Braydon(35)

Why that made her feel good, she didn’t know.

But she couldn’t make her voice work, so she merely nodded.

When he simply walked out into the night without looking back, Jessie felt her heart fracture in her chest. It wasn’t that she had expected him to stay and fight for her right then, but there had been a tiny inkling of hope lingering there.

The gentle click of the door demolished what was left of that.



BY THE TIME Kylie, Travis, and Gage arrived to pick her up and take her with them to Moonshiners, Jessie had managed to put on a brave face. She wasn’t going to let it get to her. She couldn’t spend the rest of her life pining away for a man she would never have. While she had put on her makeup, she’d actually tried to come up with a way in which she could see it all working out. That’s what she did, she daydreamed about the impossible.

Because the twins shared their women, and because she no longer cared to be the filling in their hot twin sandwich, she knew there was going to be another woman who would come along and fill that spot. Maybe that country music superstar.

Even now as she thought about it, Jessie’s stomach cramped from the idea. She did not want to think about Braydon with another woman.

“Up for a game of pool?” Gage asked, nudging her arm as they walked in the front door of the small-town bar.

“Not this girl,” she answered, injecting some humor into her tone although she didn’t feel it. “I’d be a waste of space at that table. But I’ll watch if you’d like to play V.”

Gage laughed, the sound booming through the bar. “Yeah, no thanks. Playing V is worse than playing Brendon. I’d like at least half a chance of winning.”

Jessie glanced back at the pool tables and her heart tripped over itself for a brief moment before she realized that she was looking at Brendon, not Braydon. The only way she knew was by the shirt he was wearing. It was the same one he’d been wearing that morning. He was playing pool with a man she didn’t recognize, probably some poor sucker who thought he could beat him. Men in this town lost that bet all the time.

As she inhaled deeply, she scanned the room, but Braydon wasn’t there. She was both relieved and disappointed, but she immediately turned her attention back to Kylie and Gage, realizing Travis had disappeared.

“How about I get the first round?” she offered.

“Too late,” Kylie interjected. “Travis is already getting them. Come on. Let’s go sit down. And you,” Kylie said to Gage, gripping the front of his shirt gently and urging him down to her level, “you behave tonight.”

“Always, baby.”

Gage kissed Kylie as Jessie watched. It wasn’t one of those simple, understated pecks on the lips either, so Jessie jerked her head away.

That was when she made eye contact with Brendon. He forced a smile her way and Jessie did the same.

She hated this. Hated the tension between them. But they could get through this. She knew they could. She doubted they would ever get to a comfortable place where they could be friends again, but it was worth a shot.

Kylie took her hand, pulling her from her trance, and led her toward the tall tables that circled around the pool tables in the back.

“Did you talk to Braydon?” Kylie asked, her voice lowered to a whisper. Well, not quite a whisper, because with the jukebox blaring and the chatter from the people around them, Jessie wouldn’t have been able to hear a whisper.

“Only for a minute,” she said, her eyes locked with her sister’s.

“He stopped by?” Kylie asked, sitting up straight, her surprise etched on her face.

“Yeah.”

“And?”

“And nothing,” Jessie said seriously. “Drop it, Ky. I can’t do this tonight.”

“Okay,” Kylie said softly. “I’ll do my best.” When Kylie reached out and touched her hand, Jessie fought the buildup of emotion that was under a significant amount of pressure already.

She should’ve never agreed to go out tonight. It was Sunday; she had to work tomorrow, so she didn’t have the option of drinking until none of it mattered. She should be in bed or at the very least reading until she couldn’t keep her eyes open anymore. But no, here she was, immersed in the middle of the Walker family. Again. And for the first time since she’d met them, she actually felt like she didn’t belong.

“Hey, woman. Where were you tonight?” Sawyer asked as he sauntered up to their table and placed his arm around her shoulder, squeezing gently. “We missed you. Ma said to let you know that tonight was your only free pass. Next time, she’ll come pick you up herself.”

Jessie laughed. She could practically hear Lorrie’s voice in her head. And she believed that Lorrie would show up on her doorstep and insist that she join them. The woman was known for getting her way. After all, it was hard to tell the sweetest woman in the world no.

“I’ll stop by and talk to her this week,” Jessie told him.

“No need to explain to me,” he said quietly, with another brotherly squeeze that jarred her. “I get it.”

“You get what?”

Sawyer leaned in, his mouth close to her ear. “Love, darlin’. You’re in love and you don’t know what the hell to do about it.”

Jessie pulled back and glared at Sawyer. He didn’t look at all disturbed by her reaction. In fact, he laughed.