Braydon(73)

“I don’t know what to do without him there,” Brendon admitted, and an answering tear slipped from her own eyes.

“He’s still there.”

“No, he’s not. And it’s not his fault. We’re adults. He’s supposed to go on and live his life. I’m not supposed to hold him back, Jess. But I’m lost without him there. So f*cking lost.”

Jessie was crying steadily now. This man, this incredibly brave, strong man, was breaking her heart with this revelation. Brendon didn’t want to lose Braydon. It wasn’t a woman who was making him do things he shouldn’t; Brendon was having a hard time coping with the fact that he and Braydon were beginning to drift apart.

That explained so much. Oh, God. And now she really felt responsible, because she’d been in between the two of them for months. It was hard not to remember the falling-out at Christmas when Brendon tried to drive a wedge between the three of them.

She was pulled from her thoughts when Brendon started talking again.

“I don’t feel whole without him there. Never have. It’s like part of me is missing. I don’t know what to do about that.”

A soft inhale had Jessie looking up to see Braydon standing on this side of the curtain, his eyes glued to his twin. She felt as though she should give them space, but when she went to pull away, Brendon’s grip on her hand tightened.

“Don’t leave,” he whispered, his eyes closing once again.

Jessie looked back up at Braydon, pleading with her eyes for him to say something. Brendon needed him. Needed his reassurance that he wasn’t going anywhere.

He didn’t speak.

Turning her attention back to the man in the bed, Jessie squeezed his fingers. “I’m not going anywhere,” she assured him. “And neither is Braydon.”

“Yeah, he is,” Brendon muttered, his eyes closed. “He’s gone and fallen in love. Y’all are gonna get married, have babies, and he’s gonna move out. I’ll be all alone again. God, Jess. I hated being alone. I . . .”

Jessie was still stunned that this extraordinarily strong man was falling apart right before her eyes. She knew him as a troublemaker, the comedian, the misfit. He was kindhearted yet astonishingly tough. He shielded himself with that bad-boy attitude, but underneath it all, Jessie could see the softer side of him.

Granted, he’d never opened up to her like this before. Brendon had always made their interactions about sex. Until now, she’d just figured that was all he wanted from her. Listening to him, Jessie knew Brendon had been keeping himself closed off.

Sort of the way she had.

No, exactly the way she had.

They were two peas in a pod, both of them desperately needing someone to love them but fearing they would never find that person. While he kept his relationships at arm’s length, Jessie was quick to latch on, to make something of it when there wasn’t anything really there.

That was the mentality she’d had when she got to Coyote Ridge, and she’d gone into this relationship with Brendon and Braydon reminding herself of that all the time. For the first time in her life, she had kept her distance, and now she had to wonder whether she’d messed things up for all of them.

“Hey,” Braydon said thickly, moving over to Brendon’s other side.

Brendon opened his eyes and peered up at his brother while Jessie watched. God, they looked exactly alike, aside from the bruising on Brendon’s forehead. From their chiseled jaws to their full lips, their wide blue-gray eyes . . . If it weren’t for the fact that Braydon had cut his hair shorter in recent months, a random bystander wouldn’t be able to tell them apart.

“Bray,” Brendon said, his voice rough. “I’m so f*cking sorry.”

And with that, Brendon actually broke down and cried. Jessie had a feeling the copious amount of alcohol contributed to it, but it was still hard to see. Unable to stop her own reaction to the devastating sight, she cried silently as she watched. Braydon moved closer to his brother, leaned down, and practically pulled him up from the bed as he wrapped his arms around him and squeezed.

“I’m here, Bren. I’m not going anywhere. You understand that?” Braydon asked coarsely. “No-f*cking-where. And neither are you. We’re gonna get past this shit, understand? And I’m gonna stay right here until they let you out of this place. Then we’re going home so we can talk.”

Jessie listened to Braydon console his brother, and her heart broke all over again.

Part of her had believed that Brendon had been venturing down this path thanks to that country music singer he was obviously hung up on. But now she had to wonder whether that woman had just been a distraction that had kept him going. With Braydon back in town and spending his time with her, Jessie figured Brendon was trying to cope with his new reality.

And according to what he’d revealed to her, he wasn’t going to do well with having to be away from his twin.

Which meant . . .

She was going to have to find a way to make sure that he didn’t have to.





chapter EIGHTEEN

“How’s he doin’?” Sawyer asked when Jessie appeared in the waiting room an hour later. It was clear she’d been crying, and Sawyer wasn’t sure if he should be worried or relieved.

“Better,” she told him. “Travis and Braydon are in with him now.”