Reckless Faith

“Darling, I just don’t understand that fear of heights you have. I thought you were past it.”

Elle bit the inside of her mouth, her hands tightening around the glass in front of her. Of course her aunt didn’t understand her fear of heights. Her aunt was her complete opposite in every way. She loved the woman, but man, was it hard relating when they were so different.

She looked around the busy bar, not sure how to respond. In the end, she didn’t need to.

“I mean, if it was me,” Jewel continued, “I would have rocked the skywalk right along with Hendrix. He sounds fun!”

“Of course he does.”

Her aunt leaned forward, her currently pink hair falling into her face. “I’m not saying that to brag. Just to remind you that the skywalk was built by professionals. I doubt a little bit of rocking could bring it down. And sometimes we need to live a little.”

“The rational part of me knew that. The part of me that’s never liked heights turned into a blubbering mess.”

Jewel grinned as she lifted the beer to her mouth. “Well, at least Jace was there to save you.”

“He didn’t save me.” Okay, he kind of did. And she was pretty sure his deep, gravelly voice was the only one that could have pulled her out of her panic attack. But she was not, under any circumstances, going to admit that to her nosy aunt.

A wistful look came into Jewel’s eyes. “I always thought you two would marry. You sure spent enough time together growing up.”

Yeah, and her aunt had definitely helped facilitate that. While everyone else her age had a strict “no sleepovers with boys” rule, her aunt had encouraged it. But then, that was Jewel for you, never one to set many boundaries.

Most kids would have loved it, but as a teenager, Elle craved the guardrails that she’d never had. Her mother had left Elle when she was five, and her father had then left her with Jewel when she was eight.

“So,” Jewel continued, “he came over to you and whispered in your ear that you were safe like one of those romance story heartthrobs. What happened next? Did he carry you in his arms to safety? Did you nuzzle into his big chest?”

Despite everything, she laughed. Was it funny that he’d actually offered to carry her? And she was sure, had she said yes, he would have followed through.

“You read too many romance novels.” She fiddled with the edge of a napkin. “No, he didn’t carry me back, but he stuck close.” Hand firmly on the small of her back, something she swore she could still feel.

“Did he yell at Hendrix? He has that growly, alpha-protector thing going on. Or at least he did the last time I saw him.”

“I have no idea.”

“I bet he did.” Her aunt studied her for a moment. “You’re going to lock this down, right?”

“Lock what down?”

“This thing between you. Make a move on him, kid. What’s stopping you? You’re both home and single. Plus, you have a history.”

“A history as friends. Jace and I will not be dating.”

Her aunt wrinkled her brow. “Why not?”

“The man had our entire high school career to date me. He never did. In fact, he dated everyone except me, because he wasn’t interested.” Not only did he not date her, he’d also only kept in contact for the first couple of years. Two pretty big tells, if you asked her.

Jewel shook her head. “You’re both older now. He’s matured; you’re at a childbearing age.”

Elle scrunched her nose, not really sure how to respond to that, when her phone vibrated on the table. She looked down at the text.

Sadie: He sounds like he likes you. Why did you never date?

Jesus, now she was explaining herself to her aunt and Sadie.

“Who’s that?” Jewel asked, trying to peer at the phone from across the table.

“It’s Sadie. I texted her about what happened today and she’s on Team Jewel, asking why Jace and I never dated.”

“Oh…I’ll answer that.”

Jewel reached for the cell, but Elle swiped out of the text and lifted the phone so it was out of her aunt’s reach. “Absolutely not.”

She pouted. “Why not?”

“I can reply to my friends, thank you.”

Jewel rolled her eyes, making Elle grin. Her aunt was only twenty years older than her, but she’d always acted younger than her age.

She set her phone back down just as Harper arrived beside their table.

The other woman smiled. “Hey. Sorry I haven’t had a chance to come over and say hi. We’ve been slammed tonight.” Harper was fairly new to Misty Peak. She’d stepped into this bar on her first night in town and had been here ever since. Of course, that had everything to do with Cody, Jace’s brother and the owner of the bar. The two were inseparable.

“That’s okay,” Elle said. “We’re fine. I’m glad the place is busy.”

Harper laughed. “Yeah, a lot of locals but also a few tourists. Don’t get me wrong, I love it, but I also like slower nights when I can slip out back for a sneaky kiss with Cody.”

Right on cue, Cody came up behind Harper, his hands sliding around her waist. “Did I hear my name and kiss in the same sentence?”

Harper blinked innocently. “No.”

“Liar,” Cody growled.

“Never.” Harper smiled down at Elle and her aunt again. “Shout out if you need anything.”

“We will.” When they’d left the table, Elle turned back to her aunt—only to see her phone in Jewel’s grasp. “Hey!” She tried to grab it, but Jewel whisked it out of reach.

“Calm down. I’m explaining to your friend why you never dated.”

This should be good. If she was texting anyone other than Sadie, she would have snatched her cell straight back, but Sadie was a good friend who knew Aunt Jewel, so it didn’t really matter what she wrote. “At least tell me what you’re writing before you hit send.”

Her aunt’s fingers moved quickly on the phone. “I’m telling her that you never dated Jace because he was too tall. His dimples were too distracting. And he had far too many ab packs.”

