He whipped his head back around to face her, and cut her off. "I don't give a fuck about you and what you lost. If you hadn't fucked your way through your friends, none of this would have happened," he roared.

Gabriella.

Shit.

She stunned me with what she yelled back at him. "I wasn't the only one who fucked up, Nash. You couldn't keep your dick in your pants either."

Wow. Hadn't seen that coming.

Her words seemed to jar him. And from his reaction, I knew what she'd said was true. I could also tell he felt tremendous guilt about something; perhaps about cheating on her, I wasn't sure.

He pushed his hand through his hair. It looked like he was doing battle in his mind about something. And then, suddenly, he turned and punched the wall near where they were standing.

"Fuck!" he yelled, and punched the wall again. The force of his punches put two huge holes in the wall, and I could see he was going to punch it again.

"Nash!" I yelled at him.

He twisted to look at me. This time, I'd managed to get through to him; recognition crossed his face. But he was in a wild state, and I didn't think I had any hope of calming him. Shit, I wished that Scott or one of the boys was here. I pulled my phone out with the intent to call Scott, but Nash was on the move.

He didn't give Gabriella another moment's attention, and he didn't say anything to me. Instead, he stalked out of the clubhouse, and to his bike. I rushed after him, yelling out his name, but by the time I caught up with him, he was already on his bike. He looked at me for a long moment before roaring off.

Shit.

I knew he needed me, but with no idea where he'd go, I was stuck. My phone was still in my hand, and I figured it was definitely time to ask for Scott's help. I called him, but he didn't answer. I tried again a couple more times. Still no luck. Bloody hell, why wasn't he answering his phone?

Gabriella hadn't come outside, and although I felt like perhaps I should have gone to make sure she was okay, I wanted to find Nash more. And I had an idea; his mother might know where he went. So, I put his ex out of my mind and drove to Linda's house, hoping like hell she was home.

Fifteen minutes later, I pulled into her driveway, and was relieved when she answered her door. The minute she saw me, she knew something was wrong and ushered me inside.

"Is he okay?" she almost whispered.

"No. He just had a huge argument with Gabriella at the clubhouse, and then he took off. He's in a very bad state, Linda, and I have no clue where he would have gone. Do you?"

Her eyes filled with tears, and her hand covered her mouth for a moment. "He'll be at the cemetery."

"What?" I couldn't fathom why she'd said that.

She reached out and squeezed my hand. "You need to go to the Mount Gravatt Cemetery; that's where he'll be."

There was an urgency to her voice, and the way she said it made me believe she was right. I decided not to stand there and ask questions.

"Okay," I said, softly.

She didn't say anything else; she simply nodded at me, trusting me to look after her son. I felt the weight of that, and hoped I could give him what he needed.

Thank fuck it was a Sunday. The traffic wasn't too bad. I did speed a little though, but fuck it, I had a good reason. On my way there, my mobile started ringing. Normally, I wouldn't be bothered answering it, but I figured it might be Scott or even Nash, so I pulled over and answered it.

Nash.

"Nash, where are you?" I begged him to tell me.

There was no sound on the other end, except for his ragged breathing. When he spoke, his strangled voice shredded my heart a little bit. "Velvet... I need you," he pleaded.

"I'm on my way, baby. Where are you?" I fought tears. Nash was drowning in his pain, and all I wanted to do was put my arms around him, and hold him.

"The cemetery..." He choked on his words, but I had the information I needed.

"Okay, I'll be there in about ten minutes," I promised.

He hung up without saying anything else, and I planted my foot on the pedal.

I found him fairly quickly when I arrived at the cemetery. He was on his knees, hunched in front of a gravestone. It was an overcast, cold day, and he cut a forlorn figure in the distance. I hurried to where he was, out of breath by the time I got there. He heard me just as I got to him, and he turned his head to look at me.

The look of pure agony on his face threatened to rip my heart apart. The Nash hunched on the ground in front of me was not the Nash I knew. And yet, he was. This was the missing piece to Nash; the piece of the puzzle that had been missing for so long. I'd grown to love this man, but I'd often struggled to connect the two sides to him that he showed me.

I knelt next to him. I didn't touch him, didn't say anything. It was up to him now to do what he needed to do.

His anguished voice sliced through me. "He would have been thirteen this year."

A sob escaped my lips. Oh, God. I hadn't wanted it to be true, but it was.

"Aaron. That was his name." His voice cracked, and he stopped talking. His pained stare locked onto mine. He needed me like never before.

