by Box Set
The shouting becomes louder as the humans stomp off the porch.
“What did you do to my sister?” Lacy says. “You better tell or I’m calling the police.”
“Exactly,” Nash says. “She can’t have disappeared. What’d you do? Hide her in the basement?”
There’s a basement in this house too? Most houses in California don’t have one since the ground doesn’t freeze here. But then, Grandpa Powers built this one a long time ago and maybe he had a basement put in.
“I didn’t do anything to her you wouldn’t do.” Ben sneers at his brother, glowering with all his muscles pumped.
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” Nash pushes him. “You slept with her? Is that what you did? She’s not one of your sluts, asshole.”
Pow. Ben’s fist is fast as it slams into Nash’s jaw. Nash staggers and puts up his fists. He swings but Ben blocks his punch and lands another one, sending Nash sprawling to the ground.
“Ben. Stop it,” I yell and lose my balance. “Ahhhh!”
I tumble, bouncing off branches and getting scratched. Desperately, I grab and flail trying to slow my fall. I roll onto the last branch, but my momentum is too fast to stop me.
This is going to hurt.
I shut my eyes and clench my fists and land on something hard, but cushioned. Ben catches me and we both fall to the ground.
“You okay?” he says, as he gets up and pulls me to my feet.
“What are you doing fighting?” I jerk from his grasp and rush to Nash, who’s lying on the ground, out cold. “Is he going to be okay?”
Ben stands by glumly, but doesn’t move to help his brother.
I crouch down and examine Nash. He’s still warm, and I think he’s breathing. Has a pulse. “Dammit, Ben. What if you hurt him? You could have killed him.”
“He’s fine.” Ben grunts and walks toward the house.
Lacy’s at my side. “What happened to you? Why were you on the roof?”
“Nash. Nash.” I shake his head. “Wake up. Lacy, we might have to call an ambulance. What if he has brain damage?”
Splash. I’m partially hit by a bucketful of water that lands on Nash. He sputters and rolls his head around, trying to open his eyes.
Ben stands over Nash and grabs him by both armpits. “He’s okay. Haven’t you ever seen a barroom brawl? I didn’t hit him as hard as I could have.”
“No, Ben.” I wipe the water from my hands. “You shouldn’t be fighting at all.”
“He called you a slut.” Ben juts out his lower lip.
“Did not,” Nash grumbles as Ben lets him go.
“He didn’t,” I agree. “He said I’m not like one of them.”
“So, you’re taking his side?” A vein throbs on Ben’s forehead.
“I’m not taking anyone’s side. Now, both of you, go in and get cleaned up. I can’t believe you’re fighting.”
Lacy hooks her arm around me and smirks. “Me either. And fighting over you, too. Amazing.”
I glare at her, hating that she’s enjoying the spectacle. “Why does that surprise you so much?”
She looks me up and down. I know she doesn’t see anything because I’m wearing a baggy oversized shirt and sweatpants. There’s no makeup on my face and my hair is a mess.
“My baby sister’s growing up.” She tosses her head and pats my back. “I knew the sexy elf outfit would work.”
Chapter 62
~ Ben ~
“Both of you, sit.” Brittney ordered Ben and Nash onto the sofa side by side. Her face was a deep red and if someone were to draw a cartoon of her, she’d have steam coming out of her ears.
Ben rubbed his knuckles and hunched over with his elbows on his knees. The way she glared at him made him feel like a third-grader sent to the principal’s office.
Beside him, Nash groaned and held his stomach, clearly a ploy to get sympathy from the soft-hearted Brittney.
Lacy sat on the rocking chair next to the fireplace with Big Blizzard perched on her shoulder while Treat the Traitor rested his head on Nash’s feet.
“Can you two explain why you’re fighting?” Brittney stood over them. “Whatever happened to using words.”
“I was using words,” Nash said. “But Ben attacked me.”
“You were insulting Brittney,” Ben grumbled.
