happier than she could remember feeling. And now in the harsh fluorescent bathroom lighting, she felt the misery of loneliness and doom.

Chapter 3

Collapsed on the edge of the bathtub, Andy could still hear the music reverberating in her ears. She could still feel herself smiling when she realized she had been dancing with an old friend of sorts.

“It’s no wonder I didn’t recognize you,” she said with a warm smile. “You were swearing and covered in dirt and blood with an enormous bruise forming on your forehead.” The memory swept vividly over her on the dance floor.

His jeans were torn and he had uttered every profanity in the book before realizing she was there and then had blushed red from his hair to his toes. Sputtering apologies, he retreated down the hall to the bathroom as fast as his injured leg allowed him.

“And now look at you, you’re…” She paused to give him another look over. “All grown up.” Those were the first words that had come to mind.

“Yep. That’s me, a full grown-man now.”

Her remark had obviously struck a nerve with the tone he just gave her. But she only remembered him as a kid. He was what? Four years younger than she was at least? With those sparkling eyes focused on her she couldn’t really remember, or think straight, or care.

She knew in the back of her mind the songs had switched at least once, maybe twice, but he had expertly kept her moving so she hadn’t thought to stop.

“You’ve grown into a very handsome man.” The words slipped out before she had a chance to check them and her cheeks instantly burned. She diverted her eyes to his shoulder, but he tilted his head to pull her gaze back to him.

His white teeth gleamed through the completely adorable lop-sided grin. “Thank you.”

It was almost a whisper. Andy swallowed hard, her limbs numbed and streams of heat seeped through her veins. His eyes dipped to her mouth, her breath caught and trembled in her throat. Anticipation built and throbbed in her core. His head leaned in a fraction as she focused on his open lips, but he backed off for the second time.

“Well, with being from the same gene pool as Josh, I had a fighting chance anyway.”

The moment shattered, Andy stiffened with the mention of Josh, and she hardened inside.

“So how about we go over to that table to get you off those killer heels and proceed to get embarrassingly drunk?”

Andy was already being pulled off the floor and over to a table before she could gather her wits. The atmosphere between them had shifted somehow. The tension practically crackled through his hand, stinging hers.

Jason escorted her over to her abandoned drink, seated her, then placed himself in the chair next to her. The way he naturally controlled every event was overwhelming. She shifted her eyes over his agile frame, confused by his gentlemanly actions especially with his mood changes. She supposed it was so ingrained in his nature he couldn’t help himself.

Country boys were taught from birth how to treat a lady, or at least most of them were. It obviously didn’t take for all of them. She shoved the bitter memory of Josh away as quickly as it had slipped in.

Andy studied Jason’s profile as he looked away. His jaw was clenched, his eyes narrowed. Then like the flip of a switch, he turned his smiling face back to her. His hands reached out to her feet. “Why don’t you take these off?” Before his hands reached her skin she hastily uncrossed her leg. It was a nervous reaction and he stopped, then retreated, but his perceptive eyes raised and stared steadily into hers.

She swallowed, trying to calm the butterflies in her stomach. In all her life Andy had never felt this instantaneous attraction, pulling her towards someone. Her head was spinning from the emotional shifts; it was hard to keep up and keep focused. Not to mention her entire body vibrated and her blood surged every time he looked at her.

She didn’t understand what was making her feel so drawn to a man she shouldn’t be wanting. But what she really couldn’t understand was why Jason had behaved the way he had.

Why did he want her? Why did he want his brother’s cast-off? Maybe that was just it. It was some stupid competition between brothers. Or revenge? Or… her thoughts stopped there. He looked so innocuous, genuine. He and Josh were so different.

“Well, that takes care of that.” Jason grinned after she had kicked off her high heels. “So now, about getting drunk.” He leaned forward and scooted her glass towards her. Then he placed his elbow on the table and his chin in his palm.

She raised her brows in one quick movement and took a drink. “How’s your Mom?” Andy swiftly changed to a neutral subject, hoping it would suppress the overpowering pull she felt.

“She’s good. She doesn’t go to many social functions since Dad died.” Jason shrugged his shoulders but she saw his eyes darken an instant before he recovered his relaxed attitude.

“Yeah. I was really sorry to hear about that.”

“We got your card.” Jason’s mouth twisted before he took a swallow of his beer.

Andy felt the resentment in his statement, bordering on sullenness, but there was no way she could attend that funeral. She didn’t have the stomach or the courage to face Josh. Not after what he did to her. She took a long draw of the soothing alcohol.

“I remember he had a great sense of humor.” Andy’s eyes lit up as she studied the man across from her. “You have his smile and his strong, composed quality.”

Jason tipped his head in acceptance of her comparison.

His forefinger rubbed across his chin and she suddenly remembered how strong those hands were and how tightly and familiarly they held her to him. Her heart thumped and fire surged to her belly, and not from the liquor.

“Too bad your mom wasn’t up for coming tonight. I would’ve liked to have seen her. She’s a sweet lady.” Andy picked up their earlier topic, trying to keep up the small talk but her concentration was on trying to keep her eyes from wandering over his rugged features down his muscled chest all the way to his smooth black boots.

“Yeah, but you didn’t live with her. She can be a real hard ass.”

“She had two trouble-making boys to raise.”

“Just one trouble-maker,” he countered. “As I recall, I was the well-meaning, just-looking-for-an-adventure kid.”

Andy laughed. “Yeah, and those are the ones that cause the most sleepless nights. The ones who don’t mean to be any trouble but are more than two handfuls of it. They meet you with an apologetic smirk and a fistful of teeth.”