And didn’t that sound desperate.
Jessie knew she needed to slow down because she was already getting in way over her head again.
“All good,” he said with a huge grin as he looked up. He tucked his phone into the palm of one hand and then reached out to her with the other. “Come on. Before Gage has a coronary.”
THE DRIVE OUT to Kylie’s didn’t take them long. They didn’t do a lot of talking on the way, but someone clearly wanted to talk to Braydon, because his phone kept chiming. He never bothered to look at it, but Jessie could see from the hard set of his jaw that he wasn’t happy with whoever it was.
“You’re awfully quiet over there,” Braydon said, drawing her attention.
Jessie smiled. “Sorry.”
“What were you thinking about?”
Oh, God. He did not want to know what she was thinking about. “Nothing,” she mumbled.
Braydon laughed, a choked sound that covered his mumbled “Bullshit.”
Jessie laughed at him.
“I’ll get you to talk later,” he assured her.
“Is that right?”
“Yes, ma’am. You can count on it.”
Jessie glanced up through the front windshield to see that they were pulling down Kylie’s driveway.
“I love this house,” she crooned before she could catch herself.
“It’s impressive. Especially now that Kylie’s finished with it,” Braydon said.
“She worked so hard on this place. I still don’t know how she does it, and I work with her every day.”
“She’s certainly talented,” Braydon said as he brought the truck to a stop.
“Yeah. She is,” Jessie agreed softly. Too bad she hadn’t gotten any of the talents that her sister had.
The thought depressed her, but Jessie tried not to let her expression reflect her negative thoughts. There was no time for self-doubt. Not right now anyway. Especially since she was about to be face-to-face with her sister and Jessie knew without a doubt that Kylie would pick up on the slightest nuance in Jessie’s mood.
So, when Braydon opened her door, she forced a smile and kept it there until it didn’t feel fake. And when he took her hand and twined their fingers together, her smile became genuine.
She only hoped she could keep it that way.
chapter FIFTEEN
Hauling wood from one place to another was mindless, backbreaking work. Not that Braydon minded doing it. He was used to manual labor.
Except today was Sunday, the last day of his weekend, and he wanted to spend it with Jessie. Just the two of them. Had he even thought that was a possibility prior to committing to helping Gage, he probably would’ve told his brother-in-law no can do.
Not really. Braydon had no issues helping his family.
But that didn’t mean he wasn’t anticipating taking Jessie out later.
Ever since he’d suggested that they go on another real date, the idea had been churning in his head endlessly. His trip to his house hadn’t even distracted him enough to stop thinking about it. However, that could’ve been because Brendon hadn’t been home, either.
As much as Braydon had wanted to know where his brother was, or more accurately, if he was getting himself into more trouble than he had already, he had refused to let his mind wander in that direction. Instead, he had focused on getting back to Jessie.
He thought his worry was going to abate when Brendon texted him about the time he was walking back in Jessie’s front door. But after reading the text, he was pretty sure he was more worried now. Brendon hadn’t come home last night, but Braydon didn’t need an announcement from his twin to know that. The evidence had been the empty house he’d walked into. A brief glance around had told him Brendon wasn’t there, nor had he been there.
Several texts later, Brendon had pretty much brushed him off.
Apparently Brendon had brushed off Sawyer as well, because Braydon’s phone had been blowing up all morning with texts from Sawyer, who was extremely worried. As much as Braydon wanted to assure Sawyer that everything was fine with Brendon, that he just needed some time to himself, he didn’t believe it for a second.
Once he and Jessie arrived at Kylie’s, Braydon had left his phone in the truck, not wanting to be distracted when he was supposed to be working. And now, after three hours of relocating wood to the various places where the sections would be added, Braydon was in desperate need of another shower and possibly a beer or two. Oh, and he was almost desperate to check his phone.
He was worried about Brendon. Something was off. He could feel it.
“I seriously owe you one,” Gage told him with a slap on the back after Braydon dropped the last of the two-by-fours that he’d been carrying.
“I’m sure you can pay me back by picking up the tab at Moonshiners,” Braydon said easily as he lifted his ball cap and wiped the sweat from his forehead with the edge of his shirtsleeve.
When he looked up to continue his conversation with Gage, he noticed Jessie staring at him from several yards away. He smiled at her.
Gage twisted, then glanced over his shoulder before he turned back to Braydon. “Be good to her,” Gage said, his voice low and lacking the taciturn tone Braydon had become familiar with.
“I intend to,” he informed Gage truthfully. It might take some effort for him and Jessie to get to the next level, but Braydon fully intended to work through their obstacles.
“She was a mess when you were gone,” Gage said, his eyes locked with Braydon’s. “She likes to pretend she’s tougher than she is. Just keep that in mind.”
A mess? Braydon wanted to implore Gage for more regarding that fact, but Jessie and Kylie approached, effectively cutting off the discussion.
“Hey,” Kylie greeted Gage. “You need to shower,” she told him decisively, her nose scrunched up in distaste.
