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He rolls his eyes. “Shut up, Duke. When was the last time you satisfied a woman?”
“Satisfying them in the bedroom is easy. It’s everything else that I suck at.”
Devon laughs and sips his beer. “Just feels like maybe shit shouldn’t be this hard.”
“Maybe it’s time to cut your losses and move on,” I tell him, trying to be helpful.
“Maybe.”
He pretends to think about it, but I know better. Devon can’t seem to leave Kyra alone. Sure, she’s hot, but not hot enough to deal with that bullshit. My brother must see something the rest of us don’t.
Maybe Kyra has beer-flavored nipples. I don’t fucking know.
And normally, Tanner’s the one who listens to Devon gripe about it. My head is so fucked up that typically, no one asks me for any type of advice.
Devon must realize he’s being annoying because he changes the subject. “Have you talked to Momma?”
I shrug my shoulders. “A little. She told me she was spending the weekend with Rob.”
Rob is our mother’s newest boyfriend—or ‘man-friend’, as I like to call him. ‘Boyfriend’ just seems weird at her age. Our mother has always been unlucky in love. That’s why my two brothers and I all have different dads. I don’t think she’ll ever stop looking for Mr. Right.
Her type, though, isn’t exactly Prince Charming.
Devon says, “Yeah, same here. She said she wants us to meet this Rob guy.”
I grab one of the peanuts out of the bowl in front of me and pop it into my mouth. “Why bother?”
Devon shifts in his seat, and I can tell he’s trying to decide if he wants to say what he’s thinking. He finally asks, “So, how are you adjusting, man?”
Now, I eat a handful of peanuts and chew, stalling before answering.
“I’m doing alright,” I reply.
I don’t know how true it is, but I’m not going to get into all the touchy-feely bullshit. I get professional help for that.
I was in the Navy for the past twenty years of my life. I’ve seen and done things that would horrify most people, and I’m not about to put the burden of that knowledge onto anyone else… ever. And no one needs to know how fucking hard it’s been since I’ve gotten out.
An injury took me out of the Navy, but it was nothing compared to the agony of coming home. After twenty years of living my life one way, I now feel a little lost.
Okay,completelylost.
And that doesn’t even touch on the fact that I can barely get any sleep, and when I do, I have nightmares.
Yeah, my life is a fucking picnic.
But I’m not about to say any of this to Devon. I don’t want him to worry—or anybody else, for that matter.
He looks at me and asks, “You sure?”
“Yep. Just been trying to keep busy.”
He looks like he wants to say something else but thinks better of it and just nods.
We sip our beers in silence for a moment until Clyde Abernathy walks over to the table. Clyde’s the only lawyer in town. I typically don’t care for lawyers, but Clyde’s been great at pointing me in the direction of handyman jobs.
And working with my hands helps to keep my body and my mind occupied.
“Evening, boys,” Clyde says.
