My brother and I had only gotten into one fight, one real fight, and that was over fifteen years ago. It had been over him stealing a signed Babe Ruth collector baseball card. I’d found out about it and beat the crap out of him then made him return the card.
That fight had been a calculated decision. I knew that if I didn’t deal with him and my dad got a hold of him, there was a chance Holden would have spent the night in a cell. I’d always been protective of my brothers. It might’ve been a funny way of showing it, but even that beat down was me trying to take care of him.
I never thought I’d actually want to hurt him. But right now? Right now I wanted to knock his ass out.
“You sure she’s not seeing anyone?” He leaned forward on the counter.
I wasn’t stupid. I knew what he was doing—what he and my mom were doing. They were baiting me. Trying to get a reaction out of me. Trying to break me so I would tell my brother to back off. That she was mine.
What they didn’t know was…she wasn’t and she never could be.
“No.” I shook my head and forced my shoulders to relax. “You should give her a call.”
As much as it pained me to say those words, I knew I had to. She wasn’t mine, and that was just a fact. I had one perfect night with her. One night that would have to last me a lifetime. A lifetime without Harmony Briggs beside me.
Chapter 22
Harmony
“The only way to guarantee that you won’t get what you want, is not ask for it.”
~ Loretta Reed
“You don’t think I’m a stalker, do you, handsome boy?”
Romeo didn’t respond. I chose to take his silence as support of my actions.
Even with my canine companion’s perceived thumbs up, I still wasn’t feeling exactly confident in what I was doing. I didn’t need my degree in psychology to know that it was never a bad idea to evaluate your actions if you were unsure if said behavior was healthy or sane.
Had I texted Hudson several times in the last three days and received no response in return? Yes.
Had I just driven up to the ranch, uninvited, because I knew he would be here working on it? Yes.
Had I brought a batch of my mom’s famous fried chicken as a manipulation tactic that I hoped would force him to eat lunch with me? Yes.
Had I put on a sundress, cowboy boots, and nothing else (like undergarments) in hopes to seduce him? Yes.
On paper it didn’t look good. But, none of those facts took into account the night we’d spent together, and all the things he’d said to me. Or the fact that his brother had called me, completely out of the blue, and asked if I wanted to go to his parents’ anniversary party on Saturday with him. He’d explained that Hud had told him to call.
Even if nothing was going to happen between us, I still deserved some answers.
Right? Right.
Steeling myself with every ounce of confidence I could muster, I grabbed the picnic basket—which held my flannel blanket in addition to food and a dog treat—from the backseat. I headed straight for the barn, where I assumed he was because one of the doors was open. Romeo trailed beside me, his nose glued to the chicken-scented wicker container.
As I got closer to the entrance of the barn, I could hear the sound of a saw. Just the knowledge that I was about to lay eyes on Hud had my heart fluttering like a hummingbird. My body ached to be near him.
It was shocking—like finger-in-an-outlet shocking—how much I missed him. And not just the sex. I mean, let’s be real, I did miss the sex. Before Hud, I never knew sex could be that amazing, that connected, that hot. My body desperately wanted to touch him, to kiss him, to have his arms around me. I missed all of that, but even more, I missed knowing the next time I was going to see him. I missed the way he looked at me when he thought I wasn’t paying attention. I missed his smile. His eyes. His voice. His laugh.
I just missed him.
Taking a deep breath, I stepped into the barn and my fluttering heart began thudding heavily. Hud was leaning over the table saw, cutting wood in a ball cap, jeans, and a sleeveless shirt. A sheen of sweat covered his muscled arms, highlighting every dip, every vein in his chiseled form.
Before I got the chance to announce my arrival, Romeo took care of it for me. He barked happily and ran over to his alpha leader. Hud lifted his head and I saw his face for the first time. For a split second I saw the same vulnerability, the same openness in his eyes that I had on my birthday. But then, in a flash, it was gone. Like someone had pulled a curtain down.
“What are you doing here?” He took his gloves off and bent down to Romeo, rubbing his head, barely sparing me a glance.
I knew that there was a very good chance he wouldn’t be happy to see me, considering the fact that he hadn’t returned a single one of my texts. But that didn’t mean it still didn’t sting a little. Or a lot.
But I was here now, so I put on my best fake smile and held up the picnic basket. “I brought lunch.”
“I already ate.” He responded, his attention still fully focused on Romeo.
“It’s my mom’s fried chicken.”
That got his attention.
He stood up slowly. “You brought your mom’s fried chicken?”