by Regale, Rhea
“Sweetheart—”
“Please,” she whispered, throwing up a hand. “Don’t call me that.”
His heart flipped, and not in a good way. “Did I do somethin’?”
“No.”
“Would you feel better if I left?”
She sighed, rubbing her face with both her hands. When she looked at him, he noticed the shimmer of tears coating her eyes. “I’m confused. I don’t know what to do. You come here and turn my world around. You’re bringin’ me out. You’re callin’ me. You never noticed me before and now you do and you’ll be leavin’—”
“Amanda, if this has to do with singin’, we can work around things. I’m gonna come back, for you if nothin’ else. I’ll spend my time in Ryder durin’ breaks between shows. You can come with me…” Brody narrowed his eyes as a dark wave crossed over her expression. She pressed her lips together and turned her face away. Cautiously, he slipped his hand over hers. She didn’t pull away, but didn’t respond, either. “You don’t think I’m speakin’ the truth.”
“It’s not that.”
Brody shifted in his seat so he could lean toward her. Tipping her face, he drew her mouth to his and kissed her like he wanted to in the diner. She tasted like mint and berries. Each soft, slow stroke of his tongue was met by her own sensual sweeps. He wedged his arm between her back and the seat, angling her to deepen his kiss. She didn’t resist, one hand coming to rest on his shoulder and the other tentatively brushing over his face. The airy touch left his cock in a bunch, the low-grade throb quickly mounting.
Reluctantly, he nipped her bottom lip and ended their kiss, riding the waves of lightheadedness while keeping his forehead against hers. “Mandy, I don’t want to go unless I know you’ll be waitin’ for me when I return. That is, if you won’t travel with me. I’m tellin’ you the god-honest truth when I say you’ve stormed my life in such a quiet way. I don’t know when it happened or how it happened, but I want you. I want you to want me.”
“I’m gonna start a book called The Casanova Guide to Pick-Up Lines and make a small fortune,” Mandy murmured. Brody chuckled despite the slight insult, but this moment wouldn’t be right without a witty remark from his Mandy May.
“Start the book. I’ll endorse it under false pretenses.” He brushed his lips over hers, keeping the motion as innocent as possible to spare his cock further torture. As it was, he’d be needing a shower and an extra handful of lotion. “I ain’t feedin’ you any lines, lovely. Not a one. I’m speakin’ from this beatin’ drum in my chest.”
“Five days ago, you didn’t know I existed. Now your heart’s talkin’ for you?”
“Is it so hard to believe feelin’s can blossom as genuinely overnight as they might over time?”
“What’re you tryin’ to say, cowboy?”
“I’m feelin’ more than a fling or a week romp. I’m feelin’ you, wantin’ you, and the thought of any other woman doesn’t make my cock hard, my body ache, or my heart beat like you do.”
“Lines in your song?”
“Only if the song is for you.”
He wrapped one of her damp curls around his finger and inhaled the scent of her lilac shampoo. He dipped his head and brushed a light kiss to her throat, pleased with the faint shiver it elicited. He smiled against her skin, smelling fresh and feeling soft, that deep-rooted hunger for her clawing to get out and claim the woman he wanted more than anything. Maybe, just maybe, a piece of his heart still lived in Ryder, despite his protest to his pa. Maybe that piece sat here in the form of a very special, sinfully beautiful woman who made his chest squeeze tight.
Even as she pulled the baseball cap off his head and combed her fingers through his hair, he sensed the disturbance wreaking havoc with her soul. His instinct warned him there was more to her behavior than the idea of his leaving, but she wasn’t about to tell him the truth.
“How ’bout we head down to the ranch once you’re off work. We’ll take the horses out, go for a ride down by the river, and maybe you can tell me what’s botherin’ you?” Brody turned his face into her palm and kissed the tender flesh. “You, me, and the settin’ sun.”
“Can I let you know how I feel after shift?” Mandy asked, curling her fingers into her hand and dropping it to her lap. She looked at him, her thoughts reserved from his eyes. “I didn’t sleep much last night, and I’m feelin’ a headache comin’.”
A lie. There was no doubting it, but he wouldn’t argue with her. If she needed time, then he’d give it to her.
