Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
Nash
W ell, that went exactly as expected.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me Billie,” Bailey shouts, throwing her hands up over her head in exasperation. Her blonde hair bounces as she anxiously paces back and forth. There’s no way she’ll ever agree to this preposterous idea these two have come up with. No point in even trying, but I let them go on, if only to amuse me.
“Hear me out,” Jase says, dodging the towel his sister swings toward him. “He needs a place to stay for a few weeks at most. Just until he and Monty can turn The Bishop Ranch into a less deadly trap.”
I didn’t dare walk over to her like they encouraged me to. No, I was going to stay as far away from Bailey and the hundreds of glass bottles neatly stacked on the wooden shelves at her reach. From the table at the end of the bar, near the dart boards hung up against the wall, I can faintly hear their conversation but know damn well it ain’t going well. She’s never looked more furious.
“Why the fuck isn’t he staying with Monty, or in any other hotel in Crossroads?” she shouts, her eyes flicking back and forth between her brother and best friend, clearly assuming the two went completely mad for even entertaining the idea of the two of us living together. She can’t even stand being in the same room with me, let alone allow me to enter her safe space.
Jase keeps his distance, not wanting to risk anything else being flung his way. Smart man.
“Look, you know it’s been a while since he’s been in town. I asked around. No one wants to let him stay in their establishment for fear of what hooligans he might bring their way. Not my words, that’s literally what Mable Watkins down at The Harbor House said to me when I called her just now.”
She turns her murderous glare on her brother and for once, I’m grateful those eyes aren’t just meant for me. “Then why the fuck isn’t he staying with you?” Jase chuckles, and honestly, I’m curious to hear his response. It’s true Jase never offered to let me stay with him, immediately offering Bailey’s place instead.
He tucks his hands in his pocket in a nervous gesture and I’m kinda thrown off by the unusual way he reacts to the question. “Bailey, you know my place isn't right for the two of us. I use it more for work than I do for sleep. Besides, I’m still on dad’s property, not sure how he’d feel about Nash back on his land.”
Oh, I know exactly how he’d feel. Nearly a week in town and I’m actually surprised I haven’t heard from Mayor King himself. By now I’m sure he’s heard I’m back, since Jase is so reluctant to let me near his family’s property. Bailey ignores the pair of lunatics, continuing to fill up the glasses of beer she needs to deliver to her customers. “And you think Nash, living with his daughter, would be any better?”
The question makes me laugh. Yeah, there is no world in which Bismarck King would approve of me being anywhere near his beloved daughter.
“He won’t find out Nash’s living with you. It’s not like you see much of him or mama, anyway. You come around, what? Like twice a month?”
That’s surprising to hear. Bailey adored her mother and father and was the perfect obedient little girl. It’s equally shocking that she went and did what she did, which pretty much goes against every part of her strict, conservative upbringing, so that may be the reason she doesn't visit home as often.
“You honestly think the rumors of Nash Bishop living with Bailey King won’t make it to him? He’s the fucking mayor, Jase.”
Jase runs his hands through his hair, debating what to argue next. I don’t understand why he’s so insistent on me staying with Bailey. There’s no way he’s suddenly okay with the idea of me being that close to his sister.
Ten years is a long time, but fuck, the last time I saw him, it looked like he’d never move on.
The thought of living with Bailey, being anywhere near her for that matter, makes my skin heat with arousal. Fuck, the possibility of seeing Bailey walk around the apartment wearing nothing but those sexy lace nightgowns I’m sure she owns. Or walking in on her in the shower, her sexy curves dripping wet as she rubs that deliciously scented body wash all over her skin.
I have to adjust myself when my indecent thoughts make my cock swell uncomfortably in my jeans.
“That’s not the point, Jase. Look, you know I’m the first person to lend a helping hand to those in need. To those who deserve it,” she says, intentionally looking my way as she speaks. Ouch . But I know I deserved that. “But not this, Jase. Don’t ask me to help with this. Monty can make room. Or he’ll figure it out on his own. He’s a big boy. I’m sure he wasn’t living in the same place for ten years. The man must be a professional at finding shelter for a night.”
Jealousy teases those pretty pink lips, a sassy little bite in her tone. Seems like Bailey’s done some thinking about where I’ve laid my head to rest, or in whose bed I’ve been in.
“Monty’s also having some repairs done after the flooding that happened there last week. There are no spare rooms in the house for him and I hear Monroe is as happy as you are to see him.”
