Love Unclaimed

by Jennifer Benson

  “What happened?” she asked, almost dreamily, and Gavin groaned at the sound of her voice.

  “Seriously, knock it off.” Clint punched Gavin in the shoulder.

  “Could cut it with a knife.” Travis chuckled. “Nice to see that, at least some of it is still there.” He ducked from another of Gavin’s swats.

  “What the hell are the three of you talking about?” Audree asked, looking at Travis and Clint, but not turning around to look at Gavin.

  “They are just being their usual asshole selves,” Gavin said, hoping she would look at him.

  “Wonderful,” she sighed and turned back to the windshield.

  “Travis, pull my truck in the back and Gavin will put his back out front, that way Mom thinks it is still just him staying here,” Clint said, directing Travis to the back of the house, when he caught Audree’s surprised look at him. “All in good time, sis, all in good time.” He winked at Audree’s questioning glance.

  Gavin had sent Clint a text last week, telling him that he would be staying at his place for a while, instead of going back east since he’d left his company in the hands of his CFO. Clint, of course, had no problem and it had surprised Gavin that Clint hadn’t asked why. Much to the dismay of his Board of Directors, he called an emergency Board meeting and informed them that he would be doing his work from a remote office, slowly moving toward being more of a figurehead and owner of the financial investment company he had built from the ground up.

  He was involved in every part of the company. He was the rare owner who put family before business. His employees knew his door was always open, to everyone. He knew each of his employees by name and knew their spouses and children. He had learned years ago, from Mr. Edwards that the people that worked for you made you better. So he treated his employees well. He paid people a lot of money to keep his company running and now they would really start earning it. Until the new home office was completed, he needed a place to stay, since Audree had kicked him out and the next logical place was Clint’s house. Travis was staying between their family house and Audree’s until a decision was made about what to do with the land and the house. That was part of the discussion that Clint had been talking about earlier.

  In the two days that Gavin had been at Clint’s house, after picking him up at the airport, a lot of things had been hashed out, including the situation with Audree. Gavin had intended to talk to Clint after he got home later in the week. Since Travis had opened his big fucking mouth, it saved Gavin from having to figure out a way to bring the subject up. Clint brought it up first, asking Gavin what the hell was going on with him and Audree, and when it had started. Gavin left out all the gory details, of course; then Clint did what any good big brother would do, he punched Gavin squarely in the jaw. Gavin, a man desperately in love with best friend’s little sister, of course returned the punch. This then led to a brawl in the backyard before Travis happened upon them and broke it up, offering steaks and beer.

  “So what is the big need for this meeting?” Audree asked, placing the bowl of salad in the center of the table and taking the furthest seat from Gavin.

  “Excuse me, Pip, my seat.” Clint nudged her out of the head of the table seat, leaving only one other seat at the table, the seat next to Gavin.

  “I promise not to bite,” Gavin whispered when she took her seat next to him, chuckling when she sighed.

  ***

  Oh my God! This has been the longest hour of my life. Having to sit so close to him, after all this time, is uncomfortable. Gotta love Clint for trying, but I just want to get this night over with and get away from Gavin as quickly as possible. Especially before I do something really stupid and forgive him for his stupidity and general asshole-ish behavior. I know and understand why he did what he did, but dear God, that vision is permanently imprinted on my brain. Why hadn’t he warned me about what his plan was; I could have been prepared to see the man I love with a woman I hate. It hurt more that he didn’t trust me. I also feel completely stupid for allowing our ‘relationship’ to go on like it did for so long. Like I told Ruby the other day, if he really wants me back, he is going to have to fight for me and court me like he should have done a long time ago.

  The ride over here was torture. I knew everyone in the truck could feel the tension and electricity in the air. I assume that is what the ‘cut with a knife’ comment earlier had meant, but I wasn’t getting in on any of the nonsense Travis was starting. It is also clear by the bruises on both Clint and Gavin’s faces that they had a talk about the whole situation and hashed out their grievances the same way they always did; with a fist fight, a steak and a couple of beers. Guys are so stupid, Audree rolled her eyes and looked around the table at three of the men she loved, and she couldn’t help but smile at them and their stubborn stupidity.

