Chapter 10
Brielle
Since Maverick gave Kinsey the cold shoulder, I gave him one in return.
Best friends over hunky cowboys any day.
Not that he was knocking down my door anyway, to my disappointment.
There’s an ache in my chest that I don’t want to acknowledge, but I don’t want that to be the last I’ve seen of him.
I thought I didn’t want a pack, but I can’t deny I thought of the small chance of something starting up with Maverick.
Kinsey sets the coffee on the nightstand and then slumps onto the bed. “I kind of want the day off, but also don’t because it serves as a distraction.”
I snap my fingers, and then finish up my mascara. “Plus, we need the money. We can’t stay in this room forever.”
She sits up, staring at me with curiosity. “You’d stay here? With me?”
Pushing down the desperate yes that almost escapes my throat, I give her a sideways glance. “Duh, babes. You can’t get rid of me that easily, even if you have those cowboys begging for your attention.”
A blush works over her cheeks, and she sighs again. “What’s going on with you and Maverick?”
“Mr. tall, muscles, and grumpy? Nothing until he can fix his attitude. I didn’t like how he spoke to you, even if he might be your brother.” It’s the only truth I can give her at the moment.
When we confronted them at the ranch, Maverick’s anger surprised me, and if I’m a little honest with myself, it scared me more than I wanted to admit. I’ve been on the receiving end of an alpha’s temper, though my heart swears Maverick would never hurt me.
Kinsey sighs. “It’s not like we can blame them though. I mean, I am a stranger, and apparently they have a lot of money—”
“Ah, ah, ah.” I shush her with a click of my tongue and snap of my fingers.
“I come from a lot of money and that doesn’t give you an excuse to be a shit person.
I can understand his initial hesitation, but his attitude is going too far.
” I sit on the bed next to her. “And the accusations? He’s basically calling you a gold digger.
” And my best friend is anything but. Hell, if anyone has gold digger tendencies, it’s me.
On more than one occasion, I allowed my parents to whore me out as prized omega arm candy in exchange for getting closer to powerful, wealthy people.
Her nose wrinkles. “I think that’s only if you are trying to romantically become involved with someone for their money.”
I wave a dismissive hand. “Tomato, tomahto. Who cares? The big alpha can come down to Earth and apologize.”
She rests her head on my shoulder. “Sometimes I don’t know what I did to deserve a friend like you. I love you.”
Emotion claws at my throat, like it does every time she says something like that. “Yeah, yeah. Tell me more about how awesome I am.”
She snorts, then stares at me. “You’d tell me if something was going on between you and Maverick, right?”
I nod, sipping the coffee. “Of course, but there’s nothing to tell. There was an almost something that never really happened, so I only had an almost something to tell, and well, now I don’t…I think.”
Kinsey stares at me for another moment, as if trying to see if there’s more than what I’m saying. “It’s okay if there is. Like, if he’s my brother, and he still wants nothing to do with me, it’s okay.”
“Why would I want anything to do with a person who would treat family like that?”
She shrugs. “Because we’re not really family.
Just because we’re related by blood, that doesn’t mean anything.
He doesn’t owe me a relationship. Family can be anyone who cares about you, and if he wants to be that, I’ll try.
I’m only doing the paternity test because it might calm Maverick down.
I just wanted to talk to the man who was in the photo with my mom. ”
I force myself to take another sip of coffee, even though the despair spiraling inside me is causing my throat to ache.
I’m reminded how differently we lived before we came to Brackenridge.
How my family put such importance on our name and who they interacted with and were related to.
If I could make a choice right now, Kinsey would be my only family, and it’s a little staggering.
To cut off the woman who carried you, the father that raised you, and think only of the stranger you met on a playground as kin is freeing. I bite down on my lip and look out the window.
Kinsey moves closer, sitting on the bed next to me. She pats my thigh, and I look back at her. A small smile is on her lips.
“I’m just saying that you don’t need my permission or approval to be with anyone you want to be with.” She raises an eyebrow to drive the point home.
I laugh. “I get it, okay? I know what you’re saying.”
One of the main reasons I told her I wanted to come was to get away from my parents’ choice of pack, but it’s more than that. I’m not sure I want a pack at all.
I nudge her with my shoulder. “For the record, I hope he is. I think under all that anger is probably a really good guy.”
