Jake shook his head and placed his hands flat on the table. “Can we go four-wheeling now?”
I obtained my keys off the counter. “Actually, come on. We need to run into town and get some alcohol. After a few of my special concoctions I’ll have her spreading open.”
Jake put his plate in the sink and rinsed it off. After loading it in the drainer to dry, he leaned forward and washed off his mouth. Instead of using a paper towel he flicked the excess water into my face. “For the record, I hope you do get laid. Maybe you’ll finally be able to let the past go.”
I pushed by him and walked out the back door while still talking to him. “It’s going to take a lot more than some good pussy to make me forget what you did to me, Jake.”
I could tell he was frustrated. Hoping I could kill two birds with one stone, I was pretty much praying that Amber was going to show up. If I could prove to my brother that I had a good reason to stay in Kentucky he’d back off. He’d go back home to Reese and finally see that we were better off being apart. No matter how much time passed, I wouldn’t be able to see them hugging and loving all over one another. It was taking me back down that road I never wanted to drive on again. The image of the two of them in bed was unimaginable. It was what my nightmares derived from. No way in hell was I going to relive that moment. If they were meant to be together, then I was meant to stay away. It was as simple as that.
Chapter 6
Jax
“Come on, slow poke. I can’t keep stopping to wait for your ass.” My brother was struggling to get through another large puddle of mud. His ATV kept getting stuck, while mine made it through easily. The chocolate colored puddles had left both four-wheelers covered in it’s wrath. Our clothes were drenched, and as the sun shined through the trees it was drying hard. While Jake maneuvered around his latest obstacle, I stuck my rear wheels into a large wet hole and pressed on the gas.
Mud blasted backward dousing him completely in muck.
I couldn’t contain the laughter that was imposed on me, not that I’d want to. It made me feel better when I tortured him. What was even more comical was the fact that he kept on coming for more. The fool wouldn’t back down.
Jake brought his vehicle up next to mine, only stopping so he could wipe his face. “Thanks, asshole.”
“You think you can keep up this time?” I took off. While my brother struggled on the new trails, I soared through them. Ethan and I had worked hard making them that I could have driven blindfolded.
Jake flew by me at a rapid speed. I fought to catch up, and as the turns became more frequent, I could tell he was fighting from flipping his ATV. All of a sudden a fox went running out in front of him. Jake tried to swerve, but the vehicle went on it’s side.
Panicked, I jumped off mine and ran toward my brother, frantic to discover if he was injured. “Jake, can you hear me?” He was only about five yards away, but it felt like it was taking forever. I skid down next to his body, prepared to see blood or even bones sticking out. From the speed he was traveling it wouldn’t have been surprising if he’d broken a limb. “Jake,” I repeated.
My brother had his eyes closed. I started worrying if he’d hit his head. I patted his cheek, leaning closer to make sure he was still breathing. My heart pounded, as if it were going to pop out of my chest.
Then he opened his eyes and began to laugh. I turned away, knowing I’d just been played. “You should have seen your face, dude.”
I shoved him. “You’re a dick. I thought I was going to have to drag your ass back to the house and call an ambulance. You could have broken something.”
Jake stood up and looked down at his elbows. On his left arm he was all scraped up. “I think you should kiss it and make it all better.”
I stood up and started to laugh. “You’re pathetic. If I didn’t know any better I’d say you did that shit on purpose,” I scorned.
“Just admit it. You still love me. You can act like you don’t care, but I know you still do. I’m your best friend, and you miss me.”
“I’m not saying shit. Get your four-wheeler and let’s go.” I was disgruntled, mostly because he was right. No matter how hard I tried I couldn’t deny the pull I had when it came to my brother.
“Oh, come on. It’s not like you wouldn’t have done the same thing. Jax, don’t walk away from this. We’re having a moment. Let’s hug it out like mom used to make us do.”
