Colton's Rescue Mission

Remy shrugged. “He says he prefers not to look back at the past. I’m sure he didn’t want your pity.”

Pity. She considered Remy’s choice of word. Maybe he was right. But then again… “Knowing about this might have helped me understand him better. The anger issues. The times he got falling-down drunk.”

“Well, now you know.” Remy’s matter-of-fact tone didn’t fool her one bit. Raw emotion shone from his eyes. “I couldn’t leave my half brother there. He wouldn’t have stood a chance. I took over legal custody of him, even though I was only five years older.”

“His parents let you? Just like that?”

“No.” Remy drank his coffee. “I got a loan from my father and paid them to relinquish custody. Not surprisingly, they were eager to waive parental rights for some cold, hard cash.”

“Yikes.” She winced. “But this was a good thing, right? I’m assuming you must have brought him to your grandparents.”

“No. I enrolled him in rehab and sent him to counseling. Once he was off the drugs and had learned to deal with his rage, then I brought him home. I loved him the best I could, as much as he would let me. Things were rough between us for a while, but then seemed to settle down.” He sighed. “But you’ve seen him. Something is…off. He’s back to binge drinking. And that anger still lurks right under Seth’s skin, ready to erupt at the slightest provocation. I worry about him constantly.”

Vanessa wasn’t sure what to say. She settled on going with the truth. “Well, that explains a lot. The night I broke up with him, he punched a hole through my wall. He told me to consider myself lucky it wasn’t me.”

Remy’s jaw tightened. Fists clenched, he turned away, his breathing harsh. She watched as he clearly struggled to get himself under control. “I’m sorry,” he muttered, slowly moving to face her. “I wish I could have been there to protect you.”

She took a deep breath. “He scared me to death. And then the way he’s acted since I came here… While knowing about his past helps me understand why he behaves the way he does, I still think it’s best if I don’t see him again. At this point, I don’t think we can even be friends.”

To her surprise, Remy smiled. “Maybe it’s time you make some new friends.”

Chapter 4 (#uc9757e0a-4a05-5e6b-8282-fdb443afea6b)

Though he knew he shouldn’t, Remy couldn’t help but hope Vanessa took full advantage of the free luxury suite in The Chateau and stayed for a few days longer. Despite her clear worries over Seth, he really didn’t feel his brother was a danger to anyone but himself.

Just in case, Remy would personally keep an eye on Vanessa to make sure she was safe. At least that’s the reason he told himself, as he gazed at the beautiful woman sitting across from him. Anything else would make things way too complicated.

“What about you?” he asked, aching to both change the subject and hear her story so he could get to know her better. “Tell me about your childhood. Where did you grow up?”

A brief shadow crossed her face, so swift he might have imagined it. “In Boston. I’ve worked hard to lose the accent. And my childhood was nothing extraordinary,” she said. Her tone was matter-of-fact, but he sensed she’d had her own trials and tribulations to deal with. Most everyone did, it seemed. Individuals who’d had a picture-perfect youth were few and far between.

“Tell me, anyway,” he prodded. “I’m genuinely interested.”

She gave him a sideways glance, as if she found that difficult to believe. “My parents were older and I was their only child. I always felt like an afterthought and I probably was. They sent me away as soon as they could, to an all-girls school in Switzerland.”

“I can relate to that,” he told her. “I wasted a lot of my younger years hoping if I was good enough, my dad might notice me.” The rawness of his own admission left him stunned. He hadn’t meant to tell her that. He considered it private, one of his deepest, darkest secrets. Yet on some level, he truly believed Vanessa would understand.

She nodded. “Me, too. I spent all my time trying to please my folks, because I believed if I did well enough at something, at anything, maybe they’d love me enough to let me return home to Boston.” She laughed, a painful sound. “Pretty silly, wasn’t I? Because they never did. Instead, they viewed each success as validation they were doing the right thing, that I belonged in Switzerland. By the time I realized I’d been knocking myself out for nothing, I was about to graduate. I felt like such a fool.”

“No.” This time he reached out and covered her hand with his. “You weren’t. And I felt the same way as a kid.” He took a deep breath and then forced himself to remove his hand. “What did you do after graduation?”

