Chapter Thirteen #4
see, Henry got kidnapped by a drug cartel, but that was on his own land. Lucy
did nearly get murdered.”
“But that was up at the lodge,” Gemma pointed out.
“What do you mean he offered you a job?” Rye asked.
“She’s going back.” Shane whispered the words, sounding like
he was already defeated. “She’s leaving.”
His brother could be pessimistic at times. He often wondered
what he brought to the table beyond pretty art. Shane was the one who managed
their day-to-day lives, but Bay was the one who slapped him upside the head
when he wanted to quit. Bay was the one who could see there was hope. Shane was
always trying to find the dark side. Likely because he’d lived there most of
his life. “She said he offered. She didn’t accept.”
“How was he offering you a job? Did you have to look for the
offer down his throat?” Rye asked.
“Dummy. She wanted to figure out why he was asking,” Max
argued.
Bay pointed Max’s way. “What he said.”
“And that man who was trying to kill Hale was thoughtful
enough to do it outside of town,” Nate reflected.
Brooke whirled on Bay. “No. You don’t get to have a say in
this. I know exactly why you charged into the fray. You didn’t like his hands
on me.”
“Of course he didn’t.” Shane stepped up. “You should know I
would have done the same. Brooke, we love you. We’re never going to stand by
while some asshole who’s already cost you so much tries to drag you back into
his hell.”
Shane trusted him. Shane didn’t have to hear his side of the
story.
Damn it. He’d done his brother wrong.
“Uhm, is that it? Because that’s a hell of a lot.” Tate
rolled down the window. “Auntie told me it would be an easy job and I can help
out with the alien hunting. I’m not sure how I’m supposed to protect Earth from
invading Reticulan Greys if I’m always stopping some
murderer.”
“You would have done the same damn thing.” Brooke pointed
that well-manicured finger Shane’s way. He had to wonder if in addition to the
gel, it was also coated in righteous judgment. “You both think you own me.
Well, guess what. He’s going to sue, and none of you will be able to talk him
out of it.”
“Well, then you’ll sue him right back. He harassed you,” Rye
replied. “I don’t understand why you’re taking this lying down. This is not the
Brooke I know.”
She went still, and he knew this was going to be bad. Rye
was pushing her in a way Bay never would have. He would have silently taken all
her worry and bile and offered to get her a glass of wine and agreed with
everything she said because she was processing. She would come back in an hour
or two and be reasonable.
Or he would fuck her until she wasn’t mad at him anymore.
Rye only had the one option, and he’d chosen poorly.
“Well, we did have to deal with a bunch of dead MCer’s, but they had the courtesy to die at Hell on
Wheels,” Nate replied, though he was warily watching the Harpers now. “Also,
they burned down a good portion of the bar, but Sawyer got that fixed up real
quick.”
“The Brooke you know?” Brooke’s eyes were red as she stared
at her brother.
“He didn’t mean that, sweetie.” Max was all kinds of serious
now. “You know how he gets when he’s under stress. He’s worried about you and
Rach and everything.”
“No, I’m worried that my sister won’t fight for herself,”
Rye insisted. “She ran back here like a dog with her tail between her legs.”
Brooke looked down at her watch before sniffling and wiping
at her eyes. “I’m due at the theater. Rye, don’t worry about me. I’ll be
leaving soon, and you won’t have to see me again. I’m sorry I was such a
disappointment.”
Rye’s shoulders dropped. “I didn’t mean it that way. I’m
confused.”
Brooke turned and started back toward the sidewalk. “It
doesn’t matter. Like I said, I’ll be leaving soon. There’s nothing here for me
anymore.”
“But you got two boyfriends,” Max called out. “And we kind
of like them now.”
“Not the right time, dude,” Bay said.
Brooke stopped and stared at them. “It wouldn’t have worked
anyway. I think I’m going to work with Cleo on her new films, and we all know
those two wouldn’t change their plans to follow a woman around.”
