My Brother’s Girl

by Parker, Ali

  I looked back at the ring on my hand. The little diamond caught the sun and shot a radiant burst of light across the table. I smiled, and so did my mother, and the colors that danced in the reflection of light promised a future just as bright and vivid with the man of my dreams.

  I just had to take these next steps.

  “I’m going to talk to Caden tonight,” I said firmly. “I’m going to figure out how we tell Luke the truth. And then I’m going to set things right. And when everything is said and done, I’m going to fly you out to come stay with me in the city for a week so we can catch up properly and I can finally take you to a Broadway show.”

  My mother flashed me a smile that matched my own. “It’s about damn time, kiddo.”

  Chapter 34

  Caden

  When I’d come to pick up the ring for Olivia, still stashed in my old closet, it had been nighttime, and I hadn’t been able to see the ranch in all it’s glory. It had definitely changed since the last time I’d set foot on the property. That had been two Christmases ago. Maybe three? I wasn’t sure. It was getting harder to keep track.

  Either way, the place was different. Some of the trees lining the drive had been cut back. Their branches no longer swept over the drive like nature’s awning. Instead, I was exposed and the late afternoon sun beat down through the windshield on me.

  I didn’t mind. The heat reminded me of home.

  I parked my new rental car in the pull-through driveway in front of the massive house. The roof was starting to look a little old, and the exterior needed some power washing, but all in all, it could have been worse. Seeing as how my dad lived in this massive place all by himself, he wasn’t doing too shabby of a job with the upkeep.

  Then again, that was what the staff was for.

  I stepped out of the car and shielded my eyes as I made my way up to the front door. I knocked and glanced around the property as I waited. Despite the changes, this place still called to me. One day, I would come back. I’d have Olivia on my arm and we’d be ready to face the rest of our lives from the place we both belonged.

  Houston was waiting for us.

  The front door swung open, revealing my old man who wore a grin and had a cigar pinched between his teeth. “Caden.” He grabbed me and pulled me over the threshold for a bear hug that I returned with equal enthusiasm. “It’s good to see you, my boy.”

  I thumped him on the back. “It’s good to see you too, Dad.”

  He released me and I closed the front door. Then he led me deeper into the house and we made straight for the lounge, his smoking and drinking haven. Without asking, he poured me a glass of whiskey, passed it to me, and dropped down into the rich brown leather sofa in front of the grand stone fireplace. I took the spot on the sofa across from him, crossed one leg over the other, and leaned back.

  It smelled like smoke and firewood and musk.

  “How’ve you been, my boy?”

  I swirled my whiskey glass. “I’m good, Dad. I’m really good. And you? Looks like you’re keeping up with the house pretty well.”

  He shrugged one shoulder. “Not bad. I’ll be honest with you though. This place is beginning to feel like a little more work than it’s worth.”

  I didn’t like the sound of that. “Need more help around here?”

  He shook his head dismissively. “Nah. It just… never mind.”

  “Tell me.”

  He studied me for a moment. “This place just doesn’t feel the same ever since Kirsten passed away. All the rooms feel too big. Every sofa too lonely. I’m beginning to consider selling and downsizing and starting over someplace fresh. Maybe even coming out to live closer to you and Luke.”

  I felt my eyebrows creeping up my forehead. “Sell the ranch? Dad, this property has been in the family for generations.”

  “Yes, but I can’t keep it running by myself. And truth be told, I don’t really want to. I want to keep it in the family, but you boys are off living large in New York. I’m so proud of you. I don’t want you to have to give up what you’re doing just so we can keep this property in the Taylor name.”

  I gazed down at my glass and tossed back a greedy mouthful. “What if I told you I’d been thinking about coming back to Houston?”

  “You’ve always talked about it, son. But let’s be real. You’re not going to give up the success you have in New York. You and Luke have made something of yourselves out there.”

  “It’s not my home. This is.”

  My father stroked his chin. “Perhaps I need to reconsider selling. I could rent it out.”

