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Jagger was broken, alone, and unloved. He pinned her with a fierce glare to protect himself. She couldn’t hurt him again. He was too tough, too hardened, too far past the innocence and beauty of their young love.
Hurt flashed in her eyes, and he almost dropped his pride and ran for her. He stayed strong and turned back to his friends, folding his arms across his chest for protection. He could not let his guard down around Belinda Ralphs or allow her into his heart again.
“Jag, I’m sorry.” Shawn shook his head. “I wanted to warn you, but Mercedes begged me and Julie begged me and how could I tell either of them no?”
Jagger acknowledged that with a tight nod. Shawn would never refuse Mercedes or Julie anything. The pair of women were sweethearts and conspirators to the millionth degree. “But you knew she was coming on this show?”
“I knew they’d found your ‘lost love’ and were scheming how to get you together again.”
Lost love. Jagger flinched at the very words he’d just thought.
“And ‘miraculously,’ in Mercedes’s words, Belinda Ralphs has created a fabulous charity that deserves exposure and financial support.”
Miraculously. Jagger grunted. He could admit to himself that there had been times he’d seen miraculous events throughout his fourteen years of active duty, but he’d also seen horrific devastation and the ugliest depravity man could dole out. He’d never forget his dad dying when, as a ten-year-old, he’d been so filled with faith that he’d live. His mom dying in a tragic car accident last year had been another sucker punch he didn’t know how to recover from. He’d also never forgotten Pastor Ralphs claiming that the timing of Jagger showing up and viewing Mike and Bee kissing was ‘God’s will.’
Heaven had created the battle lines and Jagger honored the armistice, staying far away from religion and anything miraculous.
“Mercedes said to beg for her,” Shawn continued, “‘Please, please, please, if you love Grayson or I at all, do this show for us.’”
Jagger could not believe Mercedes could be this manipulative. He’d thought moments ago he was doing this show to honor his friend. It would’ve been hard to keep going if Mercedes really did pass away this week, but he’d been willing to step up and be the jerk fighting against a charitable woman to win her money. This was too far. He often teased Mercedes she was too sweet. Not anymore.
How could she do this to him?
“Jag…” Hays’s whisper was a warning.
He glanced back to see Bee was coming at him, Paul following in her wake as if to protect her. Jagger had never and would never hurt a lady. Especially not Bee. But he wouldn’t cower to her either.
He put on his battle armor, pivoted, spread his stance, and waited. What would she do? What would she say? Maybe she’d explain how she could withdraw from him and then cheat on him. Maybe he’d finally get some closure. Was she still married to Mike?
He knew his Bee, and she was feisty. He welcomed the confrontation. Her anger was preferable to the awful memories of the last time he’d seen her—laughing with and kissing Mike.
He’d promised her dad he wouldn’t contact her if her dad fulfilled all the parameters—showed Jagger that Bee was happy with Mike and loved the guy, then knocked him out and dragged him away bloodied and broken.
Jagger was suddenly back in the bed of his pickup, waking up confused, miles away from the Ralphs ranch. He forced himself to climb into the driver’s seat. The keys were in the ignition and there was a note on the dash—You promised.
He crumpled up the paper, hurled it out the still-open door, slammed it, and drove the wrong direction. Back to Virginia and away from Bee.
Each mile hurt. His head throbbed and his stomach churned. It was worse than any flu bug he’d ever experienced.
He was driving away from the love of his life and abandoning his heart forever.
Jagger snapped back to the present, where Bee was storming up to him as if he’d hurt her instead of the other way around. If only he knew how he’d react. His knees shook, losing strength and threatening to bring him to his knees to grovel for her forgiveness. Which was completely backwards.
Mercedes and Julie. What a scheming pair of matchmakers. If Mercedes wasn’t dying, he’d tell her off. Shawn had known this was coming at him and hadn’t warned him.
How could his supposed friends do this to him?
Fourteen years ago, he’d learned that true love betrayed him. His mom, Shawn, Hays, Grayson, and the Navy had been all he had at that time. He’d also learned to love and trust Mercedes and Julie.
Now Grayson and his mom were dead, and his friends were setting him up for agony at the mouth of his former love.
Was he alone in the world again? No one to rely on but himself?
He stood strong, ready to take whatever Belinda dished out and hoping his friends hadn’t betrayed him like she did fourteen years ago.
Chapter
Two