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” Shane asked.
But she was walking away.
“Go after her,” Bay said.
Shane simply watched her.
Max looked to Nate. “Come on, man. We need to go talk to our
sister. Look, I’m usually the one in the cell. Can’t we pretend you think I’m
Rye? If you’ll turn away for a second, we’ll change shirts and no one will be
the wiser.”
“She didn’t fight it because she was protecting you.”
Gemma’s eyes had gone hard as she stared at Rye. “Also, I don’t think Rye
should be the one talking to her at this point.”
“What do you mean she was protecting me? I don’t need
protection from that little asshole, as he so recently learned,” Rye shot back.
“Because they threatened her with a counter suit. Creating a
hostile work environment by talking about her brothers and their unusual
marriage,” Gemma explained.
“We don’t care about that.” Max’s head shook. “Like we care
what a couple of people in New York City think of us.”
He wasn’t thinking at all. “And Paige? How about your kids
when the press gets wind of a weird and juicy story? You’re connected to some
powerful people. Brooke wasn’t thinking about you. She was thinking about your
wife and kids and was willing to sacrifice her dream job to keep them safe. Do
you think she didn’t want to fight? The first thing she did when she came home
was consult with Gemma.”
Shane stood tall next to him. “She was doing it out of love,
and you called her a coward. Rye Harper, if this was a hundred years earlier, I
would challenge you to a duel.”
Gemma frowned Shane’s way. “Dude, that would be the 1920s.
No duels then. Knife him in a back alley. It’s the smartest way to get
revenge.”
Rye sighed and looked haggard. “I didn’t think about that.
Damn it. I have to go talk to her.”
Nate’s head shook. “No. You have to hop in that cell until I
get this sorted. Bay, you, too. Just because I took those cuffs off doesn’t
mean you’re not spending some time in the cell. Unless this guy doesn’t press
charges, I’m going to have to book you both.”
Trev had been standing silently in the background. He hadn’t
even seen the man. It was good to know his boss had witnessed his descent.
“I’ll bail Bay out.”
“Trev, I…” Bay began.
Trev shook his head. “No. I get it, man. I don’t think I
would be able to stay calm if someone was putting hands on my wife. Hell, even
Bo. I’d have lost it, too. Shane, stay here and deal with your girl. I don’t
need you until late this afternoon anyway. I’m meeting with Nell and Henry over
lunch, and then they’re working with Noah. I have to interview the new guys.
Try to be back around four.”
Shane shook his head. “I’ll come with you now. I don’t have
a way to get back, and honestly, I don’t think there’s anything to deal with. I
always knew if she had to pick between us and her dream job, we were going to
lose. Maybe she can talk him in to not pressing charges if he wants her back so
bad.”
Max’s hands fisted. “You want to send her back to the man
who tried to harass her and apparently wanted to do it again today?”
“Of course I fucking don’t.” Shane sounded tortured. “I love
her. I love her so much it’s killing me, but I can’t give her that life, and I
don’t think I can live it with her. What the hell am I supposed to do when her
rich friends come for dinner? At least Bay’s an artist, and he’s about to go
real big. I’m nothing.”
He’d done this to his brother. He’d done it. Bay got in his
brother’s space, putting a hand on his neck and looking him directly in the
eyes. “You are everything, Shane. Me and Brooke depend on you for fucking
everything. If you want to tell some truths about your life, start there. Start
with how you taught yourself to take care of the people around you when there
was nothing in your life that told you it was a good idea.”
Shane softened. “But there was. There was my brother.”
Bay heard a sniffling sound and worried they were making
Gemma emotional. “And you make our world work. The same as you do for Brooke.
If we have to live in damn New York City because it’s the only way she can be
happy, then you’re going to figure that out, too. We don’t work without you,
Shane.”