“You were making insinuating remarks. You have a problem with me and Brittney?” Nash raised his hackles and jutted himself forward, knowing he was safe from being punched.
“You have nothing with her, nothing.”
“You mean she didn’t tell you?” A smirk stretched Nash’s thin lips.
“Look, you two.” Brittney stomped her feet. “I told Ben everything. The truth. And I expect you two to not discuss this any further. What I did or didn’t do is private.”
“So why’d you tell him about us?” Nash drilled her with a laser glare.
“I had to clear the air. What happened was over long ago. My future’s with Ben.” Brittney came to Ben’s side and laid a hand on his shoulder.
Nash turned toward Ben and raised an eyebrow. He waved his hand between Brittney and himself. “And you’re okay with all this?”
“As she explained. It’s over and done with. Forgotten.” Ben clenched his jaw and held his brother’s insolent gaze.
“I wouldn’t be too sure,” Nash said, turning to Brittney. “Ben’s moody. I don’t think he’s okay with it at all. I know my brother. Look at the way he attacked me just now.”
“It’s not something to brush under the rug,” Lacy agreed from the rocking chair. “But if Ben says he’s done with it, then we should all drop it.”
She darted a signaled glance at her sister.
Ben’s hackles rose as Brittney blushed and retreated. What did Lacy know? Had they done it more than once? Or maybe they had been friends with benefits and Nash was expecting benefits in exchange for his benefit concert.
“I agree,” Brittney says. “Nash, you and I agreed we should pretend it never happened, so let’s all drop it. You guys are making a bigger deal than it is. Let’s clean up around here and go home. Ben and I have to go pick up Grandpa Powers tomorrow morning.”
“Sounds good.” Lacy stood so quickly the rocker almost toppled back. “Let’s everyone shake and make up. You two are brothers and you shouldn’t fight. Brittney and I never do.”
“I’m game to forget and forgive,” Nash said, putting on a congenial smile. “What do you say, bro?”
Why was it that Nash always made him look bad?
“Sure, forget. Sounds good to me.” Ben wiped his palms on his jeans and stood. “I’ve got to call Grandpa and see what’s up, then take Treat for a walk.”
“We should get going,” Lacy said. “Now that we found you, Ben, and dumped Treat and Big Blizzard on you, we can go.”
“Whoa, wait. I’ll take care of Treat,” Ben said. “But I know nothing about this bird. Nash, why don’t you take him back to Grandpa’s? You might ask his employee what kind of food a bird like that eats, or maybe she can take care of him until Grandpa gets out of the hospital tomorrow.”
“Actually, I’m not staying at Grandpa’s,” Nash said. “It’s too far from the city where I have a few gigs this week.”
“I think you should go and check in with your grandfather,” Brittney said. She wrung her hands and something about the way she jumped into a conversation that didn’t belong to her alerted Ben.
He turned his attention to Nash, wondering what was being silently communicated.
“Sure. Right,” Nash said. “I’ll get my stuff out of your way and catch up with you in a bit.”
“Get your stuff out of the way? What stuff?” Ben narrowed his eyes.
“My guitar and luggage.” Nash grinned, entirely too self-satisfied. “Don’t worry, I’ll clear out of her apartment and let you two lovebirds have at it.”
Thud. Ben’s heart slammed to the floor. Nash was staying at Brittney’s place? Had he planned this trip for
a repeat performance in her bed?
“It’s not what this looks like,” Brittney said. “I was going to stay at my parents’ house at the tree farm. I won’t be in his way at all.”
Lacy hooked her arm around Nash. “Come on, buddy. Let’s get going.”
For once, Nash skeedaddled as fast as his legs could carry him. He grabbed his cowboy hat from the coffee table and plopped it on his head. But he just couldn’t help turning and leering at Brittney on his way out the door.
As soon as the door thumped, Brittney said, “We have to talk.”
Chapter 63
~ Brittney ~
Poor Ben. Every emotion’s flooding his face and he heads for the door after his brother, then stops and turns, facing me. But as soon as I move toward him, he flings his hands and says, “I’m done with talking. Let’s forget everything. Pretend nothing happened.”
