“Holden, I still think we should text her and tell her what our thoughts are on the pregnancy.”
“No. I don’t want to jump the gun because there is still a chance that we could be wrong and Daphne is pregnant. She might not be happy with being pregnant. Surely she knows I don’t love her. Hell, I told her I was leaving her.”
Mason agreed. “I think if we jump the gun and fire off what we think to Emylie and then we’re wrong, it will destroy her even more. But, I did talk to her folks earlier. They know where she is.”
“Did they tell you?” I asked.
His eyes filled with sadness. “No. They promised her they wouldn’t tell anyone. What they did tell me though, was that she was staying with a friend she met in college and that they thought she needed some time alone. Away from all the drama here in Brady. That she said she needed to find out who she was and what she wanted.”
My heart ached. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to win Kim and Mario’s trust back. I hurt their daughter in the most unimaginable way.
I scrubbed my hands down my face as I sat in the oversized chair in the corner. “I know where she is.”
Glancing up, I could tell by the looks on their faces, they knew too. “Jamie,” was all I said.
Becca nodded. “They were super close in college.”
Mason agreed. “Yeah, they were. She bought that place up in Park City to turn it into a bed and breakfast.”
As much as I wanted to run to Emylie and pour everything out to her, I knew she needed this time alone. With everything happening with me, and by the way Mason and Becca were sitting next to each other and the way he looked at her, I was guessing his fuck buddy relationship with Emylie was over. Not that I wasn’t over the fucking moon about that, because I most definitely was.
“Let’s let her have the time she needs. If we’re right, I’ll be here when she comes back and maybe we can work on repairing what I fucked up.”
Both of them nodded then Becca said, “You did fuck up, Holden. I’m not going to lie. I still hate you like forty percent.”
I lifted my brow. “Why forty?”
With a shrug, she replied. “I guess because in a way, I feel like Karma has come back on you. Twenty-fold.”
Mason laughed.
My shoulders dropped as I let out a half-hearted chuckle. “I’m going to have to go see a doctor from all the emotional shit I’ve dealt with from her.”
Becca jumped up. “That’s it! Oh my God, Holden! You’re a genius!”
Quickly standing, I turned to Mason for some guidance but he lifted his shoulders and looked as confused as I was.
“I am?”
“Yes!” Becca said, slamming into Mason and hugging him. He quickly wrapped his arms around her and I couldn’t help but smile. The two of them had always had secret crushes on each other and when Becca got pregnant by that dirt bag ex-husband of hers, I knew it threw Mason into a serious funk.
“Why are you hugging me if Holden is the genius?”
Becca pulled back and winked at Mason. “Because I want an excuse to hug you. With Holden, I need an excuse not to kick him in the balls every time I see him. That forty percent is strong.”
I covered my junk and cringed. “Okay, well are you going to at least tell me why I’m a genius?”
“The doctor. Call the doctor she went to before. Surely she would go back to the same obstetrician. Call the office and act like you are confirming her next doctor’s appointment.”
It was like the idea hit me square in the forehead and caused me to take a few steps back. Why had I not thought of doing that before?
“I think we can get even more information. There was a girl that worked in the office who had a special needs brother. He is a huge fan of USC. I got them season tickets for two years. She told me if I ever needed anything to let her know. I wonder if I can get Daphne’s medical files?”
Becca frowned. “Shit. You’re not married, and there are strict laws about that.”
Mason cleared his throat. “My mom could.”
Turning to look at him, my heart started racing. “Your mom would do that?”
He smiled. “If I told her why, yes. You are like a second son to her, Holden. Even though you pissed her off, I know she’ll do it.”
I shook my head. “No. I won’t let her put her medical practice in jeopardy. Besides, she’s the only decent doctor in Brady.”
Becca giggled. “I’ll do it. I work there, and if I get in trouble, your mom can fire me.”
