Denim Blues: Montana Heirs 1

by Ashley Kay

  “Yes sir,” he blurs the words together.

  Dropping the box in my lap, we dig into last night’s leftovers.

  Despite our mutual love for food, we’re strangers instead of brothers. My room on the one side of the apartment, his on the other, opposite class schedules, different circle of friends. If we didn’t share faces, I’d insist we weren’t even in the same stratosphere of genealogy.

  Mom insisted we room together while in college. I protested, but dad reminded me he was footing the bill. If our girlfriends weren’t friends, I could honestly avoid him my entire college career, despite the living arrangements. Scarlett and Claire force us to go on double dates, where I suffer through endless conversations about his frat party horror stories or lamenting his grades.

  “Are you really going to work for dad when we graduate?” He lolls his head toward me.

  Shrugging my shoulders, I speak around a bite of pizza.“That’s the plan. Why? You don’t want to?”

  The idea of spending the rest of my career catering to him because of his lack of skills, paired with the fact that he’ll never grow up, makes the pizza taste like cardboard. Grey used to be the one on top, especially during high school, but along the way, he’d fallen from grace.

  Squinting one eye, he pulls at his bottom lip. “I don’t know. I don’t think so. I have something else in mind.”

  “Like what?” I swallow my food before reaching down for my bottle of water at the foot of the couch. What could drag him away from inheriting one of the most profitable businesses in New York?

  “Ever heard of Montana?”

  Tossing a used napkin at his head, I grab another slice of tasteless pizza. Alcohol makes me hungry. “Not at all, you simp. What’s so special out there?”

  Grey sighs, leaning his head all the way back, eyes on the ceiling, feet crossed at the ankles. “I want to start a company out there, an outdoor sporting company. A place to do shit like hiking and hunting.”

  Quirking up an eyebrow, my mouth turns down. “Hiking and hunting. Since when?”

  “Since I realized I want to do more than push papers and do dad’s bidding every day. I wouldn’t expect you to understand, you’ve always known what you wanted to do for a living.”

  I wouldn’t say that’s all true, but I did like numbers and it just so happens that dad’s business dealt with numbers. It makes sense I’d be content following in my father’s footsteps.

  “What’s your plan, dude? You just going to buy up some land, and then what?”

  Grey sits up, animated. “I was hoping you’d help me. You’re great with numbers and I have the vision. Together, we could start our own business, separate from dad’s. Make our own way.”

  I narrow my eyes. Since when did he want my help? “What makes you think I’d just throw away a chance to work with dad for you? Are you high and drunk?”

  Pissed off, I move to stand, but Grey snags my arm, dragging me back down to the couch. “Preston, stop. Look, I don’t want to fight. We’ve done enough of that. I thought maybe working together would be fun. A chance for us to be brothers again.”

  Surprise flits across my face. Raking his hands through his thick hair, he stares at the next movie playing in the background. “I’m sorry for being a shitty brother, especially in high school.”

  “It was more than just being shitty, Grey. You did some fucked up things to me. If it wasn’t for mom pleading with me to room with you, I wouldn’t be here.” Aside from dad also threatening to stop paying for my school, I had been this close to getting an apartment with Nico. I deal with Grey as I deal with everything else—with mild disdain. I tolerate my brother and his antics. That’s it.

  “I’m serious. I regret it all, P. I—I was insecure. I was jealous and took out my insecurities on you.”

  I rear my head back. Jealous of me? “Stop bullshitting with me. You weren’t jealous, you were just an asshole. A symptom of being a spoiled brat.”

  “You were always better than me. I wanted to be like you, smart, actually nice, calm. But I always fucked it up. My grades, relationships with people.”

  Not true. Everyone liked Grey. He was popular, active in sports, well-liked by all the popular girls, and made it a game to make my life miserable. My face belies my disbelief.

  He sighs, pinching his eyebrows. “You don’t know what you didn’t see. I couldn’t look at your face without seeing my own, and it fucked me up. I thought if I could make you feel as bad as I did on the inside, I wouldn’t feel so alone. I know this makes no sense, and it’s stupid. I have no other excuse, but I promise you, I regret it all. I thought if we lived together, things would go back to how it was as kids and college would be the best time of our lives. Please give me a chance to make it right.”