  “Okay, so Trav, Gavin told me some of the ideas you guys have for the shitload of land the two of you now own,” Clint stated matter-of-factly, before taking a pull from his beer and placing a plate stacked with steaks from the grill in the center of the table.

  “Yeah, I was talking to Scotty and Harry about staying on a bit longer, to help out with some of the new ideas, that is, if you and Audree agree.” He looked directly at Audree who had taken note of Gavin’s body tensing at the mention of Scotty’s name. It made her smile to herself knowing that Gavin was still jealous of Scotty, even though nothing had happened between them, but Gavin didn’t need to know that just yet.

  “Why am I involved in any of your plans for the land?” Audree glanced at Gavin, but directed her question to Travis. Travis had brought her up to date with the situation with their father. She was very proud of them both, but wished it had been taken care of years ago. So much time wasted on a mean old man. She was also thrilled she hopefully wouldn’t be meeting up with him in town anymore.

  “Your parcel may be affected,” Gavin stated.

  “Oh, okay?”

  “Do you remember when we were kids and were upset we lived so far from town that we didn’t get to enjoy a lot of things there?” Travis asked, popping a bite of steak into his mouth while waiting for Audree to answer.

  “Yeah, we said it would be great if we could have some of that stuff closer to us. Even now, it would be nice if school were closer for Eva, maybe some other stuff, too. I’ve been talking to Gabby Alton and she is talking about home schooling her three kids.”

  “What if she wouldn’t have to home school them; if there was a school closer?” Gavin asked and smiled when her eyes met his.

  “You guys are going to build a school?” She returned his smile.

  “We were talking about building a kind of community, actually.” He winked at her and she felt the blush spread across her face.

  “You guys are serious?” She smiled and forcefully pulled her gaze away from Gavin’s.

  “Yup,” Travis said, proudly. “We are going to knock down our father’s house and start off with a clean slate. We are going to knock down Meager’s house, too. Most of his land hasn’t been used for farming, no matter how much he boasted it had. Father just took his word for it, but never really looked for himself. There will be a school to start with, well a school house and basically home school from there until we can get approved for an actual school. Your mom and aunt have been talking about a restaurant near their market; Ruby could have a shop. We have even been talking about a bed and breakfast so people have somewhere to stay at after some of the events that Ruby has planned at the barn. She also suggested a type of dude ranch with themed events.”

  “We’ll see how it goes and move from there,” Gavin stated.

  “Again, I don’t see why this has anything to do with me.” She lifted her shoulder. “I mean, you guys can have the parcel.”

  “We don’t want the parcel, per say. We want to set up a small clinic and veterinary office.” Gavin smiled when he saw her face light up.

  “You guys have been planning this for a while.” Dumbfounded, she looked between the brothers.<
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  “We’ve had about two weeks to talk about stuff.” Gavin looked knowingly at her. “Since I will be working remotely from a home office from now on, I’ll have more time to help get everything through the development stages.”

  “What? Working from home, you have your company…”

  “I turned it over to my CFO. I will be moving back here and living…”

  “Close by,” Clint interrupted.

  “Close by, meaning here?” She indicated Clint’s house.

  “For now.” Gavin dropped his head to his hands.

  “Oh,” Audree sighed and was saved from saying anything else when her phone rang from the purse that she had left in the living room. “Excuse me, that is Eva calling to say goodnight,” she stood up and grabbed her and Clint’s plates, before making her way through the kitchen to the living room.

  ***

  “She still hates me.” Gavin leaned his elbows on the table and dropped his head into his hands. “She can barely look at me.”

  “Are you kidding? Were you not in the truck? I wasn’t kidding about the tension.” Travis emptied his beer bottle.

