Chapter 5
5
Brax
Jack:
Anything I should know?
Brax:
Nah. I’ve got it handled.
Jack:
I think we both know when it comes to my sister, that’s never been true.
“Is he here yet?” James asked breathlessly. She bounded up the stairs of the front porch to the big house with my twelve-year-old nephew, Ben, at her heels.
“Haven’t missed a thing, buttercup,” Adam said from his rocking chair next to mine. “Come have a seat.” He patted his thighs in invitation.
“Dad!” Ben protested, looking as appalled as only a twelve-year-old boy faced with public displays of affection could look. “No one wants to see that.”
“Give it another year,” Zack, my younger brother, said. He was in another rocking chair to my right, which meant I was sandwiched between them, the three of us lined up according to age and the alphabet. “You’ll be singing a different tune.”
Now it was Adam’s turn to look appalled. “Don’t listen to him, Ben. You have plenty of time before that happens.” His eyes were full of affection as he looked at his son.
My dad chuckled. “It goes quick. That’s a fact.”
My heart twinged in my chest. Hale men tended to fall hard, fast, and young. There were stories that my great-great-great grandfather Thomas—founder of the Painted Cat—had taken one look at my great-great-great grandmother Celine and refused to let her rent out her bed to another man. My mom and dad had been high school sweethearts, and to hear my dad tell the story, they had been meant for each other from the first moment they clapped eyes on each other. Adam had followed that same trajectory, marrying his high school sweetheart as soon as she graduated from college.
Of course, it wasn’t long before she’d left him for another man. So maybe that wasn’t the best example .
Still, I always figured I’d do the same sooner rather than later. Get married, start a family while I was still young enough to chase kids around. At this rate, Adam would be well into his second marriage before I had started my first.
Most days that didn’t bother me. Hell, most days I was grateful for it. As Aspen Springs’s only lawyer, I saw firsthand how nasty people could be when love turned to hate and marriage ended in divorce.
But sometimes, like now, when I watched my brother wrap an arm around James’s waist and pull her, laughing and fake protesting, onto his lap, I wasn’t all that grateful. Adam had had more than his fair share of misery, and I was glad he had found love with James. I didn’t begrudge him his happiness but staring it full in the face like that felt fucking unnecessary.
James only stayed in Adam’s lap for a moment before she was back on her feet again, bouncing on her toes with excitement. “Blaine and Jesse have a stall ready for Pirate in the birthing barn, since it’s not being used right now,” she said, referring to two of the ranch hands. “We’ll keep him quarantined until he gets a full vet check. Who knows what he could have picked up in that asshole’s yard. Probably nothing communicable, but better safe than sorry.”
“Remind me. What time did Essie say she’d be here, again?” Zack asked, tipping his bottle of beer to his mouth .
I glanced to where the sun was dipping below the mountain ridgeline. “She’ll be here soon.”
We hadn’t specified an exact time. You have until sundown , I’d told her.
Or what? she’d challenged. You gonna meet me outside the saloon at high noon? I’m a better shot than you.
Or I’ll take your mom up on her dinner invitation , I’d said. Not sure what I’ll say if she asks me a direct question. You know I can’t lie to Cat.
She’d glared something fierce, but we both knew it was game over. Risking jailtime for herself was one thing. Disappointing her mother was a bridge too far. Maybe it was wrong of me to play that card, but what the hell else was I supposed to do? Let her keep my horse in her backyard?
“And remind me, how is it that Essie is bringing Pirate instead of Gaffney?” Adam asked. “How did she get involved?”
James spun on her toes to face us. Her big brown eyes were almost comically wide with faux innocence. “How did Essie get involved, Brax? I would love to hear about it.”
I narrowed my gaze on her, wondering how much Essie had shared. “It’s not that interesting. She picked up Pirate last night so she could take care of his feet. Gave him a good grooming and dose of medicine.” Strictly true. Did it matter if she had taken Pirate without permission? That was no one’s business but hers and mine now.
“Huh.” James slowly blinked her long eyelashes. “That was so nice of her to help you out like that. She must have spent her whole day off taking care of your horse for you. I hope you thanked her properly.”
