The Choice (Texas Desires - Vol. 4): Texas Desires, #4

By Aubrey Skye

Texas Desires: Vol. 4 – The Choice

Jamie is a true cowgirl, big and beautiful. She’s also a woman who had her heart broken by the one man she thought would love her forever. That is, until she met Austin. Charming, handsome, and caring, he’s everything that Mason never was. Unfortunately, it seems like Austin has a few secrets of his own…

Now, Jaime has to make the biggest decision of her life. Things cannot go on with both men in her life.

But how will she choose? And who will she choose?

Find out in the dramatic conclusion of the Texas Desires series!

Note: Parts of Texas Desires were previously published as Cowboy Desires.

Also includes Sneak Peeks at some upcoming novels!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Roja Publishing
• Release date: Oct 31, 2016
• ISBN: 9781540170965

Book preview

Texas Desires: Vol. 4 – The Choice

Jamie is a true cowgirl, big and beautiful. She’s also a woman who had her heart broken by the one man she thought would love her forever. That is, until she met Austin. Charming, handsome, and caring, he’s everything that Mason never was. Unfortunately, it seems like Austin has a few secrets of his own...

Now, Jaime has to make the biggest decision of her life. Things cannot go on with both men in her life.

But how will she choose? And who will she choose?

Find out in the dramatic conclusion of the Texas Desires series!

Note: Parts of Texas Desires were previously published as Cowboy Desires.

Also includes Sneak Peeks at some upcoming novels!

~Vol. 4 – The Choice~

As soon as I read Jamie’s text that Mason had been in an accident, I knew I had to tell Austin what was going on. It was going to completely ruin the moment, but I had to get to him. I asked Austin to bring me right to the hospital and drop me off. He agreed to do it, but I could see that his jaw was tense, and he didn’t reach out to touch me again.

My mind was racing. I was just having wild sex with Austin while Mason was hurt badly. I felt guilt and fear overwhelm me as I thought about Mason dying. I was so upset with him, but I didn’t want to live in a world that he wasn’t in. He was the only person who knew our secret and the only one I could confide in about it. If he was gone, then it would really be like none of it ever happened. I needed to get to him as fast as I could. I needed to see if he was okay and be by his side.

We rode to the hospital in silence, and I felt so bad about it. I didn’t want Austin to think that what we had just shared meant nothing to me. The truth was that it had been one of the hottest nights of my life. Austin had loved me thoroughly and given me exactly what I needed. Plus, he was a great dancer, and that got me every time. He was a gentleman who knew how to take care of a woman. When I had questioned him, he had been up front with me. But I was still in love with Mason. I knew that now. And as difficult as it was to accept, I had to.

Austin pulled up in front of the emergency room, and I turned to him.

I’m so sorry about this, Austin. Tonight was amazing. I know you probably can’t understand why I need to go to him right now, but I do.

It’s okay. Do what you gotta do. Do you need me to bring you in?

I don’t think that would be a good idea. Thank you for everything. You are so sweet, and you have a part of my heart. I will call or text you later.

I leaned over and gave him a kiss that lingered for a few seconds and then went inside. I practically ran to the front desk and asked the receptionist about Mason Phillips.

Ma’am, he just came in a little while ago and is in the back. Are you a relative?

I knew she wouldn’t give me any information if I told her no, so I lied.

I’m his wife!

Oh! Okay, in that case, have a seat in the waiting room, and as soon as I know something, I will call you.

Please, I need to know. I got a text that he was in an accident when I was out of range of cell service. I need to know if he is okay.

At this point, I was getting desperate. I needed to be with him. I needed to hold his hand and tell him I loved him. I couldn’t let him go this easily. I loved him too much. If only he had never left, maybe we would have been married by now. Maybe we would be on our way to starting our family again. Deep down in my heart, in the place where I hid all of my secrets, I knew he was my one true love. But I also knew that your one true love wasn’t always the person you would spend the rest of your life with. Life was too complicated for that, and circumstances could tear you apart.

