Page 40 of Brett and Rowdy
“They’ve got brisket and ribs. They’ve got pulled chicken, too, I think.” Madison grinned. “Daddy thinks that barbecue should be smoked beef, not pork. Or barbacoa or chicken. They’ve got real good mac and cheese, and their coleslaw is exceptional.”
“Well, if they got coleslaw and potato salad and something that’s not coming from a pig, then I’m in.”
“Awesome. Come on; let’s go.” Madison led the way, and her parents followed her, leaving him with Rowdy.
“You get into it with Ashley?” Rowdy asked.
“Some, yeah. She asked why I was thinking so hard. If she hadn’t asked, I wouldn’t have told her.”
“Is it something we need to talk about in a bit?”
“Yeah, if you don’t mind. I mean, you can always tell me to mind my own business, but I have some questions.”
“Huh. I’ll answer them if that’s what you want. Just be aware that you might not get the answers you need.” Rowdy took his arm and let him and Barney lead the man out of the Stumphouse.
They’d brought two vehicles, so Rowdy just went right to his truck instead of getting in with the others. Brett wasn’t sure if that was a good sign or a bad one, but he was gonna take it and run with it.
“So do we need to talk about it now?” Rowdy asked.
“I don’t know.” Brett decided to go for honest. “I really wanna know what’s going on with you and Ashley and Madison, but A, I’m not sure if it’s my business, and B, if it’s something that’s gonna make me freak out, then I’m not sure we should talk about it until after we eat lunch with these people.”
Rowdy chuckled. “These people, huh? I got to tell you, darlin’, they’re my family. I really like you. I could probably more than really like you, and goddamn, I loved having sex with you, but just remember that Madison is my baby girl, and I would never do anything to hurt her. I would do anything for her.”
“Hey, I don’t begrudge that, and I get she’s your kid. I would never ask you not to be her dad in any way, and if you don’t wanna tell me about what happened back then, that’s fair. It’s just really weird, because everyone keeps telling me I’m all butthurt for no reason, and I guess that feels kinda… well. Maybe I am, and maybe I’m selfish, but I just want to know what’s what.”
“Fair enough, man.” Rowdy leaned back in his seat and took a long breath. “Ashley came to me the summer between our junior and senior years and told me she was pregnant. It was someone at the school, and she didn’t want anyone to know. She was scared and she?—”
“Wait. Are you telling me—” Ashley had just… no way. That was ridiculous.
Stupid.
Why would Rowdy do that?
“Are you going to listen to me or not, Brett?”
Sure he was, but he just— “Why would you do that?”
Rowdy shrugged. “I was seventeen? I was broken up with the guy I was madly in love with? I wanted to stick it to my mom and her asshole husband? I was Ashley’s friend, and I wanted to make her stop crying? Pick one.”
“You were madly in love with me?” He almost swallowed his tongue.
“Well, yeah.” Rowdy’s face wrinkled up. “I mean, I asked you to come to the ranch and live with me. That wasn’t bullshit.”
He felt like a landed fish who was sucking air. “And see, after the thing with Ashley, and when you left, I felt like it was all a lie. Jesus.”
“You never talked to me. I just thought you needed to stay here. You told me I could agree to stay, or we were done.”
“And you told me to get the fuck out of your truck.” Shit. That hit him like a ton of bricks dropped on his head. Because he had to face it, he’d been madly in love with Rowdy, too.
“I was a stupid kid. I thought… I thought you’d change your mind. I thought I was something special.” Rowdy chuckled and shook his head. “But when she came to me for help, I couldn’t say no.”
“But why, man? Why are you—her father?” He realized they weren’t driving, but they needed to talk this out.
“Two reasons—one, my dad. He told me, if I did this, it wasn’t just a commitment for a day. It was a promise for life.”
He could see that. “And the second reason?”
“I saw Madison the day she was born, and I fell in love with her, right then and there. I knew, no matter what, that the good Lord had offered me a chance to be a daddy, and I was taking it.”
