Braydon(20)

“Why? Is something wrong?” Braydon asked, suddenly worried.

“No. It’s just time to cut the shit and get your ass home.”

“I’m not comin’ back,” he informed Brendon, trying to force away the mental picture of Brendon and Jessie together. Anytime he thought of home, he thought of Brendon and Jessie, consoling one another in his absence. The thought made his stomach roil.

“The f*ck you aren’t,” Brendon bit out. “Either you get your ass back here, or I’m comin’ to get you.”

“You don’t even know where I am,” he argued.

“You’re wrong,” Brendon said sternly. “I’ve known from day one that you hauled ass to Devil’s Bend. I was tryin’ not to be an * and drag you back, but this is f*cking ridiculous. Everyone’s worried about you. Not to mention, you’ve got a job here. Walker Demo ain’t gonna run itself.”

“Jared’s doin’ a fine job, from what I hear,” Braydon retorted. Around the first of the year, his cousin Jared had come in like a tornado and whipped the place into shape, picking up where Travis left off when he’d gone to manage the Alluring Indulgence Resort.

But that wasn’t the point.

Braydon knew they could go on like this all day. Neither of them ever backed down. Well, that wasn’t exactly true. Brendon never backed down. Eventually, Braydon would have to cave on an argument or they would go on for hours. His twin had managed to take the majority of the Walker hardheadedness gene in utero.

“Bray, this is bullshit,” Brendon said, lowering his voice as though he was trying to keep someone from hearing.

“Is Jess there with you?” Braydon asked abruptly. As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he wanted to kick himself. He didn’t want to know.

“Yeah. She’s here.”

Of course she was. Where else would she be? The two of them had probably been seeing each other for the last three months while Braydon was out of the picture. At this point, going back home to Coyote Ridge would probably cause more problems than there had been before he left. And that was the last damn thing Braydon needed.

Braydon flipped on the television, hoping his brother would get the hint. He wasn’t interested in talking, and he damn sure wasn’t ready to go home.

Liar.

“Is someone there with you?” Brendon asked.

Braydon snagged the remote and muted the television. Two chicks were arguing, which probably sounded like Braydon had company.

“No. No one’s here,” he assured Brendon. Why he even bothered, he didn’t know.

Actually, he did. He didn’t want Jessie to think he had someone there, and if she was listening in then that’s exactly what she would think. As much as he wanted to punish Brendon, Braydon didn’t want to hurt Jessie.

“Fuck,” Brendon said in a rush. “Get home, would ya? Drop the woman at her house and just keep drivin’. You’ll be here within an hour.”

Braydon didn’t miss the fact that Jessie had probably just heard his brother’s instruction and now she would think Braydon had run off with some chick.

“I’m not—”

Brendon’s voice came through the phone, this time even lower than before. “Bray, get your ass back here. Jessie’s worried. Really worried. You can’t keep this shit up forever. And we need to talk.”

They did need to talk, but Braydon wondered just what Brendon wanted to talk about. Probably not the same thing as what Braydon had in mind.

Neither of them said anything for several moments. Braydon was just about to tell Brendon that he had things to do when his twin said, “Please tell me you’re gonna drop the woman and come home.” This time, Braydon heard an unfamiliar plea in his brother’s tone. Brendon didn’t usually ask nicely.

“There is no woman, dammit,” Braydon bit out, tossing his hat on the bar.

“So you’re comin’ home?” Brendon asked, this time sounding hopeful.

“Fuck.” Braydon exhaled.

“I’ll be waitin’ for you,” Brendon finally said, and the phone disconnected.

Braydon dropped his phone on the counter and then put both hands on his head, tilting his head back and closing his eyes.

Going home had been inevitable. He knew that.

He just didn’t know why he was choosing today to finally give in.



JESSIE HELD HER breath the entire time Brendon was on the phone. From the moment she realized that Braydon had answered, she’d been damn near close to passing out. She was almost worried that the lack of oxygen to her brain was becoming a problem. And at first, her belly had actually started to churn with anticipation and hope.

But the moment she heard Brendon make reference to another woman, her heart had deflated. And now she just felt oddly empty even though she knew it was an unreasonable reaction. Would Braydon really be with another woman without Brendon? He’d never done it before, but then again, he’d never left on his own, either.

Oh, crap.

Maybe during his time away, Braydon had ventured down a different path and realized he liked the one-on-one contact and that’s why he’d left. So he could find someone to be with and not have to worry about hurting Brendon. After their argument at Zane and V’s reception, it was clear the two of them had come to an impasse of sorts.