“You earned it, Liz.” Kissing her cheek, he pulled back to look her in the eye. “Maybe I should’ve mentioned the baby-sitting duties that come with the digs…”

  She laughed, slapping his shoulder. “You know that would be my pleasure.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Drake was walking down the stone path toward the main house alone while Cassidy and her mother stayed behind to go through the drawers and cupboards. He didn’t know which one of them was more excited, Cassidy or Liz. Either way, he was happy to be able to give Cassidy a second chance to make up for lost time with her mother.

  “Hey,” Lee said, walking down the path toward him. “I was just coming to look for you. It’s time for us to head out.”

  “Okay.” Drake shoved his hands into his pockets. There were two things that would have made this day more perfect, having his parents sitting in the front row and having his brother standing by his side as he married the woman he loved. He’d had a few good friends standing at the altar with him, but it wasn’t the same as having his brother up there with him.

  “Katie’s just changing Hannah and then we’ll be on our way,” Lee said, awkwardly kicking a pebble off the path as though he was afraid to look Drake in the eye. “Thanks for inviting me. I know that couldn’t have been easy for you.”

  “None of this has been easy, man,” Drake said, raking a hand through his hair. “Losing my brother wasn’t easy.”

  “You haven’t lost me,” Lee said quietly. “I’m still here.” Opening his hands, he said, “I’m still your brother. I’ll always love you, always have your back, no matter how you feel about me.”

  Drake started walking back in the direction he’d come, unsure what to do or say. He walked a few steps before turning back to Lee. “Just tell me why you did it. You had to know she meant everything to me.”

  Lee released a shaky breath. “I’ve always wanted to be like you, Drake. You had it all together. Good grades came effortlessly to you. You were always the one everyone saw so much potential in. I was always the screw-up.” He held his hand up when Drake started to say something. “I’m done feeling sorry for myself. Believe me. I’m just trying to make you understand where I was coming from when I did what I did.”

  “I’m listening.” For the first time in years, Drake finally felt like he could hear his brother’s words. He’d gotten so used to writing his explanations off as excuses that he’d stopped listening to him years ago.

  “Drugs allowed me to escape all that. I didn’t have to think about what happened to Mom and Dad. I didn’t have to think about what a disappointment I was to you and our grandparents or the fact that I didn’t know what the hell I was going to do with my life because I didn’t seem to have any talents or skills.”

  “That’s not true,” Drake said. Lee was the one with an incredible ear for music. He started out playing in a garage band. Unfortunately, it was that same group of guys who got him hooked on drugs when he was just a teenager. That was the beginning of the end of life as they knew it. “You had a real future in music, man. You could have done whatever you wanted to do.”

  Lee smiled. “I’m hoping it’s not too late for that.” Shrugging, he said, “I guess only time will tell, right?”

  “I guess so.”

  “Anyway, that night…”

  Drake was tempted to tell him he wasn’t ready to talk about that, but he knew he’d already put the inevitable off too long. “What about it?”

  “I was as messed up as I’d ever been,” Lee said, raking his hands through his hair. “It’s all still a blur. I wish I could tell you what I was thinking or feeling in that moment, but I can’t. I just know that I wanted to hurt you because you hurt me.”

  “I hurt you? How?”

  “You gave up on me,” Lee said, quietly. “You said you didn’t want anything more to do with me.”

  Drake remembered that conversation too well. He told Lee he was tired of watching him kill himself, and if he didn’t find a way to get his act together, he didn’t want to see or talk to him again.

  “I was reeling. I didn’t know what the hell I was going to do without you.” Lee cleared his throat, obviously fighting to hold back the tears. “Ever since Mom and Dad died, you were always the one I could turn to, the one I could count on. I knew our grandparents wouldn’t be around forever, but I thought you would.”

  Drake felt a twinge of guilt for taking a hard-line with Lee instead of trying harder to get him the help he’d needed.

  “I was sick, Drake. I wasn’t in my right mind. If I was, I never would’ve done that to you. You’ll never know how sorry I am. Every day, I think about the mess I’ve made of things and I wish like hell I could relive the past twenty years, go back to a time before the drugs, when we were still best friends.”

