Page 40 of Hometown Hottie

Ryan was pissed, scared, and probably feeling betrayed by a childhood friend. My brother wasn’t prone to lashing out, keeping things bottled up to the point of constipation instead, but he sure looked ready to lash out today.

Jumping to my feet, I chased after him, my limbs still feeling like jelly but I couldn’t let that stop me. Not if it might save him from making an enemy out of a friend. A friend who wanted to buy a very particular portion of our property. As hurt and confused as I was, I wouldn’t let Ryan alienate him or make it worse.

I was shocked that Carson was the buyer, but something in my gut said we didn’t have all the facts. Or maybe I just didn’t want to believe it. Either way, I would get to the bottom of this and it wouldn’t be by using my fists to do the talking.

“Where are you going?” I called to my brother as I raced past my mom.

She stopped in her tracks, my glass of iced tea in her hands, and watched both of her children burst out of her house.

Ryan didn’t stop moving, practically sprinting to his truck and shouting his response at me over his shoulder. “I’m going to talk to Carson. That guy has gotten everything he’s ever fucking wanted. He doesn’t get to have this.”

Despite my own heart feeling like it was breaking, I frowned and struggled to keep up both physically and mentally. “What are you talking about? He has money and he’s looking for a property to build a house on. If Frank told him that was for sale⁠—”

“Why are you defending him?” Ryan spat at me, finally stopping once he reached his truck. He threw the door open and spun to face me with one hand on the steering wheel. “I get that he’s the fucking golden boy. Always has been. He’s a goddamn hero around here, but he can have that. He can have the hero worship, and the adoration, and everyone else in this town throwing themselves at his feet, but he can’t have this. I won’t let him have our fucking ranch.”

My heart pounded in my chest. I’d stopped only a few feet away from my brother, and as I folded my arms, staring him down, I saw the bitter hatred swirling around behind his eyes. I’d known they’d had their problems. Their friendship had been frayed and in turmoil ever since that night at the bonfire, but with this new insight, I was starting to wonder if that kiss had only been the final straw.

It sure seemed that there was a lot of other stuff going on that I’d never even thought about. “Look, I’m not saying we should let him have any part of the ranch, but what is this really about, Ryan? I don’t know why he would even think that strip of land is available for purchase or why he wouldn’t have come to us about it directly if he wants it, but he used to be your best friend.”

“Sure.” Ryan shook his head. “He was my best friend until he kissed my sister, left, and thought sending money back to his mom every now and then would make things right. And now this? I’m sorry, Nova, but I can’t accept that.”

“No one is saying that you should.” I hadn’t realized how much Carson leaving had affected my brother until this very moment.

All these years, I thought they’d had a spat because of that kiss and had then grown apart a bit because of the thousands of miles separating them from one another. Now, however, I was learning that there were other issues between them. Or maybe it was just that Ryan missed him.

Carson and Ryan had been like brothers once upon a time, and through the years, I’d often heard him make offhanded comments about how Carson might have approached this or that. How much easier something would’ve been if Carson had been around. He told their old stories at Moe’s whenever he got even a tiny bit tipsy and I knew he’d kept track of Carson’s pro career, and at any given time, he’d known how his friend was doing.

I’d gotten in the way of that once, and not wanting to do it again was why I’d sent Carson away the other day.

I squeezed my brother’s forearm. “Let me talk to him, okay? I’ll find out the truth. Just don’t jump to any conclusions. I don’t trust Frank as far as I can throw him, and I know you don’t either, so let me find out what’s really going on before you break his nose or something.”

Ryan’s gaze was fixed on mine, searching until he finally asked the question. “Is there something going on between you and Carson again?”

“No,” I said firmly and without flinching. It wasn’t a lie, even though I wanted it to be. “I just don’t want you to wreck a lifelong friendship over the word of a developer who is a master at manipulating people. I’ll go talk to Carson. You go back inside and I’ll let you know what I find out as soon as it happens, okay?”

He stared at me for another beat, then blew out a breath as the fight melted out of his posture. “Yeah, okay. Just call me as soon as you know anything.”

“I will.”

Ultimately, their friendship was and always had been more important than a crush. Now all I had to do was convince myself that it was nothing more than that, and then it would all be fine. I would be fine and maybe, just maybe, I might even finally be able to move on.