“Actually,” I shrugged. “He didn’t. He was a perfect gentleman.”
“You’re kidding, right? Girl, he’s got a reputation, and apparently a dick, bigger than the size of Texas, and you know it. I remember how you used to talk about him. At least tell me y’all kissed?”
I smiled, remembering the heavenly feel of Lee’s lips on mine.
“Perhaps,” I replied, coyly. I still didn’t want to talk about him, but thinking about him was delicious.
“Perhaps, my ass! Girl, you at least gotta tell me if he’s a good kisser.”
“What do you think, Viv?” I replied, teasingly.
“You’re impossible!” she said, shaking her head. “You’re not giving up any juicy details at all! What kind of friend are you, Lily? I thought you loved me more than that.”
I laughed at her, shaking my head as our pancakes arrived. Vivian dug into them, and I followed suit, hoping she’d let me off the hook with the questions.
“Well, answer this,” she said, her mouth full of food. “You’re going out with him again, right?”
“I hope so,” I said. “I had a really nice time, Viv! After the bar we went out to the overlook and just stared up at the stars for hours…it was a beautiful night. He was nothing like everyone says.”
“Well, he’s a player, Lily. You just be careful with your heart, okay, sugar? Keep it locked up until you can trust him. You’re way too trusting, Lily, that’s your problem, you know.”
“Yeah, I guess,” I replied, softly, my mind wandering with thoughts of Lee. So far, he’d given me no reason at all not to trust him and it felt unnatural to even think he would do anything to hurt me. “I’m being careful.”
“And let me know if you need any help with him,” she winked teasingly.
“Shut up,” I replied, laughing. “I’m sure you’ve got your hands full with your revolving door.” Vivian wasn’t known for settling down with one guy, and it caused more problems than it was worth, if you asked me. Men, especially the cowboys she was fond of, had a tendency to get jealous. Didn’t seem to bother Viv one bit, though, as she always told me their jealousy was their problem not hers. She was always straight with them, whether they liked it or not. Most of them didn’t stick around too long once they realized they weren’t the only man in her life and that seemed to suit her just fine.
“Things are jumping right now,” she said, winking again. “It is rodeo season, after all.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
LEE
JR’s was packed for a Thursday night.
I’d stopped by after work, desperately needing a blast of air-conditioning and something cold to pour into my overheated body. The hot Texas sun had baked into my skin all day and I was glad to have the break as the sun set golden in the distance as I walked in.
I embraced the darkness of the bar.
It was like home to me. The smells of beer and desperation. Loneliness and despair. Hope and horniness.
Dozens of young people swirled around me as I stood at the bar trying to get waited on. The beginning of the rodeo was days away and the city was beginning to buzz with excitement as tourists and cowboys from all over the country swarmed the city.
I always loved the two weeks of the rodeo. It was a family tradition for most of the folks from Sugar Hill and the other surrounding areas of Houston. A lot of us learned to ride a bull before we learned to walk.
The rodeo was in our blood. You couldn’t help but love it and get excited about it, it was damned near all anyone talked about.
In fact, as I tried to catch the bartender’s eye, I listened into the conversations around me and they were all about the rodeo.
“Heard there’s a new bull named Diablo that nobody’s lasted eight seconds on yet. Saw on the news he’s thrown fellas so hard, two of them were left paralyzed. Can’t believe they’d put a monster like that in the competition,” said a man in a huge white felt Stetson sitting to my right.
“My cousin Betty has a shot at the best herdsman award for a couple of sheep she’s been raising,” said a woman behind me. “She treats those sheep like they’re her kids, I tell you!”
The livestock show was always a treat for my family growing up. You didn’t get to see six hundred pound pigs or rare llamas and alpacas every day. When we were little boys, we’d always drag our folks there on the first day. The memory of it made me smile and I realized it was the first time a memory of my family had made me smile in days. It felt good not to feel like I was having my heart ripped out for a change.