Gage grinned at Braydon and then turned to Kylie. In a move that caught her off guard, Gage wrapped his arms around her and lifted her off her feet.
“Oh, gross! Gage! You’re sweaty! Put me down.”
“Now you need a shower, too,” Gage growled at her, refusing to put her down. “Care to join me?”
Braydon peered over at Jessie, who was watching the commotion. Yeah, a shower sounded just about perfect. Then a movie. And dinner.
God, yes. Dinner sounded good.
“You about ready?” he asked Jessie as Kylie laughed, doing her best to get Gage to release her.
“Whenever you are,” Jessie told him, meeting his gaze.
“We’re gonna get out of here,” Braydon told Gage. “If you need more help tomorrow afternoon, just holler. I can stop by after work.”
“Travis’ll be home in a couple of hours. I intend to put his ass to work, so you’re off the hook. But thanks,” Gage said, placing Kylie back on her feet.
Braydon nodded and then reached for Jessie’s hand. He linked their fingers and tugged.
“Call me later,” Kylie told Jessie.
“I’ll try.” The gleam in Jessie’s eyes made Braydon’s heart rate ratchet up a few notches.
They had just made it back to his truck when Jessie sniffed him. “You definitely need a shower.”
“You think?” he teased. “Want me to rub all over you so you need one, too?”
Jessie’s eyes glowed with suggestion as she peered back at him. “Not necessary.”
Oh, Lord help him. The promise in her sexy tone made his cock roar to life.
“My place or yours?” he asked, realizing a little too late just what he’d said.
As though he had just told her that her cat had died, Jessie’s face fell and he didn’t need to ask why. “It’s gonna be all right, Jess.”
She smiled, but he could tell it was forced. “For now, how about we just plan to go to my place when we want to be alone.”
/> Braydon nodded. He would agree for now. But he had no intention of hiding Jessie away from the world. Hell, as it was, he wanted to shout to the heavens that he had the woman of his dreams. He didn’t care what Brendon said . . .
That thought gave him pause.
He closed the passenger-side door and made his way around to the driver’s side as he contemplated that. It wasn’t that he didn’t care what Brendon thought. He did. He didn’t want to hurt his twin. That would never be his intention.
When he climbed in, he snagged his cell phone and glanced at the screen. No messages. He wasn’t sure whether that was good or bad.
He was pulling out of the driveway when Jessie said, “You’re gonna have to talk to him.”
“I have talked to him,” he told her.
“You did? What did he say?”
“He’s happy for us?” Braydon cut his eyes over to her briefly. She was frowning, which didn’t seem like an appropriate response to the news he’d given her. “What’s wrong?”
“Did he say that?”
“Yeah, he did.”
“Did he mean it?”
Braydon looked at her again. “Brendon doesn’t say things he doesn’t mean.”
And that was the truth. They were both honest, but Brendon was brutally honest. At least that was the case when he opened up enough to say what was on his mind anyway.
“I plan to talk to him more, Jess,” he said, hoping to ease her fears. “But for now, we’re cool.” That brought back his worry over his brother. Brendon hadn’t seemed himself earlier. Granted, the only communication they’d had was over text and everyone knew how easily that could be misconstrued, but Braydon still had an unsettling feeling in his gut.
But he didn’t mention it. Not yet.
“I just don’t want to come between the two of you. We’ve got a history and—”
Braydon purposely cut her off before she could finish. “The last thing you need to worry about is coming between us.”
“Easier said than done,” she mumbled.
“I get it. But we’re not gonna worry about that today, Jess.”
There was an awkward silence that descended briefly. Braydon ran through various things he wanted to say, but before he could put his thoughts into words, Jessie spoke.
“One day at a time.”
“I’d like that,” he told her, glancing over at her again. “This is backwards, Jess. I know that.”
“Backwards how?”
He looked at her again. She was staring back at him. “Do I need to explain it?”
“I wouldn’t have asked otherwise.”
Braydon didn’t know what to say. He had his own reasons why they seemed to be working from the opposite direction in establishing this relationship. But telling Jessie again that he loved her probably wasn’t going to go over all that well. She hadn’t so much as blinked when he had told her the first time, and he wasn’t all that interested in getting another brush-off when he repeated the most heartfelt words he’d ever said to anyone before.
“Forget it.” Jessie exhaled sharply.
“I don’t want to forget it, Jess. I don’t know how to explain it.” Braydon kept his eyes on the road as he continued. “It’s as though we broke up, although we were never actually together. And in the same regard, it’s like we’ve been apart for years and I want to make up for lost time.”
Jessie didn’t say anything, and he could feel her frustration.
“We don’t have to dissect this, you know. Can we just enjoy it for now?” He knew that probably wasn’t the right thing to say, but he didn’t know how else to get his point across. Braydon had never been the smooth talker that Brendon was. That was one of the reasons Brendon usually ended up with the women and Braydon usually ended up as the tagalong. It had never bothered him before now.
“Fine.”