I need you to have a seat. There is nothing you can do right now. He is in good hands, and I will tell you as soon I have any information.

I walked over to the nearby seating area and sat in a chair with my face in my hands. The tears were already running down my cheeks. Worry and fear were rippling through me, and I couldn’t stand the waiting. At this point, I had no information. I had nothing. I felt completely helpless. Suddenly, I felt a hand on my shoulder.

Jamie, are you okay? How’s Mason?

It was Erin, and Dave was right behind her.

I don’t know. I just got here. I have no idea what’s going on back there. I even lied and said I was his wife so I could get information, but she still can’t tell me anything. Do you know what happened?

She sat down the chair next to me and took my hand in hers.

All I know is that he was driving home and somehow lost control of his truck. I got a call from Heather at the store because the police took off on the call from there. She said she heard he had rolled the truck.

Oh God! He’s back there hurting and injured, and I need to be with him. I can’t take this!

She put her arms around me and held me while I cried.

It will be okay, Jamie. Just let the doctors do their jobs, and I’m sure they will tell us something as soon as they can.

I was sobbing hysterically by that time. You don’t really know how much someone means to you until you are afraid of losing them forever.

If he leaves me, then I will be the only one who knows this pain. I will never be able to talk about her again. If he goes, he takes all of her with him. I can’t lose him!

Jamie, calm down. What are you talking about? Who will he take with him?

Even in my state, I suddenly realized what I had just told her. No one knew about her until this moment, and I guessed it was as good a time as any to let her in on my secret.

Our daughter. We lost her.

What? You’re not thinking straight right now. You never had a baby.

I was pregnant right before Mason left me. I lost the baby at 13 weeks. When I miscarried, he took off and left me alone. The doctors told me later that she was a girl. I lost everything that day, and I have never been the same.

I started crying hard again and Erin held me close.

So you’re telling me that he didn’t just leave you, but he left you right after you lost his baby? I thought he was an ass before, but now I want to punch him! Why didn’t you tell me this before? I would have been there with you. No wonder it took you so long to come out of it.

I was so ashamed. I didn’t want anyone to know that I had failed both of them. I thought he didn’t want me anymore because I couldn’t even carry our baby. One day we were so happy and getting ready to tell all of you, and the next day everything was gone.

You had nothing to be ashamed of. That happens to people every day. There was nothing you could have done to stop it, and I’m sure the next time everything will be fine. I can’t believe that coward walked away from you.

I couldn’t either. I was so angry with him for so long, but I also longed for him to come back every day. I needed him to help me grieve. I wanted to do it together. But he left. It turns out that he couldn’t handle losing her either. He chose to deal with it by leaving. He said he couldn’t face me then, but he knows now that the only way to heal is to be with me.

Well, isn’t that convenient for him to just be able to come back when he’s ready to deal with it? That is so unfair to you. I wish I had had pictures and videos of you from when he left so he can see what he did to you.

He says he cried every day. I believed him. Right now it doesn’t matter. I might lose him, and then I have lost them both. I can’t take this anymore. It can’t be a good sign if no one has come out with any news.

She didn’t say anything after that. She just held me close while I cried and waited with me. After what seemed like hours, the woman behind the desk called me up.

Mrs. Phillips?

Yes, what’s going on?

I practically ran back to the counter. It was funny that I responded right away to Mrs. Phillips without any hesitation.

Mr. Phillips is stable now. You can go back and see him. He’s in Room 4.

I didn’t even respond to her. When she hit the button to buzz me into the back, I went as fast as I could in search of his room. When I found him, it was not what I expected.

He was on a hospital bed with an oxygen tube in his nose. His face was bruised, and his arm was in a splint. He had stitches in a big gash on his leg. He looked like he had been through hell. I immediately went to his side and took his hand in mine.

Mason? Oh, baby, you look rough. Are you okay? Can you hear me?

His eyes fluttered open slightly. He winced a little bit when he tried to shift his body to face me. I winced, too, at seeing him in so much pain. His voice came out in a deep whisper.

