The one man who had the power to knock her off-balance, throw a wrench in the plans she’d made for herself.
Taking a breath, Bree waited for the stoplight to turn green, then pressed down on the gas, trying not to overanalyze any of this. She was only home for a week. Besides, what was the harm in hanging out with Jake? They were having a little fling, rekindling an old spark. Didn’t mean she would fall head-over-heels for the man again. One week, and then she’d return to Denver and carry on with her life. And Jake would carry on with his life, doing whatever it was he did in the Special Forces.
So…fun. Just some hot sex before they went their separate ways, same way they’d done twelve years ago.
Only this time, she wouldn’t be walking away with a broken heart, just a satisfied libido.
Chapter Five
Jake was in a foul mood as he strode out of his mom’s house the next morning. His brother hadn’t shown up for breakfast, and he had half a mind to drive over to the jerk’s apartment and tear him a new asshole. The disappointment in his mother’s warm brown eyes had been unmistakable, but yet again, no amount of prying could get her to talk about the rift between her and her youngest son.
“Is Austin still staying at Maddie’s old place?” Jake asked curtly, glancing over at his twin.
“Yeah, but I don’t suggest you go over there. We keep pushing him, we’ll push him right outta town,” Owen answered with a heavy sigh.
They reached their respective pickups and halted, both of them looking over at the enormous cedar porch of Della’s rustic two-story house. Owen and his crew had built her the house after their old man died, hoping that it would serve as the fresh start their mom needed. It had worked—Della seemed incredibly happy with the new homestead.
Though she sure as hell hadn’t looked happy over breakfast.
“Maybe I’ll give Uncle Rice a call,” Jake said, referring to their dad’s younger brother, who lived a few miles from Nate’s place. “He and Austin used to be tight.”
“If Austin won’t talk to us or Mom, he ain’t gonna talk to Rice.” Owen shrugged. “I say we try a new approach and leave Austin alone. We’ve been badgering him to open up, so maybe backing off will produce better results.”
Jake dragged his hand over his scalp in aggravation, then reached into the back pocket of his jeans for his Camels. He’d been trying to cut back on smoking, but seeing his mom looking so damn hurt got him on edge. Despite their reputation for being bad boys, the Bishop brothers had always done everything in their power to keep their mother happy. Jake knew being married to a cheating bastard like his father hadn’t been easy on her, especially since the townsfolk refused to let her forget it. Growing up, Jake had been fiercely protective of his mom—and still was. He just never thought he’d have to protect her from his own brother.
“Fine, I’ll leave him alone. For now.” He lit up a smoke and took a deep drag, eliciting a frown from his twin.
“You said you were quitting,” Owen said, disapproval ringing in his tone.
“It’s a process.”
“Maddie says cold turkey’s the way to go. She hasn’t touched a cigarette in two years.”
Jake had forgotten his sister-in-law was an ex-smoker. Figured. She’d had a rebellious streak running through her for as long as he’d known her.
“Oh, speaking of Maddie,” Owen said suddenly. “She wanted me to ask you how your date with Bree went.”
Jake exhaled a cloud of smoke into the air. “It was good,” he said vaguely. “Nice catching up with her.”
When Owen pinned him with a knowing stare, Jake actually shifted in discomfort. His twin was the only one able to see through him, which was damn disconcerting. Upside was, Jake could see right through Owen too. Their connection had followed them from the womb to adulthood—it was eerie, but Jake felt like they could read other’s minds sometimes. And he wasn’t even going to touch that phantom pain thing both of them seemed to experience when the other got hurt. That was eerier than anything.
“You slept with her,” Owen accused, after a few beats of silence. Laughing, he shook his head. “Wow, the military man thing really is the key to getting laid, huh?”
“Not with Bree,” Jake admitted. “Me and her…we’ve got some weird connection. We always end up getting naked when we’re together.”
The memory of yesterday’s tryst in the hallway floated into his mind, and he had to will away a hard-on. He’d really missed her, that was for sure. He hadn’t been living like a monk these past twelve years, but he’d yet to encounter a woman as passionate as Bree Lockhart. Once she let down her guard, she became a completely different woman—a sexy, wanton temptress who didn’t know the meaning of the word no when it came to sex.