Of course, I’d been feeling like a giddy schoolboy, full of hope and other ridiculous shit, since I’d kissed Lily last night. So maybe I was losing my edge. Who knows?
Either way, I chalked it up to a much needed change and when I finally got a chance to pour the cold liquid amber of a Bud down my throat, I sighed heavily with relief. Maybe it wasn’t so much that I was losing my edge but just that the pain wasn’t so sharp now that it wasn’t so new.
That’s what I’d been hoping for. A little time to help me get to the other side, until I could breathe.
It was all so fucking much.
I found am empty stool at the end of the bar and sat down, quietly watching everyone else. Last time I was here, I was on the prowl, but this time, it was the last thing on my mind. I just wanted to drink, take the edge off of my day and unwind a little. All on my own.
Unless, of course, Lily walked in the door, then I knew my body would be demanding a little different stimulation.
I hadn’t seen her all day and it sucked. I was sure she’d show up for her morning walk through the barn but she never did. When I didn’t see her practicing or see her hanging out at her parent’s house, I was a little worried. I’d spent hours wondering if I’d fucked up, sure that I’d kissed her too much, too hard, too suggestively.
But I didn’t dare ask after her. Jimmy was with me most of the day and finally after lunch he mentioned in passing that Lily was turning in her application to grad school today.
Of course she was, I thought, realizing what a fool I had been to make it all about me.
I don’t know how she did it, juggling school with competing and working, but she was amazing and she pulled it off. She’d mentioned last night how hard it was to manage her time.
We’d spent the evening talking about everything under the stars and trying to get to know each other. In between those brain-exploding kisses, that is.
The feel of her lips washed over my memory with the force of a herd of horses and my cock swelled in my pants. She did something to me, that was for sure. Something I hadn’t felt ever. A hunger that I couldn’t describe had taken hold of me, a hunger to see her, to know everything about her, to know how she felt when she cried out my name.
So maybe I was getting ahead of myself. I tended to do that. I’d tried all day to corral my unbridled desire for her, but I’d failed miserably. For once, I didn’t mind the failure, though, because thinking about her was fucking beautiful.
It was like a forbidden, delicious pleasure that I didn’t have to share with anyone else.
By the time the day was over, I’d made sweet love to Lily and heard her call my name at least a dozen times in my mind.
I ordered another beer and looked up just in time to see Brock walk in. No, wait. He didn’t walk in. He barreled through the door like a bull in a china shop, with no regard for any of the other folks trying to get through the door at the same time.
I watched him join a group of folks sitting in a booth in the corner, disdain dripping from my eyes. He’d treated Lily like a piece of shit and I hated him for it. Lily deserved to be treated like a queen.
As I watched him from afar, drinking in the adoring attention from the crowd he was sitting with, I wondered for the millionth time what she ever saw in such an arrogant, self-absorbed asshole.
I wasn’t happy about the way it had gone down, but I was glad she was out of his clutches. And if I was being downright honest, I’
d say I was happy that it left an opening for me.
Brock flirted and laughed with the ladies in the booth, but I saw his eyes follow a tall blonde cowboy out the back door. He started to excuse himself from the group, but then his eyes drifted to the front door. I followed his gaze and watched as Vivian, Lily’s friend from last night, walked in and walked up the bar.
Brock was on her in less than a minute flat. They weren’t far away, but neither of them had noticed me yet, so I sat listening to their conversation.
“Viv, hey darlin’,” Brock said, sliding up behind her like a dirty snake. She recoiled at his touch, glancing at him quickly, then looking away.
“Hello, Brock,” she replied, dryly.
“Hey Viv, did you hear?”
“Hear what?” she asked over her shoulder, before turning to the bartender. “Whiskey. Neat. Please.”
“About Lily,” Brock said, leaning in close to her. “We broke up.”
“Oh, yes,” Viv said, turning to face him with a sneer on her face. “She told me what a fucking douchebag you were. Yes, I heard.”
