Hannah aimed carefully. She would only get so many chances before Slade or Dex put a stop to her retribution.
“If you’re going to hit him, aim for the face, darlin’,” Dex said. “He’s going to be tender there.
“Absolutely,” Slade agreed. “Dex and I both slugged him earlier today.”
“Why did you hit Gavin?” And now that she thought about it, why had they allowed her to pitch fastballs at their brother’s head. It wasn’t like them. One of them should have had her over their knee before she could let the first one fly. Yet here they stood, watching as she took out her frustrations on the barware.
“For a couple of reasons,” Slade explained. “First, he should never have said the things he said to you.”
“He told you?” Why would he have told them? If he’d really been trying to push her away, he should have used the opportunity to shove a wedge between her and his brothers.
“I told them everything, sweetheart.” Gavin stood up, the look on his face so regretful that Hannah put the glass down. She hadn’t really looked at him before. She’d simply reacted to his presence. His handsome face was slightly swollen on his left jaw, and his right cheek, near his eye, had started to swell.
“Dex hit him for what he said to you. I hit him for not using a condom,” Slade explained.
Dex’s eyebrows climbed up his forehead. “He did what?” Hannah set down the wine glass and held up a hand. “Stop. Back off on the barbarian act.” She turned back to Gavin. “Why did you tell them?”
“I was confessing at the time. Everything.” Gavin stared at her. She could feel his will pounding at her. “I told my brothers all the mistakes I’ve made. Pushing you away was one of the stupidest.”
“Why do you think that?”
“Because I love you, Hannah.”
She was suddenly just tired. “I’m sorry, Gavin, but I don’t know if I can trust you. I believe that you think you mean what you’re saying. I can even believe that you have feelings for me, but I’ll always be a country girl with a community college education. I can’t change that. I won’t ever really care about the stuff those society women do, like fashion designers or what kind of car I drive. I can’t be the kind of wife you need.”
“You’re exactly the kind of wife I need.” Gavin closed the last few steps between them.
“Loving. Kind. Smart. Loyal. Hannah, I can’t imagine loving another woman the way I love you.
I screwed this up. I just hope you’ll give me a second chance.” She wanted to, but he’d battered her heart pretty badly.
Dex’s phone trilled. He cursed under his breath as he pulled it out and answered it. “It’s the site. I’ll be right back.”
Dex stepped away. Slade’s hands came out to cup her shoulders. “Hannah, he’s been scared.
Please give him a chance. He really is crazy about you, just like I know you are about him.” Gavin was willing to admit he cared about her right now, but what happened when people questioned him? And how was the relationship supposed to work? If Gavin was ashamed of her for her background, how was he going to react when people got wind of his ménage relationship?
Dex strode back into the room, his face pale. He clutched the phone tightly. “That was the one of the sheriff’s deputies. They found Preston dead. He apparently hanged himself in one of the conference rooms.”
Slade’s hands dropped. “Dear God. What… I escorted him off the premises. How did he get back inside?”
Hannah hadn’t much liked Preston Ward III, but she certainly hadn’t wanted him dead.
“I don’t know. Maybe he wanted to make a statement.” Dex turned to Hannah. “We fired him earlier today. We think he might have been your stalker. Damn it. I need to go to the site.” Slade stepped close to Dex. “I’ll go with you. I’m the one who fired him. He didn’t take it well, but I never expected this.”
“It wasn’t your fault,” Hannah said, wrapping her arms around him. “His wife had left him recently, too. There could be a lot of reasons he chose this.” She could feel the coiled tension in Slade’s body, but he hugged her close. Dex came around her back and held her. She was surrounded by their warmth.
“We’ll talk about it later,” Slade replied. “I would feel safer if you went home with Gavin.
You don’t have to talk to him. Just don’t beat him to death.”
“Please, Hannah.” Dex’s hand tangled in her hair. He tilted her head up, twisting her slightly, brushing his lips against hers. “Give him a chance.”
She nodded. She couldn’t tell them no. She kissed Slade and they left.
Hannah was left alone with the man who’d broken her heart.
Chapter Twelve