by Leanne Banks
“What about you?” he asked. “Large family?”
“Only child.”
The brevity of her response invited no more questions, but he was determined. “Parents?”
“Gone.”
God, he thought, that was sad. She was truly alone. Friends couldn’t make up for the absence of family, something he’d learned as his brothers moved out to be with their brides and girlfriends. “I’m sorry.”
Just then Dallas appeared at his side, having left his wife Nina to talk to their mother, and bumped his shoulder. “Coon dog smelling possum?” he asked.
“Damn it, Dallas.” Some women wouldn’t appreciate that kind of rough humor. “Go back to your wife and lay off.”
Dallas simply grinned.
Braden glared at him then turned to apologize to Julie. Too late. In just those few moments, she’d managed to reach Vanessa. The two women were talking, and Vanessa nodded. They were leaving.
“Strike out?” Dallas asked.
“I’ll never know, you big idiot. You scared her off.”
“Looked to me like you were doing a pretty good job of that yourself.”
Braden paused. Had he been?
His instinct told him to go to the door to say good-night, but Dallas’s words held him back. That woman didn’t need any more scaring. Instead, he watched as his parents bade the women good-night and made them promise to come back again soon.
“Damn it,” he said again.
“You can always invite her to help at Presents for Patriots. Innocent enough.”
“I don’t need your advice.”
“Wanna bet?” Dallas asked.
Braden realized the room had nearly emptied. It looked even emptier with most of the furniture moved back against the walls to make room. The gals had apparently gone to the kitchen to help with cleanup. That left the merciless crew of Sutter, Dallas, and Collin to stand around with him, converging like vultures who spied a meal. They’d tussled and teased with each other since their earliest days, and Braden didn’t need a map to know what he was in for now. He’d actually talked to a single woman.
“Brother Braden,” Sutter said, “has the hots for a cute little blonde.”
It was hopeless, but Braden argued anyway. Silence might only make it worse. “I was just trying to make her feel welcome here. I said maybe a half dozen words to her.”
“Yeah, but it was all about what was in your eyes,” Collin retorted.
“Since when did you read eyes?”
Dallas snorted a laugh. “Since you started broadcasting. About time you looked at a woman that way. Stuck here all by yourself as a bachelor. Mom and Dad are worried.”
“Mom and Dad are less worried than you four. What is it about people who get married? They want everyone to join them? Doesn’t matter if you’re happy or not?”
“You don’t know if you’d be happy,” Clay remarked. “You never stuck with anyone long enough.”
“Because I wasn’t happy.”
“I think you should go for that woman,” Dallas opined. “Get on your horse and ride over to her place and make her swoon at the sight of a real cowboy.”
Braden reached for a throw pillow from one of the couches and threw it at him. “I don’t think she’s in the market for a cowboy. Besides, I’m not in the market, either. Now will you just lay off? I was trying to be courteous.”
Of course it didn’t end there. It never did. His brothers continued to razz him until the his mom and the growing crowd of his sisters-in-law and soon-to-be sisters-in-law reappeared. He took a few more verbal jabs, but the presence of the ladies toned them down.
And that, thought Braden, was a good reason not to get involved with a woman. Next thing you knew, you’d be leaving your boots outside the door and turning all proper-like.
That was just an excuse and he knew it. His brothers changed a bit around their ladies because with them they could show a different side, a gentler side, than they did with each other.
A good thing, he supposed. But sometimes he really did feel like the odd man out, now that they’d all found their mates. Hell, he was the last man standing. The thought brought a wry smile to his lips.
But he was sure his interest in Julie Smith had entirely to do with the aura of mystery around her and nothing to do with how pretty she was. He almost asked if anyone knew anything about her, but stopped himself just in time.
He could take the razzing, but right now he didn’t feel like taking it about Julie. She’d reached some place inside him that he didn’t want anyone else to touch.
Some dangerously protective place, which meant keeping his brothers out of this as much as possible. More remarks like the one Dallas had made tonight, and Julie Smith might vanish from town as suddenly as she had arrived.
* * *
Later, though, in a quiet moment as he was getting ready to sleep in his old bedroom rather than head over to his own place, his mother spoke to him.
“Braden?”
“Yeah?” He had one foot in the doorway of his bedroom.
“That Julie Smith.”
He tensed. “Mom...”
“Just listen to me. She’s very pretty and seems very nice. I know Vanessa, Mallory and Cecelia all like her. But no one knows anything about her, really. So, while I’d like to see you settled and happy...”
He looked into the face that had loved him since birth and turned to give her a big hug. “I’ll be careful, Mom. I always have been, much to your disappointment.”
Ellie Traub laughed. “Maybe. I’m surprised she hasn’t dated while she’s been here. And it’s not for want of guys asking, I believe.”
“She’s a wounded bird, Mom. That’s all. I just want to know what’s going on.”
Ellie’s smile faded. “That’s dangerous, Braden.”
“I know.”
“Just be careful. If I’d known how you were going to turn out, I’d probably have named you Parsival.”
“Thank God you didn’t.” He laughed. “I’m no knight errant on a quest, just a frustrated detective.”
“I hope you’re right.” She put a hand on his shoulder and drew him close for a kiss on his cheek. “Good night, my boy.”
He watched her disappear toward her room then entered his own and closed the door. The woman who’d earlier been acting as if the answer to her prayers had arrived that night was now cautioning him.
He didn’t miss her point. Not at all.
Copyright © 2014 by Harlequin Books S.A.
ISBN-13: 9781460343661
A Royal Christmas Proposal
Copyright © 2014 by Leanne Banks
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A Royal Christmas Proposal
