Blown Away (24 page)

Keith said,
“Apparently one of the bartenders took video with his phone. He
sold it to one of those rags. It’s all over the Internet.”

“Damn it!”

“Yeah, Brent’s
P.R. people are going to have fun trying to spin this. How is
Eli?”

“He’s going to
be okay. It may take a while, but he’ll make a full recovery.”

“I’m glad to
hear that.” He took a sip of coffee before he said, “To answer your
question, I haven’t seen Brent fight since we were kids. When our
mom left, he went through a bad period instigating all kinds of
trouble at school. Our dad starting sending us to the local rec
center after school. They offered martial arts, and Brent really
got into it. It seemed to be a good outlet for him and helped him
to regain control.”

“I wonder why
he never told me about that.” Ava remembered telling him she was a
black belt in karate the first night they slept together, but he
hadn’t told her they shared that interest.

“You’ll have to
ask him about that.” Keith smiled. “If you want a few minutes with
him, I have to run back to the cafeteria to get him another cup of
sludge. He’s a bear if he doesn’t get his caffeine fix in the
morning.”

Ava smiled.
“Tell me about it.” She raised her cup. “So am I, so thank
you.”

“My pleasure.
Listen, Ava, I know my brother is a hot mess when it comes to
relationships, but I really believe he wants to make it work with
you. Give him a chance. Please.”

Ava kissed
Keith’s cheek. She’d always liked Brent’s younger brother. “I’ll
think about it.”

***

Brent was
checking his messages with his back to the door when he heard it
open and close. “I should have asked for a double espresso. Of
course, they probably don’t have that in this joint. Am I
right?’

“I’m not
sure.”

Brent turned
around, surprised to see Ava in the doorway, looking uncertain.
“Hi.”

“Hi.” She
looked at his father. “How is he?”

“Holding his
own.”
Thank God.
“How’s Eli?”

“He’s going to
be fine. He’ll probably have to miss some games, but the doctors
say he should be able to start practicing again in a couple of
weeks. Nothing’s broken. I think the most painful part are the
badly bruised ribs.”

Brent closed
his eyes when he remembered the powerful kick to the mid-section
that had knocked Eli off his feet. He still couldn’t believe he’d
lost control like that. “I’m glad to hear he’s going to be fine.”
Brent knew retribution was in order, but he’d deal with it later.
First he had to figure out where he and Ava stood.

“Jasmine’s in
there with him now.” She glanced at the window when a bird landed
on a branch just outside. “Why didn’t you tell me she cheated on
you with Eli?”

“I didn’t even
know you and Eli knew each other.” Brent stared at his father as he
focused on maintaining a neutral tone. “How’d y’all meet?” He was
going to ask how long they’d been seeing each other, but he didn’t
want to fuel the fire. She was talking to him. That was a step in
the right direction.

“I told you
he’s my Uncle Aiden’s teammate.”

“So Aiden
invited him to the party?” Brent could tell by the way her eyes
shifted back to the window that her uncle wasn’t the only one to
issue the invitation. “You invited him, didn’t you?”

“Not as my
date.”

Brent felt as
if he’d been through the wringer in the past twenty-four hours. He
buried his face in his hands and tried to come to terms with the
mess his orderly life had become. The power he thought he wielded
was just an illusion. His father’s illness, his mother’s
confession, his unresolved anger toward Eli… He was powerless to
control anything or anyone outside of himself. He could love Ava
with everything he had, but he couldn’t force her to love him back.
If she wanted to leave him, he would have no choice but to let her
go.

He’d spent his
whole life working to amass a fortune because he believed if he had
money and power, he could decide what and who he wanted. He’d
foolishly believed people would stay in his life if he could
promise them the best of everything. But Ava didn’t want fancy
houses or cars. She just wanted his love and trust, and he’d let
her down.

“I wish you’d
told me about your history with him,” she said, sitting in the
chair on the other side of his father’s bed.

“Would it have
mattered?”

“I don’t
pretend to know what motivated Eli to sleep with your fiancée.
Whatever the reason, I’m sure he realizes he was wrong.”