Baby, you’re here. I’m hurting pretty badly. I swerved because a dog ran out in front of me. I must have been going too fast. My mind was on you.

I’m so glad you’re okay. I was so worried I was gonna lose you.

You’ll never lose me again unless you throw me out of your life. When my truck was rolling and I thought it might be over, I prayed hard that I would live so I could see your face one more time. And if I didn’t make it, you were the last thing on my mind.

I leaned over and pressed my lips to his gently. I was so relieved that he seemed all right despite his various injuries. As much as he had hurt me, I realized that I still couldn’t imagine a world without him in it. Without the possibility of us being a family again.

Well, I’m here now, and I’m gonna take care of you. We need to get you better.

Just then a doctor came into his room.

Mrs. Phillips? I’m Dr. Winther. I need to fill you in on the extent of your husband’s injuries.

Mason cleared his throat when the doctor called him my husband, but he didn’t correct him.

Mason suffered a partially collapsed lung, broken ribs, a broken arm, a cut to the leg, and a concussion. We are going to admit him and keep him here for observation for a couple of days. He is in a lot of pain, but he’s lucky it wasn’t worse. We are going to be sending him upstairs shortly.

Thank you, doctor, so much for all you’ve done for him. I’m so relieved to see that he’s going to be okay.

The doctor stepped out of the room, and I could feel Mason’s eyes on me.

"Mrs. Phillips, huh? Did something more happen while I was knocked out?

I could tell he was really enjoying this, but I wasn’t. Now I had to explain my way out of this too.

Oh, stop. I knew they wouldn’t tell me anything or let me see you if I wasn’t a relative, so I told a little white lie. It got me back here, didn’t it? I was out in the waiting room crying my eyes out. Erin and Dave are still out there.

Oh, great. I know Erin just loves me.

They were both worried about you. But, I have to tell you something. When I was crying and upset out there, I accidentally told Erin about the baby. And now she’s even more mad at you.

Oh, great, that’s even better. I’ll get out of here and she’ll put me right back in. Well, I guess the truth had to come out eventually. I wish you had told everyone back then. They already hated me for leaving anyway.

I was ashamed and didn’t want them to know. You know that. What’s done is done. I’ll keep her away from you for now. You just have to concentrate on getting better.

So now that we’re married, does this mean we’re back together?

No, it doesn’t change anything. You know I love you, and I will be here to help you while you recover. But we both know that we can’t just get back together without working a lot more things out.

But I could have died tonight, Jamie. Remember that there won’t always be a tomorrow or more time to figure things out. We should be together, and you know it. What’s holding you back? Austin? Were you with him tonight while I was thinking of you?

I don’t have to answer to you, Mason. But to tell you the truth, yes, I was with him. I went out to dart night with Erin and Dave and he was there. I left the bar with him.

The heart monitor that Mason was attached to started going crazy and he winced in pain as he tried to clench the fist attached to his broken arm. I immediately felt guilty for causing that.

I’m gonna kill him when I get out of here. He needs to stay away from you! He is the only reason we’re not back together!

No, he’s not, and we both know that! We have years of shit to work out. We have both let each other down. I can’t help that I have feelings for Austin that started while you were gone. I thought you were never coming back. You need to calm down right now. I’m going to leave if my presence is going to make you more upset.

No, please don’t leave. I’m sorry. I was just being hopeful. I need you here. Even if it’s only as a friend.

We are more than just friends. I will stay with you.

We sat there for another half hour. I held his hand and we stuck to talking about happy times and good things. When they came to take him to his room, I went along with them. I stayed while they settled him in and got him as comfortable as possible. A nurse came in to check his vitals, and then she put some pain meds in his IV. As he started to get drowsy, I sat down and held his hand.

Don’t fight sleep, Mason. You need to rest. I’ll be here until you fall asleep.

Thank you for being here, Jamie. I love you.

I love you, too.

