Chapter 21 Summer #2
“What do you think?” he seethes between gritted teeth. He must realize how he sounds because his shoulders collapse, and his voice loses that knifelike edge. “Sorry, red. It’s been a rough couple of hours.”
I hate that my brothers are treating him like a threat. They can be such ornery and obstinate idiots. But they’ve gone too far this time. And it isn’t hard to tell who the ringleader is. “This was Owen’s doing, wasn’t it?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“It matters to me.” Owen went after him when I expressly told him not to. The last thing my relationship needs is my jackass brothers making things more complicated.
He exhales a long breath, but he’s so tense all the woosah breathing in the world might not be enough to take the edge off. “Kitten, can we please talk about this after I’ve washed all this muck off?”
“Come on, I’ll—”
“Alone. I need to be alone.”
I nod.
The screen door slams behind him on his way into the house.
“I would have taken him back to the bunkhouses to wash off outside, but he’s in no frame of mind,” Burke says.
He’s tracking mud all through the house. But that’s the least of my worries. “What on earth happened?”
“I was with Rogue and the others riding the horses.” He looks awkward and uncomfortable. He reaches up and rubs the underside of his bushy red beard. “I didn’t know they’d gone out until I got a message from Jett to go get your boyfriend from the pit.”
“The pit?” I cradle my head in my palm. My brothers are idiots. “I should have known. How deep was he?”
“Well...”
“How deep was he?” My voice grows screechy as it gets louder.
“Now, little, I brought him home safe.”
“Burke?” I grab his shirt and rise on my tiptoe. “Tell me now.”
“Up to his shoulders,” he murmurs.
“You have got to be kidding me.” Up to his shoulders in the pit, and they left him there. What if Burke hadn’t gotten there in time? I storm down the steps. “You still got that shotgun on the back seat?”
“Slow down a minute, little.” He thunders down the steps behind me. “You’re not going to shoot your own blood.”
“Try me.” I yank open the back door of his truck and grab the gun that’s mostly used to keep predators away from the animals. I slam the door behind me. “Loaded?”
“Yes. But you’re not going to shoot Owen.” He steps in front of me. “So let’s take a breath and cool down.”
“Cool down?” I glare at him when I can’t get past him. “They left him there. Alone. Sinking in that stinking mud.”
I might not kill my brother, but I sure as hell want to wound him.
“Yeah, but it wasn’t in the deep parts. He shouldn’t have sunk like that where they left him. He should have been fine. You know Owen was only trying to scare him. He won’t be pleased with himself when he finds out how stuck he got.”
“It doesn’t matter if their intention was to scare him. Rebel could have drowned.”
“But he didn’t. I got him out.”
“It’s not good enough. Owen promised me as long as I didn’t cry, they weren’t to touch Rebel.
” None of them were privy to my teariness when I woke up alone, because they’d already taken Rebel’s life into their own hands.
“Why can’t he trust my judgement? My choices?
Why can’t he see I can handle my own life? ” A tear escapes.
“Don’t cry, little.” He engulfs me in a bear hug that smells like horses and mud. I hate that I sniffle into his shirt, belying my words about being grown and capable. I’m emotional all the time now. It’s bullshit. The last thing I need is Owen seeing me like this.
Burke untangles my hands from the shotgun and sets it on the roof of his truck. “I’ll keep an eye on them. Make sure they don’t do anything else stupid.”
“Owen’s being ridiculous.” I wipe the wetness from my lower lashes.
“You know he’ll come around.” He slings an arm around my shoulders and ushers me back to the veranda. “But Rebel’s not helping his case either. If he’d put a wedding band on that finger of yours—”
“Is there any chance he’ll want to marry into this family after that?”
“Yeah, he will. If he’s the right man for you, there’s not a damn thing that will scare him off. If anything, Owen acting like he is... he’s doing you a favor.”