With a slight nod, he mustered a reassuring grin and climbed out of the truck. He reached her side before she opened the door and pulled it back for her, helping her to her feet.
“Mandy, god hear me, I’m not throwin’ lines at you,” Brody murmured, tipping her chin up with his thumb. “I’ll be flyin’ to Alabama on Tuesday. We’re runnin’ two more concerts in a week’s time then we have two weeks off, and I’ll come straight back here.” He needed more than a crowded diner to keep him from kissing this woman, closing his mouth over hers. He loved the way she tasted, how perfectly their tongues moved together, and how hot her mouth made him feel. He gave her waist a gentle squeeze before she lowered her face, ending the kiss. “You’re dangerous, Miss Pearson. I’m havin’ a tough time not tossin’ you in the truck and haulin’ you away from work.”
“I should get back inside,” Mandy murmured. She drew her bottom lip between her teeth and started toward the diner. Brody closed the door and leaned against the side of the SUV, watching her swagger, the way her hips moved beneath the pink skirt. Yeah, he wanted that and wanted her, but he’d be doing his fair share of convincing her he wasn’t a Casanova if he planned to keep her.
Brody rolled off the truck as she reached the stairs. The hairs on the nape of his neck tingled. He rounded the rental and came up short, hand on the door handle. A shadow caught his attention, and he looked up. His eyes clashed with the glowering fury of his brother’s across the street where the overflow parked. Craig was half out of his truck, his face set in steel cuts of anger. Brody’s gut twisted, a sickening realization sinking into his mind.
“At it again, are you?” Craig yelled, the razor edge in his voice cutting straight through him. He threw the diner a short glance before slamming his truck door shut, revving his engine, and peeling onto the road in a plume of dust and a roar of burning rubber.
“Fuck,” Brody growled, smacking his hand against the rental before climbing behind the wheel and taking chase after his brother.
Chapter Eleven
Heidi came into the bathroom and wrapped her arm around Mandy’s shoulders. Mandy dabbed a cold, wet paper towel along her red-rimmed eyes and sniffled. Why the hell was she so damn upset? Why the hell did her heart hurt so damn much?
“Amanda May Pearson, I’m gonna say it, and you’re gonna deal with it. I told you those brothers were both eyein’ you, but you didn’t want to listen to me. Instead, you go puttin’ on the ‘Craig’s a friend’ and ‘Brody’s leavin’’ excuse to cover up what’s been stirrin’ in here,” Heidi said, poking at her chest. “In the seven years I’ve known you, I’ve never once seen you back down from fightin’ for what you want, until now.”
“It’s complicated, Heidi. It ain’t that simple.” Mandy let out a shaky breath and twisted around, leaning her ass against the sink. She crossed her arms over her chest, trying to keep her tears at bay. “Everythin’ goin’ on is gonna backfire. Everythin’. Craig and I, we’ve got somethin’ special in our friendship, and I know it could be somethin’ wonderful in a relationship. But I’ve always had a crush on Brody. It ain’t fair to lead them both on when I know the bad blood between them.”
“You ain’t Caroline, girl. You ain’t lookin’ for their money or their name. You’ve grown up here, and you’ve got your own place in this town. You’ve left your own mark. Ryder wouldn’t be Ryder without the redheaded vixen Amanda.” Heidi brushed her side bang away from her blue eyes and gave Mandy one of her rare soft smiles. “You
know, I’m quite jealous. You’ve got both those guys tryin’ for you, and you’re bein’ stubborn.”
“I’m not stubborn. I’m bein’ realistic. They won’t even look at each other after what Caroline did.”
“And you know the truth ’cause you were here with me when she went on with her sob story. Just like you were at Ride’em with me when we saw who she went home with.”
Mandy sniffled again, using the cold towel to wipe her nose. The frown deepened on her lips, and she hunched her shoulders.
Heidi leaned in close to Mandy, her mouth next to her ear, and whispered, “Those boys got it all wrong, and you can be the one to right it.”
“It’s been three years. I doubt much can fix them.”
