by Em Petrova
What a screwed up family. One would think that because of their father’s alcoholism that the rest of the family would detest the stuff, but not Dane. While Zayden would smash bottles and dump 80-proof down drains, Dane would sneak sips as a teen.
It had led to him and Mimi sending Dane to a rehab at a young age, and he’d returned with a better outlook on life. Of course, that didn’t last long in their household.
How many people you gonna fuck up, old man? he asked his father, wherever he was.
“Son of a bitch,” he said to himself and turned into the drive leading to the Jeffersons’. Compared to the Moon Ranch, it looked like the President of the United States lived here, with miles of pristine fencing and every outbuilding sporting a new roof. There were too many horses in the pasture to count.
He wasn’t looking for a horse—he was here for his brother.
He scoured the front lawn. Here at least some of the snow had burned off by the sun, and Dane was smart enough to pass out there.
As he drew to a stop, he saw the owner leave his barn and cross the yard. Ignoring him, Zayden went straight to his brother. He knelt in the soggy grass and grabbed Dane’s shoulder. He was lying crumpled on one side, snoring deeply.
“Jesus, you reek.” He shook Dane.
His head jostled boneless on his neck, and Zayden slapped him across the face.
He cracked an eye and said, “Wha—?”
“You passed out in some rancher’s yard and he wants you out.”
Staring down at his brother, he couldn’t dislike him more. Yet the urge to see him cared for was strong. He wasn’t about to take him home and tuck him into bed, though. As far as he was concerned, Dane had chosen a path and could only walk it alone. Either he’d wake up wanting a better life for himself or he wouldn’t.
The crunch of boots and the man approaching made Zayden raise his head. He threw up a hand to ward off the rancher. All he needed was for the guy to say a few more ugly things about his family and he’d be sitting in the Stokes jail.
“Dane, get up, man.” His brother’s hat lay in the grass, soaked. Zayden slapped it over his head, hoping the wet cold feel would startle him awake enough to get on his feet.
“Just like his pa,” Jefferson said.
“Shut the hell up while you still got teeth.” Zayden cast him a glower.
“You don’t come onto my land and speak to me that way.”
“Then go back inside and leave us be. I’ll get my brother outta your hair.” Zayden grabbed Dane by the shoulders and hauled him into a sitting position. He opened both eyes and started to topple to the side. Zayden caught him and held him there.
“Dane, look at me.”
“Z?”
“Yeah, it’s me. You need to get on your feet and into my truck.”
He started to nod but made a grab for his head. “Too much…whiskey…”
“No shit. Come on. Get up now.” He circled his brother’s middle with his arms and hauled him up. He weighed more than a couple of calves, but he managed to get him onto his feet.
“Where’s your truck? Didn’t you drive here?” Zayden asked.
“Dunno how I got here.”
He groaned. Someone had probably dropped him at the wrong ranch, which meant his truck was still at the bar.
His hat fell off, and Zayden released Dane to grab it. But his brother started to tip, and all he could do was get a shoulder beneath him and heave him over his back.
“Don’t you dare fucking puke on me, man,” he grated out.
“Don’t come back,” the rancher called out.
“We won’t. Don’t ever speak about Mimi that way again or you won’t like waking in the night to find me hovering over you.” Zayden strode across the yard, steps slowed by his brother’s dead weight. When he got to the truck, he yanked the tailgate open and tossed his brother into the bed. Dane didn’t wake from his stupor.
With a grunt of disgust, Zayden threw his wet hat in with him and slammed the gate closed.
He took the bumpy gravel drive fast, making sure to hit every pothole and rock he could. His brother bounced around in the back but didn’t stir.
Hell, the last thing he needed was to take care of another drunk. He wouldn’t stand for it. Dane had to go.
Hitting the road home, he stepped on the gas. A loud rap of knuckles on the window behind his head made him look around to see Dane sitting up. “Let me in!” he yelled and then clutched his head.
He slowed and pulled off. In the rearview mirror, he watched his brother climb out on unsteady legs and wobble to the passenger door. He slipped into the truck and eyed Zayden.
“I’m sorry. Victoria and I were fighting again. I told her I was comin’ home to Vegas and she said don’t expect to come home. All I could think to do was hit the bar.”
Zayden shook his head. “You can’t stick around here, man. I can’t haul your ass out of someone’s yard every morning after you’ve decided to get wasted. I won’t take care of you like we had to with Dad.”
“Don’t blame ya. I’m not good to anyone, not even my wife.”
He wanted to ask if the stripper was even worth fighting for, but held his tongue.
“Look, I’ve been thinkin’ about that money you need—”
“I take it back. I don’t need it.” Zayden whipped the truck back out onto the road, making his brother rock against the door and groan.
“But what if I want part of the ranch?”
“I don’t want to give it to someone who drowns his sorrows at the bottom of a bottle. I’ll take you back to the bar for your truck. I suggest you sober up, sleep it off, before driving out.”
“You’re really kicking me out?”
“Yeah, I am. It’s hard on me too, brother. I love ya…” His voice cracked. “But I won’t have you around like this.”
Dane remained silent the rest of the ride to the bar. Sure enough, his truck was there.