  “Sexual tension is not love, Trav,” Gavin said, without lifting his head. “We never had a problem with…”

  “Still in the room and still my little sister,” Clint growled, shaking his head.

  “Sorry, but she hates me,” he groaned.

  “I don’t think she does, but I think she is going to make you suffer for a bit longer.” Clint chuckled. “You are going to have to sweep her off her feet. Maybe try dating her.” He shrugged his shoulder.

  “Maybe put on your big boy pants and ask her out on a real date.” Travis stood up and carried his plate to the kitchen.

  “That is already in the works,” Gavin said as a smile spread across his face.

  ***

  “Well, I think I’m going to call it a night, Dad had me sweating my ass off today on the farm, and I’m done for. Eva said goodnight and she loves you guys; she is super excited to be coming home in a couple of days.” She moved over to Clint.

  “I cannot wait to see her.” Clint stood up and wrapped his arms around his sister. “Be nice to him, he feels like shit,” he whispered into her ear. “Make him work for it though.” He laughed when she giggled.

  She laughed and kissed his cheek, “Trav, do you think you could drive me home?” She didn’t look over at Gavin.

  “Actually I have a date tonight,”

  “I’ll take you, Audree.” Gavin stood up and walked to the door without waiting for her to respond.

  “Thanks a lot.” She smacked Travis on the chest. “And I call bullshit on your date excuse.” She smacked him again and tried to wiggle out of his arms when he pulled her in for a hug.

  “Be nice, he’s trying.” He placed a loud kiss on her cheek.

  “You guys are worse than a couple of old washer women.” She laughed and started toward the door. “Goodnight.” She waved and slipped out the door.

  “They are so doing it tonight.” Travis laughed.

  “You are now on dish duty and don’t put shit like that in my head.” Clint shoved a dirty plate into Travis’ stomach.

  “Okay, I won’t make you think about how loud your sister is when….”

  “Travis! Get out!” Clint shouted. “After you do the dishes.” He laughed and stormed out of the room, cursing under his breath. “By the way,” he started just as he left the room. “I hear Ruby is kind of loud, too.” He laughed when he heard Travis groan.

  “Gross! She is like my sister,” Travis called after him.

  Audree stepped out on the front porch and didn’t see Gavin; she decided he must have gone to get the truck from the side of the house. She took the opportunity to slip off the porch and start walking toward her house. Of course, it was completely dark out and the only light was from the moon. Thank goodness she had a small flashlight on her keychain, but she didn’t dare turn it on and alert Gavin to where she was. She knew he would be pissed and that he would look for her, so she made sure to stay far enough off the worn path from Clint’s house.

  “Audree, get in the truck,” Gavin called from the truck that had pulled up beside her, keeping her just outside the beams of the headlights. She didn’t answer him, hoping that he was only calling out to her, but couldn’t actually see her. “Damn it, Audree. We need to talk.” She heard the truck door slam, but didn’t hear him moving and she didn’t respond as she continued to tiptoe in the direction of her house. “Did you really think I couldn’t catch you?” His voice whispered into her ear as his arm wrapped around her waist.

  “Let me go.” She struggled against his hold.

  “Not until we talk.”

  “Gavin, please.”

  “Please, what?” He brushed his lips to her neck. “I’ve missed you so much.” He inhaled her scent as he brushed his nose against the length of her neck to her ear. “I have so much to apologize to you for and tell you…”

  “Don’t.” She tried, without much effort, to move away from him again.

  “I know I shouldn’t have told you how I feel, the way I did; I have done so many things wrong. I have so much I want to tell you.”

  “No, you shouldn’t have, but please don’t think that you have to give up your life to make up for it.” She let her body go limp, and she felt him loosen his hold around her waist. “You have a life back home.”

  “You are my home; you and Eva are my home.”

  “Gavin,” she whispered.