She smiles. “Can you imagine if I had a brother after all?”
“And then I can be your sister for real.” I wink at her.
Kinsey takes my hands and faces me. Her face suddenly becomes serious. “Just know, whatever happens, paternity results be damned, you are my family. I don’t know anyone who would have jumped into a car without a second thought and drove to the unknown on a whim. And that means everything to me.”
My nose tingles with the urge to cry. “You make me sound so selfless, but what if I only hopped in for the ride because I wanted to leave my life behind?”
Her eyes twinkle with amusement. “You still got in. More than others would do.”
I pull out of her hold, only to wrap my arms around her, and she squeezes me back.
“Love you, bitch,” I say into her auburn hair.
She laughs. “Love you back.”
I think Kinsey and I may break our necks with the amount of times we keep glancing at the door.
We both keep hoping that a certain cowboy will come through it.
Hers because she’s forgiven the three men for withholding information about her potential father, and now she’s a little afraid that her happily ever after ending is threatened.
Though, I don’t see any of those men walking away from her.
We’re pretty positive they are her scent matches.
Meanwhile, I’m just hoping for a crumb of attention.
I hadn’t realized how much I wanted to go on a date that wasn’t preauthorized until the opportunity presented itself.
I’m attracted to Maverick beyond what I thought possible, but I have to know if it’s just because he’s the first alpha I’ve met outside my perfectly planned life or because there’s something more.
That all goes down the drain if he’s not even willing to put in the effort to see me again.
Kinsey sighs, wiping her forehead with the back of her hand. “You’d think it would get easier every night we do, but I still feel like I’m struggling to catch up.”
I snort. “My feet hurt, and my pants are fitting a little looser. I’ve probably lost weight I can’t afford to. I wasn’t built to move so much.”
“Right? Sometimes the pictures they painted in the omega academy about being swept off our feet seemed too good to be true, but now I think I’d like to try it.”
I pat her shoulder. “Those cowboys will come around. I know it.”
She blows out a long breath. “Yeah, I hope so.” She grabs her table’s order and leaves me. I have a few more minutes of my break before I need to make my own rounds. We haven’t been working long, but outside of the body aches, I do think Kinsey and I are getting the hang of this waitress gig.
Just as I glance around my section, making notes on who to check up on, I freeze at the last booth that’s been filled.
My heart skips a beat, and I run my tongue over the roof of my mouth, wondering if I should walk away when he looks up and catches me staring. His jaw works back and forth, and then his chin tilts up while he mouths one word. Please.
Damn cowboys and their manners.
I walk over, stopping at the edge with my hand on my hip and a raised eyebrow. “Thought we weren’t meeting until Monday?” Our original date came and went while I stood by Kinsey’s side; we put it off until they met up to handle their family business.
Maverick sighs, rubbing a hand down his face as he leans back in the booth. “I had to see you again. You mad at me?”
“Well, I’m not necessarily happy. You treated my best friend like she was a common criminal.”
He reaches out, curling his hand around my wrist, and I have to hold back the shiver his touch causes. “I’m sorry. I overreacted, I know that.”
I pull my hand away, crossing my arms over my chest. “I’m not the one who deserves an apology.”
He swallows. “Is she here tonight?”
I nod. “I can go get her.”
“Is our date still on?”
Cocking my head to the side, I stare at him for a few seconds. “If I say no, are you still going to apologize?”
His eyebrows furrow. “Of course.”
A smile breaks out on my face. “Good boy.”
I kiss his grumpy, scrunched forehead when he registers the words, and skip off to find Kinsey.
When I open the inn’s door for our date, Maverick’s outfit throws me for a loop. I take in his suit and tie with pinched lips. His shoulders roll, and I can see how tense his body is. It tugs at my heart, and we stare at each other silently for a moment before I step closer.
“You look hot.”
He snorts, trying to stifle his smile, but failing. “Yeah? Then wearing this penguin suit is worth it.”
I crinkle my nose. “I don’t know… What if I wanted to go on a date with the rough cowboy? What if I wanted to tussle in the mud with some country boy?”
His eyes drop to my painted pink toes in my white, jewel-covered sandals. “Well, if that’s what you want, I can do that. I just thought you’d want a little taste of the city.”
Tilting my head to the side, my curly blonde hair cascades over my shoulder, and I raise an eyebrow. “Maybe that’s why I left.”