  I rub my tired eyes in vicious circles. My buzz is quickly leaving, my body giving way to epic weariness. Looking into my brother’s liquored gaze, something resembling pain sears into my ticker.

  How many more chances can I give him before I felt nothing when I walk away for the last time? Scarlett’s always on my ass about giving him a chance. She just doesn’t understand what all I went through as a teen.

  I know before I even say anything, I’m going to cave in. I miss my brother, the one that always had my back. Maybe he’s still in there somewhere. I cling to that hope like a lifeline.

  Resting a hand on his shoulder, I squeeze it with the lightest of pressure, hoping I don’t regret it later. “Go to bed, Grey. Pancake House on me tomorrow.”

  15

  PRESTON

  I’ve got Savy on the brain and I’m not doing anything to chase those thoughts away. She’s sweeter than those s’mores we ate weeks ago, her hotness just skyrockets when she has a bow in her hand, and after her brilliant plan to get me on a horse resulted in a rescue mission, I’m now the proud owner of a pet that at three months old, weighs close to my body weight.

  My mind wanders back to that day and how she felt under me on the ground. Soft, warm, her scent turning my dick rock hard. I groan, adjusting myself in my pants before sipping my coffee. No work is going to get done today if all I think about is her tongue down my throat and her small hands gripping my hair.

  It’s also her words that leave me pausing over every email I check. I need to talk to Greyson, and soon. Harboring all that anger toward my brother wasn’t doing me any good. I already spent seven years not living. Savy is friends with Grey, and I want Savy. They’re sort of a package deal, unfortunately. I made it clear relationships were off the table, but being here … has made me flip the fucking table right over, smashing it to pieces.

  As if by some sort of psychic twin shit, my phone buzzes. One glance tells me it’s Greyson. Picking it up, I hover over the messages, hoping it’s not another bullshit errand. I’m betting he sends me on weird adventures just to annoy me. Why the hell would I need to follow around Isaac, the silent giant, to check on survivalist equipment? I don’t know shit about it, and Grey knows that. It’s the most time I’ve spent with another human being without speaking more than a few sentences. I thought I was the brooding type, but Isaac takes the cake.

  Greyson: Hey I need your help with something. Can you meet me down at Rolling Rock Road?

  Preston: What for?

  Greyson: You’ll see. Change into something to work in and by that I mean real dirty work.

  Preston: Just because I crunch numbers for a living doesn’t mean it’s simple work.

  Greyson: Whatever. Just get over here.

  Luckily for me, I bought some more “real work” clothes the last time I went to town on yet another strange errand for Grey. The brand Wrangler is popular around here and it sure as hell isn’t close to Armani. I’m still getting used to the rough feel of denim and I much prefer the suits. However, seeing Savy’s face the day I wore them made me invest in a few more pairs.

  Shelby lets me borrow his truck, and I check my GPS for the right road. Grey is flagging me down next to the street sign with Theo in tow.
The little guy is bouncing around from foot to foot, just itching to run through the woods. His brown wavy hair is long enough to be wild, and his blue eyes spark with mischief. I don’t have a lot of experience with little kids—actually zero experience—but something about this kid makes me want to find out.

  His impish grin gets wider when I park and get out. “Uncle P! Haha, your name has P in it. Get it?” Theo bends over giggling and is so impressed with himself I can’t help but chuckle. Greyson’s trying to hide a small grin unsuccessfully.

  He appears relaxed in his ripped jeans and t-shirt, but over the years I’ve lost some of the ability to gauge his moods and a twinge pings in my stomach. As twins, we always knew what the other was feeling. We’re Gemini, two sides of the same coin, and even though the years separated us, I can still sometimes imagine vividly that tiny, taut, and frayed thread that ties us together from when we shared a womb.

