CHAPTER 17
“You’re not going to believe this,” Callie declared when Brandy walked into the small kitchen a short while later to find both of her sisters seated at the old weathered table, an empty bakery box between them. “Tell her what you did.”
“I didn’t actually do anything,” Jenna replied, licking what was left of a chocolate cupcake off her fork. “I’m the innocent, here. The victim.”
“You’re the wimp,” Callie said, reaching for Jenna’s left hand. “Look at this.”
“Is that what I think it is?” Brandy stared at the princess-cut diamond that could have doubled for a marble. “That’s huge.”
“I know, right?” Jenna said, a smile touching her lips for a split second. “I’ve had four engagement rings to date, but this one’s the biggest by far. Jase really outdid himself.”
“You say that like it’s a good thing,” Callie said, “which it most certainly is not because you don’t want to marry him.”
“You didn’t tell him, did you?” Brandy eyed her younger sister, who looked uncomfortable.
“Of course I did. I told him it wasn’t a good time when he cornered me last night, so he waited until today and met me at the veterinary clinic. I was helping Willa birth her calf when he drops down on his knee and pulls out the ring. Seriously, who does something like that in middle of a birthing?”
“Obviously Jase. Why did you say yes?”
“I didn’t actually say yes. I said, ‘Wow, what a great ring.’ Which he took to mean yes.”
Callie shook her head. “You’re such a wimp.”
“I am not. You didn’t see him. He just looked so happy. And he’s been so unhappy since he had to put his dog to sleep six months ago and I just couldn’t kill his dreams just like that. I couldn’t be that mean.”
“So you’re just going to marry him?” Callie shrugged. “On account of his dog died and you don’t want to see him upset?”
“Of course not. That would be crazy. I’m going to break it off. I just thought I’d let him bask in the moment a little longer.”
“That’s only going to make it harder,” Brandy chimed in.
“Not necessarily. See, I figured I’d give him some time to see that we’re really not right for each other and then it would make the breakup a little easier. In fact, he might even be the one to break up with me.”
Callie grimaced. “I doubt that.”
“I don’t know,” Brandy interjected. “She can be sort of a pain when she wants to be.”
“Exactly. I’m picky. I work too much. And I’ve got a wandering eye. We’ve been in the honeymoon phase and so he really hasn’t seen what a bitch I can be, but now that the proposal is out there, he’ll start to see that he’s made a mistake. That I’m not really all that.”
“So that’s your plan?” Callie demanded, her own ring catching a reflection of light as she waved a hand. “Just to wait until he changes his mind?”
“It could work.”
“It’s stupid. What if he doesn’t change his mind?”
“He will. I mean, he has to, right? I’m totally not his soul mate. I like chocolate ice cream and he likes vanilla. I love Grey’s Anatomy and he gets queasy at the sight of blood. We’re totally wrong for each other. It’s just that the sex was so good that he’s thinking I’m all that—”
“Too much information,” Callie cut in. “You need to be straightforward with this guy. Honest.”
“That, or you could marry him,” Brandy added. “Maybe you couldn’t say no because deep down, you actually like him.”
“I do like him,” Jenna shook her head, “but that doesn’t mean I have to sacrifice the rest of my life. It’s just like. I mean, really, it’s hardly enough to even contemplate such a big step. I like Jez and I’m not marrying her. I like Doritos and I’m not marrying them. I like One Direction and I’m not packing my bags and turning into a groupie. I like lots of things. It’s no big deal.”
The words echoed in Brandy’s head and made her realize exactly how silly she was being. So what if she did like Tyler McCall? Like didn’t constitute love and as long as she wasn’t in love with him, she didn’t need to be so worried about following in her mother’s footsteps.
“I’m just going to give it a couple of days,” Jenna added. “Let him see what a real bitch I can be. Then he’ll end it.”
“And what if he doesn’t?” Callie voiced the one question that Brandy was thinking.
“Then I’ll break it off myself. I swear,” she added when Callie started to say something.
“We’re talking about an engagement,” their older sister reiterated. “As in the rest of your life. Forever. This is serious. This isn’t something to play with.”
“So sayeth the soon-to-be Mrs. Brett Sawyer. Listen, I know you take this stuff to heart, but it’s not that big a deal. Jase doesn’t really love me and I don’t love him and it’s just a matter of time before he realizes it. He’s a smart guy.”
“Fine then, but no more sex,” Callie said. “Sex complicates things.”
“Or not.” The words were out before Brandy could think better of them. “I mean, if it’s a strictly sexual relationship with zero expectations, then it doesn’t complicate anything. It does the opposite, right?”
Callie stared at her a long moment. “Right, I guess. In a different situation. But the ring complicates things, so it’s better to steer clear of the sex. That’ll force him to see what kind of person Jenna is and he’ll drop her just like that.”
“Thanks a lot,” Jenna said.
“Don’t get your panties in a wad. I’m just pointing out the obvious. While you’re a super-nice person, you’re not wife material. You’ve got a wandering eye and you’re a commitment phobe. You refuse to even sign up for a credit card.”
“The interest rates are killer.”