“Maybe he
wasn’t. Maybe Eli and Jamie were meant to be together, and I was
just the guy who got in the way.”

“But you were
her fiancée.” She met Brent’s eyes. “It must have hurt you when you
found out she betrayed you.”

“It hurt my
ego.” He leaned over and laced his fingers. “I don’t think it hurt
my heart. When I saw you with him, that hurt my heart.”

“It wasn’t like
that,” she whispered. “I told you, I didn’t invite him to the party
as my date. I thought he and Tara might hit it off.”

“I know what
you said.” He didn’t know if it even mattered to her anymore, but
he felt compelled to say, “I believe you.”

“Do you?”

“Yes.”

Keith knocked
on the door before walking in. “Sorry to interrupt, guys.” He held
up the take-out cup. “I brought you that coffee, man.”

“Thanks.” Brent
reached for it.

Keith inclined
his head toward their father. “Any change?”

“Still the
same.” Brent didn’t know if that was a blessing or a curse. The
doctors kept telling them to wait and see, but patience had never
been his strong suit, especially with his father’s life hanging in
the balance.

“I should go,”
Ava said, standing. “I’ll say a prayer for your father, guys.”

“Can I call you
later?” Brent knew he may be crossing the line, expecting too much,
too soon.

“Um, why don’t
you just focus on your father’s recovery for now? We’ll have time
to talk… later.”

Judging by the
look in her eye, Brent feared that day may never come.

***

Brent was
grateful they were alone when he entered Eli’s room. They needed to
talk without an audience.

Eli opened one
eye. The left eye was badly bruised and swollen shut. “You come to
finish the job, Armstrong?”

“No.” Brent
closed the door. He knew their conversation was long overdue, but
that didn’t make it any easier. He’d never been one to run away
from his problems, but he’d denied what happened with Eli for too
long. They were both paying the price. “I came to apologize.”

“Is that
so?”

“Yeah.” Brent
claimed the chair beside the bed. “I lost it, man. I’m sorry.”

Eli was quiet a
long time before he said, “You’re not the only one who’s sorry. I
am too. I shouldn’t have slept with Jamie.”

“Why did
you?”

“I loved her.
Still do.”

Brent had
suspected as much. Eli hadn’t done it to hurt Brent or just to
prove he could. It wasn’t about sex. It was about his love for a
girl they both thought they wanted a future with. “Does she know
that?”

“What’s the
point of telling her? I’ve already humiliated myself enough over
that girl. It’s time to move on.”

“Is that what
you were trying to do with Ava? Move on?”

Eli tried to
smile, but his puffy lips made the feat impossible. “You think I’d
tell you even if I was? Hell, I’d be leaving this hospital in a
body bag instead of a wheelchair.”

Brent grinned.
“My days of fighting you for a girl are over.”

“Thank God for
that,” Eli said, wincing when he tried to shift in the narrow
bed.

“So, are you
gonna press charges, or what?” Brent knew that was still a
possibility, and given the damage he’d inflicted, he wouldn’t blame
Eli.

“That’s not my
style. Hell, I get into half a dozen fights every month on the ice.
If we threatened assault each time one of our opponents went too
far, we’d kill the game.”

Brent smiled.
“At least let me pay your medical expenses.”

Eli chuckled.
“I may not be a billionaire, but I’m not exactly a charity case
either. I can handle my own hospital bills.”

“Yeah, but you
wouldn’t even be in here if it weren’t for me. You’re gonna be off
the ice for a few weeks and--”

Eli held his
hand up. “Don’t think I don’t know this was long overdue, man. If
the situation was reversed and you’d slept with Jamie while she was
engaged to me, I would’ve come after you with everything I had.
Besides, I knew I was stepping into the line of fire when I dragged
Ava into this.”

“What do you
mean ‘when you dragged Ava into this’?” Brent felt his whole body
tense. “Are you telling me you sought her out because of her
relationship with me?”

“I wanted to
know if you really were off the market, if what you felt for Ava
was the real deal.”

“Why?”

“You must know
Jamie still has feelings for you. I didn’t want to see her get hurt
again.”

“She’s not the
victim in all this.”

