Chapter 14
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Emery
I’m not a subtle person. Which is probably why I would make a terrible detective. I either take things too far or not far enough, and when Alyssa suggests I go confront Michael, I go full steam ahead.
I charge over to his cabin, but after knocking for a full minute, I realize his truck isn’t even in the driveway.
Frustrated, I return to my cabin and change into my running clothes.
All I plan to do is get some fresh air and sweat out my irritation.
I’m sure I won’t run into Michael on the ranch.
Okay, maybe I hope I will since he had said he’d be working with Luke this morning. But as I jog along the paved path, I don’t see anyone.
When I round the corner and spot the main house up ahead, my stomach twists into knots as I remember last night on the porch with Michael.
He was so sweet with his eyes only on me. We really connected. Or so I thought .
I shake my head to clear my negative thinking and return to my run.
But as I go to pass the house, I spot two figures on the back porch.
And I freeze.
They’re facing away from me, but I’d recognize Michael’s dark head of hair and ocean blue t-shirt he slipped on this morning anywhere.
It’s blissfully quiet and still on the ranch this early morning. With no wind and no ranch equipment running, you could hear a pin drop.
The men’s voices are carrying toward me, but I only hear snippets.
“…did you?”
Without thinking what I’m doing, I walk toward them.
I don’t mean to eavesdrop, but I feel awkward calling out Michael’s name from across the yard. So I keep walking toward them, and as I get closer, I hear…
“…I fucking hate talking about it too. But eventually, if things between you continue, she’d need to know anyway.”
Wait . Is he talking about… me ?
I freeze behind the bush I was about to casually circle around and make myself known. The bush is the last point of privacy between me and Michael, my last decision as to whether or not I want to make myself vulnerable to him again.
And I’m…suddenly scared.
My palms are sweating as I dig my fingernails into them.
“You got damn lucky with Bella,” Michael says to the other guy. “She already knew everything there was to know.”
What is there to know? Is this about what happened at the diner earlier?
“You think that’s the only thing about Bella I got lucky with? ”
Ouch!
I swat at the mosquito suddenly feasting on my arm.
In my effort to avoid being bitten again, I bang into the bush, causing quite a racket in the midst of the quiet.
I peek around the bush, hoping against hope I wasn’t heard.
No such luck.
Michael’s turned his head toward the bush, and his gaze locks with mine.
Shit .
I stand up. Best to just get this awkwardness over with. Like ripping off a bandage.
“So.” I approach the porch and raise my hand in an awkward-as-fuck wave. “I have a good explanation.”
The other guy turns around to face me.
And I do a double-take. “You two must be related.”
“He’s the baby brother.” Michael smirks.
“I’m Ayden.” The blue-eyed, dark-haired guy who, except for the difference in eye color, could be Michael’s twin, extends his hand to me.
We shake hands, and Ayden looks between Michael and me.
“You two just met last night for the first time?”
Michael gives him a hard look.
Ayden shrugs. “Your vibe goes deeper than that.”
“What do you mean?” I ask curiously.
Ayden does some hand-flip gesture in the air that’s meant to explain it, I guess. Almost like he’s holding an imaginary ball.
“You seem like you’ve already got this invisible circle around you,” he explains. “Like you know all about each other.”
“We don’t,” I interject .
Ayden starts walking backward toward the slider. “Maybe you do.”
Michael’s hard stare is now murderous as he glares at his brother.
I get the sense Ayden ignores Michael’s grumpy side a lot because he just smiles and gestures to the couches. “Have a seat. I’ve got to go check on my son anyway. My wife’s out on a girls’ day, so I’m babysitting.”
He flips the latch on the slider, pulls it open, and disappears inside, leaving his brother and me to stand awkwardly across from one another.
“Ayden’s nice,” I say to fill in the gap.
Michael barks out a laugh. “He’s a pain in the ass.”
“Isn’t that what brothers are supposed to be to each other?” I say teasingly.
His eyes flash with a hint of humor before they go flat again.
“Look,” I begin, shifting my weight from one foot to the other. “I’m not sure why you pushed me away this morning, but…”
“We should talk.” Michael’s already taken a seat on the couches.
He gestures for me to join him.
I choose the couch he’s not on, the one opposite him.
Somehow, space from him—physical distance—feels essential right now.
He kind of took my heart and stomped on it this morning, even though I’m acutely aware I’m overreacting.
Because the reality is, we had a night of great sex, and I’m the na?ve one trying to make it more.
I clasp my hands in my lap and glance over at him. His gaze pins me in place like a laser.
“This is tough to talk about,” he admits .
“What is?” I ask him.
He hesitates, but the pain that slashes across his face lets me know whatever he’s about to say is a big deal.