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“Well, this looks cozy.”
Sweetie realized that it did look pretty cozy.She stood and tried to explain.“Jace just came over—”
Decker cut her off and glared at his cousin.“Oh, I know what Jace just came over for.”He looked back at her.“The question is, did he get it?”
Her eyes widened.“Excuse me?”
Sweetie figured most men would be jealous if they caught their girlfriend sitting on a porch swing with another man in the middle of the night—especially when that girlfriend was wearing nothing but a shirt and another man’s jacket.But she had thought Decker was different than most men.She had thought he knew her.Really knew her.But if he thought she could swap out cousins like she swapped out hair products then he didn’t know her at all.
That hurt.It hurt badly.
Jace stood up.“What the hell are you talking about, Deck?”
Decker turned on him.“Don’t play dumb jock with me, Jace.You know exactly what I’m talking about.You couldn’t wait to fly back home when you found out Sweetie was back in town.Couldn’t wait to take up where you two left off twelve years ago.”
Sweetie’s hurt quickly turned to anger.“Take up where we left off?You don’t know what you’re talking about, Decker Carson.And I suggest you leave now before you say something stupider than what you’ve already said.”
“Would someone tell me what’s going on here?”Jace asked.“Why are you so mad, Deck?”
Decker and Sweetie ignored him as they continued to glare at each other.Not more than a few seconds ago, she’d been ready to confess her love.Now she just wanted to beat him over the head.“I mean it, Deck.I want you to leave.”
“Well, that’s too bad.I’m not leaving until Jace leaves.”
“What?Are you afraid we’ll have sex on the porch swing once you’re gone?”
Decker growled low in his throat.“Don’t push me, Sweets.”
That sent her over the edge.She had grown up with an overbearing man who loved giving orders.She wasn’t about to put up with Decker thinking he could.
She marched down the porch steps.“I’ll push you.”She shoved him with both hands.“I’ll push you as much as I want to push you.”She shoved him again.“Especially when you show up at my house and act like a jealous, possessive asshole!”
His eyes flared.“I have every right to act like a jealous asshole when I find you cuddled up on the porch swing with my cousin.”
“Jealous?”Jace came down the steps.“Wait a second.Sweetie is the woman you’ve been fooling around with?You moved in on my girl, Deck?”
Sweetie was about to point out that she wasn’t his girl when Decker turned on Jace and growled, “She’s not your fuckin’ girl!You never gave a shit about her.All you cared about was football.I used to have to remind you to get her something for her birthday.And it lands on Valentine’s Day, for God’s sake!”
Jace yelled back, “The only reason you knew that was because you followed her around like a lovesick puppy.”
“Better than treating her like she didn’t exist whenever a football was around.”
“So you think you’ll make a better boyfriend?”
“Iama better boyfriend!”
Sweetie was about to jump in and tell them both off when Decker hauled off and punched Jace right in the face.She released a startled squeal as Jace stumbled back into the flowerbed and held his jaw.
“Is that all you got, baby cousin?”Jace charged Decker and punched him.Decker’s head flew back, but he held his ground.
“I would think that a quarterback would throw a better punch than that.Of course, you can’t even throw a football now, can you?”
“You sonofabitch!”Jace tackled Decker to the ground.
“Stop it!”Sweetie yelled.
But they didn’t stop.
They wrestled around at Sweetie’s feet like two adolescent teenagers.For a second, she stood there not knowing what to do.Then she remembered what her daddy had done whenever the herding dogs had gotten into a fight.She ran to where the garden hose was coiled up and turned on the spigot.When the first spray of cold water hit them, Jace and Decker released yelps and jumped to their feet.But she was too mad to stop spraying them.She continued to soak them from head to boots until they both raced for their cars.