  “You could.”

  “Or you could move in.”

  “Maybe.”

  “Well, I’ll be damned.” My father chuckled. “I didn’t expect that.”

  I shrugged. “I told you. I’ve been considering coming back here and getting away from New York and the grind and the rush. It’s not my speed, Dad. It may be Luke’s but I think I’ve run my course out there.”

  “Would this, perhaps, have something to do with Olivia?”

  I swallowed.

  I’d told my dad over the phone this afternoon that Olivia was going to meet up with us for dinner at the estate once she finished visiting with her mother. My dad had been all over it. His enthusiasm made me feel guilty. He had no idea she was Luke’s girl.

  For now.

  “It might have something to do with her,” I admitted.

  My father grinned. “I’m happy the pair of you are on speaking terms again. And that I get to see her tonight. It’s been a long time. What, five years?”

  “Six.”

  “Six. Damn. And I always thought you’d have made up by the end of summer after graduation.”

  “We weren’t that lucky.”

  “Apparently not.”

  As if on cue, there was a knock on the door. My father pushed up from his seat and I followed him down the long hallway to the grand front door fixed with a stained-glass window. I could see Olivia’s silhouette through the glass as she shifted her weight from foot to foot, obviously nervous about being back on the ranch after all this time.

  My father opened the door and held his arms out wide. “My favorite Desmant. Get in here.”

  Olivia’s grin stretched from ear to ear as she stepped into his embrace and squeezed my father tightly. “Mr. Taylor, it’s so good to see you. You look great.” When she pulled away, her smile softened. “I was really sorry to hear about Kirsten. I regret not reaching out to you when it happened.”

  He put a hand on her cheek in a fatherly sort of way. “Don’t worry yourself over it. It was years ago. Besides, I wouldn’t have expected you to put yourself in an uncomfortable position for me.”

  “I would have done it,” she said.

  “I know you would have. Come in. Come in. Dinner should be up shortly. I hope you still like cedar-plank salmon.”

  “Like it?” Olivia closed the front door behind her and let her purse fall from her shoulder to hang it on the hook on the wall. “My mouth is watering already.”

  My father flashed me a smile as he turned from her and began making his way to the back of the house, most likely to the patio where the table was set for us to eat. Olivia fell into step beside me and held out her hand.

  “How was your momma?” I asked.

  “She’s good. She and I had a good and much needed talk. I finally feel like I have a clear head after weeks of…”

  “Bullshit?”

  “Yes.”

  I lifted her hand to my lips and kissed her knuckles. “I’m glad you’re here tonight.”

  “Me too. Are we spending the night here?”

  I nodded as we moved through the living room and then out through the sliding glass doors onto the patio. Birds were chirping in the gardens and the sweet smell of maple rose from the grill when my father lifted the lid. “Yes. A room has already been made up for us.”

  “Thank you for putting us up for the night, Mr. Taylor.” Olivia settled into a chair at th
e table. I couldn’t help but admire her long bare legs which were on display in her flowy little dress. She looked stunning. But then again, she always did.

  “My pleasure.” My dad closed the lid on the grill and faced us. “What can I get you to drink? Wine? Cider? Beer?”

  “Wine would be lovely.”

  “Red or white.”

  “Whatever is open,” Olivia said.

  My father turned to go back inside and stopped in his tracks. He let out a delighted cry of surprise and I turned to see what all the fuss was about.

  My heart came to a skidding halt in my chest when Luke emerged through the sliding doors and swaggered out onto the patio.

  Olivia and I locked eyes. She went rigid in her chair and I was struck with the sudden impulse to move closer to her. To claim her as mine.

  We hadn’t had a chance to talk about how we wanted to do this. He was my brother and I felt that I bore a burden to be the one to tell him. But then again, he was her long-term boyfriend, so it should come from her too.

  Fuck.

  “Hey, old man.” Luke popped my father lightly in the chest. “Looking sharp. I hope you don’t mind that I crashed your party.”

