Chapter 28

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

C olson

“Hey, shitheads. Any of you know a good marriage counselor?”

You could have heard a pin drop. Frank even froze with his hand halfway to his mouth, a giant cinnamon roll dripping frosting onto his pant leg. Danny’s mouth hung open like he was trying to catch flies. Joey was the one to finally break the awkward silence, slapping me on the back, a ready smile on his face.

“You looking to get married again, Wolfe?”

I reared back, realizing my error. “No. Dude. No, I just meant I’d like to find a relationship counselor for me and Tully.”

Frank took a huge bite of the pastry and talked with his mouth full. “You want a therapist ?”

I frowned at him, wondering if he’d always been this big of a lug. He said the word therapist like I’d asked for a colonoscopy. Although one of those was probably in my future too, I wasn’t going to bring it up around these assholes.

“Yeah. I’m forty-two and not getting any younger. I’m not afraid to admit that things could be even better with Tully if we had professional help. You should try it next time you con a woman into dating you.”

The boys erupted, ribbing each other and being the exact shitheads I’d called them. Then Captain walked in the room and we all quieted down.

“Heads up. I have a meeting with the city council this afternoon to go over the revised budget now that we have the fundraiser money in our coffers.” He turned to me and I felt myself standing up a little straighter. “Colson, you’re coming with me. You did a fine job with the fundraiser and I’d like the city council to know it. Meet me at the truck at three.”

“Yes, sir.”

He headed back out and the guys were quiet until the door clicked shut behind him. Then they erupted, smacking me on the back, the top of my head, and my ass with words of encouragement and pride. They were a bunch of shitheads, but I loved them.

When they calmed down and went back to eating the tray of cinnamon rolls Sofia had sent me to work with, Joey pulled me aside.

“Hey, man. I’m proud of you. You’re making a difference around here. You’re back with Tully and even telling the boys about her. Hell, asking for a therapist? The guy I used to know wouldn’t have done that. He’d have worked harder and longer hours, thinking he could outwork all his problems.”

Well, fuck. That made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. “Thanks, man.” We did the bro hug with lots of back slaps before he pulled away and showed me his phone.

“Here’s the counselor Gabi and I go to. She’s amazing. Helped us a lot when the kids were younger and we felt like we had zero time for us.”

I pulled my own phone out and logged the counselor’s name and number in my phone. “Thank you. I just…I want to be better this time around, you know? Loving her has never been the problem. It’s everything else that we need to work on.”

Joey nodded. “I get it. Committed relationships are a lot of work and it’s work we want to do because it shows respect for our partner. And for what we’re building together. I think couples who don’t get counseling are missing out on a valuable tool.” His grin turned playful. “And Gabi’s always super in the mood after one of our sessions. It’s like make-up sex but without the fight.”

We both laughed and I turned to grab a cinnamon roll before they were all gone. Joey pulled my arm back and lowered his voice.

“Hey. Just promise me you won’t hide away and isolate yourself if things get hard, okay? Last time you left me in the dark and then moved away for two decades. Don’t do that shit again.”

I dipped my head, realizing that I, too, had done some things that had hurt the people around me. I spent so much time back then blaming Tully for what she’d done when I’d been hurting people too.

“I promise.”

I was still on a high from being in front of the city council, seeing people my parents were friends with and a few people I’d gone to school with sitting around that table. They all had complimentary things to say about the fundraiser I’d organized with Tully. They’d even included me in the discussion of how to allocate those extra funds, which was interesting to be a part of. The whole session with the council made me feel like an important part of the fabric of Blueball again. And it felt damn good to be home.

When I pulled up to the carriage house Wednesday evening, there was a G-wagon parked next to Tully’s fancy Range Rover. The bougie cars were multiplying around here. I slid out of my truck, trying not to notice the scratches and dings that were inevitable with a five-year-old vehicle. Looking back on the moment, I had a bad feeling about things but I brushed it aside, too excited about the last few days and where I felt like I was in life to pay any attention to that sixth sense.

I opened the door and stepped inside, letting the strap of my bag slide off my shoulder and land in the tiny entryway. Tully was sitting on the love seat with a woman with soft red hair and blonde highlights. Her hands were moving through the air, diamonds and gold sparkling in the afternoon sunshine streaming through the windows. Tully’s head snapped up, like she was shocked to see me. She stood and the other woman did too, turning around to see who’d arrived.

“Colson!” Tully rushed over and reached up to kiss me. I returned the kiss, but I didn’t take my eyes off the intruder. Tully eased back and pointed to the woman. “This is Joselyn. My agent.”

Ah. The agent who’d been blowing up her phone lately. The agent that wanted to pull Tully right back to Hollywood. I disliked her on sight.

Joselyn stuck out her hand, bracelets clanging on her bony wrist. “Hi! I’ve heard so much about you, Colson.”

