Chapter 21 #2
Liv: Boring. I’m so glad numbers are your thing.
Gabe: How’s it going there?
Way to change the subject, Gabe. Every time I talked to him, he wanted to know about Hudson.
Dismissing any talk about the ranch and telling me it was my project.
Meddler. That’s what he was, but I couldn’t be angry, not when he and Tori had brought Hudson back into my life.
Although I wasn’t so sure I’d still be happy about it when I was back in the city with thousands of miles separating me from him.
Liv: Fine. I decided cowgirl clothes are not my thing.
Gabe: Oh thank God, because that shirt made me want to drive out there and throw a coat over you.
I stared at the phone, my brows crinkling.
Liv: I’m thirty-seven years old, little brother. I can wear whatever I want.
Gabe: Doesn’t mean I won’t protect you.
Tears pushed behind my eyes. I still hadn’t been able to stop the damn things from regrouping at inconvenient times. The phone shook in my hand because Gabe’s words were true and reminded me of how lucky I was to have him.
I tucked my feet up, resting my chin on my knees, and hit call.
“Whoa, a text and a call. Are you going to get pissy about that last comment?”
“Shut up and just listen.” I inhaled as the scattered remnants of my mask swirled deep within me, trying to rise to cover the emotion and the hurt it anticipated. The hurt that wouldn’t come because this was Gabe, not my father.
“You’ve always been my protector. And…” I tipped my head into my knees, closing my eyes as my instinct fought against the vulnerability I was showing. “…I never thanked you for it. For all you did.”
“You don’t need to thank me. You’re my sister.”
“I know.” My voice cracked, a tear sliding down my cheek, the mask battling to cover this moment of softness.
“Are you crying?” Gabe sounded stunned, his tone layered with concern. “Liv, did something happen?”
“No, hush for a second and let me get this out.” I lifted my head and rested it against the back of the chair, staring at the wooden beams that crossed over the ceiling.
“I love you. I can’t imagine having anyone else as my brother.
I’m proud of you and who you are. I’m happy that you found Tori again and that you have Reid, even if he is a rugrat. ”
He chuckled, but I could hear the emotion in it. My brother may have been hard and demanding in the business world, tough enough to take my father’s beatings, turn around, and cut him down, but he was a gentle soul. One who had found his match in Tori.
“Wow.” I could hear the creak of his chair as he sat back in it. “What have you done with my sister?”
I sniffed, hating that I was crying again.
“I love you, too, Liv. I know you don’t say it, but that doesn’t mean I don’t know that you love me. Every once in a while, your evil bitch facade slips, and you show me.”
“You’re an ass.”
“And you’re getting soft.”
Wiping my cheek, I said, “I know. It’s a bad thing.”
“Seriously? You can’t continue to live like you do. That’s the bad thing. It’s fine to be the cold, calculating businesswoman at work, but you’re stiff and unapproachable all the time. And you hate it. I know you well enough to see that.”
“It’s who I am.”
“It’s who our father wanted you to be.”
His words were like a punch in the gut, and I held my stomach as the truth swirled in it.
“We are our father’s children, Liv. Both of us have too much of him in us, but we also have parts of our mother, and she would want you to be happy again. To live again.”
“Like you are.”
“Yes, and I can tell you, it’s the most amazing feeling in the world.”
I thought of Hudson and how happy and free I was with him. “I know.”
Silence lingered for a moment before he asked, “Does that mean Tori’s plan worked?”
“Damn her, I knew she was behind this. I’m taking all the cat socks back.”
A laugh that was light and brought a smile to my face came through the phone.
“I saw the sales listing,” he said, “and when I saw the name, I brought the idea to her.”
“Meddler.”
“It worked, right?”
“Yes…no…I don’t know. There’s a lot of distance between our lives, Gabe.”
“I’ve seen you rip a designer bag from another woman’s hands because you wanted it. I have no doubt you’ll figure this out. Shoot, I’ve gotta take this call. I’m happy for you, Liv. Remember, you deserve this.”
“Yeah, I guess I do.”
He said a quick goodbye, and I dropped the phone onto the table.
My head seemed lighter, my shoulders less tense, the knots in my gut less tangled.
I knew Gabe and I wouldn’t be the kind of siblings to say I love you often, but we’d said it, and something about that act made everything else all right.
I was still smiling when Hudson came into the house.
“Damn, you look pretty sitting at my table like that.”
“So, laptops and spreadsheets are a turn-on I need to keep in mind?” I asked without looking up from the screen.
I heard his heavy footfalls, noting that he hadn’t taken his boots off like he normally did. Within seconds he was hovering over me, a gorgeous grin lifting his lips.
“You are the turn-on, Olivia.”
Bringing his face to mine, I kissed him, crinkling my nose. “You smell like horses and hay.”
“Spent the morning mucking out the stalls. What do you want me to smell like?”
“You.”
He drew back, his eyes roving over the hair I’d thrown into another messy bun. Not that I would ever admit to Tori that I liked it that way. With a nod to my hair, he said, “You wearing it like that for me or because you like it?”
I reached to my neck, touching a loose curl. “Why does it matter?”
“Because it does. Now answer the question.”
“I’d rather not say because it might get back to my sister-in-law, and I’ll never hear the end of it. I already have the cat socks to contend with.”
A tug at the corner of his mouth had my stomach tumbling.
“So it’s not something you’re forcing yourself to do?”
Smiling, I shook my head. “No. I kind of like it. Although I would never go out like this.”
“That’s my girl.”
And those tumbles turned to trembles.
“What if I’d told you it was for you?”
“Then I’d tell you to take it down and wear it the way you want. I’m all for you pushing your boundaries, but only if it makes you happy.”
This man. How had I gone so many years without him in my life?
“It does, and I’m compromising on the rest.” I gestured to the blouse I had worn to complement the jeans.
“I see that.” His eyes made their way down my body, appraising it in a way that made my insides warm. “And I like it.”
“Because it makes me look good?”
He lowered his head with a shake. “Olivia, you always look good. I like it because it makes you happy, and seeing you happy has always been my favorite thing.”
I captured his face in my hands and tugged his mouth to mine, kissing him again. As his arm came around me, I slung my arms over his neck. Nibbling on my lip, he said, “Get some boots on and grab my coat. I’m taking you riding.”
I leaned my head back, seeing the sheen in his eyes that made them shimmer.
“Is that a new kink? Should I wear your cowboy hat, too?”