Something about the way he says that pierces my heart. “How much are we pretending didn’t happen?”
“Whatever you want.” He swipes his large hand through his hair and ambles to the bedroom. “I thought I could be okay with this, but right now, it’s too much.”
I follow him like a cold and wet dog left out in the rain. “But what about us? Aren’t we going to try and work it out?”
He unzips a bag and shrugs himself into a white t-shirt, covering his delectable body. “I care about you Brittney. I really do, but I can’t have Nash hanging around acting like he’s better than me.”
“He won’t be.” I step toward him, wanting a hug. “Why can’t we be the way we were before they showed up?”
Thankfully, he wraps me in his arm and kisses the top of my head. “We can’t stay at this magical Christmas cottage forever. We have to go back to San Francisco and face all our problems.”
“I know that. But you’re going to have to get along with Nash, since he’s your brother.”
“And your best friend.” Ben’s muscles tighten. “I don’t like it and I don’t trust him. I never dreamed he would take advantage of you and hook up with you.”
“I’m over it. I was in a bad time in my life. There’s nothing like that between us now.”
Ben rubs my back and for a moment I can believe everything will be okay. If only I hadn’t seen the way he punched Nash as if he hated him, and the way Nash goaded Ben, trying to get him to react to his detriment.
“If there’s truly nothing between you,” Ben says, lifting my chin. His eyes are dark and haunting, like a man stuck in quicksand. “Then cut it all off with Nash. You don’t need him anymore. You have me and you can make other friends.”
“But … I have to think on this,” I mutter, buying more time. My heart wants to leap into his arms and please him. All our problems will be solved if only I throw Nash under the bus.
“What’s there to think? Unless …” Ben’s mouth turns into a frown and his voice roughens. “You have feelings for him.”
“Feelings, yes, but not romantic ones.” My logical mind steps in, and I stiffen my backbone. If I give in to Ben’s demands at the beginning of our relationship, I’ll have to keep doing this and lose myself until I have to check with him about everything I do.
I settle for explaining, hoping he’ll hear me out and back off. “Nash has always been a good friend since that summer we hung out together. The hookup was one blip. Nothing more. I was the one who cried on his shoulder. It was after I got kidnapped by that hacker last year. I was feeling so stupid, so low, and unattractive. Lacy had just gotten engaged, and my cousins all had hot, sexy dates.”
“In other words, he took advantage of you.” Ben’s lips snarl and he clenches his jaw.
“No, no, he didn’t. I wanted someone to make me feel like a woman. It happened, that’s all, and I’m not going to compare, but it really wasn’t anything to remember. There weren’t any sparks or anything. It was just like, well, comforting and a whole lot of nothing.”
“Is this how you’re going to describe us to another guy someday?” Ben’s eyes study me so intensely, I flinch, as if I’m a bacterium under the microscope about to be eliminated by antibiotics.
“No, Ben. You’re different. I was hoping you’d be the last guy I’ll ever be with. I love you.” My voice trails into a whisper.
Rather than softening, Ben’s face hardens. “Did you ever tell Nash you loved him?”
Why won’t he let it go? We’re doomed if everything I do is compared back to his brother.
“No, Ben, and you shouldn’t have to ask me anymore. Do I ask you about all the women you’ve had?”
“They were different.” He lets me go and walks across the bedroom, stopping in front of the knotty pine dresser. A framed picture of his grandfather and grandmother sits in the center. It was probably taken shortly before her death since she has oxygen tubes in her nose.
“Help me understand.” I creep to his side. “Why were they different?”
“I never dreamed of a life with them. I never imagined growing old with them. I didn’t make love to any of them.”
He thinks he sounds so noble. But truthfully? He used them for sex. Pointing this out now isn’t going to solve our dilemma about Nash. We were and still are friends. Maybe that’s the problem. In order to have Ben in my life, I have to get rid of Nash.