“Then it’s settled. Monroe can stay with me and Nash will stay with Monty.”
“Bailey, come on. You know Monroe has her studio at her house. It would make no sense for her to live with you and then still go back to the house to work. Nash said she’s apparently now refusing to leave or make space for him.”
The fight in Bailey’s eyes as she argues leaves me with a hollow feeling. I knew she wasn’t happy to see me, but the way she’s fighting this so eagerly makes me wonder just how badly she despises me.
“I’ll talk to her,” she says, referring to convincing my sister to stay with her.
Looking around the bar, I notice no one but me is paying such close attention to the conversation between the three of them. It’s like they’re in this bubble only I have access to. I guess it’s a good thing no one else can hear the hatred in her voice as she speaks about me so effortlessly.
This time it’s Billie who speaks, though she’s kept quiet the whole time, curiously looking back and forth between the bickering siblings.
“Look B, you know Monroe shouldn’t have to up and flip her life around even more to accommodate him. She’s pissed off at him for leaving and it won’t do her anything good to feel once again forced out of her own home.”
Her words make their intended effect. Hearing Billie say how much the distance I put between myself and Crossroads affected Monroe makes my heart ache uncomfortably for an entirely different reason. If I'd known how badly my return would be received, how much hurt I would cause by coming home, I never would have come. Regardless of how desperate Monty sounded on the phone.
Bailey sounds almost resigned. “This won’t work, Jase.”
Jase throws an arm over her shoulder and pulls her in for a hug. “It’s just temporary, B. He’ll be busy working at the ranch most of the day and you’ll be at work. Between HoneyBees and Stingers, you’re never home, anyway.”
Once again, her bright blue eyes meet mine, a sharp pain pricking my chest as I notice the sorrow in her expression. This is physically painful for her. My coming back, stepping back into the life she’s made for herself here in Crossroads. It’s like her entire being deflates as she lowers her voice, just barely.
“I can’t, Jase. Just please don’t ask me to make this work.”
Immediate silence falls over the trio, all eyes turning to me expectantly, but I pretend I’m busy throwing darts and not eavesdropping on their conversation. A moment later, Jase heads over toward me, alone, with a defeated look on his face. It’s not like I was expecting him to be successful in his quest and it was foolish of him if he thought otherwise.
He’s quiet for some time, before he picks up a set of darts and throws them, missing the target by an inch. “Look,” he says, his gaze lowered, refusing to look directly at me. “I know things ended up in a fucked up way. I should have never reacted like that. Shouldn’t have threatened with telling my pops or running you out of town the way I did. I was young, stupid, and pissed the fuck off at what I’d caught you doing.”
The last thing I want is for us to go into details about what occurred that night, so I quickly change the subject. “Forget it, Jase. You did me a favor. Not sure I’d have gotten out of Crossroads if you hadn’t sent me packing. Trust me, I’m better for it.”
Jase shakes his head, not believing a damn thing I say as he tosses back a drink. He once knew me better than anyone and understands my comment is more to appease his guilt than the truth.
“Regardless, Nash. It was fucked up, and trust me, I’ve regretted it since the day you left.” I hit him with a look that says, yeah fucking right, he forgot that easily. I wouldn’t have if he’d be the one to fuck around with Monroe. He laughs. “Maybe about seven years later when I ran into you down in Nashville, but I did.”
I smile at the memory of how pissed off he’d been and how good it must have felt when he made me bleed. It took a lot for me to walk away without so much as a slap in his direction, but I knew that wouldn’t have made any difference.
“You mean the time your fist ran into my jaw?”
“Hey, I had to get it out of my system. You didn’t let me get a good enough hit in on you that night, fighting back and blocking every punch I threw. Anyway, by the time I came back to Crossroads, I couldn’t get a hold of you. Monty didn’t know where you were and Theo, who I knew had been with you that night, refused to tell me anything. But I’m glad you're back.”
“Passing through, Jase,” I remind him. It seems everyone’s quick to forget I’m not here to stay. “I ain’t staying in this hellhole any longer than absolutely necessary.”
“Yeah, yeah. I heard you the first time. Anyway, I probably shouldn’t be bullying Bailey into letting you stay with her but, it’s my way of trying to make things right. Right the wrongs of our past and all that.”
We’re interrupted by Bailey herself when she walks up beside us and places three shot glasses down on the counter. Some liquor spills on the table, but she doesn't pay it any attention.