I gently touched his arm. "What happened, baby?"

His chest rose and fell unevenly, and he expelled a long breath before finally giving me the missing piece of his story. "She cheated on me, over and fuckin' over, but I wouldn't have my son grow up without two parents so I tried to make it work. Fuck, the shit I put up with from her; that bitch should never have been a mother. Then, I fucked it all up myself. I'd been drinking, and her best friend threw herself at me, and I thought 'to hell with it'. I wanted to make her fuckin' hurt." His wild eyes searched mine, frantically. "It was once. I only did it once. She found out, and went mental. Said she was gonna leave me and take Aaron, and never let me see him again. I was furious; no-one was taking my son from me. But she managed to get him into the car and she left. And that was the last time I saw my son."

Nash had been ravaged by his grief, and my heart bled for him, for everything he'd lost. I moved closer to him, and placed my hand on his back, gently rubbing up and down. My touch seemed to calm him a little; enough to carry on.

"She crashed the car that day, and he died." He breathed a long, deep breath in, and then blew it out. "And it's my fuckin' fault." His eyes squeezed shut, and he began sobbing.

I couldn't control my own tears, and they fell freely, too. My arms went around him, and he clung to me. Heaving sobs wracked his body, and he buried his face against my chest. I placed my hand on his head, and stroked his hair. It was hard to see Nash like this. He was such a powerful force; to see him devastated like this, ruined in this way, was difficult.

I had to be strong for him though. Nash was at the point where he couldn't take it for a second longer. He couldn't deal with the pain that had haunted him for the last ten years; he needed me to help him through this.

After I'd let him get his grief out, and I felt his shudders subside, I whispered, "It's not your fault, Nash."

He slowly lifted his head to look at me with pained eyes. "It is, Velvet. If I hadn't slept with her friend, she wouldn't have taken him that day, and they wouldn't have crashed."

My heart was already hurting for his loss, but now it constricted in pain at the guilt he'd been carrying with him. Ten years was a long time to blame yourself for something that, ultimately, was out of your hands. I wiped the tears from his face, and said, "Yes, everything you did led you all to that day, but it wasn't your choice for Gabriella to take your son, and it wasn't your driving that was involved in that accident. You can't blame yourself for the actions of other people."

He was listening to everything I said, but I wasn't sure if it was getting through so I tried another tack. "Nash, think about your mother, and your family. You guys had it hard, really fucking hard, because your father left. He walked out and left your mother pregnant, and with no money or support. He also left three other kids behind for her to raise on her own. It was a long, hard road for her, and for all of you. His leaving caused your life to be changed forever. Was it your mother's fault he left?"

"No!" He seemed incensed that I would even suggest that which was exactly what I was hoping for.

"No, it wasn't. None of us have control over another person's actions. We might think we do, but when all is said and done, people will do whatever the hell they choose to do. Regardless of the situation, and regardless of whatever events cause that situation, the only control we have is over ourselves. If you'd had your way, Aaron would never have been in that car that day, and he would still be alive." I took a breath. My heart was racing; I needed him to hear me, and understand that what I was saying was right. "It's time for you to stop laying the blame for this at your own feet, baby. Your guilt is eating you alive."

He stilled, and I knew he'd heard me. Really heard me. I just hoped it was enough to get him through the first hurdle. He had a lot of work ahead of him to sort through his pain, but his first step was going to be letting go of his guilt.

His chest heaved one last time, and slowly, his breathing returned to normal. We were on our knees, still clinging to each other. He held on for a couple more moments before letting me go. "I miss him. Every day, I fuckin' miss him."

I nodded. "I know, baby." I reached for his hand, and held it.

He looked down at our hands, and squeezed mine before looking back at me. "I need you, Velvet. I've never needed anyone like I need you. If I'm gonna get through this, you have to be by my side."

I curled my hand around his neck, and pulled his lips to mine. The kiss I gave him wasn't passionate or sexy; it was a kiss full of love that told him I'd be right where he needed me. Our lips gently tangled, and our souls joined; we would do this together. When we pulled apart, I promised him, "I'll be with you every step of the way, Nash."

His relief was evident, and he murmured, "Thank fuck."

Chapter 29.

Love's Poster Child ~ Keith Urban Nash - 2 weeks later I leant back in my chair, and laughed at the joke Carla had just told everyone. My arm was draped across the back of Velvet's chair, and I moved it to her shoulders, and pulled her to me so I could plant a kiss on her forehead.