“You made love to me, Ben. No one else did.” I hug him from behind. He hasn’t told me he loves me, but everything he’s saying means I’m in his heart. That’s why he’s struggling so much.
“I wish I could believe that.” He caresses my hand, but his body language is tense.
“Then there’s nothing more I can do.” My words are sealing the doom to our love. I can’t live with myself if I let a man dictate who I can be friends with. If he wins this round, he could someday dictate the rest of my life, too. That can’t happen. I’m much too independent and need to follow my own conscience.
“So, that’s it then?” Ben’s eyebrows hook a resigned question mark. “You give up on us so easily.”
“No, Ben. I’m not giving up on us. I already told you how I feel. I love you.”
“I love you, too. It’s hard for me to say, but I do.” He reaches for me and cups my face in his large hand. “Why can’t you give me this one request? I’m willing to never touch another woman again. Why’s Nash so important to you?”
“He’s not, Ben.” I move away from him, putting distance between us as my heart crumbles into a million pieces. “But if you can’t trust me, none of this will work. I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to let you go.”
“You can’t mean that.” Ben’s jaw drops and panic crosses over his face before it freezes into an angry mask. “If you do that, then you don’t really love me at all.”
“Don’t presume to tell me how I feel.” My face also freezes and I grit my teeth.
“This is it? You’d give me up, but not Nash?” Ben shoves away from me. “After everything that happened here? You’d throw it all away?”
“You’re throwing it all away. You’re the one who can’t see me for who I am. You don’t trust me, because deep inside, you don’t believe I love you.”
“You’re right.” He hangs his head and grabs his duffle bag. “I’ve got a lot to do today, and I’m sure you do, too. It’s been nice indulging in a little fun while it lasted.”
I’m too shocked at the way he dismisses what we had as a “little fun” to react.
Hot tears blind my eyes as I rush into the bathroom to pack my things. Was that all I was to Ben? An indulgence? A bit of “fun” before training camp? Then it’s back to football and hot women. Only having lost his virginity, he’d be willing to go all the way and end up sharing all his forevers with someone else.
Chapter 64
~ Ben ~
The drive back to San Francisco was the most painful thing Ben had ever endured, even worse than his rehabilitation after tearing a ligament in his knee. He and Brittney said few words, other than her giving him directions to her place.
As the
y drew close to her apartment, she shot him a glare. “Don’t bother getting out.”
His brother, Nash, would be there waiting, of course.
“Don’t worry. I can’t leave fast enough,” he grumbled under his breath. She was already putting all the blame of the fight on him and defending her white knight, Nash. He hoped for her sake Nash wouldn’t screw with her, then dump her high and dry. His heart twisted at the thought. Would she come running back to him? Because he would take her back, wouldn’t he?
“Good. Thanks for the little bit of fun.” She dragged out the word ‘little’ and opened the door as soon as he cut the engine.
“He’s definitely the littlest fun you’ll have.” He was quickly digging himself into a pit, but he couldn’t help it. Sarcasm beat pain any day, except it wasn’t working. The subterranean ache would blow the manhole cover off his cool athlete image any minute now.
“Shut it.” She slammed the door and opened the hatch to his camper shell.
He sat still and unmoving as she unloaded her plastic bags and walked toward her apartment door. Her Toyota was already parked outside, since her sister and her “friend” had helpfully gone and fetched it from her job.
Nash came out and lifted Big Blizzard in his cage from the back. Only Treat barked a greeting, lazily wagging his tail and accepting pats from Nash. Traitor.
Brittney had agreed to take the white cockatoo, good riddance, while Ben kept his grandfather’s basset hound, Treat, who’d better not be a turncoat if he wanted to be fed and have his belly rubbed tonight.
Ben refused to make eye contact with any of them as Nash secured the hatch to the camper shell. After glancing in the rear view mirror and spying Lacy, Nash, and Brittney enter her apartment with Big Blizzard, Ben floored the accelerator and spun his wheels eager to get as far away as possible from the only woman to ever break his heart.