Cowgirls Don't Cry(74)

“Meaning what?”


“She wasn’t trashy or wild. I think Luke saw a lot of our mom in Jessie. I also think he would’ve gotten tired of her, but he knocked her up. They got married, she lost the baby, and then my brother started stepping out on her.”


“Fuck that. I’m sorry Brandt, but that’s bullshit. If he didn’t wanna be married to her, he should’ve asked for a divorce.”


“That’s what I told him. And Tell told him. And Dalton told him. Hell, my dad kept tellin’ Luke to divorce Jessie, too, but Luke took extreme joy in doin’ the exact opposite of what Dad wanted, as often as possible. Jessie was caught in the middle. So was I.

“Cut to me stepping in and tryin’ to fill Luke’s shoes after he died. So about a year later, I spilled my guts to her—yes, I was sober—and goddamn if she didn’t give me the ‘friend’ speech. I licked my wounds and tried like hell to erase her from my memory by becoming the wild McKay I’d never been.”


“But it didn’t work?”


“Not even f*ckin’ close. After she agreed to help me take care of Landon, things have changed between us. In a good way. Now I’ve got her in my life and in my bed and I don’t want it to be a temporary fling. But it won’t happen if I become Landon’s permanent guardian. So yeah, I’m f*cked.” Brandt swallowed a drink of beer. “Ain’t ya glad you asked?”


Ben laughed. “As the McKay World Turns, huh?”


“Yeah. I’m just glad all this shit isn’t common knowledge with our McKay relatives, although they can probably put the pieces together now that Luke’s illegitimate love kid has surfaced.”


“You might be freakin’ out over nothin’, Brandt. From what I understand, Samantha changing her mind is the worst case scenario.”


“True. But in my experience? It’s always the worst case scenario that plays out.”


Ben returned with another beer for himself.

“So…got any advice?”


“Nope.” He swigged his beer and then grinned. “That’s not exactly true. I’m more of an observation type guy, so I’ll tell you how I see it. You’re asking yourself what you’d have to sacrifice to keep her. But why wouldn’t she have to sacrifice something in order to be with you? Unless she owns up to a few things, seems you’re back to being a in one-sided situation and she still has all the power.”


Going round and round with this was pointless. Brandt switched gears. “What the f*ck happened to Chase in Dallas?”


“You saw him getting tossed into the air and that bull dancin’ the cha-cha on his back?”


Brandt nodded. “If he ain’t still pissing blood after that kidney shot, he’s got my vote for Iron Man of the Year.”


“He’s got my vote for dumbass of the year. Here he’s havin’ the best year of his career and he had a chance to finish in the top fifteen at the world finals. After that last wreck, the sports med doc warned him to drop out. He did, but in his free time while he’s supposed to be healin’ up, Chase has gotten into some…compromising positions with a couple of buckle bunnies. Naturally, their phones had cameras and they caught the whole raunchy performance on video. Which they posted on YouTube. Get this: He’s already got a huge fan club, but since this happened, his PR woman can’t keep up with the media requests for interviews. The women are freakin’ out about seein’ the almighty, bull riding great Chase McKay…buck-assed nekkid.”