“Brodie,” she groaned. “Stop.”
He did, and looked into her eyes. “Stop? Am I wrong about this?”
She leaned her head back, and closed her eyes. “The question should be, is this wrong?”
“No, Peyton, it isn’t. I don’t understand your relationship with my brother, and honestly, I don’t want to know any more about it. I’m angry, because I can’t understand why he didn’t tell you the things he told us.” Brodie took a deep breath. “Peyton, please look at me.”
She opened her eyes and looked into his.
“What I feel for you has nothing to do with Kade. Am I wrong? Tell me. Can you say you aren’t feeling the same way I am?”
“No,” she whispered. “I can’t, but Brodie…”
“But what, Peyton?”
“We need to slow down. My boys…”
“I get it, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to be able to stop thinking about you. I can’t sleep, I walk around outside in the middle of the night, asking the sky what the hell I should do. I’ve never felt this way, and I don’t know how to handle it.”
Peyton pulled her phone out of her pocket to check the time. “I’m sorry, Brodie, but we have to go. I have to pick up the boys.”
6
“Hi,” Alex answered her cell.
Peyton picked up the boys, brought them home, helped them with their homework, and then called Alex.
“Hi,” she answered though her tears.
“Peyton, what’s wrong?” Alex gasped.
“Where are you?”
“I’m home, why? Where are you?”
“Can you come over?”
“Of course. I’ll be there in ten. Anything you want me to bring?”
“N-o-o-o,” Peyton hiccuped through her tears.
“Shit, Peyton, what happened?”
“B -r-o-o-o-d-i-e.”
“That son of a bitch. I’ll be right there, honey.”
“Tell me what happened. What did he do?” Alex asked when Peyton answered the door. She hadn’t stopped crying since they hung up.
“It’s Kade, and Brodie, and I don’t know where to start.” Peyton took a tissue out of the box she had tucked up against her and blew her nose.
Alex swept past her into the kitchen, and opened the bottle of wine she brought in with her, pulled two glasses out of the cupboard, and filled them halfway. She came back out to where Peyton sat on the couch, and handed her a glass.
Before she sat down, Alex checked on Jamison and Finn, who appeared oblivious to their mother’s cry-fest. She came back, sat down, and put her arm around Peyton’s shoulders. Peyton rested her head against Alex and cried harder.
“Should I shoot the son-of-a-bitch?” Alex asked after several minutes.
“It isn’t him,” Peyton eked out. “It’s Kade.”
“What about Kade?”
Peyton took several deep breaths, blew her nose again, and wiped her remaining tears away. “There’s so much he didn’t tell me, and Brodie is pissed, and we kissed, and I don’t know what to do, Alex.” Peyton started crying again, harder than she was when Alex came in the front door.
“Let’s break this down into sections, okay, sweetie?”
Peyton nodded her head.
“First, you say you feel as though you didn’t know Kade at all. Why?”
“Brodie said there were things Kade told them that he never told me.”
“Like what?”
“That he was retiring. He wasn’t going back.”
Alex took her own deep breath. “And he didn’t tell you?”
“No. I had no idea.”
“Okay, let’s set that aside for a minute. What else? You kissed?”
“He kissed me, but I kissed him back. Alex, I don’t know what to do.” Peyton buried her head back into Alex’s shoulder.
“Okay, you kissed. What else?”
“Nothing. Isn’t that enough?”
“Peyton,” Alex began slowly, “can you tell me why you’re crying?”
“No…I…don’t…know,” she cried harder.
“Okay. What happened after you left Stave?” Alex waited while Peyton took another series of deep breaths, and then blew her nose again.
“We went to the lighthouse. I drove his car.”
“Then what happened?”
“He asked me about Lang, and then he told me that Kade was going to retire. That his last mission was supposed to be…his…last…mission.” Peyton turned and buried her head in the pillow on the sofa. Her body shook with sobs.
“What does Lang have to do with Kade’s last mission, sweetheart?” Alex waited again, while Peyton tried to stop crying.
“He asked me if K-k-k-ade was going to adopt the boys.”
“And then what happened?”
“I told him we weren’t as serious as he thought, and then he got mad.”
“At who? You?”
“No!” Peyton shouted. “At Kade!”
“How did you end things?”
Peyton’s tears subsided. She blew her nose again, and tossed the tissue into the pile forming on her living room floor. “He’s going to call me later, after the boys are in bed.”
Alex tapped her fingers on the edge of the sofa. “Can I tell you something?”
“Of course.”
“But you have to promise me two things.”
“What?”
“First that you won’t start crying again, and second that you won’t get mad at me.”
Peyton took more deep breaths. “I can’t promise I won’t cry, but I can that I won’t get mad at you.”
Alex stood and paced in front of the sofa.
“What?” Peyton prodded.
“I’m trying to decide whether to tell you or not.”
Brodie wanted to rip open the cab door of his truck, and throw the box Kade wanted Peyton to have down the hillside, but more, he wanted to understand why Kade hadn’t told Peyton he was retiring. And why didn’t she have any idea that Kade was going to propose?
