Chapter 10
CHAPTER TEN
BOOKER
T his was a feeling I was totally unfamiliar with, and while I grabbed another beer from the fridge, I couldn’t help but look out the window toward the cottage.
The lights were on, illuminating the yard between us with a soft, inviting glow.
And I actually wanted to go over there.
Damn it.
Reece was a complication in my life that had blown in here and knocked me sideways. I’d never been the type of person who would have left her stranded. But when I offered her a job, I never thought it would be this distracting to have her on the ranch.
I stalked back into the living room, dropping into my favorite chair with a huff of frustration.
I’d tried avoiding her. Tried acting like nothing was different, like she was just a regular employee.
But I couldn’t.
I had an itch just beneath my skin that screamed at me to go over there and talk to her.
Talk to her!
This was me. I didn’t do talking. Not to people, at least.
Everything was different when it came to Reece, though.
I wanted to see the smile that came to her lips whenever she thought of something she wanted to share. The light in her eyes that always followed her smile.
When I closed my eyes, I could feel her against my body again. Her soft curves pressing into me, the smell of her coconut shampoo.
Everything about her overwhelmed my senses, and I wanted it so bad I couldn’t sit back and do nothing anymore.
So I drained half the beer in my hand, kicked my feet up onto the coffee table, and grabbed the book I’d been reading, feeling like a total idiot. It was the same sappy romance novel that Reece had bought at Books and Beans, and I’d gone back to get my own copy for some stupid reason.
Even Val was fed up with listening to me storm around the house and had retreated to her bed in the kitchen.
My phone chirped on the table, and I gladly reached for it, dropping my book on the seat beside me even though I really wanted to know if this guy was going to realize that his best friend was the perfect woman for him.
It was only a text from Dex, and I was about to ignore it until I saw what it was about.
Dex: I’m nearly done with Reece’s car. I’m just waiting for a couple of parts. Should only be a few more days.
Me: Thanks. Let me know how much I owe you.
Trace: Excellent segue, Dex. So…Reece?
Xander: I, for one, think I deserve the full story. I nearly lost my life to your dog.
Dex: Don’t slander Val. She’s a sweet baby.
Xander: You only think that because you’re responsible for the mutt.
Dex: She’s not a mutt! And Val was the best present I’ve ever bought anyone.
I was tempted to let them argue it out between themselves, but Dex was right. Val was the best thing anyone had ever done for me. I was in a dark place that I didn’t want to admit to when Dex decided he was going to be my Valentine and left me a gift on the porch one Valentine’s morning.
Don’t get me wrong. I was so pissed at him at first. At least, as far as he knew. But one look into her brown eyes, and I was a goner. She’d been at my side ever since, well, apart from when I was sulking around the house and annoying her. Then she didn’t want to be anywhere near me.
Me: Stop shit-talking about my dog.
Trace: See, if Booker loves her, then you know she’s special!
Xander: You’ll notice he still hasn’t answered the question.
Me: Reece needed a job, and I gave her one. That’s it.
Even as I sent the message, I knew it wouldn’t work. Not when the brother-wives got together and started gossiping. This was so much like it had been when we were kids it made my chest ache. I’d missed this. Enough so that I was actually considering asking for their advice. I’d never hear the end of it, though.
But as my gaze drifted to the window, just like they had every night since she’d been here, I couldn’t help but wonder if it would be worth it.
Trace: And a hug. She needed one of those too.
Dex: I can’t believe I missed it. The one time Booker was a normal human. It’s like an eclipse. It probably won’t come back around for another forty years.
Xander: I nearly missed it. I was too worried about his rabid dog tearing my face off.
Trace: You’ve gotten dramatic since you moved to the city, brother.
Me: Fine. She’s nice.
Nothing came through for a minute, and I rolled my eyes at the idiots.
Dex: Is everyone else as shocked as I am right now?
Trace: I just nearly fell out of bed.
Dex: What are you doing in bed, you old man?
Trace:
Xander: Stop distracting him!
Dex: Sorry, you’re right. Tell Auntie Dex everything, Book Book. We’ll make it all better.
Me: Idiot.
My thumbs hovered over the screen. It was more that I didn’t know how I felt rather than me not wanting to tell them.
Trace: Whatever happens in the text chain, stays in the text chain.
Dex: True dat!
Xander: Idiot.
Dex: You know, I’m feeling really underappreciated here, guys.
Fuck it!
Me: I like her. But I found her after her ex beat the crap out of her, and I won’t be the guy that pushes her into something she isn’t ready for. I’m not that creep. So I’m sitting in my chair, drinking beer, and being miserable because everything I want is sitting in my cottage, and I can’t have it.
I pressed send before I could second guess myself and just delete the word vomit I’d spilled into my phone.
Damn, talk about emotional revelation.
I had another longing look out the window until I felt my phone vibrate in my hand. I looked down, dreading what I was going to see, knowing it would be them telling me that everything I was worried about was true. I was a complete ass for even thinking about her that way.
Trace: How do you know she isn’t ready for it?
Me: Because she just went through a trauma.
Trace: And it’s up to her how she wants to deal with that.
Xander: You need to talk to her, Booker.
Dex: Better yet, take her on a date. You gotta woo the lady.
Xander: For once Dex makes a good point.
Dex: Hey! I make good points all the time. I wouldn’t put up with this if I didn’t know you all really loved me, you know.
Me: What if she says no?
Trace: Then you know it’s too soon, and you’ll be her friend.
Dex: Damn, Trace got all wise when he got all loved up.
Me: How do I do that?
Now I just sounded like an idiot, but I might as well get what I could out of this, and then, hopefully, we’d never speak of it again.
Dex: Well, I think you have to fall in love with someone.
Xander: He means how does he talk to her, idiot.
Dex: Words hurt guys. I’m just saying.
I laughed at their bickering. Damn, I’d missed this so much.
But that happiness came with a sting because we were still missing a brother, and we needed to get him back.
The only way that was happening, though, was for one of us to talk with our father, and I knew without a doubt that was how I was going to repay them for this. I’d throw myself into the firing line of our parents’ crap. Not that Trace was talking to either of them, and rightly so. Xander hadn’t been back to Willowbrook for years because of them, and I didn’t want to risk losing him for another two years.
That only left me.
Trace: You know how to do this, Book. You were always the one we came to with our problems. You always knew the right thing to say. Just be honest with her.
And that was exactly the problem right there. Honesty meant vulnerability, and I’d been so closed off all these years because vulnerability was always exploited in our family. I’d learned how to raise my shields at a young age, and I’d not put them down since. I wasn’t even sure I knew how anymore.