  Theo interrupts my thoughts by tugging on my arm. “Hey Uncle P, come with us, we got something we need your help with.” His little hand pulls harder on my mine, dragging me behind him. For a six-year-old, he’s pretty strong, and I let him lead me to wherever we’re going. I glance behind at Greyson, but he just shrugs, falling in line after us.

  The kid chatters incessantly, and I fail trying to piece together everything he’s saying. I didn’t know kids could go on and on about absolutely nothing and still be happy. He firmly tucks his hand into mine, and pride washes over me. This is my nephew, he’s part of my blood, my family. I hate that I’m only now just getting to know him.

  Stopping in his tracks, he spreads open his arms as wide as he can and in a loud voice asks, “What do you think?”

  “Uh, I think all I see is a broken bridge … Am I missing something, dude?” Scanning my surroundings, I spy a small, mangled bridge over a tiny creek. The creek bed has running water in it, melted from the last snow. The bridge is missing some wooden planks and one railing is leaning over and would likely snap with any sort of pressure applied to it.

  “Uncle P! Come on! You get to help Daddy and me put it back together! Duh!” He steps away from me and digs around in the tool belt hanging loose from his tiny waist.

  Greyson comes up next to me, his longer hair sweeping off his forehead in the cool breeze. He watches Theo for a moment before giving him some instructions. “Hey, buddy, can you go sort out all the nails from the screws for me and Uncle P. That’s an important job, can you handle it?”

  Theo peers up at his dad, shielding his eyes from the sun while smiling from ear to ear. “Yes, daddy, I can do that! I will do my very best for you.” He ventures over to a nearby tree stump to rifle through the combined packages of nails and screws.

  Greyson then turns to me. “Look, I owe you an apology.”

  My eyebrows lift. I say nothing, letting him continue.

  “I’ve been avoiding you, and I realize that won’t help either of us. Dad wanted us to work together, and we can’t do that very well if we are at odds with each other all the time.”

  “You still going to send me on ridiculous errands just to irritate me?”

  He shifts his eyes to the side, pulling at his lips that want to smile. “I wondered when you would pick up on that.”

  Punching him in the arm, he backs away, rubbing it and grinning.

  “Sending me to a cattle auction with Shelby was tortuous, not to mention horrible smelling, so I’d appreciate you getting someone else to do it next time. Especially now that I have Milkdud. I could hardly look at her when I got back, thinking someone probably bid on her mother.” I shake my head, remembering that day and trying hard not to smile because, although I’m not lying, I don’t mind spending time with the old man. He reminds me a bit of my father with his odd advice that honestly makes sense.

  “Yeah, about that. How did you get a cow again? Were you abducted by aliens and reprogrammed because the Preston I know, wouldn’t come within ten feet of a cow, or horse, or anything that has fur and chews cud.”

  “Everyone’s entitled to changing their minds, aren’t they?”

  Watching my brother’s face break out into a genuine smile, I reciprocate it, melting the top layer of my ice capped heart. “Ok. I accept your apology.”

  Theo is still working on separating the tools we need to fix this bridge when I sneak a peek back over at him.

  Greyson catches me watching him. “He’s happy you’re here. Been asking about when he gets to hang out with cool Uncle P.”

  “Cool Uncle P? Are you sure he’s talking about me?”

  Grey smirks. “I’ve been telling him some stories of us growing up. He thinks it’s cool that we got into all kinds of trouble as kids.” Scratching his scruff, he says, “Let’s get to work. This bridge has been down since the fall, and with the winter it was hard to come down here and fix it.”

  “You could always hire someone to do it. It’s not like I’m qualified to do this.” Eyeing the tools we’ll be using, I sense my inadequacy with power equipment.

  “I know and I could, but I want to show Theo the value of hard work and I thought it would be good for us all to do something together.” Genuine pride reflects in his eyes. It reminds me of when he suggested we run this place together in our early days of college. Back then I scoffed at the idea, dismissing it, but now I wonder how our lives could have been different if I just went with it.

  Concentrating instead on the forests, I wonder if the trees are communicating with each other right now. Probably laughing at the ridiculousness of human beings. How we’re always fucking it up and never learning from our mistakes.

