Page 83 of Broken Roads
Bradley looks down at me, something soft and grateful in his eyes, before turning back to his brother. "Yeah," he says, his voice gruff but not unfriendly. "That'd be good. Thanks."
Sebastian's shoulders relax slightly, as if he'd been bracing for rejection. "Great. There's a place not far from here that makes a steak that might even impress a ranch boy like you."
The corner of Bradley's mouth twitches. "I've gotten pretty particular about my beef."
"Trust me," his brother says with a hint of his own smile emerging. "This place knows what they're doing."
I watch this tentative banter unfold between them, this careful dance of two men trying to remember how to be brothers again. It's awkward and halting, and full of landmines they're both trying to avoid.
But it's a start.
"I need to check in with a patient quick," Sebastian says, checking his watch again. "But I’ll be back soon then we can give Dad the good news together."
Bradley nods. "Look forward to it."
As Sebastian walks away, pausing to speak with a nurse at the station, I turn to face Bradley fully, searching his features for any sign of distress or regret.
"You okay?" I ask softly, reaching up to brush my fingers against his stubbled jaw.
He catches my hand and presses a kiss to my palm that makes my breath catch. "Better now," he murmurs against my skin. "Having you here...it makes all of this bearable."
His gaze meet mine, those dark eyes filled with a tenderness that makes my heart squeeze painfully in my chest. Whatever is happening between us—this connection that deepens with every hour we spend together—feels too precious, too fragile to name just yet. But it's real, and it's growing.
"That's what I'm here for." I try to keep my voice light despite the emotion threatening to overwhelm me. "Moral support and terrible tea."
His laugh is quiet but genuine, the sound wrapping around me like a warm blanket. "You're so much more than that, sunshine," he says, brushing a strand of hair behind my ear. "So much more."
***
The key card slides into the motel room lock with a quiet beep, and we stumble inside, both of us exhausted but lighter than we've been in days. I flip on the bedside lamp, casting the generic room in a soft glow that somehow makes it feel more like ours after two nights of collapsing here between hospital visits. Bradley shrugs off his jacket, tossing it over the chair by the window, and I watch him with a small smile. The permanent crease between his eyebrows has softened, his shoulders no longer carrying the weight of the world.
Dinner with Sebastian wasn't perfect—too many years of silence to erase in one meal—but it was a start, a tentative bridge being rebuilt between brothers who've forgotten how to speak the same language.
"Fuck, I'm tired," Bradley sighs, rubbing a hand over his face. His stubble has crossed firmly into beard territory, but somehow it only makes him more devastatingly attractive. Even exhausted, he's the most beautiful man I've ever seen.
"But good tired," I observe, kicking off my shoes. "Not the crushing weight of the world tired like before."
He nods, a small smile tugging at his mouth. "Yeah. Good tired." His eyes follow me as I move around the room, gathering my toiletries. "Sebastian's not as much of an asshole as I remembered."
A laugh burst out of me. "High praise from you, cowboy."
"The highest," he agrees, and I can hear the smile in his voice even with my back turned.
I head toward the bathroom, ready to wash away the hospital antiseptic smell that seems permanently lodged in my nose, when Bradley's catches my wrist. The touch is gentle but insistent, stopping me mid-step. I turn, question forming on my lips, but it dies when I see the expression on his face.
In one smooth motion, he pulls me against his chest, arms encircling me in a hold that feels like coming home. Hisheartbeat thumps steady and strong beneath my ear, and I melt into him as my own arms sliding around his waist.
"I don't know what I would've done without you these past few days," he murmurs into my hair. "Having you by my side through all of this... Fuck, Hailey, it means more than I can say."
His vulnerability catches me off guard. This is the man who fought me at every turn when I first arrived at the ranch, who wore his stubbornness like armor. Now he's holding me like I'm his anchor in the storm.
Words feel inadequate, so I respond the only way that makes sense. Rolling onto my toes, I press my mouth against his. The kiss starts sweet and gentle but sweet doesn't last long between us.
His hands tighten at my waist, dragging me closer as the kiss deepens. My fingers slide into his hair, tugging slightly at the strands in the way I've learned makes him groan. His tongue slides against mine, and just like that, exhaustion evaporates beneath the heat building between us.
"Bradley," I gasp as his mouth leaves mine to trail hot kisses down my neck.
"Need you," he growls against my skin. "Been aching to get my hands on you all fucking day."