“But I…”
He shook his head. “No fucking buts. She’s it. She’s the
one. I know she’s pissed that I lost my shit, but she’ll get over it because
we’re good for her, too. I understand her and give her space to be who she
wants to be. You make it possible for both Brooke and I to do what we love. No
more roaming. All that time, all that searching, and it was for this. Home
isn’t this place. Home isn’t some building we can buy. It’s her. It’s always
been her.”
“That was beautiful.” Nope, not Gemma. Max was the one
wiping away tears, and Rye didn’t look all that far behind him. He put a hand
on his twin’s shoulder. “I’ll pick up the kids and I’ll take care of them
tonight. You know how much Rach loves a jailhouse quickie.”
“Absolutely not,” Nate was saying. “Bay, come on. I think
Shane needs to handle this. If he can’t handle this, then you’re both in
trouble.”
Rye looked to his brother and nodded. “You have to both be
able to talk to her. You have to figure out how to give her what she needs even
if the other isn’t around. Which is why we’re either going solo on our business
trips from now on or one of us is staying home with the kids and Rachel can
help with clients. I think she would make a hell of a salesperson for our
farm.”
Max got the most peaceful smile on his face. “I agree. I
don’t want our daughter thinking her place is at home with kids. Not when she’s
probably going to have two husbands who can handle their share of the load.
Shane, talk to her. Please let her know we love her.”
“I think Shane can handle this nicely,” Trev said with a
nod. “We’ll sort all of this out. I promise. And if things work out, we’ll have
another couple of hands. Hopefully you can train them before Brooke decides she
wants to roam the country with film crews. You know it’s not unlike cowboying
except the cattle are way more dramatic.”
“Costume design.” Max said the word as though tasting it. “I
like it.”
Rye nodded, a little choked up. “Our baby sister is going to
win an Oscar one day.”
Bay took a long breath. She needed her brothers. She needed
her family. They all needed Bliss as a homebase. The rest was negotiable.
If she didn’t kick them to the curb simply because she
could. If she felt what they did. If she’d been telling the whole truth about
living in the moment because her future wasn’t here, wasn’t with them.
Shane seemed to think for a moment and then pointed a finger
Bay’s way. “You are going to take the art show seriously. You’re going to
listen to everything Stef says, and you’ll wear whatever Brooke puts on you.
I’ll handle the legal stuff. Well, I’ll bring Gemma coffee and do what she
tells me to do.”
“Throw in some cash and you’re my best client,” Gemma
agreed.
“If I’m taking charge of this household, then I won’t sit
around and hope things work out. I’ll be proactive, and I’m not always going to
sit down and have a long chat with you. The first thing we’re doing is taking
our savings and buying a reliable vehicle,” Shane announced. “We can’t borrow
from Stef long term. It’s time to figure out how to make this work with two
artistic careers and me in the middle managing everything.”
“And we’re going to figure out what’s happening with Kale
Kingman,” Bay replied.
Shane stilled.
“I’m sorry. You know I don’t like to deal with the bad shit,
but I was wrong to question you. I won’t ever do it again. You say you saw
something, you saw it. You would never make shit up.” Bay held out a hand. “I’m
so sorry, brother, and when I make bail, I’ll clear things up with our girl,
too. As for the rest of it, I’ll follow your lead. I might have talent, but
talent means little without discipline and drive, and both of those things are
housed in you. We need you. Brooke and I need you. It doesn’t work without you,
brother.”
Max and Rye started arguing about who was the talented one
and who was the one with discipline and drive between them. Bay ignored them.
Shane took his hand. “All right, then our path is set, and I
need to figure out what’s going on in Brooke’s head. Try to stay out of
trouble.”
Bay shrugged. “I will. I don’t actually think I’ll have much
of a choice.”
“I’ll see you at home, brother,” Shane promised and he stood
taller, seemed far more confident since they’d properly defined his job and his
place.
He watched as his brother walked away a more secure man than
he’d been before.
Hopefully it would be enough to convince Brooke to forgive
him.