Jessie was okay with that because she didn’t want to be alone.
“You’re early. I’m not quite ready,” Jessie said as she pulled open the door, still sliding the towel through the saturated ends of her hair.
She nearly tripped over her own feet when she came face to chest with Braydon. Luckily, she caught herself—and her slipping towel—before that happened. Clutching both towels to her chest, she stared up at Braydon in surprise.
“Hi,” she whispered, her heart kicking into overdrive. “What’re you doin’ here?”
They both stood there staring at one another for a moment. Unable to resist, Jessie drank in the sight of him. He seemed bigger than he used to be. His arms stretched the fabric of the dark gray T-shirt he wore, and his neck was a little thicker. It would seem the man had been working out while he’d been gone.
“I wanted to see you. May I come in?”
Jessie turned and eyeballed the room behind her as though she might possibly be able to come up with a reason to not invite him in. When she looked back at him, she noticed the concern in his beautiful blue-gray gaze and she gave in. “Sure.”
Stepping back out of the way, holding on to the towels with a death grip, she allowed him to move inside, immediately recognizing his all-encompassing presence. He smelled good, like fabric softener and man. She had always loved the way he smelled. Despite the fact that he and Brendon were identical twins, they still had their own unique scents, which was one of the ways she could tell them apart at first. Now, she didn’t have a problem. In her eyes, they were no longer identical, because their personalities set them completely apart.
“Want something to drink?” she offered, trying to play the role of polite hostess, although she certainly wasn’t dressed for the occasion. She pretended not to notice and hoped he wouldn’t, either.
Braydon didn’t answer; he simply stared back at her, his smoldering gaze sliding down her nearly nude form, and her heart did a triple Lutz in her chest. Oh yeah, he noticed.
Crap.
“I missed you,” he said softly, his voice rough.
Jessie fought the urge to break down in tears again. She had missed him, too. So much. But he had abandoned her and ignored her attempts to get in touch with him. It didn’t matter that he probably had his own personal reasons; it still hurt. And she damn sure didn’t want him to know that she’d shed any tears for him. Ever.
“I missed you, too,” she finally said when the risk of tears accompanying the words dissipated. “I’ll take that as a no?”
Braydon’s gaze slid back up, his eyes searching her face, but Jessie did her best to pretend not to notice. The way he looked at her sent heat bubbling through her veins.
When he glanced away, the relief was palpable. Jessie didn’t have a whole lot of self-control when this man was around. It hadn’t always been that way, but as time had passed, and they’d become closer, she had started falling for him. Hard.
But she had to remind herself that she’d already picked herself back up. And Braydon had too, because based on the conversation she had overheard today, he had been with another woman. Just that morning.
Anger settled in and the heat blossoming in her bloodstream started churning, mixing into a potent blend of exasperation and regret. “Is there something you wanted to say? I really need to get ready. I’m goin’ out tonight.”
Braydon made eye contact once again and nodded. “I won’t keep you. But we really need to talk. Tell me a good time and I’ll come back.”
Jessie took a deep breath. “I really don’t think there’ll ever be a good time, Braydon.”
“Come on, Jess,” he whispered.
“Don’t do that! Don’t act like I owe you something,” she bit out heatedly. “There isn’t anything left to talk about. It’s all done and over. I’m glad you’re home. I know your parents and your brothers are, too. So, if it’s all the same to you, I’d like to just keep moving forward.”
She didn’t bother to tell him that she wasn’t moving forward, she was standing still, and the unstable ground she was on threatened to pull her under any minute now.
“It’s not all the same to me,” Braydon growled softly, taking a single step closer but still leaving at least two feet between them.
Jessie tightened her grip on the towel until her fingers throbbed. She swallowed and dug deep inside of herself for the confidence she needed to push through this. What they had shared before had run its course. Jessie no longer wanted what the twins represented. And clearly Braydon didn’t want her.
Been there. Done that. Didn’t even get a crappy T-shirt.
“What you want isn’t important anymore,” she said dejectedly. She hated lying to him, to herself, but hopefully, if she continued to repeat that mantra over and over, it would be true.
Braydon’s eyes widened and the misery she saw reflected there nearly leveled her. She loved this man. She loved him with every single pained breath she took. It had been inevitable and Jessie knew it was her downfall. She fell in love too easily. Her track record of loving every man she was with was long.
They needed to make a clean break. There was no way she was going to come between Braydon and Brendon again. No pun intended.
“I need to finish getting ready,” she said, her tone much more assertive than she felt.
This time Braydon nodded, his eyes locked with hers for only a second before he turned toward the door. When he stopped, his hand on the knob, Jessie held her breath.
“This isn’t over, Jess. We’re gonna talk. Maybe not tonight, but it’ll be soon. I promise you that.”
There was no longer any misery reflected in his eyes. No, that emotion had been replaced with what Jessie could only assume was sheer determination.
Why that made her feel good, she didn’t know.
But she couldn’t make her voice work, so she merely nodded.