  “Let me finish; please, let me tell you.” He let her go and took a step back. “I know everyone thinks that, because of the pictures on the internet, that I have been whoring around for years, but you are the only woman I have been with in years.” He heard her gasp. “You must have trusted me; you never asked or commented about other women.”

  “You never asked me about other men.”

  “You aren’t that type of woman, Audree. You immediately cut me off when you started dating that guy when Eva was two. It killed me, but I backed off and let it happen.”

  “Why?”

  “I was stupid.” He smiled when he heard her laugh. “I didn’t think I was good enough to be with you; and that bullshit with my father, I couldn’t drag you into that.”

  “I was always a part of it. I wish you had told me sooner, maybe we could have done something less extreme. Hell, we could have gotten married and had a pre-nup giving the land to Eva or Clint, even Ruby or my parents.” Her voice quivered and she tried to hold back her tears.

  “I know I should have done so many things differently. I should have just gone to Clint years ago and told him how I felt about you. I shouldn’t have let him or anyone else stand in our way.” He shook his head and ran his hand over his short hair. “And Trudy, Christ, I couldn’t have been more stupid. She totally played me. I figured I’d kill two birds with one stone, showing Travis that she was cheating with who knows how many guys and to get us out of that fucking deal.”

  “I know you didn’t do what it looked like you did. I should have waited for you to tell me what happened.”

  “You had every right to believe the worst of me. I have always known how you felt about me and I wasn’t honest with you or myself.” He took a deep breath. “The real reason I never let you stay in my bed and I never stayed in yours was because I was scared to death that if I did I would never want to leave and I needed this shit with my father settled. I never expected him to actually try to go through with his stupid plan.” He took a step away from her.

  “Gavin, I…”

  “Please, let me finish. It killed me when you told me you were pregnant with Eva.” He blew out a breath. “I mean, you know I love that little girl like she was my own and Brooks and Marissa are like family, but…”

  “I wanted her to be yours,” she sounded sad. “If I hadn’t turned to Brooks that night…”

  “You wouldn’t have the most beautiful little girl, ever.”

  “But, I wish…” />
  “What is done is done. We need to figure out where to go from here. I love you, Audree, and I want us to stop wasting time apart. I told Clint I would go at whatever pace you set and I would spend every day making this right, but I don’t want to lose any more time with you.”

  “I don’t want to waste any more time either, but I can’t just jump into bed with you. We do need to take this slower. I don’t want to be your fuck buddy anymore, Gavin. I want to be yours. I want you to be mine. But it has to be more than just in bed.”

  “Yes, absolutely. One of the biggest mistakes I made was agreeing that this was all we needed from each other. That first time, that night in your truck, I wanted to tell you then that I loved you. I wanted to stay with you. I wanted to take you with me. When I saw that “G” scrolled in your tattoo, my heart almost jumped out of my chest.”

  “And in all these years, you have never mentioned it.” She laughed. “I have loved you since I was a little girl and I wanted to tell you, but I knew you had to leave. I said that I was okay that night with having what you could give me, but I had hoped that, when you saw the tattoo, you would know I wanted you forever.”

  “It killed me to leave you. I turned around like four times. I couldn’t bring myself to take away your chances of finding a life and a world outside of the ranch. I had nothing to offer you then. I had to make something of myself. I had to make sure that, no matter what; my father couldn’t hurt you and your family. I had to make sure that if he ever tried, I could take him down.”

  “Well, now that you have done that, are you really ready to stay here?”

  “If you are here, I’m here. I will follow you anywhere. You are my only home.” He pulled her into his arms. “If you will still have me.”

  “Call me and ask me out sometime, and we’ll take it from there.” She smiled up at him.

  “Seriously?” He laughed.

  “Yes, seriously, I want to be courted.”

  “Then that is what you shall have.” He held her body close to his. “Can I ask for one thing?”

  “You can ask.” She laughed, throwing her arms around his neck.