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Brock leaned over and smacked our younger brother. “Think before you speak, Tanner.”
I shot my youngest brother a smirk as I replied, “And I didn’t shack up with anyone.”
“That’s not what I saw. Dude, you were trashed and left with some hot chick who looked to be my age, if not younger,” Tanner said.
I rolled my eyes. “She was twenty-two, and nothing happened.”
“You left with her and stayed at her place, and you mean to say nothing happened?” Tanner asked as Brock shot me a look that said I was full of shit.
“That’s exactly what I’m saying. Nothing happened.” I looked at Brock. “Why are you shooting me death rays, Brock?”
“I hope you know what you’re doing, Ty,” Brock answered.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
He cast a quick glance to Tanner, then motioned down to Blayze. “You got this for a minute?”
Tanner nodded. “Yeah, go ahead.”
“Where you going, Daddy?” Blayze asked, gazing up at his father with the same blue eyes Brock and I got from our own daddy.
“I’m going to talk to Uncle Ty . . . in private.”
“You gonna talk about Aunt Kaylee and how she was mad at Uncle Ty last night?”
That caught my attention. “What?”
Brock rubbed the top of his son’s head. “You sneak out of bed again, Blayze?”
He smiled and nodded his head. “Yes, sir. I already confessed to Mama.”
I couldn’t help but give the kid a knowing grin. Oh, how many times had my brothers and I sneaked down the steps to listen in on the grown-ups? Too many to count.
“Let’s go,” Brock said to me as he headed out of the barn.
“Listen, if you’re going to give me a lecture, I’m not in the mood. I have a pounding headache, and I woke up in the bed of the daughter of my freaking therapist.”
Brock turned and faced me with a stunned look on his face. “You’re shitting me.”
“I wish,” I said, rubbing the ache in the back of my neck. “So what’s this about Kaylee?”
He stared at me for a minute or two before finally speaking. “Kaylee stopped by last night. I guess she and Lincoln had a talk a few days ago about Kaylee speaking to you about a few things. She wanted to find out why you didn’t like her.”
I groaned. “I never said I didn’t like her.”
“Never said you did. Anyway, you got your point across to her, and she’s going out with Channing this weekend.”
Trying not to let it show how much that bothered me, I shrugged. “Good for her. It’s about time she got out and socialized with folks. She’s always holed up in that house, catching shit on fire.”
He regarded me, trying to see if he could read me.
Not a chance, little brother. This place is locked up tight.
“Ty, are you really going to let her go like that?”
I swallowed hard. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Brock.”
He sighed and dropped his head, giving it a slow shake. “Okay, well, I thought you might want to know she’s going out with him.”
“Like I said, good for her, but it don’t concern me any. Besides, she already told me Channing asked her out.”
Brock’s gaze caught mine. The corner of his mouth rose slightly into a smug expression. “It must be in our blood to be so damn blind. I get you’re scared, Ty. I get this isn’t what you thought your life would be like, but are you sure you want to push away the one thing that made you feel something?”
Anger pulsed through my veins. How in the hell did he know how I felt? Or who made me feel something? “Just because you’re settled with a wife and kids now doesn’t mean I want that, Brock. I’ve got enough shit in my life, and to add in a headstrong, stubborn-ass woman who would just drive me insane? Yeah, hard pass. Who wants to be tied down to one woman anyway?”
He nodded, a look of disappointment etched onto his face. “Right. Well, as long as you know what you’re doing.”
“I know exactly what I’m doing.” The way the lie rolled off my tongue surprised even me. I had no damn clue about anything anymore.
“How’s therapy going?”
That was not a subject I was wanting to talk about. “Fine. Now if that’s all, I’d like to get some chores done and then get back to my place.”
“Sure. Have at it, Ty.”
I turned and walked away from Brock. It pissed me off that he was doing this to me. Pressuring me to do something I wasn’t ready for. Sure, he had the wife and the new baby. He got to make his decisions. He went out on top as the best bull rider in the world. Retired after winning the PBR World Championship again. Hell, he still had people calling him to do sponsorships.
