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Leaning his forearms on the top rail, Slade pinned Reed with a direct stare as he shuffled to Apollo’s other side. “I don’t pester you about never seeing anyone outside our small private group,” he pointed out to Slade.
Slade flashed him a grin. “Because that’s nothing new for me. You, on the other hand, are the outgoing, fun brother. Or, you used to be.”
“Still am when my brothers aren’t nagging me,” he quipped, returning the grin. It required way too much effort to hold onto a snit with either of his siblings.
“Better us than Allie,” Brett taunted.
Reed stiffened and aimed the brush at Brett. “You tell her to butt out, Brett. I mean it.” He didn’t want any more surprises with Lily.
Brett released Shadow into the pasture to follow Bandit. “All she said was we should invite her to the surprise birthday party you’re pretending you know nothing about.”
Laughing, Reed walked with them toward their trucks. “You invited all the hands. Did you expect them to keep quiet?”
“No, I didn’t, but Mom believed they would go along with the surprise part,” Slade replied.
“In their defense, the guys standing around jawing about it didn’t see me in the stable, and, as far as I’m aware, they have no clue they spilled the beans unless either of you mentioned it. But I’m still good at playing innocent with Mom.”
“Like when I chased you through the house and you knocked over the Christmas tree and blamed me?” Brett shot back.
“I wouldn’t have been grabbing for it coming around the corner if you weren’t hell-bent on plowing into me,” he returned without remorse for the days Brett spent grounded over the holiday.
“Ah, good times,” Slade drawled. “Ask Lily out tonight. It’ll make it easier for her to say yes when Allie talks Mom into inviting her to your party.”
“Damn it!” Reed flung the curse at Brett when they paused in front of the stable. “Don’t let her say a word to Mom.”
“I’ll talk to her. Seriously. But why not take out Lily? You can always pretend it’s as a friend, or a follow-up on how she’s doing since you saw her last. Slade and I assume you weren’t talking that whole time.”
Removing his hat, Reed raked his fingers through his hair, pushing it off his damp forehead before replacing his Stetson, ignoring the speculation etched on his brothers’ faces. Other than the occasional play parties they hosted where their involvement with women was often depicted in a public scene, they kept their private lives private. After growing up with a philandering father who didn’t know the meaning of discretion, they vowed never to give the tabloids the same ammo to publicize. But Brett made a good point. He should check back with Lily. Despite ensuring her stability before escorting her downstairs again, he should have at least called her the next day. The last thing he wanted was for her to regret anything they had done so far.
“No, we weren’t just talking, but don’t push for more. She hasn’t shown an interest in me other than as a friend, except for that night, and then her interest was in the relief she experienced from that introduction, not in me.” And he’d spent way too much time since the charity benefit wishing otherwise. What had occurred there would stay between them unless Lily chose to tell someone else. “I will stop by, though, since your suggestion to follow up with her is something I should have done a lot sooner.”
Brett fisted his hands on his hips. “Don’t beat yourself up over it, Reed. Lily has muddled your thinking for a few years. After what I went through with Allie, I can now not only understand but sympathize how one woman can tie you up knots that are fucking hard to loosen.”
Slade shook his head. “Sounds to me it would be easier to not let those knots tighten in the first place.”
“Easy for you to say when you haven’t met the right one yet,” Reed told him, taking a step toward his truck. His gaze shifted toward the barn, anger replacing his restored good mood when he saw the college hands come out of the barn, both Evan and Riley with lit cigarettes. “Those fucking shitheads! Put those damn things out, now!”
Slade dropped a hand on his shoulder and squeezed, preventing him from stalking over there and laying into the college kids for disobeying one of their most important safety rules. One small ember landing on dry hay inside any of the ranch buildings could set off an uncontrollable blaze within minutes.
Reed swung on Slade, knocking off his hand when Evan’s face turned insolent as he crushed the cigarette under his boot. “Why the hell do you keep that little prick employed here? He’s done nothing to get rid of the chip on his shoulder from day one.”
Brett crooked a finger at all three hands while Slade said, “From what the others have let slip around me, Evan grew up without a father, his mother never hiding her bitterness over that affair. We were lucky. Dad neglected his parental duties but loved us and was around. Plus, we benefitted from Ward’s influence where Dad was lacking. I won’t give up on the kid yet, on any of them.”
Slade stomped toward the trio, meeting them halfway but far enough from Reed and Brett they couldn’t make out what he was saying. From the fury of his arm gestures and the guys’ pale, flinching expressions, his words and consequences were harsh. Good, Reed thought, getting into his truck. When their father had left Slade in charge of the hands and the ranch, he and Brett were still working their career choices, only too happy to leave the day-to-day running of the ranch in their little brother’s capable hands. Though he had resigned from the highway patrol a while ago and Brett had cut his legal practice hours in half so they could work their inheritance full-time they remained content leaving the burdensome chore of employees with Slade.
Reed shut the door then leaned out the window. “See you tomorrow. Don’t forget to talk to Allie, and keep her away from Mom for the next week.”
“It’s our turn to have Sunday dinner with her family this weekend, so you can discuss it with Mom on your own, but I’ll warn her again to stay out of your business. One thing, Reed.”
“What?”
“You were aware I wanted Allie in the first weeks of meeting her and asked me what I had to lose by giving her a chance. It’s been close to four years since I saw your interest in Lily, so I’ll ask you, what have you got to lose now?” Brett grinned and got into his truck, lifting his hand in a wave. “After you answer that question, tell her I said hello.”
Reed drove to his house contemplating Brett’s surety that he would go see Lily, prompting him to quit ignoring how much the idea appealed to him. As he showered, he went over the things he’d learned about Lily over the years – her compassion for those less fortunate, her determination to do what was right, whether it’s something she wanted to do or not, her refusal to retaliate against John with an affair of her own or to leave until she was sure there was no hope he would change, her sweet disposition, and the spark of fire when she was pushed too far he’d only glimpsed once. He finished showering with a raging hard-on, his mind and body in agreement with how much he longed for Lily in his life, if only he could be sure she wanted him the same way.
Reed decided there was only one way to find out and thirty minutes later, he parked in front of Ina’s to pick up the order he called in, hoping Lily hadn’t eaten yet. He remembered John mentioning her favorite food was lasagna, which happened to be the Friday night special. If his idea to stop by without calling first would go in his favor, also, he wouldn’t ask for much more than that.
Lily didn’t live far from his mother’s house, but, in Eagle’s Nest, no one lived far from anyone else due to the small size of the town. The stately elm in her front yard spoke the age of the cozy bungalow where he found her kneeling in the garden bed to the left of the front porch. He had time to appreciate her soft butt in denim cutoffs before she stood and pivoted as he parked in the drive. Her jaw dropped in surprise then she pressed her lips together and removed her gardening gloves as he got out.
