Page 67 of Snow Storm

“That’s not the point. It’s fucking Christmas, Harley. And I left you there because I was too afraid to face what you’d been through.”

Harley didn’t know what to say. For years, his brother was judgmental and unkind. And what? Now he’d suffered at the hands of some Christmas miracle to awaken him to the fact that he’d been an asshole?

“Mom told me it was better for you to be out of the way, and I realized if someone said that about one of my kids—if my wife said that about one of our kids—I’d lose my fucking mind. I would leave her and make sure she got nothing.”

“That’s…surprisingly self-aware,” Harley said.

Wes let out a small chuckle. “Yeah, I guess it is. I have my moments. But I still stand by my worries. I don’t think jumping into the bed of some horny mountain man?—”

“Don’t,” Harley said, his voice suddenly dark. “That’s not what I did, and that’s not what this is. I know I’m fresh off my split with Darren, but I have never felt like this before, and I know myself. I’m not someone who gets caught up in feelings.”

“No, you’re not,” Wes admitted. “You’re freakishly rational.”

“He’s…different. Special. And I think I’m going to stay.”

“You’ll go broke trying to live there. I don’t care how much your next advance is,” Wes warned.

Harley rolled his eyes. “Not here at the hotel. Darren’s been up my ass about selling the condo, so I think I’m going to get a rental place in town here and, you know, maybe be happy for once.”

Wes was silent again. Then he let out a long, slow breath. “Look, I have a friend—Andrew? I don’t know if you met him last year, but he’s a Realtor, and he’s good. Let me do this for you, okay? I can have him run by your place and take photos, and then we can get it up on the market.”

It felt real, suddenly. Very, very real. But also good, even if it was slightly terrifying. “You have my door code, right?”

“I do.”

Harley hesitated, then said, “Okay. Have him email me the contracts, and I’ll get them all signed. I’m the only one on the mortgage, so we don’t need Darren to fill anything out.”

“But you’re giving him half?” Wes pressed.

“If it gets him out of my life for good, then yeah. I’m going to give him half. I don’t need it anyway. What I need is peace.”

“And some sliver fox to dick you down,” Wes added.

Harley’s cheeks flamed. “I never want to hear that come out of your mouth again.”

His brother laughed for a good, long while. “Fine, fine. But, uh…I miss you. And I’m sorry for everything Darren was posting online.”

“I haven’t looked,” Harley told him. “I hired a social media manager. She took the photo of me and Claude and posted it.”

“Oh. Well…fuck. Don’t look, okay?”

“Okay,” Harley said.

But unfortunately, backing him into that promise was the best way to ensure he did look. Even if it was going to cost him.

Chapter 19

Claude

“Hey, boss?”

Claude looked up from the stack of papers sitting on the front desk. Charlie was standing in front of him, looking worried. “What happened?”

Nothing should be wrong. The hotel was in good shape, the animals were all fine, and nothing had been damaged by the snowstorm. In fact, the county already had plows heading up to clear the roads, which meant his current guests could leave.

It also meant Harley could leave, but he was putting a pin in that to deal with it later.

“Your man’s outside looking a little…lost. And probably real damn cold.”

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