He was at the main doors when a loud gasp caught his attention, and he squinted into the shadows of the barn to see his mother coming toward him.
“Please, God, tell me you’re home for good,” she said as she walked right up to him and wrapped him in her arms.
“I don’t know yet, Mom,” he told her, hugging her in return. He wouldn’t lie to his mother, so if he said he would stay, he had to stay, and at the moment, he couldn’t commit.
“Boy,” his father greeted him as he ambled his way.
“Dad,” Braydon replied when his mother released him from her death grip.
“’Bout damn time.”
That was all Curtis said, which wasn’t surprising. Braydon knew his father meant every word he spoke, even when he didn’t talk in complete sentences, and Braydon felt his father’s unspoken relief to the depths of his soul. His parents were incredibly supportive of all their boys. Always had been, even when they didn’t quite understand or agree with one of their sons’ decisions.
“Sorry,” he began to apologize.
“Don’t you dare,” his mother told him. “You don’t apologize for doing what you need to do. We just . . . We just want you back home. And don’t think we won’t make an extended trip to Devil’s Bend if it’s necessary.”
“Tessa would actually like that,” he told his mother.
“I know. I’ve talked to her every day.”
Braydon didn’t doubt that one bit. Ever since Tessa had become a part of their lives, Lorrie spent plenty of time worrying about her. If you asked his mother why, she’d tell you that’s what she did. She loved her family. It was the most important thing to her, and to have the blessing of Tessa and her brothers had put a smile on his mother’s face.
“I just wanted to stop by to see you first,” he explained. “I’ve got to go talk to Brendon.”
Braydon noticed the look that his mother passed to his father, but before he could ask what that was about, his mother said, “Dinner’s at seven o’clock. I expect you to be there.”
“Yes, ma’am. I’ll be there,” he assured her. He’d missed way too many Sunday dinners with his family. He knew he couldn’t get out of another even if he wanted to. So, for now, he was going to be in town for a little while at least.
For a brief few minutes, he talked to his parents about his drive back, how Tessa and Cooper were doing, and when he was going to make a decision on whether he was staying or not. It didn’t last long, unfortunately. The next thing he knew, Braydon was back in his truck, pulling onto the narrow drive to his own house. The one he shared with his twin.
The first thing he noticed as he pulled up to the rustic two-bedroom cabin that he called home was that Jessie’s car was out front.
His chest immediately ached and he absently rubbed it, hoping the pain would subside. Pushing open the door, he took a deep breath and resigned himself to what was to come.
“Braydon.”
He hadn’t even stepped foot on solid ground before he heard her voice. He turned, and there in all her astonishing beauty was Jessie, standing on the front porch, her arms wrapped around herself. She was still just as stunning as he remembered, standing there in a pretty little sundress and boots, her hair shining in the bright morning sun.
Three months without seeing her brilliant smile had been the equivalent of an eternity as far as he was concerned.
She wasn’t smiling now. Nor was Brendon, who was standing just behind her.
“Hey,” Braydon offered nonchalantly. Or so he hoped. He didn’t feel at all nonchalant. In fact, he was tense to the point that he wasn’t sure he could get his legs to work to walk toward them.
For all the time he’d tried to pretend he didn’t have feelings for this woman, he was finding it more and more difficult now. The fiery passion she had ignited inside of him had been stoked into a conflagration of anger and resentment that he found himself trying to hold inside for three painfully long months. But the anger wasn’t directed at her. It was all for the situation that the three of them had found themselves in. Some of the antipathy was directed at his brother, the man who had kept Braydon from loving Jessie the way he wanted, even if it hadn’t been intentional. But Braydon had yet to determine whether that was the case or not.
The same man who clearly was interested in another woman, but refused to allow Braydon to have Jessie for himself. And now . . . Now he didn’t even know if Jessie and Brendon had reconciled and maybe the two of them were together.
Fuck.
Not that he could change any of that.