by Addison Cole
“Son, you are, and have always been, everything I ever hoped you’d be. You were barely eleven when your mama died, and barely nine when she first became ill.”
The pressure in Treat’s chest nearly knocked the wind out of him. “Dad…”
“No, son. You were everything this family needed, and there has never been a time that you haven’t been. You see the faces of your sister and brothers? Do you see the love in their eyes? They are who they are in large part because of you. You taught them about strength and family. You taught them about love, and even when you let your little scraggly brothers in bed with you—and don’t think I didn’t know about that.” He looked at Josh and Hugh. “You, Treat, and you alone, were giving them what I could not. The truth is, when your mama passed, she took part of me with her. I did what I could. I stepped up in every way I was able, but I’m just a man, like you and Rex, Dane, Hugh, and Josh. We’re all just who we are, and who we are is Bradens. Bradens always do their best. Sometimes our best feels like not enough, but that doesn’t mean it truly isn’t. Not one of my children has ever let me down.” He looked at Hugh. “Not Hugh when he didn’t show up for the ranch’s first auction.” His gaze shifted to Savannah. “Not our beautiful girl, Savannah, when she snuck out of the house when she was fifteen, or you, Treat, when you had to haul her back home. And you never said a word to me about it.”
Savannah’s eyes widened. “You knew about that?”
Their father nodded with a smile, then looked at Josh, who was listening intently. “And not your brother Josh, when he decided to design dresses for a living.”
Treat watched his brother soak in their father’s pride, and he knew that Josh had been waiting to hear that for a long time.
“The point is, Treat, you might have needed to cleanse your soul so that you could go on without that gorilla on your back, but you’ve got to know that it was your gorilla. It was a monkey devised by a little boy’s frightened mind that grew to a full-size gorilla and tried to weigh you down. It has weighed you down for a long while, but you didn’t let it take over completely because it wasn’t real. I’m proud of you, son. That gorilla was just a figment of that little boy’s imagination, and you finally saw your way clear to climb out from under it.”
Treat went to his father and held him longer and tighter than he ever had. He didn’t know if his father was right or not, but he appreciated every word he’d said, and he knew that he would never let him down.
“Are you really thinking of putting down roots?” his father asked when they separated.
“Not thinking about it. I’m acting on it,” Treat said, and glanced at the back door.
“Now, that boy out there? He’s got an even bigger burden on his back than you did. Give him some time,” his father suggested.
“I’m not sure what I did to him, specifically,” Treat said.
“He’ll let you know when he’s good and ready. Just like you did.” Hal pushed to his feet and said, “Walk me back to my room, Treat.”
When they reached his father’s bedroom, his father sat on the edge of the bed and patted the space beside him. Hal Braden wasn’t a man who talked just to hear his own voice. He chose his words carefully and rarely doled out unsolicited advice to his children. So when he asked Treat to listen carefully, Treat did just that.
“I’ve been waiting for you to figure out what was holding your heart back all these years. For a while I wasn’t sure if it was something I did wrong when you were growing up. I did my best, but being both mother and father had its trying times. Then I thought that maybe you just hadn’t met the right woman yet. But when I looked into your eyes earlier today, I saw the fear in them. And I saw the love, too; don’t get me wrong. I knew that the other thing I’d worried about for so long was true. Son, your mama didn’t die because of our love for each other. Surely you know that.”
He nodded, unable to form a response, as his father had seen his greatest fear. As ridiculous as it was, it had lingered far too long.
“This life we’re given is short,” his father said. “It’ll be gone before you know it, and, son, you’re a good man. You’re a loving, kind, generous man with so much more to give than flashy resorts. You always have been. Just because you allow yourself to love doesn’t mean that some higher power will steal that person away from you—or steal you away from her. If you don’t allow yourself to love, to fully saturate yourself with someone else’s life, someone else’s feelings, if you don’t allow your ego to disappear and your heart to beat for another person, so that every breath you take is taken for that person, well then, I’m afraid you’ll be missing out on one of life’s only blessings. And besides your family and giving life to children, it’s the only blessing that really matters.”
His father reached into his bedside drawer and handed him a small velvet bag. Treat felt the circle within his fingers and knew what it contained.
He looked at his father with a tinge of disbelief.
“Your mama wanted you to have this, and somehow, today, she knew it was the right time.”
“Dad…” His voice was choked out by emotions.
“It’s yours, son, to do with as you wish. I’m just doing what I’m told.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
TREAT’S BEDROOM DOOR swung open at five thirty the next morning, and Rex walked in with a triumphant smile, which promptly faded when Treat stood from the chair in front of the desk where he was working, fully dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, and said, “About time you got your lazy butt out of bed.” He’d woken up early, anxious to see Max when she arrived later today, and had tackled the emails he hadn’t gotten to yesterday. He picked up his flannel shirt from the back of the chair, closed his laptop, and patted Rex’s shoulder as he passed him on his way to the stairs.
Rex didn’t say a word as they filled to-go cups with coffee and headed out into the cold morning air.
“You’re going to have to get me up to speed,” Treat said.
