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  He didn’t stop to talk to Darby, but I knew that he’d wanted to.

  He was just as stubborn as my man was, though, and I had a feeling that eventually they’d be able to work it out.

  In the meantime, I would be there for Darby until he did.

  Walking around the truck, I smiled at Codie who was adorably cute with her tight little baby doll t-shirt that showed off her baby belly, cute cut-off shorts, and a pair of cowboy boots that were the perfect accent to her outfit.

  “I love your boots,” I said.

  “Thanks.” She held them out for me.

  The rhinestones on them glittered.

  “They’re pretty,” I said. “I need some.”

  “They’re not practical,” Banks muttered. “But I guess it doesn’t matter when you don’t do anything on the ranch.”

  Codie flipped him off.

  “I resent that,” she said. “I actually fed a horse treats today.”

  Banks shook his hands in front of him, pantomiming that he was scared.

  She threw a stick at him, and he caught it and lobbed it back.

  It hit her on the side of the stomach, and she gasped.

  “You just hit your future nephew!” she narrowed her eyes. “I’m so telling Ace. He’ll kick your ass.”

  I picked up the stick that she got hit with.

  It was smaller than a pencil.

  “I’m fairly sure you’ll want to keep this for evidence.” I offered it to her.

  Codie winked at me, then offered me her arm.

  “Come, let’s go look at your badass trailer,” she ordered.

  I followed, winking at Darby as I went by.

  “Hey,” Codie called. “Someone should call and order pizza. I’m in the mood for anchovies.”

  Banks and Candy made a gagging sound as we walked into the trailer.

  “Oh, this is nice,” Codie said, eyeing everything.

  I looked at all the shit that was compacted in the middle of the living room from where we’d closed all the pop-outs for our ride over here, and quietly agreed.

  “I wanted to get you in here, because I want you to bring Darby to dinner tonight,” she said softly, keeping her voice low so nobody would overhear.

  I looked at Codie and licked my lips.

  “I think…” I paused. “I think it’s best for them to fix this on their own. I’m not saying I don’t want it fixed or anything, but Darby was really hurt by what happened. This isn’t mine to fix. It’s theirs. And if he doesn’t want to do it… I can’t really make him. I love him.”

  Codie sighed.

  “That’s exactly why I can’t make Ace pull his head out of his ass,” she mumbled. “I don’t like seeing him hurt, and I have to be on his side because he’s my husband. That doesn’t mean that I agree with his decisions or anything… but I do think that this is a mess that they should fix sooner rather than later. I want everyone to be happy when this baby comes. I want his uncle Darby in his life.”

  The trailer shook as I guessed Darby started to stabilize and level it out.

  “What do you think we should do to get them together again?” she asked.

  I pressed the button that would start pushing the pop-outs into position just as Candy made her way inside.

  Banks followed, and Darby wasn’t far behind.

  The moment to talk to Codie about Ace and Darby’s reconciliation took a hike.

  “Hey,” Candy said, her eyes filled with excitement. “So… I was thinking…”

  All eyes turned to her.

  “My dad’s been looking for an architect for years now. One that’s reliable and willing to work with him and be flexible.” She paused. “I gave him your number.”

  There was a silent pause as everyone took that in.

  “That would be perfect for you, Way,” Darby said suddenly. “You wouldn’t have to work at the porn theater.”

  Everybody laughed at that, and I had the decency to blush.

  “To be honest,” I said. “I kind of like the work. But that’s not saying I couldn’t do both. Right?”

  Candy nodded. “Of course. My dad’s supposed to call you early next week once he’s gotten a bid up for you.”

  Wow.

  This was really happening?

  “I… thank you,” I said softly. “That means the world to me.”

  Darby slung his arm around my shoulders and pulled me in closer.

  Just then Ace came stomping out of the house, glared at us all, then went to the stables.

  Banks rolled his eyes.

  “He’ll come around,” he informed us.

  I had a feeling he would.

  Chapter 15

  Life is soup and I’m a fork.

  -T-shirt

  Darby

  He finally came around two and a half weeks later.

  The day had started out well, but when I’d gotten to the barn, I found a downed horse. One that had gotten what looked to be a severe case of colic.

  After taking the horse’s feed away and cleaning out the food from his stall, I got Train up and tried walking him around to keep him from rolling and hurting himself in the stall.

  Once I got him to the open arena, I called the vet and got him on the way out to the ranch.

  Once I was done, I took the horse’s vitals and wrote them down on a piece of paper.

  Unfortunately, I had no other choice.

  I had to talk to Ace.

  I had to be at work in half an hour and I hadn’t gotten shit-all done while I’d been taking care of Train.

  Using my keys to get in the house, I walked directly to Ace’s room and knocked.

  “Yeah?”

  I grinned, kind of happy that I’d woken his ass.

  “Train is showing signs of colic,” I said. “I called the vet, he’s on his way out. Said he’ll be about twenty minutes. I haven’t gotten shit-all done, though. And I have to leave in twenty minutes to be at work.”

  There was a long moment of silence before Ace said, “I’ll be out in a couple of minutes.”

  Just as I was about to turn and leave, Callum opened his bedroom door and stared at me.

