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Before Shep could answer, Brody’s Jeep raced up the driveway, rocks flying up under the tires, dust circling behind the truck. Reading between the lines, Chase sighed. “I take it that’s why you’re here.”
“Brother,” said Shep, serious, taking a slight step forward. His hard gaze stayed focused on Brody, whose Jeep went from forty miles per hour to zero in a split second. “I believe he wants to kill you.”
Last night, Brody had seen Chase kiss Harper. He had not lashed out then, telling Chase all he needed to know. Only one thing would make Brody rage like he was when he exited his Jeep, charging toward Chase.
Harper had changed her mind about Las Vegas.
Chase’s stomach rolled. And yet, at the same time, heat radiated through his chest that she had decided to stay. “Brody,” Chase said slowly, raising his hands in his defense. “Calm down.”
“Fuck you,” Brody roared. His skin mottled as he charged forward, his hands out, ready to wrap around Chase’s throat. “I’m going to fucking kill you.”
Shep stepped forward, shoulders squared. “Calm down, Brody.”
“Fuck you too,” Brody growled at Shep.
Before Shep made Brody regret those words, Chase snatched his brother’s arm, pulling him back next to him. “It’s fine.” He quickly realized his mistake as he glanced at Brody, and Brody launched forward, landing a hard punch across Chase’s jaw.
He staggered back, his teeth rattling.
Shep lurched forward, grabbed onto Brody by the shirt, then shoved him back.
Chase slowly raised his finger to his lip, discovering the warmth of his blood seeping from his bottom lip. “Do not hit me again,” he warned.
“Do you think I give a fuck what you want?” Brody yanked himself out of Shep’s hold. He jabbed a finger in Chase’s face, spittle building up in the corners of his mouth. “Harper came to the house this morning and told me she has doubts about leaving. You promised me you wouldn’t fuck with her moving to Vegas. You goddamn promised me,” he roared.
“She never told me about any of this.” He stared at Brody’s bared teeth and corded neck, realizing that’s what bothered him the most. Had she been having doubts this whole time, but couldn’t share them because she knew he would try to talk her out of it? Had she been enduring all this alone? “Did she tell you she definitely wasn’t moving anymore?” That was all that mattered to him.
“That is not the fucking point,” Brody yelled, fists clenched at his sides. “You have put doubts into her mind. Everything was fine and she was happy, following the dreams that were torn away from her, but you went in and fucked it all up.” The veins along his neck strained against his skin. “What did you think would happen when you started all this? You knew she had a thing for you. You fucking knew that.”
“You’re right, I did know,” Chase agreed. “But—”
“But fucking nothing,” Brody’s voice boomed. He got into Chase’s face, his eyes wild. “You have to live with what you’ve done. You have to live with knowing that you took away her dreams. You did that to her. And I hope that fucking eats at you for the rest of your life.”
“All right, that’s enough, Brody,” Shep warned.
Brody set his glare onto Shep before addressing Chase again with a snarl. “I don’t care what the fuck you have to do. Break her fucking heart. Tell her you don’t want a relationship with her. Do whatever you have to do to change her mind so that she leaves today. Do you fucking hear me, Chase?”
All the coldness that had invaded Chase suddenly washed away to a warm clarity. For the first time in days, his lungs felt like they could draw in air fully again. “I won’t do that.”
Shep jerked his head toward Chase, eyebrows raised before he focused on Brody again, obviously determined to keep Chase safe.
Chase stayed focused on Brody, stating his truth now. “If she wants to stay in River Rock, there’s not a chance in hell I’ll talk her into leaving. Because I can’t. Not anymore. I want her here. With me. And if that’s what she chooses, then so be it.”
Brody moved slowly to Chase, his chest rising and falling with his heavy breaths, his voice suddenly calm. “If you don’t get her to leave, Chase, and if I see you anywhere near her, you’ll regret it.”
His words echoed in Chase’s mind while Brody calmly strode back to the Jeep and drove off the same way he had come up the driveway.
Shep finally sighed and glanced at Chase. “Brother, I would take that threat seriously.”
“Believe me, I am.”
* * *
Sometimes there was no easy way to drop a bombshell. The repercussions of Harper’s decision to take more time to think through moving to Las Vegas were going to cause more than ripples, they were going to cause a tsunami-sized shitstorm. A thought which was only confirmed when Chase exited his truck, striding toward her with his long stride, while she sat on the porch steps of his house. She noted the small cut on his lip, indicating they were directly in the eye of the storm.
The side of his mouth arched. “So, you’ve made this complicated.”
She gave a small smile back. “I’ve made this complicated.” His eyes softened, emotion filling their depths, and her heart skipped a beat. Everything seemed better with him there, reminding her she had made the right decision to take more time to think this all through.