“I was headed out of town anyway,” he said. “Guess I’ll head back to Vegas. At least I’ve got a job and Victoria might take me back.”
He didn’t want to ask what he’d done to fall out of grace with her—her standards couldn’t be all that high, so Zayden didn’t want to know.
He brought the truck to a lurching stop just to be an asshole and was satisfied when Dane grabbed his stomach.
“Don’t puke in my truck.”
Dane popped the door and stumbled out. He stood there a moment, eyes bloodshot as he stared at Zayden. “I love ya too, brother. And don’t worry—I’m not mad about this. I’ll see ya again someday.”
He started to shut the door, but Zayden called, “Wait!”
He paused. Zayden dug in his jeans pocket and came out with the AA token. He flipped it, and Dane missed the catch in his lower state of aptitude, but he picked it up off the truck seat and stared at it. “Yours?” he asked.
He shook his head. “Dad’s. Maybe someday it will mean something to you and you’ll do better than he did. Bye, Dane.”
His brother closed the truck door and slowly walked to his own vehicle. Zayden’s chest burned with anger at the situation. He couldn’t help Dane—he’d fought that uphill battle enough as a kid. This was best.
But it hurt like hell.
It also made him realize he wasn’t fooling himself or anyone else. He was a Moon—was no good and never would be.
While he drove into town, his mind fixed on Esme. So beautiful and with her whole life ahead of her. Going back to college to complete her degree, with ambitions of a promotion. Only problem with her was she was a bum magnet, and look at what she’d attracted—him.
All of the things he’d told her the previous night had to be forgotten. Mimi’s words were pointless too. He had to break things off and stop trying to gain something he could never hold on to.
Chapter Fourteen
“That man is fiiine.” The whispered words coming from Natalie made Esme peek around the customer she was serving. Shock rippled through h
er, along with a healthy dollop of desire, as she set eyes on Zayden.
In barn coat, boots and hat, he looked like walking sin as he strode through the lobby. He didn’t bother knocking on Jason’s door—he just swung it open, stepped inside and closed it.
Esme swallowed hard. Did his every action, even the bad-boy ones, have to be so hot? She smiled at her customer and finished the transaction, sending them off with a cheery goodbye.
The minute the woman left, Natalie scooted over to Esme. “Did you see the way he just walked into Jason’s office like he owns it and the man?”
Esme drew in a shaky breath. After what she’d confided in Zayden the previous night, she had no idea if he might confront Jason and end things with his own flare.
And she hoped that didn’t involve breaking his nose.
She quickly turned her attention to the customers entering the credit union. Jason’s office door remained shut, and from here, she couldn’t see Zayden at all through the glass window.
Her worry couldn’t get the best of her—she had work to do. She focused all her energy on the customers’ deposit and counting the bills correctly. When they left, there was another in line, and she took him too.
Customers continued to stream in and Zayden didn’t come out. Suddenly, a male voice rose, loud enough to project through the walls of Jason’s office, but it died down as fast as it had risen.
She pressed her lips together. What was going on in there? Was this about the loan or her? She suspected it could be both.
As she finished with the last customer of the small rush, the office door burst open. Zayden walked out—and he didn’t even throw her a backward glance.
Her heart hit her chest wall hard. What the… She gripped the counter ‘til her fingertips grew white.
How dare he act as if he didn’t even know that she worked here. After all they’d shared last night… Pain and fury swelled inside her, too big to control.
She rounded the counter, pushed open the locked security door and took off after him. Behind her, she heard Natalie say, “What are you doing?”
But she ignored the question and shoved through the glass door leading outside. “Zayden!”
He stopped on the sidewalk but didn’t turn. Damn him to hell.
Her high heels clacked as she rushed up to him and skirted his big body to face him down. With her hands on her hips, she tipped her head up to glare at him. “What was that about?”
“Just talkin’ to the manager.”
“You…stubborn…ass. That isn’t what I mean, and you know it. What was that?” she demanded.
“Esme—”
“You think you can treat me that way after the things you said to me last night?”
His eyes darkened, but he dropped his stare and dipped his head, hiding under the brim of his hat.
She grabbed a fistful of his coat and stepped closer. “You are not doing this to me!”
“Esme, I don’t want to talk about it here.”
“Too bad—it’s happening right here, right now. Is this your way of dumping me? The avoidance tactic? And here I thought you were the most man I’d ever had in my life, Zayden Moon.”
That got a rise out of him. His jaw hardened, and his lips drew into a line. He didn’t speak, though.
Frustration hit, and she couldn’t bottle it up any longer. “What is this? Tell me! Say it.”
“I thought I could do a relationship, but it’s not me. I’m sorr—”
“Bullshit,” she bit off through clenched teeth. “You started it and you’re seeing it through. I won’t let us not happen because of some false assumption by you that you can’t handle it. Now look at me like you did last night and tell me those things again. Say you love me, so I stop wanting to punch you in the teeth.”
His brows shot up. “What have I turned you into? Threatening me and making a scene in front of your workplace?”
She drew up, leveling her glare at him. “You aren’t the only bad-ass in town, Moon. I may have some training to do on that front, but I’m determined to show the stubbornest man alive that what we mean to each other isn’t a passing phase.”