  I raised a brow in his direction. “What?”

  He shook his head. “Nothing. Just surprised to see you. Been a while.”

  I stared at him for a long moment then shrugged. “Whatever.”

  “You don’t have to leave,” he said.

  “I’m not done cleaning out stalls or feeding,” I said. “I’m gonna get to as many as I can before I have to go.”

  “Darby…”

  “Let him go.”

  That was Banks, his voice carefully neutral as he said his peace from his own bedroom doorway.

  “If I don’t finish, I’ll come back after work,” I found myself calling to them over my shoulder.

  “That’s not necessary,” I heard Codie call. “One of us will get it.”

  I didn’t answer her, nor did I call out a thank you. Instead, I kept walking, thinking not a single one of my brothers’ wives had stepped in to defend me either. Which made them just as culpable in my opinion.

  They didn’t know the old me. But they sure the fuck knew the new me. They could’ve tried to do some convincing over the last ten weeks. Yet they hadn’t.

  What they also hadn’t had a chance to do was get to know Waylynn. Waylynn who’d turned into one of my best friends.

  Waylynn who I’d had to convince to stay home today because she had a really bad cold that I was fairly certain was the flu. Not that she wanted to admit that.

  Stopping at the fridge to grab a cold water bottle, I went back to work shoveling as many stalls as I could. It was when I was pushing it, barely going to get to work in time, that I finally exited the barn at a mild jog.

  I wasn’t surprised to see Banks, Ace, and Callum standing next to the vet’s truck watching as the vet did his thing with Train.

  �
��You caught it early,” I heard Braxton Tucker, the vet, say. “Good job.”

  I felt a spark of happiness at having found him before it’d gotten too bad.

  Bonus points was that it was Banks’ preferred horse, meaning he would be more thankful than most.

  Heading to my truck, I started it up without a word.

  All three of my brothers turned around just as I put it into reverse.

  Banks started forward, and I was thankful it was him and not the other two. At least Banks made an effort. I couldn’t say the same for my other brothers.

  “Got all of them cleaned out but the last two,” I said. “I’ll be back at lunchtime to finish.”

  “I can do it,” Banks answered. “You come over at lunch, it’ll be done, and then you’ll have time to talk.”

  I gritted my teeth.

  On one hand, I wanted to come over here and finish just in general principle. But I knew if I did, Ace and Callum would use it as a window to talk to me. Something in which I wasn’t ready to do just yet.

  I wasn’t over the hurt and the anger.

  Not to mention I already was coming over this afternoon after work to ride fence with Banks.

  “Fine,” I said. “Thank you.”

  Banks grinned then.

  “How’s Waylynn?” he asked.

  I grimaced and looked at my watch. “Sick as a dog with the flu she refuses to admit she has. And probably getting ready to head into work because she thinks Gibson can’t accomplish anything without her.”

  Banks grinned, then patted my door. “Get out of here, kid. You’re gonna be late for work.”

  I backed out of the drive and turned my truck around, not looking back.

  If I had, I would’ve seen Ace and Callum staring at Banks as if he was a traitor.

  Work was not nearly as exciting as my early morning. And by the time the end of my workday hit, I was bored to tears. The one positive thing about my day had been lunch and even then it’d been fairly tame seeing as I’d eaten it in my truck while texting back and forth with Waylynn.

  After getting in my truck and heading in the direction of the ranch, I dialed Way and waited impatiently for her to answer.

  “Hello?” she rasped, answering on the fourth ring.

  “You don’t sound so good,” I teased.

  “I don’t feel so good,” she shot back.

  “Been throwing up more?” I asked curiously.

  I hated that she was sick.

  I hated even more that I couldn’t help her.

  “I’m fine,” she admitted. “But I found out where I got it from. Did you know Gibson had it? He came to work, stayed in his office, and only called me in there in between pukes. He gave it to me!”

  I couldn’t help the snicker that fell out from between my lips.

  “Oh shit,” I snorted. “That’s terrible.”

  It was.

  What was even worse was that I wanted to kick Gibson’s ass for making my girl puke.

  And likely making me puke.

  “I went outside to see that there was a sick horse this morning,” she said softly. “Then my dad called. He said he wanted to have dinner with us, and I told him I couldn’t because I was sick. So he said he’d bring his new girlfriend over to meet me here.”

  I rolled my eyes.

  “Are you done with work?” I questioned, knowing that she’d gone in despite feeling bad.

  Luckily, she hadn’t had to walk.

  Two days ago, I’d finally gotten around to purchasing that new truck.

  Thankfully, my girl didn’t put up too much of a fight when I handed over my keys.

  I was thankful that she no longer walked to work in the morning, even if it was daylight now.

  Even though I’d heard from Waylynn that she’d gotten a ride from Ace two days in a row last week because it’d been raining and he’d refused to allow her to go even a foot in the rain.

  “I am,” she confirmed. “I’m about to start driving home. So if my father’s there, don’t be surprised.”

  “With his new girlfriend,” I reminded her.

  “Ugh,” she snorted. “I just might puke on her.”

  “I’ll see you in a bit, baby,” I said softly.