“We’ve got the hired hands taking care of the horses. You and I are on fence repair. Something got into the back fifty and tore down a thirty-foot strip.”
Treat climbed into the passenger side of the truck. “What got to it?”
Rex shrugged as he pulled onto the grass. “It doesn’t matter, does it?”
Great, an attitude before six a.m.
The truck ambled over the fields, and Treat waited for Rex to bring up what he’d said the night before. The silence between them was not particularly uncomfortable, but as it stretched on, he tried to break the ice. “I checked on Dad. He seemed to be okay.”
“Good. Savannah’s got him covered for the day, and Josh said he’d monitor his meds.” Rex’s cowboy hat was tugged down low. He kept his eyes on the field, never once glancing at Treat.
“You mind that I’m staying on for a while?” Treat asked.
Rex shrugged. He parked the truck and they began unloading the wood, wire, and supplies.
“Put ’em over there.” Rex pointed to a grassy area on the other side of the broken fence. “We’ll set up the sawhorses here and use that area there for waste.”
Treat did as he asked, while Rex picked up long pieces of wood and threw them over his shoulder like they were toothpicks. Treat was a strong man, but even he had to admit that his brother had the bigger brawn and bulk. Beneath his Henley, Rex’s body rippled with muscles in places that Treat wasn’t even certain a body should have them.
Instead of feeling envy toward the brother who was clearly angry with him, Treat was proud of him. He’d spent his life taking care of the family ranch—and their father. That was something Treat hadn’t been strong enough to do, and now, he realized, he was able to admit that to himself without feeling shame in its wake.
“You gonna help or watch?” Rex asked.
Treat grabbed his hammer and followed his brother’s cursory instructions to a tee. He’d grown up helping his father with everything from mucking stalls to fixing the siding on the barn.
He was a bit out of practice, but it was all coming back to him, including cherished memories of his mother playing nearby with any number of his siblings while he and his father worked.
Working beside Rex also brought out Treat’s competitive side. His need for instructions quickly fell away as he sawed the wood to the perfect length, secured wires into place, and pounded poles into the ground. By lunchtime, his chest and arms felt battered and bruised. He gritted his teeth against the annoying pain rather than let his brother, who was no worse for wear, see it.
“Doing all right?” Rex asked as they drove toward the house.
“Just fine.” After spending the day doing hard physical labor, Treat expected to feel a longing to return to his fast-paced, professional career, where he was surrounded by creature comforts and a hard day meant securing a purchase for another property. At the minimum, he’d expected to feel a strong amount of trepidation over changing the way he did business. But as they pulled up to the house and he mulled over the suggestions from his attorney to hire more of a front man or woman and handle negotiations via Skype, he found that his longing wasn’t to be in the thick of acquisitions at all. He wanted to help out for a while on the ranch until they got a handle on things, and he longed to be with Max. The decision he’d made to put down roots in Colorado, and the suggestion from the attorney, both felt right.
“Looks like Dane’s arrived.” Rex nodded in the direction of the forest-green Land Rover in the driveway, Dane’s go-to rental.
They headed inside, and Savannah called out to them from the kitchen, “Hey, I made you guys lunch.”
They kicked off their work boots, and Dane intercepted them in the hall.
“You made it,” Treat said, embracing his brother. He’d spent much of the night thinking through how he was going to tell Dane what he’d told his other siblings. He was sure that Dane had already heard it at least three times from them by now, but no matter how uncomfortable it made him, Treat was going to do it himself, in person, man to man. And what better time than the present?
“It was a painfully long flight with one delay after another,” Dane said. “But we tagged some nice sharks while we were down under.”
“Sorry about the flight, but that’s good news for your research, and I’m glad you’re here. Come with me for a sec.” He led the way outside, and they settled into chairs facing the fields.
“I hear you’re staying for a while,” Dane said.
“Yeah. It’s time.”
“What about your businesses?”
“Nothing’s going to change except the amount of travel I’m doing and the way I acquire new properties.” He looked at his brother relaxing in the chair beside him. His skin was tanned and his eyes were bright. Treat had never really thought about his age before, but after his father’s medical trouble, it was on his mind. How had the years passed so quickly? One day they’d be gathering like this for their father’s funeral, and it would most likely be in far fewer years than they’d all like to imagine. That large dose of reality came with another. Treat definitely wanted a family. He’d love to see his father spending time with his grandchildren.
“We met Max. Did she tell you?” Dane asked.
“Yeah.” Treat smiled. Only a few more hours and she’d be in his arms again.
“She’s really cute. Seems smart, a little shy maybe? But I can see why you like her.”
Treat’s body went rigid. She’s mine. He gave Dane a back off stare.
“Dude, you really like her, don’t you?” Dane asked.
“I love her, Dane,” he admitted.
Dane nodded. “I’ve never heard those words come out of your mouth before.”
“I’ve never felt them before.” The truth tasted almost as sweet as Max’s kisses. “Listen, Dane—”
“Before you tell me, can I just say something I’ve been wanting to say for a long time?”
“Sure.” Treat braced himself for heaven only knew what.
“It’s about Mary Jane.”
Treat narrowed his eyes.
