Cherished

  I’m carrying Scott’s child. What will our baby look like? Will she have Scott’s beautiful blue eyes? Will she have blonde or brown hair?

  I felt Trey touch my shoulder, and it was like a warm blanket enveloped my whole body. I looked up at his tender smile. I couldn’t help but glance back at the woman he had been talking to at the bar. She was giving me a dirty look, and a part of me felt triumphant.

  As I watched Trey sit down and get settled in the chair, I wondered what his children would look like. Whoever he ended up with was going to be one lucky lady.

  “Jessie, I know you don’t want to hear this, but I have to say it.”

  I nodded.

  “If it turns out that Scott did cheat—”

  “He didn’t.”

  “I know, but if he did, I want you to know that it would be my honor to take care of you and your child. I’d do everything in my power to make you both happy.”

  Tears flooded my eyes as I looked into Trey’s eyes.

  How can I care about someone so much when I only just met him, not even two months ago?

  I got up, crawled onto his lap, and wrapped my arms around his neck. “Trey,” was all I could say. Right before I fell asleep, I whispered, “I love Scott. I’ll always love Scott.” I drifted off to sleep where images of little girls with curly hair took over my dreams.

  All I could hear was banging. What in the hell? My doorbell was ringing, and someone was pounding on my front door.

  “I’m coming! Holy fuck, hold on to your pants!” I yelled out.

  I opened the door, and Drake pushed his way past me.

  “Well, hello, Drake. Merry Christmas to you, too,” I said as I shut the door.

  Is it too early to have a drink? I looked at the clock. It was just after midnight.

  “Where’s your phone? Your cell phone, Scott. Turn it on.”

  I rolled my eyes and shook my head. “You came over here in the middle of the night to tell me you want to use my cell phone? Buy one, old man,” I said with a chuckle.

  I made my way into the kitchen. I needed coffee.

  “She called.”

  I stopped in my tracks and turned to look at him. “Jessie?”

  He smiled and nodded.

  “Holy fuck. What did she say?”

  “It was a really bad connection, but she said something about being in a tropical storm.”

  A tropical storm? “Drake? Are you sure you weren’t dreaming or something?”

  “Yes, of course, I’m sure. I asked her where she was, and she said something, but I couldn’t hear her. She mentioned a tropical storm, and she also said she’d left you a message.”

  “Did you tell her it wasn’t me? Did you tell her I didn’t cheat on her?”

  Drake smiled and nodded. “I did, but I don’t know how much she heard before we were disconnected.”

  I turned and quickly walked into the kitchen. I reached into my jacket pocket and pulled out my phone. I turned it on and waited for the longest forty seconds of my life for that bitch to start up.

  I had twenty voice mails. Jessie’s messages were the last two to come through. I hit Speaker and listened to the first one.

  “Scott, um…hey, it’s Jessie. I, um…I really need to talk to you. I don’t have my phone, so I’ll try to call you in a few minutes or so. I, um…I love you, Scott. I love you, and I just need to talk to you.”

  The second message started to play.

  “Hey, it’s me again. I’m in Belize, but I have a flight coming back on the twenty-ninth. There’s a bad storm, so I’ll call you when the phone lines come back up. I’m using the front desk girl’s cell. I love you, Scott. I love you so much, and I’m so sorry.”

  I looked at Drake as he stared at me. “Belize?” we both said at the same time.

  “Holy fuck. She’s not even in the country, Drake. She’s in fucking goddamn Belize. And who’s the guy she’s with?”

  “Scott, she said she loved you. Wait—what time did that first call come in?”

  I looked at my phone. “Right before nine.”

  Drake smiled and shook his head. “She called you before me, Scott.”

  “So? That’s supposed to make me feel better when all I can think of is how she has a friend helping her get over me?”

  “No, you ass. She didn’t know yet about you and Chelsea. She must have either talked to someone else, or she figured it out on her own. Bryce said he’d called out after her. After thinking about it, maybe she realized it wasn’t your voice she’d heard.”