“I know.” Eli
closed his eyes. “Let’s just say I still feel protective of her. I
don’t wanna see her set herself up again.”

“There’s
nothing between me and Jamie. Even if I can’t convince Ava to take
me back, Jamie and I are through.”

“Good to know.”
Eli pointed to a cup of water on the table, and Brent passed it to
him. “You want me to talk to Ava? I can explain to her that I share
the blame.”

Brent was
surprised he would even offer. “Thanks, but if she’s going to give
this thing with me a shot, it’s got to be her decision. If there’s
anything I can do for you--”

“There is.”
Again, Eli tried to smile. “Stay the hell away from me.”

Brent laughed
for the first time since he learned of his father’s condition.
“That I can do.”

Several days had
passed since Jerry was admitted to the hospital, and he was well on
his way to a full recovery. When Brent came to visit him in the
hospital again, he knew he had to ask the question that had been
haunting him. “Why didn’t you tell me you and Mom remained
friends?”

Jerry looked at
him, a scowl on his face. “Who told you that?”

“She came by
the night you were admitted. She told me.”

“I didn’t tell
you ‘cause I knew how you’d react. It’s no secret you can’t stand
your mother.”

Brent was
pacing the floor, but his father’s words stopped him in his tracks.
“I never said I couldn’t stand her.”

Jerry shook his
head. “Sure you did, dozens of time. When you were a kid, later as
a teen. You may not have said it when you matured, but your need
for revenge spoke for you.”

“I hated him.”
Brent thought of his stepfather and the smug smile on his face
every time their paths crossed. Brent could finally buy and sell
him and the company he’d worked a lifetime building, but the man
would still have something Brent didn’t: a relationship with his
mother. Brent hadn’t even realized how much he’d wanted it until he
saw the loving, compassionate side of her that he remembered from
when he was a boy.

“I know you
did, son.” Jerry adjusted his hospital bed so he was sitting up.
“You hated him for taking her away from us, but she left on her own
because she wasn’t happy. I know that made you angry. I was angry
too, for a long time. But eventually, I realized something.”

“What’s that?”
Brent asked, leaning against the wall as he looked out the
window.

“I realized she
had the right to try to be happy, and we were miserable together. I
loved her, she loved me, but we never should have gotten married.
The only good thing that came out of it was you boys.”

“Is it true she
wanted us to live with her?”

“She did, but I
wouldn’t have it.” He crossed his arms. “I’ve asked myself a
hundred times if I made the wrong call. Maybe kids need their
mothers. Maybe I should’ve--”

“Don’t. I
wouldn’t be where I am today without you. You’re the reason I’m a
fighter. You’re the reason I came out on top.” Brent and his father
weren’t the type to talk about their emotions, so he may never have
told his father how important his influence was. Jerry’s brush with
death made Brent realize it was time to say all the things he
should have said years ago.

“That’s kind of
you to say, son.” Jerry’s eyes shined with emotion. “I always
thought you became successful in spite of me, not because of
me.”

Brent was
stunned. Didn’t his father know he was the rock that had anchored
him throughout his life? They may not have always had food to eat
or heat in the dead of winter, but he and Keith never questioned
whether they had a father who would do anything in his power to
make their lives better.

“How can you
say that?” Brent’s voice was thick with emotion when he said, “I
love you, Dad. I’ll be a good father someday because you showed me
how.”

Jerry cleared
his throat, obviously trying to control his emotions. The Armstrong
men weren’t criers. They were always in control of their emotions,
even when it felt as though someone had just pulled the rug out
from under them. “You don’t know how much that means to me. People
are always tellin’ me how proud I must be of you, and I am. Damn
proud. But I’m not proud of you because you have a big, fat bank
account. I’m proud of the man you are when no one else is
lookin’.”

“What do you
mean?” Jerry had never told Brent he was proud of his
accomplishments, but he’d never had to. He conveyed that message
with every smile or slap on the back. He cheered the loudest at
Brent’s sporting events and martial arts competitions, and he was
the one clapping until his hands were raw at all of Brent and
Keith’s graduation ceremonies.