There were also things she said that he didn’t understand. Twice she told him that she and Kade weren’t as close as he thought they were. Yet, more than a year later, she said she still wasn’t over him.
The only thing he knew for sure was that Peyton Wolf was more to him than his dead brother’s girlfriend, and no matter what went down between her and Kade, he wasn’t going to give her up. He would pursue Peyton until she was his. His, not Kade’s. His.
He was about to go inside, when Maddox pulled up and parked next to his truck.
“What’s up, little brother?” Maddox asked.
“Just trying to figure out the shitstorm our brother left in his wake.”
“Come on.” Maddox put his arm around Brodie’s shoulders. “Let’s go have a drink.”
Maddox drove them into the village of Paso Robles, and pulled up in front of the Pine Street Saloon. “Think we need somethin’ a little stronger than wine tonight, don’t you?”
Brodie nodded his head, and followed Maddox inside.
“Two Angel’s Envy, neat,” he told the bartender. “And keep ’em comin’.”
“You got a ride home, Butler?”
“Yeah, Naughton’s on his way.”
“What the f…”
“Settle down, little brother. Naughton may have been a jackass to you last night, but now he’s worried about you.”
Brodie shook his head. Was this really happening or was it all a weird-ass dream?
“You see Peyton again today?” Mad asked after they downed their second shot.
“Yep, sure did. Got somethin’ to say about it?”
“Hell, no.” Maddox laughed. Brodie glared at him, and signaled the bartender to pour him another round. “You in?”
Mad nodded his head.
“You’re gonna think I’ve lost my damn mind.”
“Oh, yeah? Then you’re thinkin’ I believed you had a mind to begin with.”
Brodie lowered his head and shook
it. “I think I’m fallin’ in love with her. I’ve known her four days, and I’m fallin’ in love with her. How crazy is that, Mad?”
“Pretty damn crazy if you ask me, but I don’t know if I’ve ever been in love, little brother, so I’m not a good judge.”
“What’s wrong with us? Kade couldn’t tell the woman he loved that he wanted to marry her. I fall in love with the same damn woman in a hot minute, and you and Naught don’t know your asses from your hearts.” Brodie’s head felt heavy. When was the last time he ate? This morning? Too much hard liquor on an empty stomach wasn’t going to end well.
“I need food, Mad.”
“You got it. Hey, Jimmy, fire up that grill. Three steak sandwiches with all the fixins.”
“Medium rare?”
“All three.”
“All right, food’s on its way. Now tell me what’s goin’ on with Peyton.”
Brodie told Mad everything that had happened in the past four days, including the kiss he and Peyton shared. He expected his brother to give him shit about it, but Mad didn’t. He just listened.
“What can I get ya?” Jimmy asked when Naughton sat down at the bar next to Brodie.
“Better make it a coke. How many have these jackalopes had so far?”
“Lost count.” Jimmy laughed.
“Shit.”
“They ordered steak sandwiches though. One for you too.”
Naughton nudged Brodie’s shoulder with his. “Sorry I was such a dick last night.”
“Nothin’ new.” Brodie bumped back.
“Peyton got you all twisted up?”
“How’d you know?”
Once he had food in his stomach, Brodie asked Jimmy to give him what Naughton was drinking, as long as there wasn’t any alcohol in it. Maddox raised his hand. “I’m done too.”
“Damn wine-drinkin’ lightweights,” Jimmy sputtered, and slid their tab over to Naughton. “You’re the only one sober enough to give me a decent tip.”
Maddox stood behind Naughton and Brodie. “You gotta follow your heart, Brode. Kade isn’t here anymore, and whatever happened between them stopped mattering the night he died.”
Brodie looked at Naughton. “How do you feel about it?”
“I don’t know, to be honest. Sometimes I think it’s really f’d up. And then I think about Peyton and her boys, and I find myself hoping you mean the things you’re saying about her.”
“I mean every word, Naught. I’m just afraid I’m scarin’ the shit outa her. By the way, what did I say?”
“Nothin’. It’s more a feeling I get.”
“Yeah, I get that.” Brodie’s head was spinning. “You better get me home.”
“Good idea. Where’d you park, Naught?”
“Over by the park.”
“The park? What the hell? Jimmy got a family reunion that pulled up since we got here?”
“Figured you both could use a long walk in the fresh night air. Might sober you up some.”
Maddox pulled his cell phone out of his pocket when they’d walked halfway to where Naughton parked.
“Yeah?” Maddox answered.
“Hell if I know,” they heard him say, but didn’t hear the rest of the conversation. Brodie and Naughton kept walking while Maddox argued with whoever had called him. He caught up with them after he hung up.
“Who was that?” Brodie asked.
“Alex Avila.”
“What did she want?”
“Mainly what I knew about what was goin’ on with you and Peyton.”
“Mainly? What else?”
Maddox put his hand on Brodie’s shoulder. “You think you’re the only one who’s got a pretty girl wrappin’ you around her finger?”
“Really? You and Alex? When did that start up?”
Maddox hung his head, but then raised his eyes and grinned. “Where you been, little brother?”
Brodie looked at Naughton. “What’s he talkin’ about?”
“Middle school. Pretty sure that’s when he started chasin’ her around like some ol’ bull after a heifer.”