“Maybe, but that’s not the point. You don’t like to commit to anything. Not an interest rate any more than a man.”
“I might commit one day.”
“When hell freezes over, but we’re talking about right here, right now. Let him see the real you.”
“I’m on it.”
“I mean it, Jenna. No agreeing with him just to agree. Voice a real opinion. He’ll see how shallow you are and bam, you’re out of the engagement.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Brandy agreed.
“You both suck.”
“Hey, we see the real you and love you anyway. That has to count for something.”
Jenna made a face before adding, “I’m going to watch last week’s episode of Scandal. If Jase calls, tell him I’m too busy to talk. Better yet, I’ll call and leave a voice mail telling him not to disturb my TV time.”
“Add that you want to meet him tomorrow to register for towels. That’ll definitely leave a bad taste in his mouth. No man likes to register for towels,” Callie told them.
“Brett did it,” Brandy pointed out.
“Only because I agreed to sign up for power tools while we were at the department store. Speaking of which, if you really want to get us something off the registry, try the blower. It’s a V8 with wind direction. He’ll love you forever. Oh, and speaking of love, you’re all set,” she told Brandy. “The date is next Saturday. Lunch at the diner with Mike. Wear red.”
“I’ve been thinking and I—” Brandy started, but Callie looked so suddenly distraught that she caught herself. “Fine, I’ll be there.”
“Have I told you that you’re the best sister in the world?”
“I thought I was the best sister in the world,” Jenna chimed in as she pulled her head out of the avocado-green fridge, half a leftover apple pie in her hand.
“You were before you went and added a plus-one to the reception menu. What do you think Jase likes? Fish or chicken?”
“Neither. He won’t be around by then.”
“The wedding is only four weeks away and you’re not known for your ability to clean the slate.” Callie eyed the humidifier
parked on the counter. “You went back and forth for four months with the last guy. And honestly, I still think he thinks there’s a chance.”
“He does not think there’s a chance.”
“Only because I had Arnie hypnotize him and make the suggestion. Speaking of which, maybe you ought to introduce Arnie and Jase.”
“Or you could just be honest,” Brandy offered.
Jenna seemed to think. “Arnie does come into the vet clinic on Thursdays to bring in his pit bull. Maybe I could ask Jase to pick me up. They’ll have a chance meeting and bam, problem solved.”
“She’s too much of an optimist,” Callie said as Jenna grabbed a fork and headed for the den, pie in hand, Jez yapping after her. “It’s going to bite her in the ass one day.”
But as Brandy stared after her youngest sister, she started to think that maybe optimism wasn’t such a bad thing. While Jenna found herself in a pickle every now and then when it came to men, things always seemed to work out in the end.
Because her sister didn’t let worry hold her back. She didn’t sit around thinking about the future. She lived for the moment. She followed her instincts, and while they might occasionally lead her into the deep end sometimes, she didn’t panic even then. She just kept her hopes up, scarfed down pie, and miraculously enough life worked itself out.
Brandy was definitely worrying too much when it came to Tyler McCall. They were buddies of the carnal variety. End of story. Nothing more. Not even if she did like him just a little. The key was not to worry over her slip-up the night before, rather to move forward from this moment with her priorities in order. Top of the list? To keep things strictly physical.
To move fast and furious whenever they were together and leave little time for anything else like talking or teasing or falling even more into like.
At least that was the plan.
One she didn’t get a chance to initiate just yet because Callie pulled out the bridal magazines and Brandy found herself poring over dresses for the next few hours until her sister called it a night and headed home to Brett. And then Jenna snagged her attention with a rerun of Cupcake Wars. Before she knew it, midnight had rolled around and she still needed to spend at least half an hour online to see if she could find an address for a certain Ryder Jax.
Thirty minutes that soon turned into two hours until she hit pay dirt with a monthly membership at FindMyPeeps.com that produced a viable home address.
Three to be specific, but then that was the Internet. Luckily all three were within a forty-mile radius and shouldn’t be too difficult to check out. Tomorrow. First, she needed some sleep. Four a.m. was only a few hours away. Which meant sex with Tyler McCall would have to wait.
But next time … She would most definitely keep her priorities straight and her brain on target.
No more talking.
Or getting to know each other.
Just sex and nothing but sex.
CHAPTER 18
Tyler glanced at the clock for tenth time in as many minutes. Half past one a.m. She wasn’t coming. He knew it, yet he stayed put anyway, listening for the grumble of an engine, the click of footsteps. Hoping.
Like hell.
He sat up and reached for his phone. A quick text and he decided to hit a nearby bar and join Duff for a nightcap, but he’d have to hurry if he meant to get there before last call at two a.m.
He sure as hell meant to make it, to stop biding his time, staring at the door, and do something. The waiting around for word from his brother was driving him insane, to the point that he’d stopped by at the trailer today and offered to fix the failing porch. Anything to fill the time when he wasn’t training.
Or having sex with Brandy.
From the looks of it, he was going to have a damn sight more time on his hands than he’d originally thought.
He’d dropped off a load of wood earlier, left another voice mail for Cooper, and met with Jack Gallagher about climbing onto a few of his bucking bulls.
