“I’m seriously craving seafood,” Peyton told Alex when she called back. “Too bad the Sea Chest is closed.”
“I’ll drive by and see if Stormy is there. If she is, I can probably talk her into letting me have some chowder, maybe even some oysters.”
Stormy Blue, her given name, was the manager of the Sea Chest, and had gone to high school with Alex. Peyton crossed her fingers that Stormy was there, because no one else in town compared when it came to clam chowder.
“If not, I’ll swing by the market. Can you wait that long?”
“I can wait. I’ll just nibble on a piece of the pizza I ordered for the boys.”
“Don’t forget the wine,” Alex teased.
“As if. I have a Skyrider white chilled.”
“Perfect. I’m starving, and a little wangry. See you soon.”
Peyton and Alex knew wangry well. It’s what they called customers who came in grouchy from their day, and barked their order. “Are you a little wangry?” they’d ask, and give them an extra heavy pour on their first glass.
“I forgot how much I like this wine,” Alex said after her second sip. “Do we have any of it at Stave?”
“No, they’re sold out.”
“I didn’t think we had it. How’d you get it?”
“I know a guy,” Peyton grinned.
“All right, enough with the mystery. What did you do today?”
“Shh.” Peyton put her finger in front of her lips. “I’ll tell you after they’re in bed.” Peyton nodded her head in the direction of the family room, where the boys were doing their homework.
Alex got up and walked to where she could see both of them. “Jamison? Finn?”
She walked back and plopped into a chair. “Headphones on, can’t hear a thing. Now talk.”
“I’d rather wait until I know they’re asleep.”
“Not a chance. I’ve been way more patient than you would’ve been.”
“All right.”
Peyton told Alex she spent the day in San Luis Obispo, about having breakfast, and then going to Avila Beach and driving back through See Canyon. She just left out who she was with, which did not go unnoticed by Alex, who was glaring at her with her arms folded.
“I was with Brodie,” she whispered, and looked in the direction of the family room, hoping her boys still had on their headphones.
“Oh my God.”
“Shh,” she said again. “The boys were asking about him last night and I don’t want them to get the wrong idea.”
“What’s the right idea?”
“I don’t know. It’s weird.”
“When are you going to see him again?”
“I’m not. At least not intentionally.” She’d already been trying to figure out a way to “bump into him,” but so far hadn’t come up with anything plausible.
“Does he want to see you again?”
“Too much.”
“What does that mean? What did he say?”
“That he wished he’d met me under different circumstances.”
“Do you feel the same way about him?”
If there was anyone she could admit her feelings to, it was Alex, but something made her hold back. Two days ago, she wouldn’t have known Brodie Butler if he walked into her house right now. She would’ve known his connection to Kade though, no one could miss it.
She was lonely, and she missed Kade so much. Brodie reminded her of him, but there was more to it. If she’d met him under different circumstances, she would’ve felt the same attraction. It was too powerful. It wasn’t just that he reminded her of Kade, there was more to it.
“What would people think?” she asked out loud, without meaning to.
“Who gives a shit, Peyton? What do you think? That’s all that matters.”
This wasn’t the first time Alex lectured her about caring too much what other people thought. For the most part, Alex was right. Part of growing up was coming to terms with how little other peoples’ opinions mattered. The truth was, people were rarely as critical as most assumed.
“This goes beyond that, Alex.”
“Tell me what he said.”
“I already told you.”
“No, you told me he wished you’d met differently. He must’ve told you why he felt that way.”
“It was a nice day. We enjoyed each other’s company. It was easy.”
“Tell me more.”
“Before I do, tell me what you know about him.”
“Brodie?”
“Yeah, Brodie. Duh.”
“Okay, okay. No need to get testy. Brodie Butler, hmm. Not a lot, to be honest. It’s kind of weird that you were so close to Kade, but you don’t know anything about his brother.”
“It isn’t just Brodie, I don’t know much about Kade’s whole family. I learned more about them in one day with Brodie than I did in all the time I knew Kade.”
“There isn’t a single one of the Butler boys that isn’t hotter than hot, and terminally single.”
“That reminds me, I have something to tell you on that subject, but I want to come back to it.”
“O-o-o-kay. I know Maddox better than the rest of them. I feel like I knew Kade, but I never really did. I knew your version of Kade.”
“That makes sense, and I know what you mean. I never felt as though Kade was secretive, I just never realized how little I knew about him.”
“Mad has always been the charming one. Naughton is all dark and broody Scottish guy. Brodie, well, he never wanted for women, if you know what I mean.”
“But not the charming one?”
“I don’t think Brodie ever required charm. He’s just all that and more, right?”
“I guess…I really don’t know.”
“You had a nice day. It was easy. Isn’t that what you told me? How many people can you say that about?”
“Not many. So you think that’s just how he is?”
“No, I didn’t say that. I just think he’s easy going, hotter than shit, and very sure of himself. Confidence is pretty damn sexy, don’t ya think?”
“Yeah, I do think.”
Kade was hot, in a big, tough, teddy bear sort of way. There was sheer power in every step he took. It was weird that Brodie reminded her so much of Kade, because describing the two of them, he was so different.