  My heart started pounding. “Do you think? Fuck. I can’t wait until the twenty-ninth for her to come home. I have to get to Belize.”

  “Did you not hear that they’re in the middle of a tropical storm? No airline is going to fly into that. Let’s just wait until morning, and we can call the airlines and see about flights to Belize.”

  There was no way I could wait, but I nodded my head to reassure Drake. “Okay. We’ll wait until morning.”

  I showed Drake up to one of the spare bedrooms and made my way back down to my room. I crawled into the new bed I had bought, and I lay there, looking up at the ceiling. I wasn’t going to be able to sleep. Drake had said Jessie was about to tell him where she was staying when the phone died.

  I sat up in bed and grabbed my cell. I wrote down the number that Jessie had called from earlier, and I dialed another number. If there was one person I knew who could help me…it would be him.

  I had already had four cups of coffee, and it was only six in the morning. I heard Drake walking into the kitchen. I turned and smiled as I held up my coffee cup.

  “Want a cup?” I asked.

  He looked down at my bag on the floor.

  “You going somewhere? I checked the airlines, Scott. The storm knocked out almost all the power, and the airport is shut down. They don’t see it opening for a day or two, if that. How in the hell do you think you’re going to get to Belize?”

  My phone rang right then, and I pulled it out. I smiled when I saw who was calling. “Lark, what’s the word?” I said as my heart started pounding.

  Lark was my best friend from college, and he now worked for some hotshot guy who did business all over Central America and God knows where else.

  “I can be there in two hours. Perfect.” I hung up the phone and quickly turned to rinse out my coffee cup. I reached down and grabbed my bag before making my way to the back door.

  “Scott! Where in the hell are you going? Are you going to tell me what’s going on?”

  “Walk with me, Drake.” As I made my way out the door and over to my truck, I started to tell Drake my plan. “My best friend from college works for some guy. I’m not really sure what type of business he’s in, but Lark flies him all over the place. I gave Lark a ring and said I needed to call in a favor. I told him what was going on and asked if he could land a helicopter in Belize right now with the storm hitting. He made a call to his boss and asked if he could use the Sikorsky S-92 helicopter to make a run to Belize. I offered to pay for the gas plus some.”

  Drake grabbed my arm and pulled me to a stop. “Wait.” He shook his head. “This guy—why in the hell would he let your buddy take his helicopter to Belize just for you to get to Jessie?”

  I shrugged my shoulders. “I don’t know…maybe he believes in love. I don’t really give a shit. I’m paying him enough money to probably buy a new fucking helicopter. I don’t care, Drake. I just need to get to Jessie.”

  I jumped into my truck and shut the door. I started the truck and rolled down my window. “I should be in Austin in two hours. Lark is going to be waiting for me there. He said it was about a four-hour flight to Belize, not including one or two fuel stops. I’ll let you know when I get there and find her.”

  “How are you going to land in Belize?” Drake asked.

  I took a deep breath. I didn’t really want to tell him that I was going to stay at Lark’s boss’s house, which had a helipad. “Lark’s boss has a house in Belize. He
’s gonna land there.”

  Drake started shaking his head. “What in the hell does this guy do, Scott?”

  “I’ve got to go, Drake. Don’t worry, it’s not drugs.” I rolled up the window and took off down my driveway.

  Okay…at least I hope it’s not drugs. A part of me wondered what in the hell Lark and his boss did for a living.

  Lark showed me around his boss’s house, and I was dumbfounded. I’d never seen such a big house.

  Do I want to know what this guy does for a living?

  I was tired, cranky, and just pissed-off. We’d ended up having to land at the airport anyway to go through customs. As soon as the customs people had realized who I was a guest of, they had practically brought out the welcome committee. The tropical storm hadn’t been that bad, and most of the airport had opened back up. Once we had flown out to Mr. Martin’s house, I was just ready to get to the hotel where Jessie was staying.

