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Lara took a deep breath, closing the book. She and her mom had put it together after her dad died, to keep his memory alive.
Only sometimes it seemed like her mom would rather forget he’d ever existed.
There were days when she missed him so much that it hurt. And other days when she struggled to hold onto a memory of him.
And that hurt more than anything that anyone could ever do to her.
10
Lara walked into the same bar that she’d been in on Saturday night when she met Butch. It was Thursday night . . . and she was lonely. She’d spent all of yesterday and today dodging calls from her mother, who kept insisting that she come to dinner again.
And bring her new boyfriend.
Yeah, nope. Not happening.
She’d rather stick a rusty nail in her foot or, even worse, go jogging, than spend another dinner with them. She’d asked her mom to meet her for dinner somewhere. Alone. But she’d refused. That’s when Lara had stopped answering her calls.
Obviously, she didn’t want Lara to come over because she wanted to spend time with her. No, there was something else going on.
And Lara wasn’t biting.
Sitting at the bar, she smiled as she saw Ronny coming over.
“Hey there, want one of your . . . Tingles? Is that what they were called?”
“Yes, that’s right. But no, those things go straight to my head. I better start with a vodka and orange.”
“Coming up.” He wandered away, and she started humming along with the music. The song playing was one of her favorites.
“Someone better call God because he’s missing an angel,” a deep voice said from behind her.
She smiled, happiness filling her. And she realized that deep down, she’d come back here, hoping to see him. They’d shared a lot of texts over the past few days. Questions had flown back and forth as they’d gotten to know each other.
But it wasn’t the same as having him right here.
Turning, she looked him up and down. Then she placed her hand over her eyes. “Oh God!”
“What is it? What’s wrong?” he asked frantically.
She removed her hand with a grin. “I was just blinded by your beauty. I’m going to need your name and number for insurance purposes.”
He groaned. “That was terrible.”
“Way better than yours. Far more original.”
“Hey, I say use what works.”
“Has that ever worked for you?” she asked.
“Hmm. No. Now that you say that. May I?” He gestured to the bar stool next to her.
“Sure, but aren’t you here with someone?” Hopefully not a female someone.
“I was here with Tanner. But the asshole abandoned me for someone prettier and smarter. His words, not mine.”
She giggled. “Go, Tanner.”
“Don’t you encourage him.” He frowned. “He’s been acting a bit odd lately. No idea what is going on with him. It’s like he’s trying to forget something or someone.”
He nodded his thanks to Ronny as he dropped off a drink for them both. Wow, he didn’t even have to ask, it just turned up.
“You’re close, huh?” she said wistfully.
“Yeah. We are.”
“How many brothers do you have?”
“I don’t know. Seven or eight? Maybe more.”
“You don’t know how many brothers you have?” She gave him a shocked look.
“I only keep track of the important things,” he said with a straight face.
What?
Then he grinned.
She smacked her hand against his arm. “Oh, you are so full of shit.”
He chuckled. “I’ve got seven. Alec, West, Jaret, Maddox, Beau, Raid, and Tanner. But we might have more. Our dad was a manwhore. Most of us have different moms.”
She winced. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be. We always had each other. And when I was around sixteen, we moved out here when Alec bought the ranch. Then, the fun really began.” He winked at her.
“You’re one of the youngest?”
“Only Raid and Tanner are younger than me. Our dad was involved with a bad crowd. Thankfully, Alec managed to get us out of there safely. Don’t know where good old dad is now. But good riddance.”
“He sounds like a good older brother.”
“He is. They’re all good brothers. Just don’t tell them. Their egos are huge already.”
“Oh, only their egos?” She bumped her shoulder against his.
He grinned down at her. “Take it you just have the one sister?”
“Yes, unfortunately. Or maybe fortunately. I don’t need another sibling like Emily.”
“You’ve never gotten along?”
“No. She’s a big part of the reason why I left home. I mean, the crazy town, limited opportunities for the career I wanted to pursue, and my stepfather were all reasons too. But yeah . . . she was the big push I needed.”
“What did she do?”
“Slept with my boyfriend.”
He swallowed the mouthful of beer he’d just taken and started coughing. She whacked his back. “Oh no! Are you all right? Shoot. Ronny, we need water!”
Ronny brought over a glass of water, looking concerned. “Butch, you okay?”
“I’m fine. Just went down wrong.” He sipped at the water and wiped the tears from his eyes. “You can stop whacking on my back now, pretty girl.”