Surprise flickered across her face. "What was that for?"

"Because I can."

Our eyes danced with each other, and I grew hard when I saw the desire in hers.

My brother broke the trance we were in. 'Hey, do you two ever leave each other alone? Cause I've seen you three times in the last two weeks, and you're always all over each other."

I grinned at him. "Not if I can fuckin' help it."

He returned my grin. "Lucky fucker," he muttered.

I looked around the table, and counted my fucking blessings. My family, and Velvet had all gathered to celebrate Carla's birthday at Mum's. Erika, Mum and Velvet had spent the afternoon cooking while Jamison and I had taken Carla skydiving. It was something she'd always wanted to do so we'd finally agreed to it. Jumping out of a plane wasn't something on my bucket list, but I had to admit, it was pretty fucking exhilarating. It was maybe even something I would happily do again.

Mum started to clear the table, and Velvet hopped up straight away to help her. They exchanged smiles, and I thanked the universe for giving me two women as amazing as these two.

Carla started bouncing in her chair, clapping her hands together.

I jerked my chin at her. "What the hell's got you so happy, babe?"

"It's present time, Nash! What did you get me?"

I groaned. My sister was all about the presents; always had been. I pitied the poor fucker who ended up with her; if he didn't get it right every birthday and Christmas, his life wouldn't be worth living. "Settle down, darlin'. You'll find out in a minute."

Velvet looked at me and smiled; she'd helped me choose a present for Carla which meant this year, I was on a fucking winner. I'd have to milk this for everything it was worth; get as much out of Carla while she was still loving me for the present. I flicked a smile back at Velvet, and when she turned back to help Mum, I let my eyes drop to her ass. Christ, I really was a lucky fucker; Jamison was dead on the money.

Erika jumped in and helped clear the table while Jamison and I kept Carla occupied. When they'd finished, we all moved into the living room for present opening. Carla was almost bursting out of her skin in excitement.

"Bloody hell, Carla. Anyone would think you were still twelve, the way you're going on," Jamison grumbled.

She glared at him. "There's nothing wrong with showing your happiness, Jamison."

I stepped in before these two started a fight. Passing my present to her, I said, "Happy birthday, babe. You're gonna fuckin' love this present."

Her excitement levels skyrocketed. "Really?" she asked, as she started ripping into the wrapping paper.

A second later, her entire face lit up, and the biggest smile I'd ever seen on her face took over. "Oh my God! I love it!" she squealed.

I curled an arm around Velvet's shoulders and pulled her close, murmuring in her ear, "Remind me to show you my appreciation later on, yeah?"

She blasted her sexy smile at me, and breathed into my ear, "Don't you worry, baby, I'll be reminding you for a long time."

"What did he get you?" Erika asked.

Carla, still beaming, held it up. "It's a GHD Air hairdryer."

Jamison frowned. "A G-what?"

I nodded at him. "Exactly, brother. All you need to know is that it's a fuckin' expensive hairdryer that's guaranteed to make all the women in your life love you if you give them one."

Carla grinned and pointed at me. "What he said."

Jamison groaned. "Fuck, your present should have gone last, Nash. I've got no hope now."

Eyeing Velvet, I murmured, "There's some serious Nash loving in this for you, sweet thing."

Her hand moved to my leg. "I'm counting on it, baby."

The next morning, Velvet was running around like a mad woman. She had her final exam for her beauty course today, and was worried about passing.

I walked into the kitchen where she was studying her notes. Moving behind her, I snaked my arm around her waist and leant my chin on her shoulder. I tried not to let her tits distract me, but a man can only achieve so much, and a second later my eyes were glued to her chest.

She reached a hand back and ran it through my hair. "Nash, stop looking at my boobs, and finish getting ready. You're dropping me off this morning and I don't want to be late."

"How do you know I was looking at your boobs, sweet thing?" I asked, without taking my eyes off them. My addiction to her tits was getting out of hand, but I was helpless to control it.

She sighed, and the rise and fall of her chest only turned me on more. "I know what you're looking at because you're always looking at the same thing."

"Any man in their right mind would be doing the exact same thing as I am right now." I straightened, and turned her in my arms so I could see her face. "Talking of men looking at you, did you talk to Scott about finishing up at Indigo?"

"Yeah, my last shift is next week."

I breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank Christ for that, babe. I can't take much more of those assholes leering at you."

She reached up and cupped my cheek. "I know, baby, but it's not much longer now."