  “Lark, what in the hell does your boss do for a living?” I asked.

  Shortly after one phone call to Lark with the number that had come across on Jessie’s first call, Lark had called me back with the name of the hotel where she was staying.

  Lark let out a laugh. “He’s in communications and a few other things. He does a ton of work down here for one of his…jobs.”

  I just looked at Lark. “Is it illegal?”

  His smile dropped. “Hell no. You think I’d be involved with someone doing something illegal?”

  “I don’t know, Lark. Would you?”

  He sat down on the sofa and glared at me. “Fuck no, I wouldn’t, Scott. You just have to trust me. I can’t say what all Mr. Martin does, but I give you my word as one of your best friends, it’s all legal. He’s a shrewd businessman, and he makes good investments.”

  I sat down in the chair opposite the sofa and took a good look at Lark. He was tall with light brown hair and green eyes. I wondered if the ladies still flocked all around him.

  “Good enough for me. Do we have a car, so you can take me to the hotel?”

  Lark smiled and nodded. He jumped up and called for someone.

  A young kid who looked to only be about eighteen came walking into the room.

  “Roads open and clear?” Lark asked.

  “Yes, sir,” the young gentleman said.

  Lark looked at me and raised his eyebrows. “Ready to go and get your girl?”

  Lark and I got out of the Mercedes Roadster, and as I looked back at the convertible, I had a very strong suspicion that Mr. Martin didn’t make his money in communications only.

  “Did you want to wait just in case, you know, I can’t find her or something?” I said as the sick feeling in my stomach came back full force.

  Lark was looking all around the lobby. It was almost like he was staking the place out. “I actually had Carlos follow us over here,” he said as he handed me the keys to the Mercedes.

  I just looked at him. He doesn’t think I’m going to drive an eighty-thousand-dollar car, does he? “Dude, does your boss know you’re offering up his Roadster?” I asked with a chuckle.

  “Actually, that’s my car. I come to Belize a lot when I’m not working with Skip.”

  “Skip?”

  Lark smiled and then watched a girl walk by before he looked back at me. “Yeah, Mr. Martin. His nickname is Skip.”

  I rolled my eyes. I didn’t want to know how or why Lark was the owner of such an expensive car. After college, Lark had spent a year in the Marines as an officer, but he had been medically discharged, and then he’d immediately begun working for Mr. Martin. He never did tell anyone what had gotten him discharged.

  “Bring it back with a single scratch on it, and I’ll kill you,” he said with a wink.

  I smiled. “Are you heading back to the house?” I asked.

  Lark chortled. “Hell no. I’m going to say hi to that pretty little thing that just walked by.” He gave me a wink and turned to walk toward the bar.

  I sucked in a deep breath and slowly let it out. I spun around and walked toward the front desk. The young girl behind the desk smiled as I approached. I glanced down to her name tag and felt my stomach drop.

  Chelsea. Ugh.

  I gave her a smile and watched as her face turned a light pink.

  “Good evening, sir. May I help you?” Chelsea asked as she looked me up and down.

  “Yes, I got here as soon as I could after I found out about the storm. I’m looking for my girlfriend, Jessica Rhodes.”

  Her smile faded, and she started looking around before her eyes met mine again. “Um, you’re Miss Rhodes’s…boyfriend?”

  The look in her eyes told me she was surprised.

  Ah shit, Jessie must be with her friend.

  “Can you tell me what room she’s in? I’d like to surprise her.”

  She looked down at the floor and then back up at me. “Oh…I’m pretty sure she’ll be surprised.”

  My heart dropped to my stomach, and all I wanted to do was walk away and go back to Texas. “Is that so?” I asked with a slightly forced smile.

  She nodded and must have realized what she had said. “Oh, I mean, she’s going to be happily surprised. Um…she’s in cabana seven. Let me show you how to get there on the map. I don’t think her cabana was one of those that flooded. It sits back a bit higher than the other ones.”