I spun around, annoyed by his presuming that being funny would lighten my mood. “Find someone else to hug your pathetic ass. Better yet, why don’t you just go home to your girlfriend. I’m sure she likes wrapping her arms around you at night. I bet you like smelling her sweet skin, or how her shampoo reminds you of a summer breeze. No, I bet you like her kisses the most. Does she tease you in between them, letting her lips linger over yours?” Jake stood there. I could tell he was getting angry. “You thought you were the only one?” I let out a snarky air-filled chuckle. “Sorry to burst your bubble.”
“You know what? I’m sick of being nice about it. Yeah, her skin smells fucking awesome, and when I hold her in my arms EVERY SINGLE night I enjoy the scent of her shampoo, but what I enjoy more is being the one to wash her hair. Oh, and our kisses…”
I ran after him, talking him down to the ground. Before he could catch his breath I had my hands around his neck. If he couldn’t breathe he wouldn’t be able to keep talking. I just wanted him to pass out so I could get away from him. “I hate you!”
Jake brought his knee up and caught me in the groin. Immediate pain rushed to my stomach as I collapsed down beside him.
“You deserved that one, Jax. That was fucking low, even for you.”
“Screw you,” I managed to cough out.
“This needs to end, brother. We can’t continue doing this. It’s not fair to anyone. Yeah, I fell in love with Reese. I probably loved her before you did if you want to get technical. You and I both know it never would have worked out between you. You were too different. I can’t change the damn past, but I’m here trying to get my brother back. I miss you like crazy, and all this fighting ain’t getting us anywhere. You don’t have to like that we’re together, Jax, but stop pretending that you don’t care about anything. I know you do. When you hurt I hurt. It’s always been that way.”
I couldn’t let myself feel the pain that this brought me. I had to get away, from him and everything he was saying to me. “I’m going home to shower. You can sit here and simmer in your cesspool of regret alone.”
I could hear him calling me names as I walked away, but chose to start the motor on the ATV and get the hell away from him. No matter how hard he tried, or what he said, it wouldn’t change my mind. Yeah, I was stubborn. He knew that.
Since I’d left my brother with a tipped over vehicle, I did pull over halfway back and shut off my engine. Once I heard his running in the distance I went about my way. The last thing I desired was to have to go back and save his ass.
Nothing felt better than pulling up to my aunt’s large in ground pool. Christian, her sister Addison, and Ethan were all laying on lounge chairs, basking in the hot rays. I climbed off the four-wheeler and opened the little separating gate. The squeal of it caught their attention. “Oh hell no, Jax. You are not getting in the pool with all that mud on you. Go get the hose and clean it off first,” my cousin Chris threatened.
The pool was warm, but the hose was ice cold. “Are you kidding me? The chlorine will clean it.”
“Don’t make me go inside and get Gram.”
Just as I was about to jump in the water, I saw someone coming out of the house. My peripheral vision was sharp enough to know that it wasn’t an old woman coming out to scorn me. In a very skimpy pink bikini I watched Amber cruising across the patio with a drink in her hand.
There I was, standing in front of her, covered in mud, and all I could do was stare, thinking about the heated dream I’d had. I’m not even going to exaggerate. She was stunning, and it was taking everything I had in me to no
t drool. “I didn’t know you were here,” I said as she gave me a once over.
“Whoa. What happened to you?”
“I was four-wheeling with Jake. It ain’t fun unless we come back damaged.”
She curled up her top lip. “Are you planning on getting in the pool like that?”
“I was thinking about it,” I teased.
I knew she was grossed out, and if I wanted to watch her dive into the pool, possibly losing that little top, I was going to have to keep it clean.
“Why don’t you sit your drink down and hose me off? I can’t really see my back.” I could have put the hose over my head and done a good enough job, but having her help me was an added bonus.
Amber headed over and placed her drink down on a small table. When she came back to where I was standing I already had the water running. Just as I suspected, it was freezing. I could feel my dick shriveling up at the thought of it hitting my body.