Brodie was taller than Kade, probably six foot three to Kade’s straight up six. He held himself the same way, but when Brodie walked across the room, he sauntered. Kade strode. Kade was attractive, but Brodie was handsome. Kade was dead, but Brodie was alive.
“Here’s the problem—I don’t know if I will ever stop comparing the two of them.” Peyton shook her head. “It doesn’t really matter.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa. What just happened?”
“I can’t see him again. It’s just too much.”
“Peyton…”
“Can we change the subject?”
Alex burst out laughing. “To what?”
Peyton laughed too. “Shut up.”
“Hey.” Brodie tossed his keys on the kitchen table. Naughton didn’t look up, or answer.
Brodie walked over to where his brother sat, looking at nothing. “Did you hear me? What’s goin’ on?”
“I heard you.”
“Okay. Good night, Naughton.”
“Where’re you going?”
“Upstairs.”
“Where were you today?”
“What do you mean?”
“Easy enough question to understand. Where were you?”
“I spent the day with Peyton.”
“Why?”
“What’s with all the questions?”
“Somebody saw you, told Ma.”
“Ma’s the reason I was with her.”
“No, Ma asked you to give something to her, not spend the day with her.”
“Did Ma say something about it?”
“She didn’t have to. That why you were asking so many questions about her last night?”
/> “What the hell?”
“Forget it.” Naughton brushed past him, almost knocking him over on his way upstairs.
Instead of following his brother, Brodie put his jacket back on and went outside. When he was younger, he and Kade would take a lot of walks outside after dark.
“See those stars up there?” He’d point at the sky. “No matter where I am in the world, I see the same stars as you. So you come out, talk to these stars, and they’ll tell me what you said.”
Brodie was twelve or thirteen when he and Kade had that conversation. He remembered punching his brother’s arm and telling him he was too old for that kind of bullshit. They laughed about it then. Now, more than ever, he wished it had been true.
“What should I do, Kade?” Brodie questioned the sky. “I can’t stop thinking about her. You know what I’m talkin’ about, because I know you couldn’t either. She’s amazing, big brother.”
Brodie sat on a tree stump and thought about earlier in the day, when he told Peyton about his grandfather pounding the abalone. Her eyes were lit up the whole time he talked about his family. It wasn’t just Kade she wanted to hear more about, she loved the stories he told about his parents and grandparents.
“So, Kade, didn’t you tell her anything about our family? I don’t get it.” He shook his head. It was cold again tonight, just as cold as it had been last night. Before he came out, he grabbed a jacket, but he should’ve grabbed a hat too.
He asked Kade once why he shaved his head. “I’m gettin’ a little thin up top. Decided to shave it instead of fight it. Chicks like bald heads, Brother.”
There was something else nagging at him. His whole family knew Kade intended to propose to Peyton when he came back from his last mission. He even had a ring. Brodie wondered where the ring was now. Did his mother have it?
“Did she know how you felt? Did she know you wanted to marry her?” He had so many questions the stars couldn’t answer for him. Only Kade could, and he was gone.
Alex yawned and stretched her arms over her head. “Better call it a night, girlfriend.”
“Do you want to skip our run again tomorrow?”
“No way, Peyton. I plan on grilling you the entire time, until I pry every last detail out of you.”
“It isn’t that interesting, I promise.”
“Brodie-the-booty is very interesting. I assure you.”
“Good Lord, do people call him that?”
“Nope, not people. Women.”
“See? He’s a player. I don’t have any interest in players.”
“Did he make you feel that way today? Like he was playing you?”
“No, but isn’t that what players do?”
“I think you know when you’re being played, and you make the conscious decision to play along.”
Peyton stood. “Okay, that’s enough dating philosophy for one night. See you tomorrow, Alex.”
“Get some rest, and I’ll see you around nine.” Alex hugged her and went out the door.
Peyton checked on both boys, who were sound asleep. She tucked in Finn a couple hours ago, while Alex had a nighttime chat with Jamison. “He informed me he’s too old to be tucked in,” Alex told her when they met back in the living room. They were growing up too fast.
With the lights off in the rest of the house, Peyton closed her bedroom door, and picked up the remote for the TV. She never went to sleep without it on. It was too quiet, and she’d spend too much time in her head. She also heard every noise the old house made, and then her imagination ran amok, and she couldn’t sleep. She hadn’t had a decent night’s sleep since the night before Kade left for the last time.
Alex invited the boys over for a slumber party, so she and Kade could be alone. Together they made dinner, which neither ate. Their hunger for each other was stronger. They made love again and again, until Peyton fell into a coma-like sleep.
When she got into bed tonight and closed her eyes, she expected to see Kade, like she did every other night. Except this time she saw Brodie. Brodie-the-booty, that’s what Alex said women called him. Understandable, given how amazingly he rocked a pair of jeans. The barn jacket he wore covered his “booty” most of the day, but when they were at Big Sky, he took it off. When he left the table to use the restroom, her eyes followed the back of him the whole way. Between his saunter and perfect ass, Peyton’s mind wandered, wondering if the rest of him was as perfect as his backside. She’d never know, because she had no intention of seeing him again, let alone his naked body.