She frowned. What on earth were ab packs?

“But,” Jewel continued, “now that he’s home, he might be able to tempt you into a long night of hot shower sex.”

Elle snorted. There was no way Sadie would think this was from her. Maybe drunk her, but even then, it was a stretch.

“And…send.” Jewel grinned—but that expression only lasted a second before it changed to confusion, then shock. “Shit.”

“What?”

Jewel looked up, nervousness widening her eyes.

Oh God, what happened? Her aunt never looked nervous.

“Um…well, I may have accidentally sent the text to the wrong person?”

Elle’s heart began to beat faster. “Who?”

Jewel scratched the back of her neck. “Well, I was thinking of him when I searched for the number, and I just…”

Her jaw dropped. “You didn’t.”

“I did.”

“I’m glad you bought this place,” Kayden said as he leaned back in a deck chair.

Jace and Eastern both nodded.

It was good to be home. A bit strange to be sleeping in his parents’ old bedroom, but he’d get used to it. The house was on a huge block of land, surrounded by forest. It was the home he’d grown up in. The home they’d all grown up in. His father had sold it to their neighbor, but just before coming home, Jace had been approached by that neighbor about buying it back, and he’d taken it.

“I keep expecting Dad to walk into a room and catch me drinking beer or sneaking out,” Jace said, a grin on his face.

Eastern chuckled. “Yeah, you aged that man.”

Not intentionally. But he and his father had been opposites in many ways. “He didn’t really understand me. Probably because he was most like you, Eastern.”

Eastern scoffed. “No. Cody was his clone. It’s why that bar’s still so successful.”

True. Cody was good with people, just like their father was, and Eastern was a man of the law. Jace was… Hell, he didn’t even know what he was.

“We all have part of him in us,” Kayden said quietly, gaze moving over the trees surrounding the house.

Kayden was the oldest, and he’d taken their father’s death the hardest.

Eastern looked at Jace. “I heard there was a run-in at the visitors center today between you and Hendrix.”

Jace scowled. “The guy’s an ass. He rocked the skywalk when there’s a clear fucking sign saying ‘do not rock.’”

“And that warranted you grabbing his shirt and yelling in his face?” Kayden asked. “I thought you were gonna hit him.”

“If you hadn’t pulled me off, I probably would have.” He drank some of his beer. “Elle was with us on the walk, and she has a fear of heights. She had a panic attack.” Just thinking about her crouching in fear made him want to go out, find Hendrix, and remind him just how stupid what he’d done was.

Understanding crossed his brothers’ faces.

“Still,” Eastern started, “Hendrix wouldn’t have known that.”

His fingers tightened around his beer. He didn’t give a fuck if the guy knew or not. He shouldn’t have done it.

Eastern’s phone vibrated and when he pulled it out, a huge grin spread across his face.

“Let me guess. Sadie?” Jace asked.

Eastern turned the phone around to show a photo of Sadie and his daughter, Avery, kneading dough, chocolate on Avery’s cheeks. “I better get home before Avery’s full of sugar.”

Kayden frowned. “It’s not cooked yet.”

“That’s never stopped them.”

Kayden laughed. “I should get back to Tilly too.”

They rose from the deck chairs and walked through the house to the front door.

“Thanks for having us over,” Kayden said, scanning the wooden staircase behind him, then the living room to the right. “Every time I step foot in here, I feel them—Mom and Dad.”

Jace felt them too. It was both a comfort and a reminder of how much he’d lost.

After a goodbye to his brothers, he closed the door and moved to his bedroom. He was about to jump in the shower when he noticed a message on his phone.

Elle: I never dated Jace because he was too tall. His dimples were too distracting. And he had far too many ab packs. But now that he’s home, he might just be able to tempt me into a long night of hot shower sex.

Jace’s lips stretched into a grin. There was no way Elle wrote this. No way in hell. Her Aunt Jewel, though? Yeah, this could definitely be her. But he’d play along.

Jace: Just one night?

The three dots immediately popped up, then her text.

Elle: I didn’t write that.

Jace: And if you could break down exactly how I should tempt you, that would be great. Chocolates? Flowers? Allowing you access to my ab packs?

Elle: Ab packs are not a thing.

Jace: Your text suggests otherwise.

Elle: I told you, I didn’t write that. I’m going to dig my head into a hole and die now.

Jace: If you do that, you’ll never know what gift I got to tempt you.

Elle: You don’t have a gift for me.

Jace: I do. I would never joke about a gift, especially not one this good.

Elle: Why would you buy me a gift?

Jace: Because I’m a nice guy with a great many ab packs.

Elle: Stop saying ab packs.

Jace: Can we go back to the shower sex then?

Elle: No.

Jace: Doesn’t give us much to talk about, Tink. What about my height? I didn’t realize it was an issue. I could hunch?

Elle: I’m going to stop texting now.

Jace: Fine, but can I say one more thing before you go?

Elle: What?

Jace: One night with you would never be enough.

Fuck, he probably shouldn’t have written that. They’d never crossed that friendship line. But things felt different now…and he didn’t care so much about crossing lines anymore.

Because what he said was true.

The three dots appeared, then disappeared. In the end, it was Jace who sent the next text.

Jace: Good night, Tink. Have sweet dreams about my ab packs and dimples.