Amber was smiling when she approached me again. She held out her hand and I eagerly gave her the hose. “Be gentle with me. I have sensitive areas,” I taunted.
She started at my arms, letting me get used to the temperature. I could sense orneriness while she squirted me, putting her thumb against the end so it sprayed stronger. The mud started rinsing off, probably faster than I wanted it to. If I could have stood there all day staring at her cleavage I would have. “I can’t believe you’ve been here for over a month and I haven’t seen you around.”
“Yeah, I don’t get out much.” The sad truth was that I usually spent weekends on the couch. Occasionally I’d head over and play cards with some of the other ranch hands.
“How long will Jake be here?”
Hearing his name pissed me off. “Hopefully not too much longer. I’m sure Reese will be calling him to go home soon. Apparently they can’t live without each other.”
I played the sympathy card and got an immediate reaction. “Oh, that must be so hard for you.”
I nodded. “It’s been terrible. I lost my girlfriend and my brother, and I don’t even have anyone to talk to about it.” Since I knew that she wanted to be a therapist of some sort, I decided to portray the comforting role.
“If you need someone to talk to I’ll listen. You can’t live if you’re that depressed, Jax. It’s not healthy. I know we aren’t exactly friends, but I’m a good listener, and since I’m not interested in dating I can probably give better advice.”
It wasn’t exactly what I wanted to hear, but it was a good start. “I don’t like talking about it. I’d rather be able to forget, ya know?”
“Yeah, I think I do.” She had me spin around so she could finish my back. “Have you tried to talk to Jake about it?”
“He’s here to make amends. I’m just not ready for something like that. It’s too fresh in my mind. You were there. You saw what I saw. I’ll never forget that night.”
Amber dropped the hose and placed her hand on my arm. “I can’t imagine what that was like for you. The fact that you can even speak to your brother is a big step. The last time I saw you the two of you were trying to kill each other.”
If she only knew that had just happened again. “We’ve come a long way, but I don’t see any resolve in the near future. It’s impossible.”
She made a sad face. “Well come on over here with us. We do this every Saturday. You should start making it a habit to join us.”
I didn’t mind following behind her, because the view was just as good. “Thanks for being so nice, Amber. I know I didn’t really say it last night, but I appreciate it. Not everyone is happy to have me around. Sometimes I feel like I don’t have a place.”
“You poor thing.” Amber looked sympathetic. I liked that.
When I was feeling as if things were going in a good direction here comes my brother, strutting in with mud all over him. I turned around and shook my head, knowing damn well he wasn’t going to give up. In order to impress Amber I was forced to be nice to him, even if it killed me.
Chapter 7
Jax
Before I knew what was happening, my brother came rushing toward me, shoving all of his weight into my body. Unfortunately he couldn’t have predicted that Amber wouldn’t move from where she was standing. She also wouldn’t have known that the force of our weight combined would throw the trajectory of our fall out about six feet. The three of us plummeted into the water, while brown mud oozed from Jake’s body all around us.
Appalled and in shock, Amber stood up with soaked hair right in the middle of the filth. She put her hands up and looked around, hoping to swim in a safer direction. As the circle of disgust surrounded us I knew I had a choice. I could go after Jake, or I could save the damsel in distress.
For obvious reasons I went with helping Amber. Before she was able to protest I’d wrapped my arms around her and drug her out of harm’s way. Even when we made it into the clear water, there were still remnants of the haze coming from our bodies. In the meantime while all of this was happening, Christian had begun yelling so loudly that our aunt came outside. She saw the pool in it’s condition and went off on my brother.
Once Amber and I were safely out of the water, I fetched her a clean towel and handed it over. “I know you have a no touch rule, but I could tell you were about to freak out. Sorry about your hair. It was cute up in that messy bun.”