“Well.” She stepped in front of Mandy and arched one sloping brow. “I sure hope you haven’t lost your gall, girl, ’cause Craig was sittin’ outside when Brody was kissin’ you. He saw it all, and Brody went chasin’ after him.”
Mandy jerked straight up, her eyes widening. If her ordeal wasn’t driving her mad, this news damn well threw her right off the ledge. Heidi nodded, a clever smirk twitching the corner of her pink-painted lips.
“Yes, ma’am. I saw it from the window. So, tell me. Have you lost our bet?”
“Craig was in the parkin’ lot?”
“Across the street.”
Mandy groaned, fisting her hands in her skirt. “Oh, damn me! This isn’t what I wanted.”
“No, you want perfect, so I’d suggest you start hustlin’ your ass outta here and go make perfect. Trish and I got this place covered. I’ll take care of Martin.”
Mandy threw open the bathroom door and rushed through the diner. She had no idea where the brothers would’ve gone, but she wasn’t about to let her own weak conscience cause a fatal rift between them. She’d kept her secret long enough. It was time to set things straight.
And if it meant walking away from a rare love, then she’d sacrifice her happiness to bring her two cowboys back together.
* * * *
The front door to the Ryders’ house was left wide open when she pulled her car behind Brody’s SUV. Hollering greeted her as she climbed from her car. Craig and Brody were going at it, their words muffled, but the anger radiating all the way to the drive. If the house could throb with rage, she’d be watching the wooden slats bulge with each powerful accusation.
She crept up the stairs and across the porch. Once she made certain the brothers weren’t within sight, she slipped into the foyer. She pinpointed their whereabouts when something crashed to the floor in the living room on the other side of the wall to her left.
“One ain’t enough. You gotta go for her, too!” Craig roared. Furniture scraped across the wooden floor, making her cringe. She pressed her shoulder to the wall, tilting her head forward to better hear what transpired and how much damage she had caused. “You’ve got your eye on her, do you? Why don’t we see how fast the tabloids pick up on a black eye, brother.”
“They’d love it, Craig. Every goddamn drop of gossip they can squeeze from it,” Brody shot back. “How the hell was I supposed to know you had a cock stand for her?”
“If you’d come around a bit more, you’d know a helluva lot about your hometown.”
“I have nothin’ holdin’ me here.”
“Is that what you told Pa before you stormed out of Ryder a few weeks ago to follow your spotlights and have your groupies you can fuck without a tie-down?”
A few grunts ensued. Something else toppled over. A loud clatter startled Mandy. Footsteps, or stomps, marched around the living room. Her heart tore inch by inch, with each passing minute, ire boiling up in the cracks. The blows were going lower and lower, turning into cheap shots. They were going at each other without facts, without the full story, and without all sides of the situation. How damn blind could two men be?
“It ain’t enough you fucked Caroline, knowin’ damn well she was goin’ with me. You blast back into this town and try to snag Amanda, too. You are no good for her, Brody. You’ll only tear her heart to pieces, like every other woman you’ve bedded and left.”
“Poor judge of my character,” Brody muttered. “Maybe I actually like her. Ever thought about that?”
That’s it. Mandy rolled off the wall and stepped into the doorway leading to the living room. Craig and Brody were in a tangle of fists and swinging arms, taking little heed of the furniture standing in their way.
“Are you kiddin’ me?” Mandy spat. The brothers froze and quickly pulled apart. “I ain’t gonna be the girl you two use to seek out your revenge over a hometown slut who slept with every fuckin’ man who came through here.”
Brody and Craig spun on her, their eyes wide in shock. Brody wore a nice red patch on his cheek, and one on his jaw. Craig was spared any visible marks, but his hair was a mess she would have otherwise found hot, had her own bubbling anger not melted away all attraction in the moment.
Mandy nodded once, rebel curls falling over her forehead. She shook a finger in their direction, the pressure swelling in her chest as her anger and her hurt rose.