Just as those words came out of my mouth, he drifted off to sleep. I sat there and watched the man who had meant everything to me for so long. It broke my heart to see him so broken. I hoped that me being on his mind hadn’t distracted him and caused him to crash. I leaned over and gave him a soft kiss on the forehead before heading out. I gave the nurses my cell number and asked them to call me if he needed anything.

I headed out of the hospital and started my walk home since I didn’t have my car. I only lived about two blocks away from the hospital. The night air was warm, and it was the perfect opportunity to clear my head. The past few hours had been overwhelming and full of countless emotions. When I thought I had lost Mason forever, I had broken down. That made it obvious to me that I wasn’t ready to give up on him.

I also wasn’t ready to fall right back into his arms out of pity. He would need my help recovering, and I would be there, but I wasn’t going to agree to be his wife. He might be down for the count, but he was still the man who had loved and left me.

I got home within 10 minutes and made my way inside. It was well after midnight and I was completely exhausted. I went straight to my room, stripped down, and crawled in bed.

I ended up sleeping much later as usual. My phone was ringing loudly across the room. I tried to block it out, but it kept ringing over and over. I crawled out of bed and pulled it off my dresser. There were five missed calls from a number I didn’t recognize. There were also texts from Austin and Erin. Erin just wanted to know how Mason was and if I needed her to do anything. Austin’s was a little deeper.

I’m sorry if I was a little cold to you when I dropped you off. Just killed me to see you go running to him so fast after what we had just shared. As much as I can’t stand the guy, I hope he’s okay. If you need me, I’m here. I’m falling faster every day.

How did that man manage to still be so sweet after all I had already put him through? In all other circumstances, he would’ve been a keeper. But our situation was so complicated that it wasn’t that simple. I sent him a quick text back to let him know that Mason was in rough shape but out of the woods, and I told him that I felt the same way. Just as the text went through, the phone rang again from the unfamiliar number.

Hello?

Good morning, beautiful. Sleeping in, huh?

It was Mason calling from the hospital.

Yeah, I had kind of a long night. You should know. I wondered who was calling me from this number.

He sounded a lot better than he had the night before, and I was relieved.

Hey, my night was long, too. But they have me on some amazing drugs that make the world seem all warm and fuzzy. The only thing that would make it better is to see you.

I told you I’ll be there. I have to take a shower and get some food in me.

You shouldn’t get someone in my state all excited by talking about showers. Maybe they’ll let you give me a sponge bath.

Settle down there, babe. I don’t want the nurses running in there from a crazy change on your heart monitor!

He laughed on the other end, and then he went into a coughing fit that I knew must have hurt like crazy.

All right, I’m gonna let you rest. I’ll be down in a little while.

Hurry, baby. I need to see you. Please.

I promised him again that I would be there, and then I hung up.

I went in and got into a nice, hot shower. It was already warm outside again, but I needed to feel the scalding water and let it soothe my aching muscles. I felt like I could sleep for days. When I was done, I put on a sundress and some flip flops, and then pulled my hair into high ponytail.

I made myself two waffles with strawberries and had a big glass of orange juice. I looked through some e-mail from work and let my boss know that I needed to take the day off from writing because of what happened to Mason. Luckily, I had already met my quota for the week. I did a load of laundry and washed the dishes, and then I vacuumed the whole downstairs. Cleaning was therapeutic for me, so it helped me clear my head. I was willing to try anything to take my mind off of my crazy life at this point.

When I felt satisfied with the state of my house and my status at work, I locked up and got into the car. I headed to the drug store to get Mason some of his favorite red sports drink and some magazines about cars and a Maxim for some eye candy. I also grabbed some stuff for myself, in case I decided to stay at the hospital for a while.

Since the hospital was so close, I was there in less than five minutes. I parked in the visitor’s lot, and left my windows open just a crack so it wouldn’t get too unbearable in there. I went in and rode the elevator to the third floor where Mason’s room was located. When I reached his door, the doctor was in there checking him over. I stood in the doorway and listened.

"Well, you are very lucky this wasn’t much worse. I am ordering another scan to be sure there is no new swelling around your brain. You will be given breathing treatments every few hours to