  “Love you, Valentine.”

  I laughed and said, “Love you, too, Jennings.”

  I fingered the hole in my jeans, then made a split-second decision.

  Hitting my sister’s name on the touch screen, I waited for her to pick up.

  “What up, baby brother?” Georgia asked.

  I looked at the dash.

  “Tomorrow, around noon, do you have anything to do?” I asked curiously.

  “Nooo,” she drawled. “Why?”

  I licked my lips.

  “Because I want to go look at rings.”

  After getting my hearing back due to my sister’s loud ass scream, I explained that I was going to ask Way’s dad for her hand in marriage.

  “He’s going to say no,” Georgia snorted. “He doesn’t like you, remember?”

  I did.

  I also remembered that we were both grown ass adults, and I didn’t have to listen to him if I didn’t want to.

  “I know,” I said. “But it’s the thought that counts.”

  Georgia snickered. “Where and when?”

  After hashing out the details, I hung up just as I was pulling into the driveway.

  I saw Waylynn’s dad almost immediately.

  He was standing next to the corral fence talking to Ace and Callum, and he did not look happy.

  Neither did my brothers.

  When I parked and got out near the trailer, Jude turned to stare at me.

  The friendliness that I’d seen once upon a time was now gone.

  And in its place was annoyance.

  “Where’s my daughter?” he asked as if I’d done something to harm her.

  “She’s on her way home from work,” I answered. “Why?”

  Jude crossed his arms and glared at me.

  “She sounded bad when I called,” he said.

  I barely refrained from rolling my eyes.

  “That’s because she was sick, which I believe she told you.” I said. “She has the stomach flu.”

  “Did you knock her up?” he asked.

  “No,” I told him.

  Asshole.

  “How do you know?” he asked. “You don’t seem like the type to be very intelligent.”

  This was not the man that I’d met and worked with a hundred times before.

  This was a new man.

  One that didn’t like that I was dating his daughter.

  “Sir,” Ace said stiffly. “I don’t think that’s necessary.”

  “You don’t think what’s necessary?” he asked.

  “The name calling,” Ace replied.

  “I’ll do whatever I want,” her father stated.

  Just then, said daughter pulled into the driveway, saving the day.

  She pulled my old truck up and stopped next to my new one, her eyes narrowing on her father.

  “Where’s Nyree?” she asked curiously.

  My brows lifted as I realized that there was one integral part that was missing.

  “We went by the house on the way here,” he admitted. “And Nyree saw a spider and refused to stay there. I had to check her into a hotel.”

  His eyes went to the RV behind me.

  “So we’re not meeting?” she asked curiously.

  She sounded so hopeful. It was actually kind of cute.

  “Yeah, we’re still on for dinner.” He paused. “That steak place.”

  “Okay.” Waylynn paused. “The only thing that sounds good right now is Texas Roadhouse. Everything else I might very well vomit.”

  “Candy and I can’t go,” Banks sighed. “We have to get some shit done with her dad.”

  “We can’t either,” Desi sighed too. “I have
to go stock up at the store.”

  Leaving two people only.

  My gut began to sink.

  Ace chuckled behind me, and I glanced at him with an eyebrow raise.

  He shrugged. “We’re down to go eat. Codie loves Texas Roadhouse.”

  A sense of relief hit me when I realized that I wouldn’t be stuck alone with Jude.

  Thank God.

  Even if it was the brother that wasn’t very happy with me.

  “Oh, thank God,” Codie cried out. “I love rolls!”

  Ace looked at her.

  “We can tell.”

  Codie laughed in fake outrage, then turned to Waylynn.

  “Let’s go get changed,” she ordered.

  Waylynn nodded, even though she looked like she’d rather do anything but.

  “Actually, Darby, why don’t you go get your shower in. I’ll talk to dad for a bit?” Way asked.

  I looked at her, gauging her sincerity, then nodded. “Okay.”

  I glanced at Ace to see him nod.

  The silent order from me for him to ‘stay with her’ was loud and clear.

  Hurrying into the trailer, I rushed through my shower and came outside ten minutes later fully dressed and ready to go.

  The first thing I saw when I got out there was Ace’s narrowed eyes and Way’s tense posture.

  When I got closer, I understood why.

  “…was wondering if we could borrow the trailer that you were living in,” Jude asked.

  I gritted my teeth.

  And now we knew why he’d come all the way over here.

  He wanted to ask to borrow something.

  That was the only reason that he’d come.

  Not for Way. Not for his daughter.

  Nope.

  He’d come because he’d heard that she’d won an RV—and a damn nice one at that—and thought it would be a proper time to come see her. Then ask if he could borrow it.

  Of course.

  Way looked at me sadly, and I gathered her into my arms.

  “Let’s go eat,” I said softly.

  She nodded her head against my chest, and I paused to stare down at her.

  “Are you sure that you want to go?” I asked.

  She nodded.

  “I think it wasn’t the stomach flu after all,” she admitted. “I think it was food poisoning. I think that what happened was that Gibson and I got a bad batch of sushi yesterday. It’s the only thing that makes sense, and the only explanation I can come up with as to why I’m now starving.”