She shrugged. “Though I toyed with the idea of taking a year off, I didn’t. In keeping with their plan to have me as far away from them as possible, my parents wanted me to go to university in London. This time, rather than falling in with what they wanted, I refused.” Her chin came up and she smiled, though a touch of sadness remained in her pretty blue eyes. “I had my own plans, you see.”

Intrigued, he waited.

“In Switzerland, I learned to ski. And it turned out I was pretty darn good at it.” Her smile widened, inviting him to take part in her joy. “While all the other kids were partying and living it up, I was on the slopes. I spent all my spare time perfecting my skill.”

“You must have truly enjoyed it,” he commented.

Just like that, her expression turned serious. “Yes. I did. Skiing was the only thing that gave me pleasure.”

More than anything, he wanted her to look happy again. “Does that mean you became a ski bum?” he teased. “Can’t say I blame you. We get more than a few of those here in Roaring Springs.”

“I wanted to, but I’m too ambitious to just drift along, spending all my time in pursuit of pleasure.”

Her self-conscious half smile made his chest ache. “Me, too,” he said. “That’s why I work so much.”

Gaze faraway, she nodded. Remy let his own eyes roam her features while she sat lost in thought. He was amazed once more at how beautiful he found her, even though her features weren’t classically perfect.

When she didn’t speak again, he prodded her, just a little. “If you didn’t become a professional skier, then what did you do?”

“I decided to go to the University of Colorado in Boulder, mostly due to the proximity to the slopes. I had vague dreams of competing.”

“Did you?” Intrigued again, he watched her.

“No. My parents would have been appalled. I think they were relieved I hadn’t chosen a school closer to home. Once I graduated, I decided to stay in Boulder. End of story.”

Except he sensed there might be more. “Now that you’re an adult, why haven’t you pursued your dream of competing? If you’re that good, it seems like a waste of talent not to.”

Sorrow darkened her eyes. “Thank you for saying that. Actually, I’d reached the same realization myself. I started skiing a lot—that’s how I met Seth, you know. He seemed to understand my drive. Oh, I was fiercely intent on getting ready for my first competition. I’d entered and had my number and everything.”

“Did you win?”

She shook her head. “I never even made it to the competition. Instead of spending every waking moment on the slopes, I truly wish I’d have made a trip home to Boston. The day before the big competition, both my parents were killed in a car wreck. I got the news in a phone call.”

Aching to comfort her, he tightened his hand around hers. “I’m sorry.”

“Thanks.” She lifted her face and met his gaze. The pain and grief in her eyes made him long to take her into his arms. Luckily, the table separated them so he settled for holding on to her hand. She didn’t pull away.

“Everything was a blur after that,” she admitted. “Since my parents and I never managed to have a close relationship, I felt cheated. And was beyond devastated. I went back east to plan their funeral and begin settling their estate. I’m still dealing with all that. Through it all, Seth was there for me, without question. That’s partly why I felt like I owed it to him to explain.”

Seth. She’d managed to effectively remind him of his brother. Yet he still couldn’t bring himself to let go of her hand. A second later, she did it for him, as she gently pulled her fingers free and wrapped them around her cup.

Lump in his throat, he took out his phone and made a show of checking his emails. Nothing work-related or even slightly important.

Once he’d placed his phone back in his pocket, he looked up to find her watching him. “I’m glad you came here,” he said gruffly. “It takes a big heart to try and make things right after a breakup.”

Taking another sip of her cider, she sighed. “I don’t know. Clearly, I messed that up, too. It would have been better if I’d never contacted him. I should have just stayed away.”

He wanted to tell her again he was glad she hadn’t. Because then, he never would have met her. Instead, he kept his mouth shut and said nothing. Flirtation, even if heartfelt, was the last thing either of them needed right now. Plus, as long as his brother still had feelings for her, Vanessa would be strictly off-limits as far as Remy was concerned.

Maybe forever.

Damn, how that possibility burned.

“Seth will be fine,” he assured her. “It’s likely he just needs a little more time.”

“I hope so.” She drank more of her cider. “I really hope he’s able to move past this and everything else. Conquering demons is never easy. Believe me, I know.”