  After she showed me how to get to Jessie’s cabana, she handed me the map, and I made my way down the path. Everything was still soaking wet from all the rain they had gotten from the tropical storm. I stopped and sent Drake a quick text message, letting him know that I’d arrived safely and I was on my way to Jessie’s cabana.

  I turned around the bend, and the first cabana came into sight. The small front porches faced out to the ocean. I thought about how nice it would have been to sit and watch the sunset with Jessie. I glanced down at the map and found that Jessie’s cabana should be around the next tree.

  I saw her the instant I rounded the tree. She was standing in front of a guy who was leaning up against the railing. I stopped dead in my tracks. He had his hand on the side of her face, and she was smiling at him. Her smile almost dropped me to my knees.

  He’s helping me get over Scott.

  He must have said something to her because she let out a small laugh. I was frozen. I couldn’t even muster the energy to turn and walk away. I watched as he pushed a piece of loose hair behind her ear before dropping his hand down to his side.

  Jessie must have sensed someone watching them because she looked up, and her eyes captured mine. Her smile faded just a bit, and my heart started breaking all over again.

  How stupid of me to come here. I knew I could possibly find her in the arms of another man, but now…now, my worst fears have come true.

  She just stood there and stared at me. The prick turned and looked at me. One look at him, and I wanted to beat his fucking ass. I turned and started to walk back to the hotel lobby. I just needed to find Lark and have him fly me back to Texas. I would pay twice as much just to get me off this fucking island.

  “Scott!” Jessie called out.

  I picked up my pace and tried to get back to the car as fast as I could.

  “Scott, wait! Please wait.”

  Oh my god. I can’t believe how stupid I was. Why did she leave a message and tell me she loved me when she’s been with another man this whole time?

  I heard her running up behind me. She grabbed on to my arm and pulled it, trying to get me to stop.

  “Scott, please stop!”

  I turned to see her beautiful eyes filled with nothing but sadness.

  “Scott, what in the world are you doing here? How did you find me? I mean…how did you get here with the storm and all? I just called you yesterday.”

  I glanced up and saw the dirty rotten bastard standing down the pathway. I looked back at Jessie. “I got your message, but I guess I misunderstood.”

  She looked confused and shook her head. “What do you mean? Misunderstood what
, Scott?”

  I let out a gruff laugh. “The part when you said you loved me. I’ve been going crazy, not knowing where you were. When you told me you were in Belize, I knew I needed to get to you, but…” I glanced over to her friend and then quickly looked back at Jessie. “But I see your friend has done a pretty damn good job of helping you forget me.”

  I spun around and walked away as I heard her suck in a breath of air.

  “Scott…no. Please don’t walk away from me.”

  It sounded like she was crying, but I didn’t care. I needed to get away from him…and her. I made my way back into the lobby and into the bar. I saw Lark still talking to the girl who he had followed into the bar.

  I walked up to him and smiled at her. “Excuse me. Lark, I’m leaving, and I have no idea how to get back to the house.”

  “Oh no, dude. Did you find her?”

  I nodded and looked away. “Yeah, can we just head back? I’ll pay you double to take me back to Texas.”

  Lark stood up and reached for his wallet. He pulled out some cash and threw it onto the bar as he said his good-byes to the girl.

  As we made our way out of the bar, I saw Jessie standing there.

  “Scott, please don’t leave me. Please.”

  She walked up to me, and as she reached out to touch me, I took a step away from her.

  She instantly threw her hands up to her mouth and started crying as she shook her head. “He’s just a friend. Please don’t do this. Please forgive me for running away. Scott, I thought that was you with Chelsea, and I just—”

  “So, you know it wasn’t me?” I asked her, watching as the tears rolled down her face.

  She nodded.

  “Your dad told you?”

  She shook her head. “It just finally hit me. It couldn’t have been you because I know you love me too much, and…the more I played it over and over in my head, the more I realized it wasn’t your voice I’d heard calling out after me. I think I knew it all along in my heart. It just took my head a bit longer to catch up.”