“Oh, come on. Show me a man who hasn’t used the wrong name in bed and I’ll show you a liar.”
“Well, it’s never happened to me, Brock. And I’ve been around the block a few times.”
“Yes, you have,” he said, raking his gaze across her tits. I suppressed a groan, the spectacle in front of me becoming increasingly hard to watch. Vivian sipped from her glass, the annoyance playing across her face.
“Viv,” Brock pleaded. “You know I’ve always been attracted to you. Ever since you were going out with Jeff, I’ve wanted to spend some time with you.” He reached up and put his hand on her shoulder and she flinched, pushing him away.
“Brock, you’re insane. Go away,” she replied. He put his hand back again and she shook her head at him. “You don’t stop, do you?”
“Not until you’re begging me to,” he said, a sick smile spreading across his face. “Ask Lily, she’ll tell you how good it is. You’ll be running back for more.”
Slowly, methodically, and much to my amusement, Vivian reached up and grabbed Brock’s hand, holding it between both of hers as she slid her fingers between his, clutching his forefinger and holding the bottom of his hand so he couldn’t pull away. Slowly, she pulled the finger backwards until he was crying out in pain. She smiled and kept pulling until he had fallen to his knees in agony.
“What the fuck, Vivian!” he cried. “Let go! I have to fucking compete!”
“Brock, you ever fucking touch me again, and I’ll break more than your fucking finger, you understand? I’ll shove your balls so far up your ass you’ll never sit down again, let alone ride a bull! Lily’s my best friend and I would never betray her.” He stared up at her with his mouth open in shock and she pulled back even farther. His yelp made me full out laugh. “And just to be safe, make sure your sorry ass stays away from Lily, too, you understand?”
“Just fucking let go, you fucking bitch!” She hesitated, pulling back just before his finger was about to break and then she let go quickly. He pulled his hand away and slowly rose to his feet, before shaking his head.
“You’re fucking crazy,” he whispered.
“Try me,” she said, with a jut of her chin. “Please try me. I’m begging you. I’d love to hear just one of your bones snap.”
“Fuck you, Vivian!” he sneered.
“You wish, you prick! Get lost!” she turned around, leaving him standing there slack-jawed and rubbing his finger like it was a tiny cock.
Damn, I thought, now that’s what true friendship looks like.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
LILY
Lee walked up to me like a man on a mission. I watched him approach out of the side of my eye, pretending to be brushing my mama’s buckskin, Buddy. My stomach fluttered at the sight of him. He looked even better, now that I knew what his lips tasted like.
Thankfully, Buddy was well-trained, and he didn’t flinch when I leaned into him because my knees buckled as I met Lee’s flashing blue eyes from across the barn.
Something was different about him today. Something about the way he walked, the way he held his chin. His shoulders were thrown back and he exuded confidence in a way he hadn’t before. He’d been so polite and gentlemanly to me and the Lee that was thundering this way possessed a completely different aura.
Hunger.
That’s what it was. Like a hungry tiger stalking his prey, he closed the distance between us with speed and grace. His gaze fixed, his focus laser sharp, the loud stomping of his worn brown boots growing closer and closer as our eyes locked.
I licked my lips, swallowed hard, and tried to smile, but I’m pretty sure it came out as some sort of half-assed grimace of pain and confusion. The Lee that I’d barely glimpsed before seemed to now be unleashed and I had no idea how to react.
A smarter me might have run the other way. A smarter me might have steeled myself against his sensual assault. A smarter me might have known how to take a breath, at the very least.
But none of that happened. I held my breath until he was right there, opening Buddy’s stall door with his huge hands…those perfectly rugged, warm, expert hands that I couldn’t wait to have run all over me again.
And then he was there. Inches away.
His eyes. His lips. His breath. His cock, that I could feel pulsing between us, the heat rolling off of it like the heat of the sun rolling off the hood of a Ford truck in August.