He stared at her, silent. Just when she thought he’d never speak to her again, he said, “I got my loan.”
Some of her ire fizzled away. Nodding, she said, “I’m glad. You can use the money and fix up that ranch of yours, so you can stop being an ass about that portion of your life. Now, what are we doing to fix the relationship part?”
His Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat. Her blood pressure was about to take another spike, but he reached out and brushed the curls back from her cheek. “God, I don’t know what I did to deserve you.”
“You did plenty, so shut up and quit wallowing in your past. Take charge of your future.” She held out her hands, waiting for him to take them.
“I don’t have anything to give you.”
“That’s a load of crap. You’ve got plenty, and we’ll do it together. I’ll help on the ranch as much as I can, but I’ll be busy between work and night classes.”
His eyes softened, but the muscle in the crease of his jaw fluttered. “You’re hard to say no to.”
“I learned from someone never to compromise when it comes to what I want.” She chanced a smile at him.
When he slipped his hands into hers, tightened his hold and tugged her into his arms, a half-laugh, half-sob escaped her. She swallowed it down and pressed her cheek to his chest, over the layers of canvas and flannel he wore.
He brought his arms around her, holding her there a minute. “I’m sorry, sweetheart.”
“You’ll make it up to me.”
He drew back to look into her eyes. “How?”
“You forget I know where you keep your rope.”
A broad grin stretched across his handsome face. “Two women today have told me I’m a stupid ass.”
She cocked a brow. “Mimi?”
He nodded.
“I knew I liked that woman.”
He drew her back into his arms and buried his face against her hair. “Esme… Hell. You know I love you.”
A shiver of emotion threaded through her, and she held him tight for a long moment, just breathing in his scent and knowing that together, they could tackle any trouble that came their way.
“You should go back inside. You’ve got work to do,” he said.
She nodded. “I don’t want to let you go.”
“I’ll be here. I’m not runnin’. I promise you, Esme.”
Tears burned behind her eyes again. “I’ll come to the ranch after work.”
He leaned in and brushed his lips over hers, gently and too fleeting for her liking. But they stood in a public place, and for now it was enough. She kissed him back and started toward the entrance.
He grabbed her back, spinning her into his arms and pulling her off her feet. She clung to his neck, burning with love for him.
“Zayden—”
“I’m afraid you’ll walk out on me.” His quiet admission was her undoing.
A tear trickled down her face. “I keep my promises. Do you?” She eyed him.
He set her on her feet and nodded.
“Good. It’s time to give Moon a good name in this town.”
He shot a look over her head to the entrance.
“Oh no. I don’t like that look on your face.”
“I might have roughed up your manager a little bit.”
“Zayden!”
“I couldn’t help it. I signed the preliminary paperwork for them to do an appraisal and I got to thinkin’ about that asshole treating you the way he did.”
“Oh my God.” She shook her head. Despite the man’s sometimes illegal way of doing things, she couldn’t help but love him for sticking up for her. “Don’t do anything like that again!”
“Can’t make promises I won’t keep. But I’m pretty sure he won’t bother you again. You’d best get back inside now.” He cupped her face, and she leaned into his hand. “Come up to
night. We’ll look in on the calf.”
Heart warmed by his gaze and the bond the calf had created for them, she rubbed her cheek against his rough hand. “See you later.”
He let her go and continued to his truck. She watched him get in and reverse from the spot. At the last minute before leaving the parking lot, he tipped his hat to her in farewell, and she swiped away another tear, this one of happiness.
* * * * *
“Z?” Mimi called out to him as he entered the house.
“Yeah. I got the mail.” He transferred it to one hand as he shook off the sleeve of his jacket and then hung it up. When he walked in, he found Mimi on a ladder, a small paint bucket balanced in one hand and a brush in the other. Pale blue paint created a stripe between ceiling and wall as she trimmed out the living room.
“What in the world?” he asked, looking up at her.
“I figured it’s about time this place looks brighter.” She looked up at the blue. “What do you think of the color?”
“I think you made the perfect choice. It’s the same blue as the sky today—and your eyes too.”
“Flatterer. Always were.” She eyed him. “You take care of things with your girl?”
He scuffed his boot on the worn carpet. “I tried to screw things up again, but she wouldn’t let me.”
“Good. Knew she was strong enough to keep the likes of you in line. I’m coming down and we’ll have a look at that mail.”
He nodded and watched her set the plastic bucket on the tray ledge and descend to the floor. She took the mail out of his hands and walked into the kitchen. He went for coffee, which was still hot, and poured a mug while she sorted the mail.
“Junk. More junk. This one’s from the sheriff’s office, addressed to you.”
“I’ll take that.” He held out his hand, but she looked straight at him and slit the envelope with her fingertip.
As she began to skim-read the letter, he brought his coffee to his lips. “Ya know, it’s a federal offense to open someone else’s mail,” he drawled.
She shook her head. “Says here, your fine’s been doubled for late payment.” She read on and then lifted her head. “Public urination. Well, I hope that piss was worth four-hundred-fifty dollars.”