She looked away, playing a half-smile on the right side of her lips. “Thanks for taking control. I was about to lose my shit. I don’t think Jake meant to involve me though. It’s probably a good idea if I steer clear of the both of you until you can come to an understanding.”
I clenched my jaw, while still hearing my aunt ripping my brother a new ass. Amber was taking the towel and trying to dry off her hair. I took in her beauty one more time. “I don’t see that happening. Some things can’t be fixed. It’s like an egg. Once it falls out of the carton and onto the tile floor you’re fucked. That’s how my life is.”
Feeling like it was a great time to walk away and pretend I was in control of the moment, I snatched myself a towel and headed over to watch my brother get reprimanded. Aside from making sure he was going to clean the entire pool, she let him know that she was beyond pissed at his actions. Since Jake was always the golden boy, this entertained me. I’d always been the one to cause problems or play pranks that damaged property.
While my aunt’s back was turned, I pointed and laughed at my brother, silently making fun of his downfall. When she finally went back inside, the rest of us burst into hysterics. “You got owned, dude!” Ethan announced.
Jake splashed the water in his direction. “Fuck off. How am I supposed to clean this shit?”
Christian sat up and looked at the hazed water. “Wait until tomorrow when it all settles to the bottom. You can vacuum it up easily. When the dogs used to be allowed in here it happened all the time.”
“Then why did she just flip out?”
“I suppose it’s a pain, and it looks disgusting,” Christian replied.
“Whatever. I’ll clean it up. For the record I don’t feel bad about it. That asshole over there,” Jake pointed to me. “Tried to kill me in the woods. I was pissed, and lost my temper. Amber, I’m sorry you were dragged into all of this. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll stay away from that guy.”
I was more pissed than ever. Did my brother, who’d stolen my livelihood, seriously just cock-block me?
“Go to hell. You deserved what you got. The sooner you get out of here the better my life will be.”
I took off out of the yard, feeling like I didn’t have a pot to piss in when it came to Amber. She’d known my brother first, and of course after he’d confessed that I’d tried to take his life, there was no way she’d take me seriously.
I was going to have to wait until my stupid brother left town to figure out another approach.
By the time I’d made it back to the trailer I was hot, and roaring to take my anger out on something, or someone. Lucky for him, my brother
didn’t come back right away, probably because he knew I needed some time to stew.
About twenty minutes later there was a knock on my door. Figuring it was just him, I opened the door without looking to see who was standing on the other side. I’d made it back into the living room before I realized that Amber was standing in the entryway. “Hi, um, I hope it’s okay that I stopped by.”
I jumped out of my seat, noticing immediately that folded laundry, nude magazines, and empty beer cans covered the tables and even the cushions of some furniture. While grabbing as much as I could hold at once, I cleared a spot for her and put the trash in the kitchen. “Sorry. I wasn’t expecting company until later.”
She sat down on the edge of the recliner, as if it was too filthy to place her whole ass on. I was failing at this game, as if I didn’t have a clue how to pick someone up anymore.
“It’s fine. I’m sorry for barging in like this. Forgive me if I’m out of line, but I hate that you walked away and let Jake get the last word in edgewise. Christian’s told me how close the two of you were. It’s got to be hard suddenly having to do everything alone.”
She was spot on. More than being angry, I was torn apart. My other half was missing, even when we were in the same room as each other. It was obvious that the relationship was severed. “It hasn’t been easy,” I admitted truthfully. “I’m doing the best I can. I took myself out of the equation so that one of us could be happy. I never expected him to come here to try and make amends. Honestly, I’m not ready for it.”
“I don’t blame you. I think Jake is desperate to hold onto you. It’s obvious that he cares. He felt bad about what happened in the woods earlier. He said he taunted you to come at him.” Amber was acting kind. Aside from her being the most beautiful woman I’d ever laid eyes, I couldn’t help but feel a pull from a different direction. Was it possible that this girl was that gorgeous inside and out? Did she really care about others; people she hardly knew?
Jax Mitchell Page 5