I held up my hands. Even though I had let my best friends down, it felt good to know they were willing to go to such lengths. Of course, I also knew they were doing it for Emylie more than for me. “No. No one is doing anything. Let me call the girl and see what I can get from her first.”
Both Mason and Becca agreed to let me call first and see how far we could get by going that route.
“Hi, yes, this is Daphne Weston’s fiancé, Holden Warner. Is Kate available?” Lifting my gaze over to Mason and Becca, I nodded.
Little did I know my entire world was about to be turned inside out with this one phone call.
“GOOD MORNING, PRINCESS! How’d you sleep?”
I grunted as I walked into Jamie’s kitchen. “Terrible.”
With a sad frown, she handed me a glass of orange juice. Taking it, I smiled. “Thank you.”
“You know what you need? A hike. Get out and move your body and enjoy the air.” She glanced at me and noticed I was already dressed.
Placing the glass to my lips, I narrowed my brows before drinking the whole glass. Setting it on the table, I gave her a knowing look. “Is Carter going hiking by any chance?”
Jamie placed her hand over her mouth and gasped. “Why yes! Yes, he is, after his morning five mile run.”
My lip snarled as I shuddered while picking up a piece of toast. “Ugh. He’s one of those types of guys.”
“And what exactly are those types of guys?”
The toast stopped at my lips as I closed my eyes and died from embarrassment.
Shit.
Glancing behind me, I saw a very sweaty Carter standing there with a drop-me-to-the-floor smile. Damn. He was better looking in the daylight.
Play it cool, Emylie. You are not interested in that.
I flashed him my best smile then replied, “You know, the overly into fitness and eating raw veggies and soy types.”
Carter walked more into the kitchen. He wasn’t taking his eyes off of me, and I wasn’t sure if I liked it or not. One was because I couldn’t tell if it was a friendly look or I-want-in-your-pants look.
“Sorry to disappoint you, Emylie.”
“Em,” I quickly said.
His smile widened and I couldn’t deny the way it made my stomach drop a little. “Sorry to disappoint you, Em. I hate soy, I don’t eat enough vegetables, and I have a very healthy appetite for exercise.”
I hadn’t realized I was digging my teeth into my lip until it started to go numb. Turning back to Jamie, I tried to ignore the way she was staring at me. She was giving me that expression that is normally saved when you’re out at a club and your best friend is telling you to go for the hot guy hitting on you.
Shooting her a dirty expression, I grabbed another piece of toast and spun around to leave, only to run right into Carter.
My body hit his full on, causing me to stumble back. “Jesus, you’re like a brick wall.”
He laughed and I had to admit, I liked the way it sounded. His hand came up and held me by my arms. One would think you would feel something when a hot guy grabs onto you and gazes at you with nothing but lust in his eyes, but I felt nothing. Maybe I was reading into it wrong, or I wasn’t attracted to the guy.
He was cute. Had a great body, but he wasn’t him.
He wasn’t Holden.
My eyes instantly filled with tears and Carter leaned in closer with a concerned expression on his face. “Are you okay?”
I wasn’t sure where my emotions we
re coming from, but I shook my head and quickly made my way around him and out the door.
My chest felt like someone was sitting on it as I gasped for air.
“Emylie?”
Walking as fast as I could, I headed to a trail, thankful I had put on sneakers before coming downstairs.
“Please wait! Emylie!”
Tears were streaming down my face as I started to run.
I needed to get away.
Stumbling over a log, I fell to the ground.
“Fuck,” I shouted as I sat on the ground and buried my face in my hands.
His arms wrapped around me as he lifted me up. My hands, still covering my face as I sobbed uncontrollably. Carter pulled my hands down and placed his finger on my chin.
“Talk to me, Em. Please.”
Glancing up, I could see the concern in his green eyes. “He cheated on me.” I cried between sobs. “She’s pregnant.”
It wasn’t the whole story. Far from it. But it was enough to get Carter to pull me into his body. I didn’t even care that he was sweaty. It felt good to be in a stranger’s arms. Someone different. Something different.