  Drake watched Katie walk down the path with his niece in her arms. Hannah was so beautiful, so innocent, that it took his breath away every time he looked at her. The love he felt for her, the protective instincts he had every time he looked at her reminded him of the way he used to feel about her daddy.

  “If this isn’t a good time…” Katie said, looking from one brother to the other. “I can come back later.”

  Drake didn’t say anything, he just held his arms out for his niece. She was sleeping peacefully and Katie had changed her from the pink frilly dress she’d been wearing earlier into a white one-piece sleeper. She looked like an angel. Kissing the top of her head, Drake silently told her that he loved her, that he’d never let anyone hurt her or screw up her life. He would always be there to protect her, and he knew that meant he had to welcome his brother back into his life.

  “I’m not going to lie, I can’t go back to the way things were,” Drake said, looking up at Lee. “But I can’t go on hating you, either.”

  Lee sucked in a breath before he said, “It’s a start.”

  “You’ve shown me a different side of you this past year, Lee. You’re slowly evolving into the man I always hoped you would.” It wasn’t easy for Drake to acknowledge Lee’s victories, given the mixed feelings he still had, but he knew it was important if they were going to move forward and learn how to co-exist in this new family they were building.

  “That means everything to me,” Lee whispered. “All I’ve ever wanted is to make you proud of me.”

  “You are making me proud.” Drake had never expected to say those words to his brother again, but they felt right somehow.

  “The wedding was beautiful, Drake,” Katie said, smiling. “I know you’ve made my sister very happy.”

  Drake knew that his wife was making peace with her little sister. She claimed it was more important now than ever because of Hannah, but that didn’t mean he felt ready to forgive her. “Cassidy means everything to me. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for her.”

  “I know that.” Katie looked at her daughter when she curled into Drake, seeking his body heat. “I was so selfish. I didn’t understand how much my sister sacrificed to try and make my life better. She took care of me when our mother couldn’t.”

  “Yeah, and look at how you repaid her.” Drake almost wished he could retract the words when he saw the obvious pain they caused, but giving them a free pass wouldn’t help anyone.

  “Every day I ask for forgiveness…” she whispered. “And strength.” With a determined set to her chin, she looked Drake in the eye. “Battling this addiction is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do, but I’m determined to make it, one day a time.” With a soft smile, she said, “Because my baby deserves the best of me. And my sister believed in me enough to give me a second chance. That’s all I’m asking for Drake, a second chance.”

  Looking at the sleeping baby in his arms, he realized he would always give her a second, third, and fourth chance. No mistake could be so grave that he would stop loving her. Perhaps he owed her parents the same consideration.

  Before he could respond, he heard high heels clicking on the stone walkway followed by muted voices.

  “There’s my gorgeous niece,” Cassidy said, opening her arms for the baby.

  Drake gently settled the sleeping baby in her arms, standing back to watch the breathtaking picture they made.

  In six short months, Cassidy would be cradling their own baby like that, and as he looked around at the small group admiring the infant, he realized he wanted their child to experience the same love from the family who adored them. It wasn’t fair to deprive his son or daughter of an extended family who only wanted the best for them, and since he’d already vowed to give his child the best life he possibly could, he knew that would include these people. They may not be perfect, but they were his and Cassidy’s family and that meant he loved them in spite of their imperfections, the same way he knew they loved him in spite of his shortcomings.

  “She’s so beautiful,” Cassidy whispered, touching her fingertip to the baby’s chubby cheek. “Her skin is so soft.”

  Her voice sounded so reverent, and Drake knew she would appreciate every little feature that made their child unique. He couldn’t wait to see her with their baby, to watch her evolve into the incredible mother he knew she would be.

  “It’s amazing,” Drake said, his voice husky as he looked around the small group gathered around his wife. “How a tiny little baby like this can be the catalyst for bringing a family back together.”

  Lee’s eyes met Drake’s. He quickly extinguished the spark of hope in his eyes, but not before Drake could see it. “Are you saying that’s what Hannah has done… made us into a family again?”