“You watch it, Naught. Alex will kick the shit out of you if she hears you call her a heifer.”
Alex hung up her cell and waited for Peyton to come out of the bathroom. When she did, Alex would have no choice but to tell her exactly what she thought about Kade Butler, and how long she’d thought it.
“All right,” Peyton said when she sat back down on the sofa. “Tell me whatever it is you have to tell me.”
“If you told me you and Kade were going to get married, I would’ve done everything in my power to talk you out of it.”
“Why?” Peyton was stunned.
“Because he wasn’t the man you thought he was.”
7
Alex convinced Peyton to come in late the next day, and get some rest. Peyton didn’t argue. After everything that happened in the last few days, she needed sleep.
“I’m gonna crash in the spare bedroom, and take the boys to school in the morning. What God awful hour do I have to wake them up?”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“Yeah, I do. What time?”
“Seven.”
“Jeez, why do teachers have to be so cruel?”
“I think the teachers would prefer a later start time. Blame the administrators.”
Peyton went into the bedroom and fell across the bed. As tired as she felt, she wasn’t sure she’d even turn the television on. She heard Alex bumping around the bathroom in the hall, and fell sound asleep.
When she woke the next morning and looked at the clock, Peyton wondered if Alex had slipped something into her wine. It was after nine, and she was still in her clothes from last night. She hadn’t heard the boys get up, or get ready, or leave the house.
She slowly made her way to the kitchen, and found a note from Alex, telling her all she had to do was turn the coffeemaker on. “God bless Alex,” she muttered on her way back to the bathroom. Peyton found her phone sitting on the counter when she came back into the kitchen. No wonder she hadn’t woken up. She didn’t remember leaving it out here, but once she hit the bed last night, she didn’t remember anything.
She picked it up and punched in her security code. There were several text alerts. One from Alex, telling her to go back to bed, which made her laugh. There was one from Jamison saying that he and Finn loved her, and hoped she felt better soon. The last was from Brodie. “Call me when you get this,” it said.
After stopping herself from throwing the phone across the kitchen, Peyton poured a cup of coffee. She jumped when she heard a noise coming from the living room.
“You up already?” Alex said, joining her in the kitchen.
“You scared the crap out of me.” Peyton had one hand on her heart, the other on her forehead.
“You’ll forgive me when you hear what I brought you.”
“What?”
“Warm olallieberry and cream cheese muffins from the Ollalieberry Diner.”
“I love you so much right now.”
“See?”
“How were the boys this morning?”
“Absolutely fine.”
“I’ll go take a shower, and meet you at Stave in an hour.”
“Uh, nope. I don’t need you to come in until later this afternoon.”
“It’s new release night, Alex. It’ll be nuts.”
“My mom and your mom are coming down around noon. They’ll help me set up, pick the boys up from school, and take them to the movies.”
Jamison and Finn stayed on the ranch with her parents Friday and Saturday nights. Her dad would bring them back Sunday afternoon, and would stay until Peyton got home from Stave. If it was a slow weekend, she’d leave early or not go in at all.
When Kade was still alive and home on leave, he’d be at her house with the boys Saturday nights. It was their “guy time,” he’d tell her.
“Are you sure your mom doesn’t mind?”
“She’s just as much their abuela a
s your mom is. She loves those boys.”
“Your mom is a saint. So are my parents, if you think about it.”
“I’m just glad she has your boys to spoil, so she isn’t on my back to get married and have kids as much as she used to be. My brothers and sisters thank you too.”
“What is it with your family?”
“In no hurry to get married.” Alex grabbed her coat off the chair in the dining room. “I’m leaving. Go back to bed and get some rest. You look like shit, Peyton.”
“Thanks, Alex. Brutal honesty is my favorite.”
“Hey, I meant to tell you, Jamison asked me about Brodie this morning.”
“Oh, God. What did he say?”
“That he hoped you liked each other.”
“Get out of here! He didn’t really say that.”
“Yeah, he did. He also said that he and Finn talked about it, and they wouldn’t mind hanging out with him too.”
“Oh, good. Just in case I was afraid I would lose my ‘worst mother of the year’ plaque, I can now rest assured I’ll be hanging on to it for a while.”
“Don’t worry. I told Jamison you were just friends.”
“I hope they’re not waiting around for me to find happily ever after. With my luck with men, they’ll be waiting for that bus until I’m old and gray.”
“What do they know of the ying and yang of dating? To them, it’s as simple as, you like someone, you hang out, you get married, and bam—happily ever after.”
“I’m a colossal failure at happily ever after, Alex.”
“Third time’s a charm, girlfriend. Hey, uh, are you sure you’re not mad about what I told you about Kade?”
“No, I’m not mad. I’m confused, but not mad. I need some time to process though, okay?”
“Of course. All righty then, need anything else? If not, I gotta get to Stave and start prepping food for tonight.”
“I’m good, but seriously, I can come in this morning. You don’t have to do everything yourself.”
“Pretty sure I owe you about a hundred get-well days. You’ve covered for me so many times I lost count.”
The Promise (Butler Ranch Book 1) Page 7