“Bullshit.” Owen isn’t doing me any favors. He’s pissing on everything he sees like he’s a wild animal marking his territory. And I don’t need him to pee on me. I hope Burke’s right that it won’t scare Rebel off.
“You left us in suspense.” Dizzy bounces out of her seat and meets us at the top of the steps. Her big blue eyes are bright and full of fire. “You have a pit full of mud in your backyard. Is there anything else in there?”
“Well, an ATV now.” Burke scratches his head. “Lost a couple cows a while back too.”
“Does that happen a lot?” she asks.
“I’d say more than we’re aware given the wild animal population around here,” he says. “It’s pretty deep in some places. Which is why no one should go in there alone.”
“He’s right, Dizzy.” My brothers all know this. Rebel should never have been left on his own. “Don’t go alone.”
“You guys are lucky.” She clasps her hands in front of her as she swings from side to side. “Can we go see it? Will you take us, Burke? I need to tell West.”
“It’s a pit, Dizzy. It’s nothing awesome. It’s a pile of mud, fed from an underground spring.”
“That’s sooooo much potential.” In a flash of pink she runs down the steps and across the lawn toward the cabins.
“She’s going to tell West, isn’t she?” Rogue shakes his head and grins at Ivy. “Your sister is super weird, baby.”
“Your brother and Summer’s brothers are either going to kill each other or turn our sister-in-law-to-be into a murderer.” Ivy puts things into perspective. “I’d be more worried about that than Dizzy’s excitement over a mud pit.”
“Shit. You’re right.” Rogue’s gaze darkens. He starts up the steps. “I can’t let them ruin our wedding.”
“Rebel won’t do anything.” Riot places his hand on Rogue’s shoulder. “He’ll react the same way if Summer’s baby is a girl.”
Babies.
No doubt Rebel will have his overbearing moments if our twins are girls, but at least our daughters will be able to rely on their daddy to be there to protect them. To hold them close when they’re sad and take care of their hurts when they fall.
They’ll probably complain about it because they will never know what it’s like to have their father walk out on them. Our children, whether boys or girls, will be lucky. And so loved.
“Don’t worry, Rogue,” Burke says. “I’ll go talk to Owen.”
“I’m going to check on Rebel.” I leave the party on the veranda.
“When will they tell us?” Riot’s voice follows me through the screen door.
“I don’t know,” Rogue says. “But there’s no way she should be that big already, is there?”
“Seriously? Do you know how awful that will sound if she overhears you?” Kelsey says. “You can’t say that to a woman.”
“We meant round,” Riot says.
Like that’s any better.
“Summer knows we love her. She’s the most beautiful—”
“One of the most beautiful,” Rogue interrupts.
I really am already as big as a house if they’re on to us. I’m going to look more and more huge as time goes on.
I cradle my belly as I follow the muddy footprints through the house. If Owen thinks I’m cleaning them up he has another thing coming. I hope they stain his hardwood floors.
They lead all the way into the bedroom. Steam billows from inside the alcove bathroom.
Rebel stands under the spray, one palm on the shower wall, his head bowed almost to the tile. The water cascades over his inked and corded shoulders, perfect ass, and spread legs. The mud has all swirled down the drain.
I stand there with my mouth hanging open. The view is as spectacular as I remember. Especially when those glutes flex.
A needy hollow sensation fills my core. God, I want to touch, lick, and feel every part of him. I want him to desire me.
Ivy and Adira both told me I’m letting my emotions, hormones, and insecurities get the better of me when it comes to the lack of intimacy between me and Rebel. I need to know if that’s the case.
My stomach flutters as I reach for the hem of my dress and tug it up over my head. Avoiding the mirror, I reach behind my back to undo my bra. My chest tightens with each breath.
I need him not to reject me. I need him to remind me that he finds me desirable. Because if he doesn’t...
“Kitten.” His voice is a sexy rasp.
I look up and our gazes lock over his shoulder.
“Leave it on,” he says as he extends an arm in my direction. “And come here.”