Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 87367 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 437(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87367 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 437(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Brody barked out a loud laugh, and before I knew it, I was laughing too, so hard my stomach hurt, and I almost tumbled out of the damn chair.
“Fuck…I’m not drinking that shit again. What the hell did you give me? I think I might die. My heart is beating too fast.”
“What is it with people waking up from a less than sober night thinking that about their heart?” he asked.
I didn’t reply. There was this quiet voice in the back of my mind telling me I’d be embarrassed about this later, that if I weren’t so drunk, I would never say half the stuff I was, but since I was inebriated as shit, I didn’t care.
I grabbed Brody’s hand and put it to my chest. His body was tight for a moment, then loosened as he looked at me, at my eyes, then my hand holding his to my chest. “Well…it’s beating.”
“Too fast?”
“What the shit kind of drinking do you city boys do? You can’t handle your alcohol.”
“Shut up and tell me if I’m dying.”
“You’re not dying, city boy.”
“Oh,” I replied softly, though I wasn’t letting go of Brody’s hand and he didn’t move it.
“Should I help you into the house?”
“No. I want to stay out here.” Fuck, I would be embarrassed tomorrow. Stupid O’Ralley whiskey.
“Here, let’s get you to the couch, then.”
“I can do it.” I tried to move, but then Brody’s arms were there, and he was helping me lie down and licking his lips. Damn, I wanted to taste them, wanted to do more with him. “I thought we were supposed to be getting into trouble together? What was that about temptation?”
He sat in the chair closest to me. “Not tonight, that’s for sure.”
“Have you ever had sex with a guy?” I found myself asking.
He hesitated, then said, “Nah. I knew guys who I thought were attractive, sure. But first girlfriend I had, I felt this spark and thought that was all I needed to know. Didn’t really consider it until I ended up lip-locking with a city slicker not too long ago.”
I had to admit, his response made me a little nervous. “From everything you’ve told me, I’m a little confused about how you’re handling this. Are you actually cool about this, or are you quietly having some sort of identity crisis?”
“Don’t know what the crisis would be,” he said with a shrug. “Always known guys who were bi or gay. My brother Walker is, and I love him to death. Doesn’t change anything for me, not really. Like most things in life, guess I just gotta play it by ear.”
“Well, aren’t you something, Brody O’Ralley?” I chuckled, but I couldn’t imagine this totally lax attitude when there was something else he was surely considering. “What about Big Daddy? You think he’d care about your attraction to men?”
“He’d care about my attraction to you.”
“This fucking feud is such bullshit. It was a hundred fucking years ago.”
“Yeah, I know, but it’s different for you. He’s grown up with it and had his own issues with your daddy.”
That made everything slam back into my brain—the journal, what happened. My fucked-up family legacy. “Harris loved my mom,” I said softly.
“That’s always good.”
“And she loved my dad…at least…that’s what my dad said.”
Brody cocked a brow. “Talk to him lately, huh?”
I chuckled. That voice was back in my head, telling me to shut up, that I wasn’t supposed to talk about this, but still I did. “No. I got his journal. It talked about the feud, about my mom breaking up with your dad because she fell in love with mine…and he loved her…he loved me. I didn’t think he did. I thought he wanted nothing to do with me, but he sent her away to protect us from his dad. My grandpa used to launder money, ya know?”
“Fuck, shut up. You shouldn’t be telling me this.” Brody sat up straight.
He was right, of course. I didn’t know the law or if anything could be done now, but I assumed if they had proof of illegal activity, I could lose Mitchell Creek, even if it hadn’t been me who’d done it. Still… “I trust you. Don’t know why, but I do. Anyway, my grandpa—Bobby—didn’t want my dad to be with my mom. Dad knew Bobby would want me, so he told Bobby she left him. She went to California and changed her last name. But he was going to go to her, to us. Years went by, and he didn’t—was scared, I guess. He thought Bobby would find them, but then she died and I ended up with my adoptive parents, and he thought about his life here, his dad, and did what he thought was best. He said he stayed away to protect me…and by the time Bobby died, he figured it was too late and he didn’t deserve me.” My eyes were getting heavy, blackness trying to pull me under. “But he loved me…and her…and he got this place legit. Got out of that illegal shit. I’m gonna carry it on for him.”