Page 17 of Our Sweet Destiny
“With what land is going for now, there’s a good chance it might, but your father is a prideful man. That property is dead to him.”
But not to me.
“WHAT THE HECK are you doing?” Rex hollered at Treat, who was loading the truck with fencing materials.
“Whatever animal got through the fence in the winter has been back. There’s a twenty-foot section torn out in the lower pasture.” Treat threw another roll of wire into the truck. “Are you all right? You seem on edge.”
“Fine.” Rex was far from fine. He’d stewed all night over the way things had ended with Jade, and what made it even more difficult was that every thought he had carried with it her scent, her taste, the image of her writhing with pleasure as she moaned beneath his touch. He’d spent the night angry and aroused, and it was a deadly combination. Rage surged through his limbs, and no matter how he tried to quell the mounting confusion, it kept ending the same way—as one bursting ball of fury.
“Wanna come give me a hand?” Treat asked.
Treat didn’t shy away from the grueling physical labor, and he was able to use his honed negotiating skills to save them thousands over the course of just a few months. The man was a stealth businessman. Stealth or not, he was in Rex’s line of fire.
“Leave it. I’ll take care of it later,” Rex snapped.
“No, I’ve got it.”
Rex wanted a fight. He was aching to release his pent-up frustrations. “I said, leave it,” Rex challenged.
Treat set the last of the wire in the truck and leaned against the tailgate. “What crawled up your butt and died?”
Rex took a step forward and fisted his hands. He ground his teeth so hard he was sure they’d crack, but he didn’t care.
“Take a breather, Rex.”
Treat took a step toward the front of the truck, and Rex strong-armed him, stopping him in his tracks.
“What the…? We’re too old for this crap, Rex. You have an issue, deal with it.” Treat pushed past him and climbed into the truck.
Rex grabbed him by the collar and pulled him out.
“What’s with you?” Treat challenged him, chest to chest. “You really want to do this over a fence? Fine.” He threw down his gloves and fisted his own enormous hands. “Go ahead. Take a swing. I haven’t had a good brawl in twenty years.”
Seeing his brother ready to fight just to appease him pissed him off even more. He slammed the truck door shut and cursed a blue streak.
“That’s more like it,” Treat said with a pat on Rex’s back. “Spit it out, so it doesn’t coil up and fill you with venom.”
Treat leaned against the truck while Rex paced, sweating in the afternoon heat.
“Wanna talk about it?” Treat asked.
Rex stopped pacing and stared at his brother. “You can’t possibly understand! You have the woman you want, and she obviously adores you. You never have obstacles that stand in your way that are bigger than you. You’re thegoldenchild.”
Treat laughed. “Is that what you think? The golden child? I sure as heck wish I felt that way. It would be a lot better than going through all the crap I’ve dealt with. There are no golden children, Rex. It just looks like it when you’re so deep in your own mess that you can’t see what’s right in front of you.”
“Come on, Treat. You’ve always done what you wanted when you wanted. Women lined up to be with you.”
“They lined up to be with all of us, and the guys lined up for Savannah. We’re good-looking, successful people. You know you’ve never hurt for the company of a woman. They swoon around your muscles like you’re Adonis himself.”
“Right,” Rex sneered. He leaned his hand on the truck and looked at Treat. “I’ve put my whole life into this ranch, for this family. Everything I’ve ever done is for this family.” He ran his hand through his hair and paced again. “Do you know why I don’t sleep with the women in our town?” Before Treat could answer, he said, “Because I don’t want to embarrass Dad. Because I don’t want him to feel like he can’t hold his head up high because his son is a douche bag who sleeps with women and never looks back; that’s why.”
“Rex—” Treat shook his head.
“It’s true, bro. I’ve got no ties to the women I sleep with. Ever.”
“And?” Treat asked.
Rex leveled him with a harsh stare.
“None of us do—or in my case, did—Rex. Look at Hugh. He’s got a different woman on his arm every night, and he can’t even remember their names. Dane’s got women all over the world, and Josh, well, we don’t even know how many women he sleeps with—it could be one or it could be one hundred. He’s been snapped in all the rags with some of the hottest actresses and models around. I doubt long-term commitment has ever entered his mind, considering he’s never brought any of them home.”
“Yeah? Well, even if I want ties, I can’t have them.”
Treat shook his head. “Jade. You’re talking about Jade?”
Rex clenched his jaw. He wanted to tell Treat what had gone on the night before, but he was ashamed at how far he let it go before pulling the plug—and he was pissed that he’d been the one to stop them from going any further. They’d finally gotten close, and he wanted so much more, but not like that. Not in a truck. Jade wasn’t some girl from another town. She wasn’tsome girlat all. He wouldn’t have sex with her and then walk away, and he couldn’t be with her without hurting his father. The whole situation sucked.
“I should have put two and two together,” Treat said with a supportive smile. “You’re a good man, and you’re loyal. So stop giving me thatI’m not worthycrap and stop dancing around the crux of your issue. Either tell me what’s going on with her—or what you want to go on—or let me get back to work.”
Rex didn’t know what he wanted. He only knew what he needed, and what he needed came in a mouthy little package and lived a few miles down the road.