  Cassidy looked up at Drake, her eyes shining with emotion as she gave him a slight nod to let him know her feelings on the subject.

  Putting an arm around Lee’s shoulder, making physical contact with him for the first time in what felt like years, Drake chuckled. “You know what they say, man. You can’t pick your family.”

  “Maybe not,” Lee said, slipping an arm around his wife’s waist. “But I’d say we did alright.”

  “Yeah,” Drake said, looking at the women he knew would be the glue that held him and his brother together as they built a new life with their own little families and constructed a newly defined relationship as siblings. “I don’t think it could get much better than this.”

  Looking up at her husband with a smile, her eyes glassy, Cassidy mouthed to him, “I love you.”

  About the Author

  To learn more about this author, visit www.cheryldouglasbooks.com

  To comment on this book, or ask the author a question you can email her at:

  info@cheryldouglasbooks.com

  You can also visit Cheryl on Facebook at www.facebook.com/cheryldouglasbooks

  Twitter: CherylDouglasNN

  Please consider leaving a review for this book or other books in the series.

  Thank You

  Other Books by Cheryl Douglas

  Now Available

  Nashville Nights

  Shameless

  Fearless

  Ruthless

  Reckless

  Relentless

  Heartless

  Hopeless

  Careless

  Nashville Nights Next Generation

  High Stakes

  Trade Off

  Holiday Homecoming

  Game On

  Burn Out

  Fast Track

  Time Out

  Face Value

  Blown Away

  Breathless

  Imagine

  Coming Soon

  September 2013

  Starting Over

  Eve Bolton is at a crossroads in her life. After caring for her beloved aunt during a terminal illness and coming to terms with the fact she may never be able to get pregnant, she retreats to her childhood home, where she’s not just the wife of a business tycoon, she’s someone the townspeople know and love. This gives Eve a sense of identity she thought she lost. When her husband asks her to come home, she decides it’s time for her to start over… alone.

  Alex Bolton has been so preoccupied running his family’s business that he lost sight of what’s important. Eve. He knows she’s been going through a difficult time, between trying to get pregnant and losing the woman who raised her, but he never expects her to tell him she’s leaving him. He knows he has a lot to make up for, but he’s willing to do whatever it takes. The question is, will it be too late to save their marriage?

  October 2013

  Strike Out (Book One in the Texas Titans Series)

  When professional baseball player, Zach Foster, agreed to go into business with five of his best friends, he didn’t expect their little sports bar to evolve into a national chain, spanning fifty states, but it did. The business helps to fill the void in Zach’s life during the off-season, but when he closes his eyes at night, he still can’t forget the girl who left that gaping hole in his heart when she left him standing at the altar ten years ago.

  Lauren ‘Rennie’ Alexander would do anything to fulfill a sick child’s wish. Not only is it her job, as director of the Sky’s the Limit Foundation, but it’s her passion. So when her assistant brings her a letter scribbled in crayon, complete with an application from the little boy’s loving parents, she is ready to make another dream come true. Until she realizes that sick boy’s dream is her worst nightmare. He wants to meet his hero, baseball player, Zach Foster. The same lying, deceitful jerk who broke Rennie’s heart. It’s seems she has no choice but to take one for the team.

  November 2013

  Envious (Book Two in the Music City Moguls Series)

  Katie Elliott didn’t want to admit she was developing feelings for her husband’s best friend, Brayden, but the more time they spent together the harder it became to deny the truth.

  Brayden Anderson loved everything about Katie, from her infectious laugh to her obvious love for her daughter. They started out as friends, but when his best friend, Lee, admits he’s fallen out of love with his wife, Brayden realizes he may be having the opposite problem.

  Katie is determined to put Brayden out of her mind and focus on raising her little girl, but when Brayden’s faced with a difficult decision she realizes it’s now or never. Safe or vulnerable… which will she choose?

  To sign up for email notification of new releases, visit the ‘New Releases’ page of Cheryl’s website.

 

 

  Cheryl Douglas, Stone Cold

 

 

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