  “Not at all, not at all!” My father clapped Luke on the back. “The more the merrier! Look at this, Caden. What are the chances that I have both boys back under the same roof in one night?”

  “Very unlikely,” I muttered.

  Luke grinned broadly and walked toward Olivia, who rose shakily from her chair. He met her with a hand on her hip and went in for a kiss. She swerved and his lips grazed her cheek.

  My father stood stunned in the doorway and looked at me.

  I grimaced.

  Olivia pushed at Luke’s chest.

  He frowned. “Baby, what’s the matter? I haven’t seen you in a week. Come. Let me steal you away to one of the dozens of rooms this place has so I can remind you why you should have missed me more.”

  Olivia’s cheeks turned neon pink.

  My father stepped back out onto the patio. “Caden? What’s going on here?”

  Fuck.

  Olivia stepped away from Luke and toward me.

  Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

  Luke’s eyes narrowed and then realization slammed into him. His gaze flicked to me and I could have sworn his eyes flashed red. “What the fuck, Caden?”

  Say something, you jackass, I thought. But no words came. The wheels turned and turned but never stopped, and I was aware of my father approaching and Olivia watching me, desperate for aid.

  Then something shifted in her. She balled her hands into fists and faced Luke. “Luke, I know you came here to surprise me. And that was thoughtful. But we need to talk.”

  “Are you fucking my brother?” he hissed.

  Olivia looked insulted but the pained expression was gone as quickly as it appeared. She planted her hands on her hips. “Are you fucking Annie?”

  Luke hesitated.

  Olivia advanced on him. “Don’t you dare accuse me of betraying you when you know full well you’re the one who went behind my back first and slept with Annie. How long has it been going on, Luke? Weeks? Months? Longer? And how many other girls have there been?”

  “First?” Luke breathed.

  I hung my head and pinched the bridge of my nose.

  We were so fucked.

  Olivia lifted her chin. “What?”

  “You said first. You said I was the one who went behind your back first.” His dark gaze shifted to me. “What the hell does that mean, brother?” The word brother dripped with acid and I wasn’t blind to the way his fingers tightened into fists and how the veins on the inside of his forearms stood at attention.

  This wasn’t how I’d wanted it to go down. I wanted time to explain myself before the fury grabbed hold of him. I wanted to try to get him to understand. I wanted him to see that he’d been doing this to Olivia all along and that I’d been in love with her for as long as I could remember. I wanted to explain that she was the one who broke me that day when I came home from school and puked my guts out in the drive.

  Luke side stepped around Olivia.

  I didn’t retreat. I held my ground as he closed in on me in five quick strides. Then he jabbed me in the chest. Hard. “You fucking piece of shit sorry excuse for a damn brother!”

  “Luke, listen to me. This isn’t what you think.”

  His fist slammed into my jaw. The world tipped and spun, and suddenly, I was on my back. My head clapped hard against the patio stones and the blue sky swam and tried to convince me it was water.

  Olivia screamed at Luke to get away from me.

  My brother wasn’t listening.

  My vision focused on him as he grabbed hold of the front of my shirt and wound back with his right fist. It came hurtling through the air toward me. I jerked to the side. His knuckles cracked against the stones beside my right ear and Luke let out a furious bellow before hauling me up to my feet and shoving me backward. I nearly toppled over but Olivia was there to brace me.

  When Luke made to come for me again, she put herself between us.

  “Enough.”

  Her voice shook with authority. Luke stopped. His attention slid from me to her, and the white-hot fury that was in him simmered a little more gently. “Get out of my way.”

  Olivia shook her head. “No.

  Luke reached for her, caught her wrist, and pulled her to him. She didn’t recoil. She didn’t try to get away from him. She let him lean in close. “Did you ever love me, Olivia?”

  I wanted to pull her away from him.

  He shook her. “Answer me, damn it!”

