Say You'll Stay (36 page)

Trent hums in agreement.

My younger brother starts in again. “I’m not making excuses for her, I’m sayin’ you know her and the shit she’s been through.”

“You think it’s okay she kept this from me?” I throw back at him. “You’d be perfectly okay with knowing all this time spent . . .” I groan. “God! I don’t even fucking know what I’m mad at right now! I just know that my whole goddamn life I’ve spent trying to get over her.”

“So, you’re over her now? You don’t want her? Are you really willing to give her up?” Wyatt smiles, waiting for my answer. “Can you handle watching some guy’s hands roaming all over her while she dances at the bar?”

I see red. “Fuck you.”

“I don’t think so. If you love her, then stop being a bitch about this. She lied to you, I get it. She’s been in a really bad place.” He slips into a more neutral tone. “I didn’t know her husband killed himself. She must’ve gone through hell. It explains why she was afraid to tell you this too, man.”

I grasp all this intellectually, and then there’s the fact that she’s been pissed off at me for a long time. I’ve never doubted we’d work through this, but she has. She wasn’t sure that we would find the love we once had. Or if it was all in our heads. I knew though.

“What the hell does that mean? Afraid to tell me?” I ask him.

“You left her. Todd left her. She lost everything. She gets you back. What the hell do you think was the next possible outcome to her?” He cracks his neck. “Please, make the wrong choice. Let her go. See what happens.”

Trent stands, walks over, and slaps the back of my head. “You’re an idiot.”

“You’re both assholes.”

“True.” He chuckles. “But at least I know that if Grace ever really was going to walk away, I’d chase her.”

He’s so full of shit. Grace has been gone for months, he just won’t see it. He’s the last person I’m taking love advice from. Wyatt gives me a look that lets me know we’re on the same page.

“How did you find out about the baby?” Trent asks.

“Doesn’t matter.”

The point is that she kept it from me. I found out, and that’s the damn issue.

Wyatt stares me down. “I think it does matter.”

“You would.” I raise my chin. “Imagine knowing the girl you love, want to marry, would died for, kept this goddamn secret for so long. I deserved to know about that baby.”

Wyatt hops to his feet and walks over. “You’ve always been the slowest out of the three of us. Yet, you managed to get the girl.” He huffs out a frustrated breath. “I know what it’s like to watch someone you love look at someone else. I lived it. I know what it feels like to not be able to say what you’re thinking, because you know when you do, life will change.” He snaps his fingers. “Just like that. You want to play games with her? She’ll find another player. There are plenty in the lineup.”

He walks out of the door of his own house, and Trent shakes his head. “He’s been in love with Presley since the first time he laid eyes on her, but she found you first. I don’t know what you’re expecting from him. He’s kept away because he’d never get between you two, but I’m not sure that if you walk away, he will anymore.”

“He’d be dead to me.”

“Why?”

“Because she’s mine.”

“Right now she is.” Trent rests his hand on my shoulder. “But not if you let her go.”

I lean back in the chair as Trent leaves the house. I don’t know what to do anymore. It’s been almost twenty-four hours since I saw her. She’s consumed every moment of my thoughts since I left her. Then I think about Logan and Cayden. How broken those boys were over the truth. How broken I am over the truth.

Did she do it because she wanted to hurt anyone? No. I’m fully aware of why she kept it from me. It doesn’t hurt any less though.

I sit there, thinking back on how we’d dreamed of having a baby. So many nights we spent talking about our life and how it would be.

“Two boys and a girl.” Presley looks over with stars in her eyes.

“I want all girls,” I tell her, and she rolls back over with a smile.

“You would, Zachary Hennington. You would.”

I’d give her whatever she wanted as long as she doesn’t quit smiling like that. I’m a lucky bastard.

“How about we compromise?” I ask her.

She looks over as she contemplates. “What kind of compromise?”

The thing about her is that she knows me well enough to know that I’d cave to her. But she lets me have this for a little while. Not as if I have any control over it anyway.

“Two boys and two girls.”

“Four babies?”