“I ain’t Caroline, boys. I ain’t a shallow, greedy bitch lookin’ for a way to climb the social ladder here in Ryder. I’m damn well content with where I am and who I am. You both are fuckin’ fools thinkin’ she gave a dog’s tail about either one of you.” She stabbed the air in Craig’s direction. “I was at the bar when Brody apparently screwed Caroline. She left hours before he did, and she left with two other men. Brody was workin’ another lady that night, not Caroline. She came into Martin’s the followin’ mornin’ with this pathetic story about how Brody was drunk and she offered to take him home, and somehow they ended up at his place when he forced himself on her, but she didn’t want to get him into trouble so she didn’t file a report.”
Her frustration grew until she saw red. “Anyone with a good ear in this town knows she’d been tossin’ lines at Brody and tried—tried—to screw him on more than one account. Brody turned her away every time ’cause she belonged to you. He suffered the accusations that he forced himself on her. He never fucked her, but she sure as the Kansas sun used you and turned the two of you against each other in hopes of breakin’ your entire family apart.”
Craig’s gaze snapped to his brother as Mandy swung her arm in the same direction. “And you, Brody Ryder—’cause you ain’t no Allen here—are a fuckin’ idiot for never tryin’ to clean up that mess with Craig. Instead, you ran off to Nashville like a shamed pup with your tail between your legs, leavin’ the accusation with a damn good ring of truth by doin’ so, and got too bigheaded over your risin’ stardom to even consider how much this damn mountain between you two has affected him. A cold heart would be the only reason it hadn’t affected you the same.”
Brody lowered his head and rubbed a hand over his spiked hair and down his face to his jaw. Mandy huffed out a hot breath and crossed her arms over her chest. Craig licked his lip, angling himself slightly away from Brody and more fully to her.
“Yeah, that’s what I thought. So the both of you’ve been under these false pretenses, or pride issues, or damn stubbornness for the past three years because of a whore whose ultimate goal was Colton because he is the wealthiest of all you Ryders, and she thought he would see her if she played along those heartstrings of yours.” After another pause, she snickered, the sound so cold and dark it left a chill in her own veins. “And here I am, caught between the two of you because I don’t know who is better and who is worse, and who I want more. I had always crushed on Brody, but I care about Craig. Well, did.”
Mandy shook her head, spun on the rubber sole of her sneaker, and stormed toward the front door. She came up short and threw a glance over her shoulder.
“I grew up knowin’ about you two, and especially you, Craig. You both may be used to gettin’ any woman you want, Casanovas, but you’re far from gettin’ anythin’ more from this one. I want nothin’ to do with either of you.” She swung open the door and slammed it shut b
ehind her, making certain they felt the tremor of her anger in their boots to hide the ache that hammered in her heart.
* * * *
Craig stared at the empty space where Amanda stood a moment ago, red-faced with anger he never thought he’d see blazing wild in her eyes. If that anger hadn’t been directed at him, he might have found it a turn-on. Right now, the last thing he wanted was the emptiness that quickly expanded in his chest.
He closed his eyes for a brief moment, patched together his composure, and turned to Brody.
“What she said,” he started, narrowing his gaze on his brother. “About Caroline.”
“I never fucked her, and I sure as hell have more dignity than to force myself on any woman,” Brody muttered, slowly bringing his eyes level with Craig’s. “You were so damn certain I did what she claimed. You’re a damn stubborn prick, Craig, and you wouldn’t listen to a fuckin’ word about it.”
“You never tried to explain it to me. Instead, you let me believe her cheatin’ ass.”
“You greeted me with a killer right hook that popped my jaw, and a slew of cusses that could set hell on fire.”
“So you thought it easier to run away than bear my wrath long enough to rectify the situation?” Craig laughed, the bitterness in his tone leaving a chill in the room. He gave Brody his back, raking his fingers through his hair. Three years of living with a misplaced hatred toward his brother, a brother he had loved and adored and looked up to all his life, to learn the truth from the woman they both vied for. Of all people, Amanda told—no, screamed—the details from that fateful evening.
Growling, Craig spun around, launching his right fist and connecting dead against Brody’s left cheek. Brody crashed into the sofa and rolled to the floor, his hand pressed to his face. His eyes shimmered as he cussed, stumbling to his feet. Craig flexed his fingers, a dull throb pulsing up his arm from the force of the contact.
“What the fuck was that for?” Brody spat, working his jaw back and forth.