Maybe this was what Holden had needed.
Different.
“Oh, hell, Emylie. I’m so sorry.”
Burying my face into his chest, I let go and cried. I was slowly coming apart. The reality of everything hit me full force. I was never getting Holden back.
She was his.
Forever.
“Feeling better?”
I nodded while taking another drink of water. “I’m sorry I freaked out on you like that. I guess I needed to break down.”
Carter grinned. “We all need to break down every once and awhile. Want to talk about it?”
With a weak smile, I replied, “Want to go on a hike with me?”
His face lit up. “I’d love to go on a hike with you, Em.”
Our hike started off in silence as we walked along the trail. It was a cool morning and I was thankful I had on a light pullover shirt. Taking in a deep breath, I slowly let it out. The mountain air smelled so clean and fresh. Almost healing in a way. As if each breath I took was repairing my broken heart. It felt like I grew stronger with each step taken.
With a deep breath in, I started talking. “Holden and I had been together for as long as I can remember. The first time I ever saw him on the playground in elementary school, I was pretty sure we were going to fall in love, go to the same college, work for his daddy’s ranch, get married, have kids. You know that whole dream.”
Carter let out a chuckle. “And, I take it he had other plans?”
“Yeah. He went to USC on a football scholarship. At first, he thought it was a good idea for us to be away. I guess he needed something different in his life and had to make sure our plans for our future is what he really wanted. Especially when they had really been my plans for us. My dreams. Long story short, we made it all the way to our junior year. He came home for Christmas break, and I knew something was different. I could feel it.”
“Was that when he cheated?”
Pressing my lips together, I shook my head and looked away. “He stayed in California over Thanksgiving break. That’s when it happened.”
Carter didn’t press me. We walked another ten minutes while I got my emotions in check. I saw a large rock and walked over to it. Sitting, I pulled my knees to my chest while he sat next to me.
“Not long after he went back to California, he called and told me he met someone and had fallen in love with her. He wasn’t coming home again. California was where he was staying. That was all he said to me. It didn’t make any sense because a week before that he was all about us and the future. He didn’t care about his scholarship, nothing. He said he needed to be by me and then … then he—”
My voice cracked and I wiped my tears away as Carter put his arm around me.
“Let me guess. He got back to California, found out the girl he cheated on you with was pregnant.”
My head snapped over to him. “Yes! How did you know that? I didn’t even know until recently. He never told me another reason other than he loved this girl.”
Carter shrugged. “Just assumed. Did he cheat on you this one time only?”
Glancing back over the mountains, I answered. “He said it was only that time. He got drunk, claims he doesn’t remember anything and that he woke up in her bed. I guess this girl had been flirting with him for a while. He said he was sure someone drugged him. I don’t believe him.”
“Sounds like she took advantage of a situation.”
I looked at Carter. “Are you saying it wasn’t his fault he slept with another girl? He had sex with another girl! He cheated. How can you defend him?” My voice got louder as I kept talking.
He removed his arm and held his hands up. “I’m not defending him, Em. I can’t stand cheaters. I’ve been cheated on myself, so I know how deep the hurt goes. I’m playing devil’s advocate here.”
I lifted my brow and stared at him with a questioning expression. “Well by all means, I’m on pins and needles here to hear your theory.”
With a smirk, he shook his head. “You said she had flirted with him before?”
“Yes. At least that’s what he said.”
I turned away, feeling sick to my stomach.
“Okay, so you got a girl who has the hots for a guy, right? Finds out he stayed in town and was at a party. She goes, he’s a little drunk, she flirts, he flirts back, but when it gets too far, he backs off. After all, he has a girlfriend, and I’m going to assume the guy is somewhat of a decent guy. Girl gets pissed because what she wants is in reach. She slips him a little something into his drink, next thing he knows, he’s in her bed. No memory of what happened. Mostly likely though, nothing happened because when a guy is that drunk, his dick doesn’t work.”
My face heated as I glanced down to hide my embarrassment.
