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“She’s strong-willed, fierce, determined. But she’s messed up over López slipping through our fingers. I get it. But, still, I didn’t want to leave her alone. Just in case.” I cleared my throat and spat. “All I did was irritate her. Women are frustrating.”
Ben grunted. “You could have rescheduled for another time. I would’ve understood.”
“I know.” I chucked a rock into the trees like I was throwing a football. “Figured when she booted me out of her place, she didn’t care.”
“That’s horseshit. And stupid logic.”
I tossed him a look that conveyed pure annoyance.
His deep-set brown eyes were thoughtful as he said, “Hate to point out the obvious, but it is.” He wasn’t being smug or condescending. Benjamin Price was quite simply one of the most levelheaded and pragmatic people I knew.
I shrugged like I didn’t care—even though both of us knew I did. “Catherine’s going to go check on her. At least Jackson said he’d make sure she did while I’m up here.”
“Maybe Marisa just needs a woman to talk to. Sometimes females just need another female. Don’t know what it is about their genetic makeup, but it seems to be a fact. Unpredictable creatures.”
“Must be something in the water,” I said, joking.
“It’s why I drink beer.” He pulled a six-pack from his bag and tossed me a can. “It’s a little warm, but it’ll do.”
I didn’t need to look to know he was smiling, satisfied with himself that he’d had the forethought to pack them.
I pulled out the bottle of Jack I’d packed and waved it at him.
“Well, I’ll be damned,” he said. “We’re in for a helluva night.”
An hour later, we were drunken fools trying to solve the problems of the world. Or at least the problems of the heart.
“Storms reveal things that the calm seas can’t. Remember, it’s only after a storm that birds sing and rainbows color the sky. It’s proof that the worst is over, that things are calm, and everything bad has been washed away, and things are ready to start anew.”
“You’re pretty astute when you’re drunk,” I said.
Ben laughed like a loon. “Here’s another one for you,” he said, sounding pleased with himself. “Remember everything you’ve been through, what you went through. Remember, you’ve weathered the worst and come out the other side even better off. You’re a survivor.”
“You should give motivational speaking a whirl. Bet you’d make a lot more money.”
“Maybe I will,” he said without missing a beat.
We both grew quiet, comfortable in the silence. The only sound to be heard was a slight rustling in the leaves and the hoot of an owl flying overhead.
“Seems to me like you have a couple of choices.” Ben broke the silence. “Either you forget about her, or—”
“I can’t forget her, man. I can’t get the damn woman out of my damn head.”
“Then it seems like you only haveonechoice.”
“Fight for her?” I asked, knowing it would be something similar that he was about to suggest.
He nodded as he said, “You fight for her.”
I sighed out into the noiseless night, feeling skeptical. How was I going to fight for her? She wasn’t a woman who needed saving. She wasn’t a princess looking for a knight in shining armor to rescue her.
“Come hell or high water, Tyler, you fight for her. To the death. You don’t let the ship go down. You take the helm and fight your way through the storm. You prove to her exactly why you deserve her, why you’re perfect for her.”
I groaned in frustration as I scrubbed my hands over my face. “I don’t know.”
“I do.”
I looked at him with my head propped in my hands.