  “Luke!” my father barked at him and stepped up beside them. “Let her go.”

  Luke glared at her from beneath his brows. “Answer me, Olivia. And tell the truth. Did you ever love me?”

  Olivia shook her head. “No.”

  He released her. She fell back and into my chest. I wrapped an arm around her waist and felt how viciously she was trembling.

  Luke’s arms fell slack at his sides. All the fight left him and my father put a hand on his shoulder. “Son, take a breath. Steady now.”

  Luke didn’t shrug out from under my father’s hand like I thought he might. He just stood there expressionless, his eyes trained on me and only me.

  “We were going to fly back to New York and tell you.” The words felt useless on my tongue. They wouldn’t make anything better. “Olivia and I have known each other for a long time. Neither of us realized. We didn’t know you would bring us back together again. She’s the girl from—”

  “Fuck you, Caden.” Luke turned his back on me and went back inside.

  My father sighed heavily and looked after Luke before turning to me and Olivia. “I think you two should head back to the hotel for the night. Luke can stay here. I’ll try to talk some sense into him and make sure he doesn’t lean too heavily into the bottle.”

  “Thanks, Dad.”

  “Don’t thank me yet. You have some serious atoning to do, son. I know you two belong together but your brother didn’t deserve this. I expect you to make things right. You boys are the only family I have left. And we’re all Luke has. Do you understand?”

  I nodded. So did Olivia.

  “I’m so sorry, Mr. Taylor,” she whispered.

  My father offered her a weak smile. “Give it time, my dear. This will blow over eventually. You’ll see. But for now, I think you two should go. Walk around the side of the house. We’ll talk soon.”

  My father left us on the patio, and that was when Olivia crumbled. Her knees went out from under her and she sank down to the stones.

  I gathered her in my arms and lifted her up. I pressed my lips to her forehead. “I’ve got you. You’re all right.”

  Chapter 35

  Olivia

  My eyes hurt from crying so hard. I rubbed at them, not caring about the dark smudges of mascara that came away on my thumbs. I cast a glance at Caden as we turned into the front of our hotel to turn
over the viper to the valet.

  His jaw was already bruising.

  “Does it hurt?”

  He glanced at me as he put the car in park. “What?”

  “Your head. Does it hurt?”

  He took the keys out of the ignition and removed his seatbelt with a small shrug. “A little.”

  Caden got out of the car, tossed the keys to the valet, and met me at my door, which he opened for me. I accepted his hand and we walked up the stairs and through the front doors together. Once we stepped onto the elevator and we were away from prying eyes, my tears started to flow freely again.

  “I’m so sorry, Caden. This is the last thing I wanted to happen. I never wanted to come between you and Luke. I know how important he is to you and how much you mean to him. I never should have—”

  “Olivia, hush.” He put his hands on my hips. When I refused to look up at him, he placed a finger under my chin and tilted my head back for me. “You didn’t do this. We did this. And I wanted it. I could have stopped things before they went too far and I could have told Luke right from the start who you were to me. I didn’t. The blame is on me. Not you.”

  I shook my head. “No. It’s on us both. What if he never forgives you? What if he holds this against us forever? What if—”

  He placed a finger over my lips. “He’s allowed to be angry for as long as he needs to be. He’ll come around. I’m sure of it.”

  “I’m not. The way he looked at me, it was like I’d stabbed him in the gut.”

  Caden sighed. “I know the feeling.”

  The elevator doors opened on our floor and he led me by the hand down the hallway to our room. He swiped the key and pushed his way inside, and I followed, feeling tired and weak and too heavy to go another step.

  Caden locked the door behind him and moved around me. Once more, he took my hand and pulled me forward, bringing me to the bed and sitting me down on the end.

  He dropped to a crouch and began undoing the buckles on my sandals. “Look at it this way. The hardest part is over. He knows. Whatever happens now is out of our hands. And hey.” He took my hand and smiled at me. “We’re here. Together. That’s what matters. Isn’t it?”