When he simply walked out into the night without looking back, Jessie felt her heart fracture in her chest. It wasn’t that she had expected him to stay and fight for her right then, but there had been a tiny inkling of hope lingering there.
The gentle click of the door demolished what was left of that.
BY THE TIME Kylie, Travis, and Gage arrived to pick her up and take her with them to Moonshiners, Jessie had managed to put on a brave face. She wasn’t going to let it get to her. She couldn’t spend the rest of her life pining away for a man she would never have. While she had put on her makeup, she’d actually tried to come up with a way in which she could see it all working out. That’s what she did, she daydreamed about the impossible.
Because the twins shared their women, and because she no longer cared to be the filling in their hot twin sandwich, she knew there was going to be another woman who would come along and fill that spot. Maybe that country music superstar.
Even now as she thought about it, Jessie’s stomach cramped from the idea. She did not want to think about Braydon with another woman.
“Up for a game of pool?” Gage asked, nudging her arm as they walked in the front door of the small-town bar.
“Not this girl,” she answered, injecting some humor into her tone although she didn’t feel it. “I’d be a waste of space at that table. But I’ll watch if you’d like to play V.”
Gage laughed, the sound booming through the bar. “Yeah, no thanks. Playing V is worse than playing Brendon. I’d like at least half a chance of winning.”
Jessie glanced back at the pool tables and her heart tripped over itself for a brief moment before she realized that she was looking at Brendon, not Braydon. The only way she knew was by the shirt he was wearing. It was the same one he’d been wearing that morning. He was playing pool with a man she didn’t recognize, probably some poor sucker who thought he could beat him. Men in this town lost that bet all the time.
As she inhaled deeply, she scanned th
e room, but Braydon wasn’t there. She was both relieved and disappointed, but she immediately turned her attention back to Kylie and Gage, realizing Travis had disappeared.
“How about I get the first round?” she offered.
“Too late,” Kylie interjected. “Travis is already getting them. Come on. Let’s go sit down. And you,” Kylie said to Gage, gripping the front of his shirt gently and urging him down to her level, “you behave tonight.”
“Always, baby.”
Gage kissed Kylie as Jessie watched. It wasn’t one of those simple, understated pecks on the lips either, so Jessie jerked her head away.
That was when she made eye contact with Brendon. He forced a smile her way and Jessie did the same.
She hated this. Hated the tension between them. But they could get through this. She knew they could. She doubted they would ever get to a comfortable place where they could be friends again, but it was worth a shot.
Kylie took her hand, pulling her from her trance, and led her toward the tall tables that circled around the pool tables in the back.
“Did you talk to Braydon?” Kylie asked, her voice lowered to a whisper. Well, not quite a whisper, because with the jukebox blaring and the chatter from the people around them, Jessie wouldn’t have been able to hear a whisper.
“Only for a minute,” she said, her eyes locked with her sister’s.
“He stopped by?” Kylie asked, sitting up straight, her surprise etched on her face.
“Yeah.”
“And?”
“And nothing,” Jessie said seriously. “Drop it, Ky. I can’t do this tonight.”
“Okay,” Kylie said softly. “I’ll do my best.” When Kylie reached out and touched her hand, Jessie fought the buildup of emotion that was under a significant amount of pressure already.
She should’ve never agreed to go out tonight. It was Sunday; she had to work tomorrow, so she didn’t have the option of drinking until none of it mattered. She should be in bed or at the very least reading until she couldn’t keep her eyes open anymore. But no, here she was, immersed in the middle of the Walker family. Again. And for the first time since she’d met them, she actually felt like she didn’t belong.
“Hey, woman. Where were you tonight?” Sawyer asked as he sauntered up to their table and placed his arm around her shoulder, squeezing gently. “We missed you. Ma said to let you know that tonight was your only free pass. Next time, she’ll come pick you up herself.”
Jessie laughed. She could practically hear Lorrie’s voice in her head. And she believed that Lorrie would show up on her doorstep and insist that she join them. The woman was known for getting her way. After all, it was hard to tell the sweetest woman in the world no.
“I’ll stop by and talk to her this week,” Jessie told him.
“No need to explain to me,” he said quietly, with another brotherly squeeze that jarred her. “I get it.”
“You get what?”
Sawyer leaned in, his mouth close to her ear. “Love, darlin’. You’re in love and you don’t know what the hell to do about it.”
Jessie pulled back and glared at Sawyer. He didn’t look at all disturbed by her reaction. In fact, he laughed.
“Don’t worry, honey. You’re not the only one.”
“You’re in love?” she asked doubtfully.
“Hell no!” he exclaimed, choking on his beer.
“But you said . . .”
“Read between the lines, Jess.”
Jessie studied Sawyer for a moment. The man was the wild card in the entire bunch. There was no telling what he would do or say next, nor did anyone know what sort of mood he would be in. Although he attempted to always paste on one of those panty-melting smiles, Jessie had been around him long enough to see through them.