This earned snorts of laughter from my idiot brothers.
“Yeah, Brax,” Zack taunted in a sing-song voice. “Did you thank Essie properly ?”
“Shut the hell up,” I muttered.
“Hey, man,” Adam said. “Watch the language.” He jerked his chin toward Ben, who rolled his eyes.
“I already know that word, Dad. And lots worse,” he added. “I’m twelve .”
“Well, just because you know the word doesn’t mean you should use it,” Adam said.
Ben nodded. “James says there’s a time and place for everything, especially swear words.”
“Did she, now?” Adam’s gaze shot to James, who grinned unrepentantly.
“I figure she’s right,” Ben said. “I’ve heard you say pretty bad words in the barn, but you never say those words in church.”
Adam laughed and squeezed James’s hip. “Can’t argue with that, I guess.”
“Here’s what I don’t get,” Zack said suddenly. “Why the he— heck did you buy Pirate anyway? Gaffney’s had dozens of offers but he turned them all down. Must have cost you a hefty wad of cash to convince him to sell. What do you think, Adam? Isn’t that odd?”
“Come to think of it, that is odd.” Adam made a show of scratching his chin. “Brax has never shown much interest in horses as anything other than pets or transportation. What would make him interested in owning a colt like Pirate? It’s out of character, that’s what it is.”
They were talking past me like I wasn’t sitting right there between them. “You’re both idiots,” I said. “But unlike you, I know a good investment when I see one. Pirate’s bloodlines make him a good investment.”
“I have a theory,” Zack said, ignoring me. “Do you want to hear it?”
“Absolutely, I do,” Adam said, raising his bottle of beer like a toast.
Zack leaned over me. “The specifics are cloudy, but the gist of it is Miss Essie Price.”
“The same Miss Price who is on her way here with Pirate right now?” Adam asked with fake surprise.
“The very same.”
“That’s a damn good theory.”
“Dumbasses, both of you,” I muttered.
“I know that word, too,” Ben chimed in earnestly. “Dad says it a lot . Mostly about Uncle Zack.”
Zack’s hoot of laughter was echoed by Adam, Dad, and James. I might have joined in if I hadn’t been distracted by the sight of a cherry red SUV kicking up dust as it came down our unpaved road, just as the sun disappeared behind a mountain peak.
Essie was here, right on time.
The kick of anticipation in my chest told me my brothers were right. Buying Pirate had everything to do with Essie Price. More than my promise to Jack. More than simply wanting to keep her out of jail.
Because I could have kept my mouth shut. I could have bought Pirate and figured out a way to keep her from ever finding out. Hell, I could have just given her the fucking horse and washed my hands of the whole damn thing.
But I hadn’t done any of that.
No, instead I’d demanded she bring Pirate here to Lodestar, the ranch my family owned, where she was currently doing a trainer apprenticeship.
I wasn’t a liar. I didn’t lie to other people, and I sure as fuck didn’t lie to myself. I knew exactly why I did it. Essie was here. Wherever Essie was, that’s where I wanted to be, too.
I just needed a reason.
Fifteen Years Ago
If I could save only one thing in a fire, it would be Esther Louise Price. Odds were she was the one who started the fire to begin with, but I’d still toss her over my shoulder without a second thought, and give her ass a good, hard smack every time she reached for a flame on our way out.
Because she would. She definitely would.
There were a lot of things wrong with this hypothetical scenario posed by Mrs. Dunphy, our eleventh-grade English teacher at Aspen Springs High School. The first being that if Essie was there to save, then so was Jack, her twin brother and my best friend, because the two of them were a package deal. He might have something to say about being left to burn. Of course, if Jack were there, he would have saved us all, put out the fire with superhuman spit or something, and I wouldn’t have gotten anywhere near his sister and her spankable ass. So.
I didn’t write about any of that. Mrs. Dunphy said it had to be an inanimate object, which was the opposite of Essie Price. Mrs. Dunphy didn’t want to make us choose between parents and ruin our home life, she said.
“What did you write about?” Essie asked, falling into step with me as we exited the classroom.
