Brazen (Brazen #1)(63)

“You’re a twisted mother f**ker,” Seth muttered.

“Yeah, well, I’m not the one who pushed away a woman I’ve loved forever, and in the process made not only me but my brother miserable, not to mention that little girl who’s probably off crying her eyes out somewhere.”

“We are so not having this conversation.”

J.T. stood and tossed a few bills onto the bar. “I’ve got to run. Early shift tomorrow. But if you want my unsolicited advice? Pull your head out of your ass before you f**k up the best thing that’s ever happened to you and to Zane. If your choices are living without her, which clearly isn’t working out for you, or sharing her with another man who loves her as deeply as you do, then the answer seems pretty damn clear to me.”

He walked away, leaving Seth there to curse him. He made it sound so simple. It could never be that simple. Could it?

* * *

Jasmine sat in her brother’s living room, playing with her nephew. He was just starting to pull up and stand, and he delighted in mauling Jasmine with sloppy baby kisses.

It had been a week since they’d returned to Louisiana. Cody and Tara both had done everything in their power to make Jasmine feel comfortable and at home, but she was grieving for the family and home she’d left behind in Texas.

She couldn’t stay here forever. The idea of depending on her brother and sister-in-law to provide for her didn’t sit well. She had skills. She had a job offer with Wildscapes. She just had to buck up the courage to take it.

“Jasmine,” Tara said as she entered the living room, “would you like to go out to eat with us? Cody just called from the jobsite, and he’s running a little late so he wanted to know if we’d meet him for dinner.”

Jasmine shook her head. “You guys go on without me. Would you like me to watch Thomas for you so you two can eat alone?”

Tara smiled. “You’re very sweet, Jasmine, but you’ve watched him all week. If I had any more time alone, I’d think I was childless. You should get out. You’ve been holed up in this house ever since you got here.”

Jasmine shrugged uncomfortably. How could she go out and have fun when she felt dead on the inside?

Tara knelt down in front of her and collected Thomas as he set to climbing Jasmine’s shoulder again. “Jasmine, I know you’re hurting,” she said kindly. “Cody and I are worried about you. We want you to be happy.”

Jasmine smiled but felt like it might well crack her face. “I’ll be all right,” she lied. Well, it could be the truth. Eventually she would be. One day.

Tara sighed and stood with Thomas gurgling in her arms. “I’ll see you later then. Be sure and eat something, okay?”

Jasmine nodded and watched as she walked away, babbling nonsense to her baby. An evening alone sounded heavenly. Tara and Cody had smothered her since her arrival. They meant well, but Jasmine was ready to scream. She just wanted a few moments where she could be alone with her misery. Close her eyes and just be alone.

She had a lot of decisions to make. For a short time, she’d allowed herself to believe that she just might be able to have a future with the two men she loved with every piece of her soul. Now that her dream had shattered in tiny, jagged pieces, it was time to pull herself together and dream about something else. If only she could.

“I’m worried as hell about her,” Cody said.

Zane swore and held the phone closer to his ear.

“She’s not eating. I doubt she’s sleeping. She’s lost weight, and she just looks so damn unhappy.”

Zane closed his eyes and rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand. “Thanks for calling me, man. I appreciate it.”

“I don’t give a damn if you appreciate it,” Cody exploded. “I want to know if you’re going to do something about it.”

“Yeah,” Zane said. “I am.”

He hung the phone up, his mind already made up. It had been made up the day Jaz left the ranch with Cody, but Zane had promised her time. Well, f**k that. She’d had enough time, and according to Cody, she was wasting away.

He went in search of Seth with a sense of purpose beating a steady rhythm. Things had sucked with a capital “S” ever since Jaz had left. Carmen walked around in tears, her eyes and nose puffy and red. She hadn’t cooked a meal in a week, and her kitchen was in shambles. Zane had avoided Seth and brooded in silence, and Seth, well, the few times Zane had seen him, had acted surly and pissed off. And that was his own f**king fault.

A sense of peace he wasn’t expecting fell over him as he sought out his brother. For as long as he could remember, his life had been entrenched in this ranch, in their business. It should panic him that he was breaking away, wanting a life with Jaz away from everything that was familiar to them both. But instead, he felt relief that he’d be with the woman he loved.

He found Seth in the barn grooming Jaz’s horse. He almost turned and walked away because Seth’s face was locked in stone. But the longer he put it off, the longer he was without Jaz, and that was not an option.

“I’m leaving,” he said then cringed at how bluntly it came out.

Seth stopped what he was doing and turned to stare at Zane. Zane almost felt sorry for the bastard. Almost.

“What do you mean?” Seth asked.

“I’m going after Jaz,” he said in an easier tone. “I love her. Living here…is not an option for us so I’ll go where she is. I want her, even if it means only having a part of her heart.”