Not the best that the Rebel area had to offer, but the cream of the crop belonged to Brett Sawyer and Tyler wasn’t up to picking that sore just yet. His cousin hated him and so he knew the answer would be no.
But he would make do.
He always did.
He’d never had the best facilities, never had an easy ride like Brett and a few other golden boys in professional bull riding. Tyler didn’t have it easy. Not when he’d been living on cheese sandwiches and training on a rusted-out barrel behind his trailer, though things were a slight bit better now. At least he had cash in his pocket, a roof over his head, a good meal, and enough left over for a bottle of whiskey on those nights when his muscles ached clear to the bone.
Like tonight.
He pulled on a T-shirt, grabbed his keys, and walked out to his truck. A quick glance down the road just to make sure there was no blaze of lights, and he swung up behind the wheel.
Give it up, buddy. She’s not coming.
Because he’d screwed up last night. He’d held her just a little too long, made things just a little more complicated. Not on purpose. Hell, he’d been tired and she’d felt good and, seriously, it’s not like he was starting to feel anything for her.
Tyler made it his business not to feel anything for anyone. He didn’t need anything else pulling him back to Rebel, Texas, not when he was this close to breaking the last few ties. He would see his brother off to A&M, fix the damn porch for his mother, and that would be that. His work here finished.
Finally.
Yep, last night had had little to do with feeling and more to do with the fact that he’d had a weak moment. He’d been tired as hell, and well, he’d let his exhaustion cloud his thinking.
A weak moment.
That’s all it had been.
One that had spooked the living shit out of her.
A good thing, he told himself. As tired as he was right now, as stressed, he was liable to haul her close, bury his nose in her neck, and fall dead asleep without ever having peeled off even a stitch of her clothes—and that wouldn’t work at all. No, it was better that she kept her distance tonight and let him get his head on straight.
Because the last thing he meant to do was feel anything for Brandy Tucker besides lust.
Gunning the engine, he sent the truck screaming down the road toward the first turnoff and the small bar that sat just off to the right.
* * *
“So what do you think?” Duff asked him after he’d spent ten minutes giving Tyler the quick rundown on his rocky love life.
Love, because Duff had broken down and mentioned the L word just last night, in the heat of the moment, just when he’d erupted like Old Faithful. A big no-no for any man.
“It’s hard to tell. What did she say?”
“She didn’t say anything,” Duff said, his words slightly slurred thanks to the half-empty bottle of Crown Royal sitting on the table in front of him. “I don’t even think she heard it.”
Oh, she’d heard it, all right.
Tyler would be willing to lay money on it, particularly since the woman in question was a local. Not that Duff had mentioned her name.
That was the telltale sign that something was different with this woman, because Duff had a habit of kissing and telling, only he wasn’t spilling his guts right now, not to the point that he’d violated the local’s identity. “Tell me what I should do now.”
“Right now? At this moment?” Duff nodded and Tyler said, “I think you should call it a night and head back to the motel.” Tyler took a swig of the bottled water in front of him, his drink of choice once he’d caught up to Duff and realized the man was three sheets to the wind. “I’ll drive.”
“But don’t you think I should call her? I mean, I said I would last night before she left. But then I woke up and realized what I’d said and I started to think that maybe I shouldn’t have said it. What if it scared her?”
What if it didn’t?
That was the question that would have startled
Tyler more than anything else when it came to pouring out his feelings for a woman. The notion that she would return those feelings, that he would find himself anchored to the one town he’d vowed to leave behind.
“What if it did?” Tyler decided to play devil’s advocate. “Then it’s a good thing you didn’t follow through and call her.”
“But what if she waited the entire day and then I didn’t call. She’ll know I didn’t mean it.”
“Maybe that’s a good thing.”
“It’s terrible. What kind of guy drops the L word and doesn’t mean it?”
“I hate to break it to you, Opie, but most guys in the free world.”
“I don’t do that,” Duff said. “I’ve never done that. Why now?”
“Is she good looking?”
“Damn straight.”
“Is she good in bed?”
“The best.”
“Then that’s why.”
“I’m an asshole.”
“You’re human.”
“A crappy human. I told her I would call her. But then I wanted to see her so damn bad that it scared the shit out of me. I couldn’t call her. And now she’s going to think I didn’t want to call her.”
“You didn’t,” Tyler pointed out.
“Yeah, but not because I don’t like her. I do. Hell, I like her a lot. I don’t love her. I mean, I don’t think I do. That’s crazy, right? I don’t even know her.”
“Crazier than crazy.”
“Seriously, there’s no way I can really love her. Not when I don’t even know her middle name. I don’t know what her favorite food is or what kind of music she likes or her favorite color. I don’t know anything except she can damn well scream up a storm when she cuts loose. That ain’t enough, right? I mean, I actually mentioned her to my mother this morning before I could stop myself. Told her I might be bringing someone home for dinner. What the hell was I thinking?” He shook his head. “I should call her.”
“That would make things worse. Trust me. Just get some sleep. Call her tomorrow if you still want to talk to her.”
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