She woke up when her phone, sitting beside her on the nightstand, vibrated. She looked at the clock that sat near the television. It was after one in the morning. Worried it was something with her mom or dad, Peyton picked up the phone. It was hard to focus, so she picked up the reading glasses that sat near the phone on the nightstand. Kade’s reading glasses.
The text was from Brodie, and in it, he apologized if she thought he was an asshole, but he wanted to see her again. He told her he had to go out of town tomorrow, but wanted to know what she was doing Thursday.
Peyton sat up, and read his message over and over again. After an hour of not being able to go back to sleep, she picked up her phone.
I’ll be at Stave in the afternoon, she wrote. Now that it was after two, she doubted he’d respond, but he did.
I’ll be in. Peyton studied the words, and wondered what in the hell she thought she was doing. And what was Brodie thinking?
She set the phone back on the nightstand, hoping now she’d be able to go back to sleep. It vibrated again.
I can’t stop thinking about you. Brodie wrote.
He couldn’t? She couldn’t stop thinking about him either. Jesus. They were both out of their minds.
5
Every time Peyton heard the tasting room door open she vacillated between hoping it was Brodie, and praying it wasn’t. She checked her phone every five minutes to see if there was a text from him saying he needed to cancel.
Soon Alex would be back from the bank run, and Peyton would have to tell her. She couldn’t act like it was a surprise when Brodie showed up. She also needed to explain why she was hanging out so late on her day off.
It wasn’t unusual for Peyton to come in Thursday morning to help Alex get the tasting room organized for the weekend. She was usually out of there by one or two at the latest, and it was getting close to two. The only thing she had left to do today was put together the list of the ten wines they’d serve tomorrow during happy hour.
Every Friday, between four and six, Stave offered a new release tasting. The place would be packed, and wine sales would be good. It was also the most fun night to be at Stave, outside of the nights they hosted the wine dinners.
If they knew their wines were being served, winemakers often came, which gave them the opportunity to see firsthand what customers thought about the new release. Peyton closed the door of the wine chiller, and was about to take case inventory for the wines she chose when she heard the back door open and close.
“I’m back,” Alex shouted from their office.
“Hey,” Peyton answered.
“How’s it goin’? Can I see what you chose?”
Peyton handed her notes to Alex, and looked out the front window.
“This looks good. I see you’ve got a new one on here from Butler Ranch.”
Maddox sent an email over a week ago, before her run-in with Brodie at Louie’s Market, listing the wines Butler Ranch would be releasing in the next ninety days. Peyton decided then that she’d add their first release, a Sauvignon Blanc, to the tasting this Friday.
She’d stayed away from Butler Ranch wines since Kade died, but as a member of the collaborative, her excluding them wasn’t fair. They deserved to have their wines featured as much as any other winery in the group. She didn’t need to explain her reason for choosing it, Alex would know it had nothing to do with Brodie.
“So, by the way, I heard from Brodie Tuesday night. He said he would stop in today.”
>
Alex raised her eyebrows.
“I need you to not give me shit about this, Alex. I’m giving myself plenty on my own.”
“I’m glad you said that, because you’re right. The other night I told you that you shouldn’t give a crap what anyone else thought, and that includes me. Although whether you want to know what I think or not, I’m going to tell you. I think it’s great. It isn’t as though Kade died last month, it’s been over a year. You didn’t know Brodie when you were with Kade, you didn’t even spend time with their family. So I say go for it.”
“Maybe he’s stopping in to tell me he’s thought it over and changed his mind about wanting to see me.”
“Yeah, you’re right, he’s stopping by to see you to tell you he doesn’t want to see you.” Alex rolled her eyes.
“Shut up. And do you realize how often you roll your eyes at things I say?”
Alex laughed and set the tasting notes down on the bar. “I’ll make myself scarce when he gets here.”
“By scarce do you mean you’ll hide in the back and listen to every word we say, or will you leave?”
“Tell you what—you make yourself scarce instead. It’s your day off.”
“Okay, but you gotta start going easier on me, Alex. I’m freaking out.”
“I heard you, and I will. I’m now the captain of team Peydie, or should it be Broton?”
Brodie walked toward his 918 Porsche Cayman after a productive meeting at San Ysidro Ranch. Their restaurant, the Stone House, had recently been named the most romantic restaurant in Santa Barbara, and Butler Ranch wines were heavy on their Wine Spectator award-winning list.
In the last two days, everywhere he went, everything he saw, he thought about sharing with Peyton, including the cottages here at the ranch where Laurence Olivier married Vivian Leigh. This place was straight out of a romance book, or so he’d heard. It wasn’t as though he’d actually read any.
Brodie imagined spending a weekend here with Peyton in one of the ocean view cottages. They’d have dinner at the Stone House, or share a chef-prepared meal alone in their cottage. After dinner, they’d sit by the stone fireplace found in every one of the ranch’s cottages, and then later, he’d show her exactly how much pleasure he could bring her body. He adjusted the trousers of his suit as he opened the passenger door to put his briefcase inside the car.
The Promise (Butler Ranch Book 1) Page 5