“Then, a few months later, girl shows up and claims to be pregnant. The guy freaks, would rather break up with you than let you ever know he did the one thing that makes him sick to his stomach … cheated.”
My mouth dropped open. “Wow. You pretty much nailed it. You think he was drugged by her?”
“Totally.”
“What makes you so sure?”
His expression turned dark and a look of anger washed over his face. “Because almost the same thing happened to me, but luckily I wasn’t dating anyone. I had a girl who had been hounding me for months to hook up. Was at a party getting my drink on and the next thing I know, I’m in her bed. Worse hangover of my fucking life. She, of course, claimed it was the best sex of her life, which I thought was funny because anytime I’ve ever been drunk, my di—”
Holding up my hands, I shook my head. “Stop talking about your dick and it not being hard. Please.”
Carter laughed. “Right. Anyway, a month or so passed and she was at my door. Said she was pregnant. She had everything planned out. We could get married, her parents would buy us a little starter home. It would be hard because I was in the military and would be gone, but we’d make it work.”
My hands came over my mouth. “Oh my gosh. What did you do?”
“I laughed in her face. See what she didn’t know was, I can’t have kids.”
Feeling my heart drop, the words were out before I could stop them. “Why?” Closing my eyes, I felt my face heat up. Looking back at Carter, I frowned. “No, wait. I’m sorry that was so rude of me and none of my business.”
He chuckled and said, “It’s okay. When I was younger I got an infection. I can’t produce sperm.”
“I’m so sorry, Carter.”
Forcing a smile, he replied, “I’ve come to accept it. It doesn’t go over too well with the ladies though, when it comes time to tell them. Can you imagine a man telling you hey, I know you want kids, but I can’t help you in that department?”
I reached for his hands. “You can adopt.”
“Yeah, I know.”
He
turned and started walking.
“Wait, when was the last time you talked to your doctor about it?” I asked.
“Ten years ago.”
I grabbed his arm and pulled him to a stop. “Carter, you may be producing sperm and not know it. Or, there may be a way from them to extract it if you’ve had a blockage.”
He narrowed his gaze and looked at me. “How do you know so much about this?”
“I took some classes in college. I’ve always been interested in medical stuff. Not just in animals. Biology is a passion of mine.” There was a small amount of hope that shined in his eyes. “Seriously, I can call a friend of mine I went to college with. She’s doing her internship at a hospital in Boston and I’m positive she can recommend a fertility doctor for you to see.”
We stood there staring at each other before Carter busted out laughing. We’re talking a bend-over-gut-busting laugh. I couldn’t help but start laughing too. “Why are we laughing?” I asked.
He shook his head and said, “Em, we hardly know each other, and we’re talking about my damn sperm!”
Covering my mouth to hide my flaming cheeks, I started laughing again. The situation was serious, but funny also.
Carter grabbed my hand and pulled me down the trail. “Come on, I want to show you something.”
I allowed him to lead the way. There was something about Carter that soothed me. I was comfortable around him. I trusted him. It was crazy, and if he wasn’t Jax’s best friend, I’d have never have gone on a hike with him, or shared so much. But there was something different about this guy.
There went that word again.
Different.
We started climbing up a steeper trail, and I couldn’t help but notice that when he placed his hands on my hips to help me up, my stomach dropped a bit. I was positive it was because another man was touching me. I’d only been with two guys my entire life, Holden and Mason. It was kind of nice having another man who I had no emotional attachment to make me feel this way. I needed to feel alive, and Carter was helping me do just that.
“Here, let me climb up first and then I’ll help you,” he said as he pulled himself up and over a ledge. The idea of not knowing what was at the top was exciting. My heart was racing as Carter leaned over and reached for my hands. With a huge smile, I grabbed onto him and climbed up the rock wall while Carter pulled me up. When I got to the top he pulled me into his arms. For a moment, I thought he was going to kiss me, but he quickly proved me wrong by letting go and turning away. I let out a sigh of relief.