“Why not? I have two brothers and you have one. It would be better if we have an even number.” Which is true. Wyatt is always the one that Trent and I team up against. Last night we almost got beat with the spoon because we hung him on the flag pole. Land of the free is what we told Daddy. He laughed, but Mama was yelling about boys and her hair.

Presley tilts her head and looks at the sky. “I don’t know. I mean, that’s a lot of names. We only have two picked out.”

She’s crazy, but I love her. “We know the first girl will be Sadie and the first boy is Colton.”

“Right, but that was a month of fighting—”

“And making up,” I remind her.

“Which was fun.” She smirks. “But. Two more names would be a lot more fightin’.”

I love when her accent grows strong. Presley is a siren. I can hear her call no matter where I am. On the field I go into a tunnel. Focusing only on the batter, the ball, the runners. I hone in and live in that moment. Unless she speaks. I don’t know what it is, but she’ll break my trance with one word. And if she’s upset, her accent goes deep, and it’s all I hear.

“And a lot more making up.”

“If I forgive you.” She cocks her head.

“You always do,” I remind her.

Presley groans. “Stop being so damn cute.”

“What about . . . Noah and Holly?” I offer.

She rolls her eyes. “Those are the same names you always say!”

“What are yours?”

I already know what she’ll pick. “Sydney and Dawson.”

“Like that damn show you watch?” Hell no. “I’m not naming my son after some guy on a creek.”

“You live on a creek!” She scoffs and crosses her arm. “And I like his name. It’s Pacey that I like-like.”

I swear she knows what to say to get me jealous. Of course she likes some damn TV star. She forces me to sit through an hour of that crap show every week. I swear. Then we go onto another show right after it. She, Grace, and Emily have a weekly date, but somehow I get drug into it.

“We’re not naming my boy either of those.” I stand firm.

“Fine.”

“How about Babe for a boy and Penelope for a girl?”

Presley stares at me like I’ve lost my mind. “I’m going to pretend that you’re kidding about Babe. Naming him after a famous ball player won’t make him one. And Babe is what we named the potbellied pig we just got. So, no.”

“All right, you pick a girl’s name and I’ll pick the boy. Whatever the next name is, we go with.”

“Okay, for a girl I pick Violet.”

I could handle that.

“For the boy, I pick Logan.”

She smiles. “I like that. Colton, Sadie, Logan, and Violet Townsend-Hennington.”

“What?” I damn near lose my mind. “What the hell makes you think you’re not taking my last name? What the hell is that two last name crap?”

Presley rolls on her back, looking at me with a grin. “A woman has every right to hyphenate.”

“I’ll show you hyphenate.” I drop down and kiss her breathless. She squirms beneath me and I fight ripping her clothes off right here in the middle of the outfield. This girl has no idea what she does to me.

I grip my phone in my hand, squeezing until my fingers turn white. I need to make a choice. Is this worth living the rest of my life without her?

“Go home and shower,” Wyatt says, throwing the door open after he’s cooled off. “Then find your balls and get your head out of your ass, possibly in that order. Because I promise you this.” He steps forward. “If you don’t go after her, I will, and I’m not going to play fair this time. I’m going to show her why I am the better brother, and why she should’ve been with me the whole time.”

My anger rises and I go toe to toe with him. “You listen to me,” I say pointedly. “I haven’t let her go, so don’t make me lay you out. Keep your damn hands off her.”

“Then go hold on to her.”

I walk past him, bumping him with my shoulder.

“Chump.” He laughs as the door slams behind me.

I walk to my house while my mind ping pongs back and forth over what the right thing is. It’s one thing to understand why she did what she did, it’s another to accept it. Then there are the boys and what they’re going through.

Maybe now just isn’t the right time for us.

Maybe there will never be a right time.

I could’ve been there for her through it all. The part that pisses me off the most is the time we’ve wasted. I’ve spent my whole life thinking about her, even when I was trying to forget. I sabotaged every relationship because no one could measure up. She didn’t have to love anyone else. Another man didn’t have to give her the comfort she sought. I would’ve been there.

Instead, she kept it to herself and used it as an excuse. What else is she keeping from me?