“Two months,” she blurts out, looking my way. Her indigo eyes gleam with a hint of mischief, but it’s instantly masked by a wave of unease and uncertainty. Leaning forward, close enough so I can smell the sweet scent of her perfume and the hint of sweat that works like a fucking aphrodisiac, she keeps her gaze locked on mine. “That’s all I’m giving you, Bishop. And trust me, that’s being quite generous. You stay out of my way and there won’t be a problem. But if for one second you think this is anything more than me doing my yearly charity work to stay in good standing with the Lord, you’re mistaken. If it weren’t for Monroe, I’d never have agreed. But she doesn't deserve to have her life thrown all out of whack because you strolled back in on that bike I‘ve heard so much about.”
I can’t help myself. “I can always give you a ride home if you’d like. I hear we’ll be living together.” I end with a wink for good measure, and fuck me. The look the woman gives me is equally wicked, sweet and sexy, though slightly murderous too. Though as the words leave my lips, I know it was the wrong thing to say.
Grabbing one shot glass, she shoots it back and walks away, leaving Jase and I dumbstruck. I watch her go, that sweet ass swaying back and forth to the beat of my throbbing cock.
“Fuck me. I didn’t think it would actually work,” Jase says, reminding me he’s still here right next to me.
I take the shot on the table she left behind, hating the taste of tequila as it burns through me. I’m a whiskey or bourbon guy. A beer on a hot summer day, a scotch while running a game of poker, but tequila fuck, that’s the devil’s juice.
I look over to Jase, who picks up his shot glass only to set it back down. “This is a disaster in the making.”
Jase claps a hand down on my shoulder. “Yup. But it’ll work out, trust me. Though in all seriousness, now that she’s actually fucking agreed, you have to promise me something, Nash.”
I already know what’s coming, but I act like an idiot and let him have his moment and make his request. One he thinks he deserves or has any right over making. “What is it, not to whoop your ass in a game of darts?”
He doesn’t laugh at my attempt at a joke, his face going completely stoic as he stares at me. “Do you want to make things right? Win back the friendship we had? Even if you say it’s temporary.”
I toss the dart and hit the bullseye, reaching for the shot glass Jase didn’t take, only this time I drink it without so much as a blink. “Is that what I need to do?”
He doesn’t take the bait, instead continues giving the protective older brother speech he thinks he needs to make. “It starts here, Nash. Get my sister to stop hating you and maybe things can finally go back to the way they were, but don’t fuck with her. You want us to be cool, for the past to be erased. Don’t you dare fuck with my little sister. Not again.”
I scoff, anger suddenly burning within me. He must be fucking joking. It couldn’t have been this easy, now could it? Jase had this little request up his sleeve the entire time, and this is his way of ensuring I’m not here for her.
“Is this some sort of test? You throw me in the lion's den and then ask me not to tame it? Or worse, risk getting eaten by it?”
Jase suddenly goes defensive. “Sure, Bailey’s different from how she was all that time ago, but she ain’t a lion. A kitten with sharp claws she ain’t afraid to use, sure. But if you pet her and show her some love, she’s harmless.”
Did this fucker just say what I think he said? I laugh at the absurdity of his contradiction. “Not sure if you’ve been around many cats, but those shits are fucking vicious. And I thought you didn’t want me petting your sister?”
Thick brows furrow between his eyes as he realizes his mistake. Contrast to his blonde hair, his eyebrows have always been much darker, which is why he first started getting them waxed when we were in high school. Jase’s got that pretty boy thing down to a T. Styled hair, neatly trimmed beard no thicker than a slight shadow along his sharp jawline, piercing blue eyes, and perfectly groomed eyebrows that don’t seem very impressed with my joke.
“Fuck you, that’s not what I meant and you know it. Bailey’s all bark and no bite, or in her case, all meow. Deep down she’s the same old Bailey. A girl with the heart the size of Texas she wears on her sleeve. It’s you who’s not the same, Nash.”
That’s exactly the problem. Jase wants me to promise not to touch his sister, not to fuck with the tempting bombshell she’s become, even when he’s the one forcing the temptation to come knocking on my door—on purpose. Two months, that’s how long I have to keep my hands to myself and not fall for the temptation that is Bailey King.
Easy. I’ve spent ten years fighting it. What, another sixty days?
“You don’t have to worry, Jase. There’s no way I’m ever going anywhere near Bailey. What happened between us ten years ago was a mistake I’m not planning on ever making again. You can rest easily. I won’t touch your sister. Living with her will be like living with Monroe.”