I took her hand briefly, dipping my head in the barest of nods. I couldn’t bring myself to say anything. Mom always said don’t say anything if you can’t say anything nice, and I was finally listening to my mother.

Joselyn didn’t seem to care. She turned her wicked grin to Tully. “I see why you’re starstruck, babe. He’s yummy! A firefighter and everything?”

“Can I help you with something?” I finally blurted out, not so kindly. I derived much pleasure from the smile sliding off her face as she turned back to me.

“Yes, I think you can. Convince Tully here that Hollywood’s not done with her. I have a producer waving around huge amounts of money for a reality show! He absolutely loves Tully!” The woman talked in exclamation marks and it was already hurting my head.

I turned my attention to Tully, watching every flicker of emotion that crossed her face. She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Instead, I saw resignation, then guilt begin to bloom. Lead settled in my gut.

“This time around it’s not just about her though,” Joselyn powered on. “This new show would line the pockets of her friends too. Emmerleigh, Savannah, and Pip would all make enough to change their lives. It’s really fantastic. An opportunity that can’t be passed up! Everything our girl touches turns to gold!”

Tully smiled uncomfortably and it hit me. She wanted this. She wanted to say yes and was putting up a fight because of me . Everything she touched did turn to gold. Except our relationship. It just held her back every time.

It felt like ripping my heart out of my chest and stomping on it, but I put my hand on Tully’s back, pushing her back toward the love seat. “Why don’t you discuss the details?”

Tully’s eyes snapped to mine, curiosity and shock in them. I nodded at her, resolved to not be the one who stands in her way. Ever.

“Yes! I have the contract all ready to go!” Joselyn took over, grabbing Tully’s arm and tugging her back to the love seat. “You’ll find the terms more than generous! Of course, we’d need Emmerleigh to sign off, but when I talked to her yesterday, she all but said the choice was yours.”

My knees almost gave out. Yesterday? How long had Tully known about this? Who all knew about this before I did? Did my own brother know about this? Mom? While I was going around publicly trying to find a relationship therapist for me and Tully, she’d been planning her next exit. I turned right around, grabbed my bag off the floor, patted my leg for Hayes to follow me, and slipped out the door, heading for my truck.

“Fuck!” I hissed under my breath, lungs already pumping for gulps of oxygen that wouldn’t heal the ache in my chest. Hayes whined. I steadied myself enough to pick him up and put him in the truck.

My phone rang in my back pocket, distracting me momentarily. It was Boon. I answered immediately, feeling like he was the one person in my life that probably didn’t know about Tully’s new show before me. In other words, he was a lifeline out of this nightmare.

“Yo, bro!” he hooted in good spirits, oblivious to my emotional state. “What’s hanging? Besides my huge dick.”

I blew right past his stupid jokes. “Where are you?”

“Huh?”

“Are you in Texas?” I threw my bag in my truck and climbed in.

“Yeah. We have a few home games back-to-back this week. Why?”

A plan formed in my head. A desperate plan to ease the hurt that felt all too familiar. “I’m coming to visit.”

“Sweet! Like, today?”

Boon was a pain-in-the-ass little brother, but right now I could have kissed him for not blinking an eye. “Yeah. I’m headed to the airport now. Don’t tell Mom or Warrick.”

“Okaaay.” He strung out the word, clearly trying to figure out what was going on. I put the truck in reverse and backed down the driveway.

“I’ll fill you in on everything tonight. Just keep quiet for now. Can you do that?”

“Bitch, I’m the one yelled at for never calling Mom. Of course I can keep my mouth quiet. But if you’re into something illegal, let me know. I’ll have my lawyer come over tonight.”

I scrunched up my face. “It’s not something illegal, jackass.”

“Okay, okay! Just covering my bases. Who knows what you rednecks get up to in your small town.”

“Fuck you. It’s the same small town you grew up in. The town you’ll be moving to in just a matter of a few months.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me,” he groaned. “Listen, I gotta go. My beer delivery just arrived.”

I shook my head and hung up. That guy was so accustomed to the city now, he might not be able to assimilate to small-town life again. But that was a worry for another day. Right now, I needed to get out of town and get my head screwed on straight. I couldn’t think when I was looking at Tully. All I saw was the woman I’d fallen in love with. The woman who’d never leave my heart, even if she left me physically. I couldn’t figure out what to do about this new show when she stared up at me with those big brown eyes, hair a wild mess around her face.

But before I raced out of Blueball, I stopped the truck and ran in to let Sofia know where I was going. I asked her if she’d take care of Hayes for a few days and she didn’t blink an eye. She mentioned she didn’t care for Joselyn either, which only made me feel marginally better. She told me she’d keep my location a secret, but only after I promised to come back and speak to Tully like a grown-ass adult. And that was a direct quote. Sofia didn’t cuss much, so you best believe I took that promise seriously.

If Tully noticed I’d left the carriage house, she didn’t call my phone or run down the driveway to stop me. So I left, headed for the airport with a whole chest full of heartache.