All of him. Right there. Inches away, just waiting for me to reach out and claim him as my own. At least for the moment. But still, I waited. Holding my breath with my knees locked, it’s a miracle I didn’t faint the way I did that one time during a choir concert in middle school. I was doing all the things you weren’t supposed to do.
But when he dipped his head and his lips met mine, I knew that kissing Lee Haggard was high on the list of the things I was definitely supposed to being doing.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
LEE
I’d strode into the barn and asked her out. Like a fucking man. Because that’s what I was. Of course, those luscious lips of hers had me under their spell, so I had to give into the urge to kiss her again first.
After watching Brock pull his bullshit and seeing what a piece of shit he really was, all of my intentions of holding back with Lily melted away. Granted, most of them had melted away with the heat we’d generated in the back of my pick-up, but what was left was long gone once I witnessed his exchange with Vivian.
Fuck that guy. I could safely assume he’d fuck anything with legs at this point. And that was fine. He could fuck any Tom, Dick or Harry or Harriet he wanted, but not while he was trying to get Lily back.
I had no respect for a man like that. I was ignoring the fact that I’d once been a man like that, of course.
Today, I was a new Lee Haggard.
And this one stood up to all the shit in his life and didn’t back down. No matter what.
I wanted Lily and I intended to do everything in my power to get her. Something about our time together, and the conversation I’d had with Jimmy, had inspired me to step up and do the right thing.
I’d woken up alone in the dark tack room that morning, with a new attitude.
First things first.
I reached for my phone and turned it on to listen to my voice mails.
The first one was from Beau.
“Lee, call me back. Whatever’s going on, we can figure it out. Don’t be stubborn. You’re always so fucking stubborn. Just man up, okay? Dad needs us now. Mom needs us.”
I sighed, hit delete, and kept listening. The next one was from my dad.
“Lee, son. I need to talk to you. I know this is a lot to take on, and you shouldn’t…you don’t have to be alone, Lee. We’re still here for you and we want you to come home. We love you, son. Call us.”
I swallowed hard, a pit forming in the bottom of my gut.
The next one was from my Mama.
>
“Lee? Honey? I love you. Please call me, okay? I just want to know you’re safe. Please call me. I love you.”
I knew listening to these would be like a knife through the heart and I’d braced myself, but it still stung. The next two were hang-ups, but my phone told me they were from Finn. Kids these days didn’t believe in leaving voice mail messages.
It was Finn I felt the worst about leaving. Beau was all tied up with Georgia and Finn was left alone with my folks. He was probably taking the brunt of the load.
The next message surprised me, and I wasn’t sure how to handle it. Crit Hope’s deep, southern drawl filled the darkness.
“Lee, this is Crit. Crit Hope. It was good to see you the other day. I was hoping we could get together for a drink or something? I heard something from Ruby yesterday that I want to talk to you about. Best sooner than later, too. Give me a call.”
Great, I thought, now everyone knows. My parents probably told Beau, he told Georgia, she probably told Ruby, and now hell and half of Texas knew all my personal shit.
That wasn’t something I was expecting, but I would deal with it, just like I’d promised myself to deal with everything else.
Today was a new day.
I was a new Lee.
After deleting all the messages, except the one from my dad, I dialed Beau’s number.
He would be the easiest person to talk to. I’d attempt the other mountains later.
“It’s about fucking time,” he said in greeting.
“Love you, too, bro,” I replied.
“How’s Houston?” he asked.
“Everything’s fine. Figure I’ll be seeing you soon, right? When you coming out? Crit’s already here.”
“Yeah. Listen, Lee. Dad told me what’s going on. I really can’t believe it’s true. All these years and we never knew. I don’t know what to say…”
“Nothing to say, brother. It is what it is.”
“Yeah, I know. But still…it’s pretty fucking heavy.”
“Yeah, it is. I’m handling it.”
THE HOPE BROTHERS: The Bad Boys of Sugar Hill Page 35