Kissin' Tell (Rough Riders #13)(44)

“Did the uncles say when Dad changed?”


“Yep. After he and mom started havin’ kids.”


Jesus. No wonder Brandt was freaked out. Especially when their dad had always claimed Brandt was more like him than any of his sons.


But his brother wasn’t an idiot. Couldn’t he see that by closing himself off from his wife and his brothers that he was falling prey to that mindset and becoming like their father? That maybe he’d already slipped into that cycle?


This was totally f*cked up. Tell mentally flipped his dad the bird. But he wouldn’t stand by and watch that bullshit destroy any more lives, especially not the great life Brandt finally had with the woman he loved more than anything.


Brandt closed his eyes. “So now that I have a kid of my own, I need you to do something for me.”


“Anything.”


“Keep me from turning into Dad. I understand it ain’t your responsibility, but you know the signs, Tell. I can’t rely on Jessie in this. You will see when I’ve stepped too far over that line and you will need to jerk me back to the right place.”


“Since you brought it up, you have stepped over the line in the last few months.”


“Shit.”


Tell waggled the bottle at Brandt but he shook his head. “You need to talk to Jessie. Yeah, some stuff can be between us. But the big stuff? She needs to know. She ain’t gonna judge you. And without stepping in it too deep, Jess is afraid you regret havin’ Tucker.”


Brandt’s mouth fell open in shock. “Why would she think that?”


“No idea. But you’d better figure it out fast. Tonight, before you’re overwhelmed with visitors tomorrow.”


“Jesus. Fine.” Brandt sighed. “Uh, thanks for saving my ass with the flowers.”


“No problem.”


“I’ve gotta stop walking around in a fog, so damn…scared I’m gonna break Tucker if I hold him. He’s so freakin’ little.” He scrubbed his hands over his face. “God. How can Jess think I don’t want him?”


“No clue, but I expect you’ll fix that issue right away or I will kick your ass until you’re a broken heap on the floor. Then I’ll turn Dalton loose on you. You ain’t Dad. None of us are. None of us ever hafta be.”


“What if I don’t know how to do this?”


“Cut yourself some slack. The kid is a few hours old! And you know more than you think you do. You’ve watched our cousins become fathers. They all seem to be doin’ pretty well. I’m bettin’ every single one of them felt the way you do at first.”


“Even Cord?”


“Nah. He’s perfect. He’s never f*cked up anything in his life.”


Brandt laughed. “Asshole.”


Dalton’s pickup zipped into the parking lot, music blaring. He trotted over like an eager pup and jerked Brandt into a big hug. “Congrats, bro! How’s it feel to be a daddy?”


“Scary as shit.”


“No doubt. Luckily you’ve got me and Tell to keep you on the straight and narrow in not turning into Dad. ’Cause I gotta be honest, B. The way you’ve acted a couple times in the last few months really reminded me of him.”


Leave it to Dalton to cut to the chase.


Dalton spied the bottle. “Really? You guys started celebrating Tucker’s arrival before I got here? For shame. I’m just gonna hafta catch up.” He raised the bottle and drank.


“I’m done,” Brandt said. “I wonder if Jess will let me hold our son with booze on my breath.”


“You ain’t had nearly as much as me.” The shots seemed to hit Tell all at once.


“I’ll hold off on any more then,” Dalton said to Tell. “So I can get you home.”


“Thanks. But I probably won’t be goin’ straight home. I’ll probably just walk over there.”


“Over where?” Brandt asked.


“To Hot Lips’ place.” Dalton took another drink.


Brandt looked confused. “Who’s Hot Lips?”


“Jesus, Brandt. Get with the program. Georgia Hotchkiss. The chick Tell has been hangin’ out with all week. Everyone in the whole damn McKay family knows about her.”



Great. But it bothered Tell that his older brother hadn’t been paying attention to things going on in his life. Then again, Brandt hadn’t been paying attention to anything.


You cut him too much slack.


Dalton smirked at him. “Didja finally get into her pants?”


After several belts, Tell didn’t have the tact to deal with his younger brother, so he ignored him and slid off the tailgate. He looked at Brandt. “I know you’ll get a handle on this. Call me if you need anything.”


Chapter Twelve


Georgia was mighty shocked to see Tell on her doorstep.


“Tell? What are you doing here?”


“I was at the hospital to meet my nephew. Brandt and I knocked back a few celebratory shots, and I realized I oughten be drivin’, so I walked over to see if you’d be interested in goin’ out for supper with me.”