“You doin’ all right?” she asked him as he released her from his embrace and stood next to the table. He tipped his beer back and eyed her sideways as he grinned.
“Yup.”
Sawyer didn’t elaborate, but he didn’t have to. That smirk said it all. Whatever he was up to was probably going to get things riled up. And Jessie kinda hoped it would.
chapter EIGHT
Braydon was strolling across the parking lot of a recently demolished building. Well, it was partially demolished. The company that had hired Walker Demo was looking to add on, and a section of the previous building needed to go in order to accomplish that. Jared had assigned the follow-up to Braydon, although Brendon had managed the job during demolition. It was an easy stop, probably the only one of the entire day, but Braydon was okay with that.
He had just located the general contractor and was making his way over when his cell phone rang and vibrated against his side. In a move that was second nature, Braydon retrieved the phone and continued on his trek. He hit the Talk button on the screen.
“Hey, Mom,” Braydon greeted his mother, slowing his pace so he could manage the conversation without having to let her go.
“I was wondering if we could have that lunch you promised,” Lorrie replied sweetly, getting right to the heart of the phone call.
Promised? Braydon fought the urge to laugh. He loved the way his mother put things. He recalled mentioning it . . .
“Sure,” he answered hesitantly, glancing at his watch. “Now?” It was only eleven o’clock, which was a little earlier than he was used to taking lunch, but he had “promised” his mother. Although the invite was a little unexpected today, he was more than willing to have lunch with her, and his schedule allowed him to do so. “Want to meet somewhere?”
“The diner works for me if it works for you,” she answered quickly.
“I can be there in half an hour.”
“Perfect. It’ll give me time to make sure your father has something for lunch.”
“Does he want to join us?” Braydon offered.
“No, he said he had to meet with Travis later. So it’ll just be you and me,” she said in a rush.
“All right. I’ll see you there. Or do you need me to stop by and pick you up?”
“Nope, I’ll meet you there.”
Braydon ended the call and glanced at his phone. Something seemed off about that. He couldn’t pinpoint it exactly, but if he wasn’t mistaken, his mother was up to something. He’d seen it enough times with his brothers, he wouldn’t put it past her.
The strange part was that Braydon didn’t know exactly how he felt about that.
Knowing he’d be cutting it close if he didn’t get out of there, Braydon double-timed it over to the general contractor. They walked the area quickly, Braydon rattling off a couple of things they needed to address before Walker Demo would sign off, and then he was once again heading for his truck.
The heat of the day was already barreling down on him, and he looked forward to the air-conditioning, which he set on full blast. Tossing his hard hat into the backseat, Braydon glanced at the clock. Yeah, he was definitely going to be late, but hopefully not by much.
As he drove toward Coyote Ridge, he replayed his conversation with his mother over in his head. Not that it helped. He still wasn’t sure if he was just making shit up because he held out hope that someone would intervene and he’d have a chance to talk to Jessie. Clearly she wasn’t going to initiate any sort of reconciliation between them and she’d already shot down his attempt once.
Since their conversation at her place last night, he hadn’t seen or heard from her. Although he had requested that they get a moment to chat, he expected her to try to avoid him if possible. Last night, as he lay in bed alone, listening for the sound of Brendon coming home, he had decided to give her a few days before he tried again.
What were a few more days when three months had passed since they’d actually had a real conversation? Granted, even before then they’d been slowly drifting apart, but that was more his fault than anything.
He was the asshole who had gone and made things complicated between them. Leaving well enough alone would’ve been the best plan, but he’d skated right on past that idea and moved in another direction altogether.
And that had led to the downfall of his relationship with Jessie.
And Brendon.
It seemed as though Brendon was avoiding him. Not that he blamed him. Their first real conversation after three months apart had involved Braydon getting up in his face because the man had left Jessie to her own devices for the entire time Braydon had been gone. If he’d known that Brendon and Jessie had called it quits, so to speak, he would’ve come back.
Maybe.
The time that he’d been away had been good. He was tortured by a significant amount of regret, but there was no doubt that he’d needed it. Everything had been coming to a full, rapid boil, and he knew in his heart that if he’d stayed, things would’ve gotten way out of hand. At least now, all three of them had had time to put things into perspective. Thanks to his time away, he somehow managed to see things without the fog of his emotions. At least a little.
Not that everything had changed. Braydon knew that his feelings for Jessie hadn’t diminished, and the jolt that he’d experienced seeing her last night in nothing but that skimpy towel, her skin still damp from her shower, had sealed it for him. His feelings for her certainly hadn’t changed. Not even a little bit. And when she had told him they had nothing to talk about, he knew she was lying. To herself and to him.
But he still didn’t know how to go about fixing that.
It wasn’t that Braydon didn’t have experience with relationships, because he did. It didn’t matter that he didn’t have one-on-one relationships with women when it came to sex. He still spent time with them without Brendon. Granted, most of the time Braydon took on the role of friend.
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