Page 41 of Make Her Mine
“I’m pissed as hell, Brandon! You must have touched my baby sister to have sent her all those flowers. Don’t lie to me! What do you want with her anyway? Another notch on your bedpost? Well, forget it! She’s not about to fall for your charming bullshit.”
“I don’t want that at all.” I ducked just in time to miss another punch. “Kyle, chill, dude. We can talk about this like rational men.”
Clayton came up behind me, and I turned to look at him for only a second when Kyle’s fist connected with my jaw.
“Oh, shit!” Dyllan caught me as I stumbled toward him. “Bro, you shouldn’t have turned your head.”
Squaring up, fists at the ready, I wasn’t about to let Kyleactuallykick my ass. “Sucker punch, huh? Let’s see how you like it.” I had more fighting experience than Kyle could’ve ever imagined. I landed one controlled punch right on his jaw. “There, we’re even. Let’s chill.”
“Fuck you!” He swung again, and thanks to Dyllan pushing me forward a bit, it hit me square on the chin.
“Dyllan, Goddammit!” I took only a second to check my chin to be sure there was no open wound. “Oh, you are so lucky you didn’t split my chin open, Kyle.” Thrusting my fist out so fast he never saw it coming, I connected with his chin. “We’re even again. Stop this now. I don’t want to hurt you, man.”
My hit had knocked him back a few steps, and when he regained his footing, he let out a roar, then came at me like a linebacker. “You’re pulp!”
An alarm went off as I got ready to take Kyle on, then water splashed on us both from above as a woman’s voice came over a bullhorn, “This stops now!”
The cold water seemed to pull Kyle out of his angry state as he looked up. “What the hell?”
The bartender pushed and shoved people out of her way as she came between Kyle and I. “I’ve got each of you two shots of whiskey and some ice-cold beers to chase them with. They’re all yours if you’ll take seats at the bar and talk this out like real men do.”
Dyllan moved in behind her. “Come on, guys. Don’t give the lady a hard time.” He kissed her on top of her blonde head. “Good thinking, Bobbi Jo.”
“Yeah, it just came to me to set off the fire alarm.” She eyed Kyle, knowing he started everything. “Come on, big fella. Let’s talk this out now.”
He followed her, and I walked behind them with Clayton at my side, who whispered, “What the hell is this about?”
“I don’t know. Let’s find out and settle it.”
After Bobbi Jo turned the sprinkler system off, we took seats at the bar, leaving an empty one between us. I held up the first shot glass. “To peace and harmony.”
Kyle nodded. “To peace and harmony.”
We downed the shots, then I asked, “Okay, please tell me what’s going on.”
“You sent Ella flowers. The note said to call you,” he continued as he rubbed his jaw. “She is difficult to get along with, so I immediately thought you took advantage of her and gave her flowers as a thank you gift.”
“You are mistaken.” I picked up the next shot glass, and he did the same. “To understanding each other and talking like adults.”
Kyle smiled. “To being adults.”
We downed the shots, then I told him of my intentions. “Kyle, I’ve got it bad for Ella. All I can think about is her. I even dream about her. But never—not in a million years—would I ask her to do anything she isn’t ready for. And I won’t hurt her or use her or abuse her in any way, shape, or form; it’s a promise. I truly care for her more than I’ve ever cared about anyone.”
His brow furrowed. “Why?”
I kind of thought he might ask that.
Chapter Twenty
Ella
Waking up at one in the morning, I heard Kyle as he careened down the hallway, hitting the walls on either side. Jumping out of bed, I ran to the door, throwing it open. “What happened?”
He stopped and turned slowly to face me. His drooping eyes assured me that he was hammered. He put one finger to his lips. “Shh. Don’t wake up Dad. He’ll holler if he finds out how late I’m getting in.”
“Okay,” I whispered. “But what happened with Brandon?”
“Don’t you worry one bit about him, baby sister. I’ve got it all taken care of. He’s not going to hurt you.” He turned away from me and lurched down the hall until he got to his room.
