Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 78227 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 391(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78227 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 391(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
Callie didn’t play any sports, and neither did Maddie.
Even though I’m closest to Callie, I have the most in common with Jesse.
If only…
“Ror?” he prods.
“Do I have your complete confidence?” I ask.
“That goes without saying.”
“Does it? Because when Callie and I told you about Pat Lamone and the high school crap, your first inclination was to go pummel him.”
“Yeah, and I’m still leaning toward that.”
“You’re very protective of us,” I say. “I appreciate that. I do. But I can’t have you going after the Steels.”
“Have the Steels done anything to you?”
“Of course not.”
“Then why would I go after them, Rory? Pat Lamone hurt you and Callie. It’s my job, as your big brother, to make sure he pays for that.”
“No, it’s not your job. Callie would say it’s the job of the justice system.”
“Callie’s not here.”
“Jesse, I know you’re a big strong man, and I know at heart you’re still the athlete you were all those years ago. Plus you’re a rocker. You’re full of testosterone and endorphins all the time from being onstage. But you’re also thirty-two years old. Thirty-two-year-old men don’t go around beating other guys up.”
“Have I done it?”
“No. But only because Callie and I begged you not to.”
He sighs. “Look. I talk a good game, but I’m not that guy, Ror. Even if I want to be when it comes to my sisters.”
I smile then. “You’re a good big brother, Jess. You always have been. Except for that one time.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Remember that time when I begged you and the guys to let me go sledding with you? And you didn’t make sure I stayed warm enough?” I laugh. “Mom had your ass that day.”
“I haven’t thought about that in ages.” He laughs. “As I recall, though, you didn’t mind at all.”
“Are you kidding me? I got to go with the big boys. Plus, you guys all took turns pulling me on the sled. It was a dream.”
“Well, I should’ve taken better care of you that day.”
“You were eleven,” I say. “You didn’t know any better.”
“An eleven-year-old boy should know better. Hell, eleven-year-olds babysit.”
“Eleven-year-old girls babysit. Not too many eleven-year-old boys do. There’s truth in the fact that girls mature faster than boys.”
“Well, whatever,” Jesse shrugs, his gaze fixed on the road. “I will always protect you, Rory. You, Callie, Maddie. All of you.”
“I know that, and I appreciate it. But protecting me doesn’t mean beating Pat Lamone into a pulp, no matter how much I’d love you to do it.”
Jesse laughs. “So the truth comes out.”
“Are you kidding me? The guy’s a troll. I’d love nothing more than to see him beaten to a pulp. Just not by my brother’s hand.”
“The guy’s an asshole.”
“You’re telling me.”
“But I didn’t start this conversation to talk about Pat Lamone,” Jesse says.
“I know you didn’t. So do I have your confidence?” I turn and regard him, his gaze still fixed. “Because, Jesse, I have to talk to someone about this. I’m in love with Brock, and Donny is engaged to Callie. Pretty soon our families will be joined. And…I’m worried. So worried.”
“I know you are. I’m your brother. If I can ease some of that burden on you, I want to do it.”
My brother is an amazing person, and he gets me in a way Callie doesn’t. He understands my emotional side. I do want to confide in him.
Except…
“Brock’s and my relationship is still tenuous. We’re in love, but it all happened so fast, which is unlike me. And certainly unlike Brock.”
“It happened fast for Donny and Callie too. When I asked her about that, she told me that the Steels have a habit of falling hard and falling fast.”
“Brock told me the same.”
“But the Pikes? We don’t have that habit. More the opposite.”
“Says the guy who hasn’t had a relationship in years. How would you know?”
“You’ve had a couple, sis, and I don’t remember any of them happening this fast.”
“They didn’t, but they did happen. I’m not afraid of my emotions like you are.”
“Who says I’m afraid of my emotions?”
“You let all your emotions out onstage, Jesse. You’re a rocker, and you’re incredibly good-looking, and you always have women falling all over you. Including Steel women. Yet you haven’t dated in…how long?”
“Maybe I don’t want to.”
Is my brother speaking the truth? He doesn’t actually want a relationship?
“I have a lot of belief in Dragonlock,” he goes on. “We’re good. We’re damned good. For one reason or another, we haven’t gotten the attention of an agent, but I believe that someday we will. I believe that I was meant for something greater than playing local bars. I’ve spent the last several years of my life working toward a goal. I don’t have time for a relationship.”
“Wow.”
“Does that surprise you? I’ve never taken any interest in the ranch or the winery. Sure, I was a star football player in high school and college, but I was never good enough for the pros. I always knew that. Music has always been my dream, just like it was yours. As for a relationship? Someday, for sure. I love kids, and I want them. But right now my focus is the band.”