“My cellphone, of course. It’s the most useful thing I own. Did anyone not say they would save their cellphone? ”
She looked up at me. As ever, it was a sucker punch. Cornflower blue eyes and that cherry red lipstick she always wore. Looking at her face was like looking directly at the sun. It burned. The shape of that red mouth was branded onto the back of my eyelids even after I looked away.
“I didn’t,” she said.
We paused at her locker to deposit our books. She grabbed her brown bag lunch, which I knew would contain a baloney sandwich and an apple, like always. Essie hated baloney, but it was cheap, so that’s what they got. She usually ended up giving her sandwich to Jack, whose stomach was a bottomless pit. It all worked out, since my lunch was always more than I needed and I could share with her.
“What did you save?” I asked.
“The matchbooks. From my dad.”
She didn’t have to explain. Essie’s dad was some rich kid who knocked up Cat Price when he was in Aspen Springs during a family vacation. They had both been sixteen, so maybe I couldn’t blame him for being a little shit back then and running away from his responsibilities. But instead of growing the fuck up, he had become an even bigger shit. He dropped in every year or so and brought Essie and Jack a matchbook—a souvenir from his travels that he seemed to think made him more interesting than anyone else in the room.
He was a dick .
And Essie knew that. She’d said it herself multiple times. But still, that was the thing she’d save. I couldn’t make sense of that.
I shook my head. “The house is on fire and you’re running around with matches? Smart.”
“It’s hypothetical .” She rolled her eyes. “It’s not about proving how smart you are. It’s about who you are deep down. What is the most important thing in the world to you, the one thing you would risk your life for?”
I pulled my phone from my pocket and caressed it lovingly. “Shhh, baby. Don’t listen to her. You’re the love of my life. Smart and beautiful.”
Essie smirked and slapped her locker shut with a loud bang. “That’s where you stash your porn, isn’t it.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” I deadpanned. “That’s what my laptop is for.”
She punched me lightly in the ribs and I laughed. Essie’s affection was always a little violent. I didn’t mind it.
Her quick pace slowed as we approached the cafeteria. Her gaze darted left and then right and I knew—I fucking knew —she was looking for teachers. Essie hated school. For one thing, it was inside. For another, there were no horses. If Jack were here with us, she wouldn’t even try to escape. But it was Tuesday, and Jack had JROTC on Tuesdays. Which meant that the only thing standing between Essie and freedom was me, which was pretty much the same thing as nothing at all .
She knew I was a sucker.
“Let’s ditch.” She tugged my elbow.
I stood stock still, putting up a fight as if we didn’t both already know how this would end. “I promised your brother.”
Her eyes narrowed. “You promised Jack what?”
“I promised him I’d make sure you got to all your classes.”
“Well, that was dumb, Brax. Because it wasn’t your promise to make. You’re not the boss of me.” That was unfortunately true. “And also because you shouldn’t make promises you know you won’t keep.”
“I’m keeping my promise right now,” I protested, hoping that she wouldn’t make a liar out of me. That for once in her life, she’d cave first.
Instead, she leaned into my side, rubbing her temple against my shoulder like a cat. “But it’s never just the two of us. You’re my best friend, too, right? Not just Jack’s?”
Jesus fucking Christ, this girl. I never stood a chance.
“Of course I’m your friend?—”
“Best friend,” she insisted.
“Best friend,” I grunted. I felt some kind of way about that, but I wasn’t going to examine it. This was how it had to be. We were friends. Best friends. Like I was with Jack. Even if it felt a little different when we were all hanging out at the lake, with her in a bikini.
I looked down at her and found her staring back at me with pleading blue eyes from underneath that dark fringe of lashes. Fuck.
“We could go for a hike,” she offered.
It was a bribe. Hiking was my thing, not hers. She preferred to be on horseback. But she also probably knew that we’d be more likely to get caught if we went back to Lodestar Ranch and saddled up a couple of horses. My parents weren’t dumb.
“Okay,” I grumbled. “But only because it’s the last week of school and we’re not doing anything anyway.”
“Yippee!” She grinned. “I knew you couldn’t say no to a hike.”
I shook my head. The only thing I couldn’t say no to was Essie Price.