They were pulling into her driveway when Braydon noticed Jessie reaching for the door handle as though she were going to jump out while the truck was still moving.
“Don’t you dare,” he ordered. “Sit your ass right there until I come around. Understand?”
Braydon put the truck in Park and looked over at her. Her eyes were wide as she stared back at him. At least she was still in the truck.
“If I didn’t stink so damn bad, I’d pull your shorts off and fuck you right here in this truck.”
Holy hell, where had that come from?
Braydon had been thinking it, but he hadn’t expected the words to come out of his mouth.
But there they were.
He was watching Jessie intently, so he noticed that her breathing had grown labored. She liked that; he could see it in the flush on her face. She liked when he took control.
Not that it changed anything at the moment, because he did stink. He needed a shower. “Stay right there.”
He hurried out of the truck and around to her side. When he opened the door, she slowly moved to get out, her eyes raking over him as she did.
Braydon surprised them both when he walked her to the door and stopped before coming inside.
“I’m gonna head home and shower. I’ll be back in thirty minutes to pick you up. Find a movie that we can go see. Pick a place and a time. We can either go eat before or after. Your choice. But be ready when I get back.”
Jessie nodded and Braydon knew he’d surprised her.
He leaned in and pressed his lips to hers in the softest of kisses. When he stood back up, he whispered, “Oh, and Jess. Put on a dress, and don’t bother with panties.”
The last thing he noticed as he turned to leave was the sexy smirk on Jessie’s perfect lips.
JESSIE WAS PACING the floor fifteen minutes after Braydon left. It had taken her five minutes to change clothes, another couple of minutes to put on a little makeup and brush her hair. Now she was just one giant ball of anticipation as she waited for Braydon to return.
Her thoughts wandered back to the moment in the truck right before he came around to let her out. Braydon had shocked her to the roots of her hair with his statement.
If I didn’t stink so damn bad, I’d pull your shorts off and fuck you right here in this truck.
Sweet, laid-back, nonconfrontational Braydon Walker had nearly given her an orgasm with his words alone.
Never had she heard him talk like that.
Brendon, yes. Braydon, no.
It had been unexpected and so fucking hot, she was surprised she hadn’t burst into flames.
That made her think about last night and the way he’d taken control then, too. Jessie had needed it. Not that she didn’t know what to do with Braydon. She did. And she had plenty of ideas about what she wanted to do with him in the future, but for him to take control so easily . . . It made her burn for him.
For some reason, she hadn’t expected it from him.
Braydon was one of those guys that women liked to be friends with. Although he was sexy as hell, he was just so nice. Too nice sometimes. The kind of nice that girls ignored in high school because they were always looking for the bad boy. Jessie had found all the bad boys she cared to find. Braydon was a breath of fresh air.
And then he’d gone and set her blood on fire with this statement.
Like he was the best of both worlds. A gentleman with a salacious side.
Yum.
Clearly she hadn’t known the real Braydon all those months ago. That, or he was just adept at keeping that part of himself locked down.
She liked that he was opening up. It was shocking and intensely sexy.
Although Jessie had given plenty of thought to her relationship with Brendon and Braydon when she’d been with them, she hadn’t spent much time considering the differences in their personalities. For instance, it never dawned on her that Braydon always took a backseat to Brendon because Brendon was so outspoken.<
br />
How had she missed it?
Jessie’s thoughts drifted to the weeks right before Braydon disappeared. He hadn’t been himself; she realized that. And yes, she had noticed that in many ways he was acting more and more like his twin in the sense that he was standing up for himself in small ways.
But he never quite made it to the point where he laid it all out there like he had today.
A shudder wracked her body as she thought about the promise she’d seen in his eyes when he made the statement in the truck. And then for him to tell her to forgo panties for the night . . .
Someone rapping on the door broke her from her reverie, and Jessie’s heart pounded like a bass drum in her chest when she saw Braydon standing on the front porch through the window.
Forcing her feet to get with the program, she moved to the door, wrapped her hand around the doorknob, and took a deep breath.
“Ready?” he asked as soon as she had the door open.
Again she was at a loss for words.
There in front of her was the sexiest cowboy she’d ever met. From the light-colored Stetson on his head to his brown boots, the man made her mouth water.
Dark blue Wranglers, a crisp white polo, and that shiny belt buckle was the sexiest outfit she could ever imagine him in. And that was saying something, because the man could rock a tuxedo like no one’s business.
“Yes,” she whispered, realizing she was just staring at him.
“Come on,” he encouraged her with a grin. In a move she was becoming intimately familiar with, Braydon reached for her hand and linked their fingers together. She loved holding his hand. It felt so . . . romantic. Jessie couldn’t remember the last time a guy she dated held her hand. At least not after the first or second date.
But with Braydon, it was almost as though he needed the physical contact.
Jessie allowed him to lead her down the steps to the truck, but when he detoured beyond the passenger side, she looked up at him.
“I want you close to me,” he said by way of explanation.
He opened the driver’s door and took a step back. “For tonight, I want you in the middle.”
Braydon Page 20