I get to my house and groan. I don’t have the patience for this. Felicia stands against the door as I approach. I used to look at her and see beauty, now I see how blind I was. She’s the polar opposite of Presley in every way. Felicia spent hours getting ready when we’d go out. Where Presley takes five minutes. Felicia wasn’t well loved around the town, but I chalked it up to them not knowing her. I think it was me who didn’t know her. She had me fooled, but now, I’m seeing things I never noticed before.

“Hey.” She smiles. “I wanted to come check on you. I was worried when I heard how you closed the bar down and Brett needed to drive you home.”

“I’m fine.” I’m not half as nice as normal. She’s having a really hard time understanding her role. “You should go. I appreciate you checkin’ on me, but I’d rather be alone.”

“Zach.” She sighs. “Please, you need a friend.”

I look at her and wonder if we could’ve worked had Presley not come back. I had plans to marry her because it was time. It was the right thing to do. Trent asked me if I ever loved Felicia. I did, but never close to the way I love Presley.

“I need to think, Felicia. Alone.”

She puts her hand on my arm. “I know how much this hurts you. I’m glad you get to finally see the person she is. She’s a liar, Zach. She’s always been. How could she keep a baby from you?”

“Stop,” I demand. “Stop talking, because I see what you’re doing.”

“I’m not doing anything.”

“No?” I laugh. “Tell me this isn’t part of your plan.”

Felicia steps back. “Plan to what?”

I just look at her.

“We could move past this, Zach,” Felicia simpers.

There it is. “No. We can’t.”

“Zach,” she begs. “Please, I’m in love with you. I can make you happy.”

And right now, I know where I need to be.

“I love Presley.”

We’ve both spent our whole lives running. Whether toward each other or away. It’s time to stand and deal with all our shit so we can move on. Loving her isn’t a choice—it’s who I am.

“No, listen to me. You deserve so much more.” Felicia steps closer and puts her hand behind my neck. I move back, but she grabs tighter.

“I always knew that you would come back to me.”

“Well.” Presley’s voice rings from behind me. “I guess I know why you didn’t text me back.”

I push Felicia away and turn to see Presley with tears in her eyes.

“I swear to God, Presley.” I push away from Felicia and walk toward the girl I love. “I got home and she was here.”

She shakes her head. “Your mama said that she saw Felicia moving boxes in.” She crosses her arms across her chest.

“She’s not moving in here,” I explain.

Presley retreats. “I came here because I couldn’t stand being away another second. I missed you so much my heart ached, Zach.” I grab her arms but she jerks them away. “I thought it was a mistake. I thought she was confused.”

I don’t know what my mother saw, but it wasn’t that. I look over at Felicia, wondering what her game is. “Did you tell my mother we were back together?”

Felicia takes a step back, wringing her hands. “I told her I was moving some boxes.”

I turn back to Presley. “She’s not who I want,” I clarify. “I was coming home to shower and then coming to get you.”

Presley doesn’t look like she’s buying it.

“And do what?” She taps her foot.

“This.” I can’t wait another second. I grab her shoulders and crush my mouth to hers. I inhale her scent and confirm everything I already knew. This is who I love. This is where I belong. I’ll fight to the death for her. We’ll fight because we’re both hot-tempered. Things will go wrong, and there’s a lot of shit to work through, but Presley is my life.

She came back here, and for the first time, I don’t feel like I’m missing something. Just her being close makes a part of me come to life. I’ll be hell pressed to let her go again.

I release her and she steps back. Great. She’s going to slap me again.

Instead a smile forms. “That would’ve worked.”

Her eyes dart behind me. “Nothing happened. Nothing ever would.”

“Okay,” she says.

“Okay?” Felicia yells from behind me. “Okay? Just like that? She lies about a baby, keeps the secret for
years
, makes you look like a fool, and you kiss her? I tell you the truth. I let you know all the things that have happened and it means
nothing
?”

I pull Presley against me. “It’s not up to you.”

Presley shrugs out of my hold and walks over to her. “It was you that told him. I figure you were lurking in the shadows, overheard, and thought this was your golden opportunity.” She’s absolutely correct. Felicia waited until Presley left and told me everything. “You forgot one thing.” Presley smirks.