  “I really want to try here, Grey. I know I came out here with a big chip on my shoulder and it’s still there. I don’t think we can forget the past just like that, but I’m willing to try. At least, I think I do, but I have a question that I’ve been too afraid to ask.”

  He holds his breath, pausing mid-step toward some equipment.

  “What happened to Scarlett?” I stall my breathing, afraid of his answer. My ex-fiancée’s name sits heavy in my stomach. I haven’t thought about Scarlett much in the last several weeks. She occupied my mind perpetually for years until I blocked her out, for what I thought was for good. I came out here to Montana and her name has graced my lips only a handful of times. I no longer search for her long blonde hair in the crowd, nor the slenderness of her hands when I stare at my own, but I still need to know. Is she ok? Did she move on? Get married and have kids of her own?

  “She’s fine.” He reaches down to snatch up a hammer, avoiding my gaze.

  Annoyance flickers and I blurt out, “Fine? That’s all I get? She’s fine? How do you know, have you talked to her?”

  “What’s with the interrogation, man? She’s fine. We can talk about her later. We have work to do, not go down memory lane. Do you know what a hammer looks like?” He changes the subject.

  I want to continue grilling him, but one look at his face, paired with Theo’s inability to stay still for over five seconds, forces me to give up for now.

  Four hours later we’re all sweaty, dirty, and aching from the repairs. Theo looks no worse for wear and gained even more energy from this morning. I wipe sweat from my brow and sit on a stump, chugging a bottle of water.

  “How does he do that? I’m ready to pass out.”

  Theo is running back and forth over the newly repaired bridge with a stick in his hand, pretending to be a knight on a horse, waging war against his enemy.

  Greyson dusts off his hands on his jeans and stands up. “I swear I limit his sugar, but it doesn’t matter. He goes from sunup to sundown.”

  “I’d like to bottle that energy and sell it. I could fetch a good price on the black market.”

  I bend down, sifting through the sticks until I find one worthy to be called a sword. I sneak up behind Theo on the other side of the bridge.

  “I challenge thee to a duel!” Securing a fighting stance, a wicked grin spreads across my lips. Theo’s smile lights up and a gleam of mis
chief pours from his eyes. We bat sticks for a while before Greyson joins us. He pretends to get wounded by Theo’s stick and falls back dramatically into a pile of pine needles. Theo giggles, running over to check on him. Greyson jumps up, attacking and tickling him until he’s squealing and begging to be released.

  My face hurts from smiling the entire time. It’s fucking weird to me. I’ve had a scowl on my face for so long, the muscles don’t know how to function properly. Watching the two of them tussle and tumble on the ground makes me think about having my own kids one day. I used to not want any, didn’t think I’d get the chance; that it wasn’t in my future. That primal desire to bring into this world a part of me hits me in the gut. I want that. I want a family.

  Images of me and my kids swirl in my mind, but it’s the mother of my children that hits the hardest. The person my mind conjures up is Savy, holding our little one with such love and joy in her face. That she can’t have any makes my chest hurt. She’s such a caretaker, a nurturer. Of all people, she deserves it the most.

  Greyson wanders over, waving his hands in front of my face. “You ok? You look like you were in outer space for a minute.”

  “You can go to outer space, Uncle P? I knew you were cool for a reason.” Theo gazes up at me with wide eyes.

  I ruffle his hair, chuckling, “No, I can’t go to outer space. I was just thinking, and it’s an expression grown-ups use sometimes.” I’m not making much sense to him, but he just shrugs and walks over to mess with some twigs and rocks.

  “Thinkin’ about Savy?”

  Damn this twin psychic bullshit.

  “We’re just … friends.” That occasionally make-out like reckless teenagers past curfew. I want to be more than friends with her, but I won’t admit that to him right now. “She’s been showing me around.”

  “Yeah, showing you around her mouth. I was there, P. I’ve seen your tongue down her throat. Don’t tell me it’s just what friends do. That’s such bullshit. I swear to god, if you hurt her…” His face is stone cold.