“Right, well…” Dane took a deep breath. “The truth is, I wasn’t as hammered as I told you I was that night. I knew what I was doing.”
“Why on earth are you telling me this now?” He couldn’t stop his hands from flexing.
“Because the others told me what you said last night, and you need to know. I slept with her to feel like I was at least as good as you, Treat.” Dane shifted his eyes away. “Do you have any idea what it was like growing up in your gigantic shadow?”
“My shadow isn’t that big, Dane.”
“You have no idea. Anyway, it didn’t work. I felt even smaller afterward than I had before, and I know that has always undermined our relationship.” He looked at Treat. “I’m sorry, bro. I’ve regretted it ever since.”
Treat had never expected to hear anything even remotely close to what Dane had admitted, and because of that, he was at a loss for words.
“I know that you worry about me and, well, any woman you’re interested in. You don’t have to. I’m not that stupid kid anymore. I’d never do something as low or as demeaning as that to you or to myself. Or to another woman. Mary Jane was a pawn to me, and I’m sorry for you and her.”
“She wasn’t a pawn to me.” Treat’s chest tightened at the memory. He hadn’t been in love with Mary Jane, or at least not like he was with Max. But she’d been special to him.
Dane looked down. “I know, and I’m sorry. I apologized to her shortly after it happened.”
He appreciated the courage it took for his brother to slay his own dragon, and in an effort to lighten the moment, he teased, “Are you trying to tell me that you won’t try to tag Max with your giant spear?”
“Not an inch of it.” Dane laughed. “Seriously, though, I’d never make the same mistake twice. Besides, there’s a certain someone I can’t seem to get off my mind these last few months, so I might not be on the market too much longer myself.”
“Yeah?” Treat asked.
Dane leaned back in his chair and looked out at the majestic mountains. “Oh, yeah.”
“So, they ratted me out to you already?” Treat asked, nodding toward the house.
“I had three calls by two in the morning.”
Typical Braden hotline. “Who didn’t call?”
“Who do you think?” Dane nodded toward Rex’s truck.
“Right. I’m not sure what to make of things with Rex, but I’ll just take Dad’s advice and let him be. He’ll talk when he’s ready.”
Dane got up to go inside and Treat held him back. Letting his siblings handle his admission was a cop-out. He needed to deal with things himself if he was truly going to move forward with no regrets.
“I just wanted to say I’m sorry about how things went down when we lost Mom. I was the oldest, and I should have been there more. When you were so mired down in anger, I should have tried harder to help you find ways to deal with it.” After their mother died, most of his siblings had fallen back on tears and had crawled into their own shells for a while, but Dane had exploded. He’d gone from being sweet and even-tempered, like he was now, to an angry, petulant boy. Treat had tried to talk him through it, but there were times when he’d let Dane spew his fury far too loud, and he’d always wished he hadn’t.
“I was a little off my rocker, huh?” Dane said with a troubled look in his eyes.
“I think we all were. You know how much I love you, right?” There had never been any embarrassment wrapped around his love for his family, and today was no different.
“Never had any doubt.” Dane stood and embraced Treat. “We cool?”
“Always.”
Treat watched him walk inside, and then he looked out over the property, thinking about his mother. He could still envision her waving from horseback in the field. Treaty! He hoped she’d have been proud of him, even with his faults. He remembered the day his mother had come home from the hospital for the last time. Even as a boy he’d known she wasn
’t going to last very long. She’d become terrifyingly frail. Her cheeks had lost their rosy glow months before. They’d become hollow, her arms and legs atrophied from extended bed rest. He used to stand in her doorway when she was sleeping and just look at her, memorizing every feature as she slipped farther and farther away. One afternoon, when his father was in the field and the other kids were out horsing around, she’d reached for him. He hadn’t even known she was awake. He still remembered the roughness of the hardwood floor against his bare feet as he crossed the room and the feel of each slender bone beneath her nearly transparent skin when he held her hand. She opened her eyes and smiled, and in that breath, he saw the mother she had always been, strong, loving, beautiful. She was too weak to keep her eyes open, and they’d fluttered closed. He held on to her hand long after it had gone limp, hoping and praying she’d open her eyes again. He clung to her until his father took him by the shoulders and dragged him away. Mom! Come back! Please! I’ll do better! I’ll help you more with the kids! I’ll help Dad on the ranch! Even now his body struggled and fought against the memory, just as he’d struggled and fought against his father’s mighty grip until every fiber of his being was exhausted beyond repair and he’d collapsed into his waiting arms. When he’d woken up the next day, he’d run to his mother’s room hoping it had been a nightmare. He’d pushed the heavy wooden door open.
All these years later he remembered the long, ominous creak as the door came to a stop and the grief that had consumed him at the sight of his mother’s empty bed.
Chapter Thirty
“KAYLIE, I NEED you,” Max said into her Bluetooth. She was almost back to Allure when she realized she had some legwork to do. She’d spoken to Treat early that morning but had held off on calling him when she’d gotten an early flight, wanting instead to surprise him.
“Why, Max, I never knew you were into women,” Kaylie joked.
“This is serious. I need help, and I need it now. Please?”
