Page 7 of Brooke's Bliss
She turned and saw her brothers sitting near the window in acorner booth at the front of the café.Their booth.When she’d been a kid, theywould always try to get that particular booth because you could see all of thepeople walking down the sidewalk.Stella’s was in the heart of Bliss’sdowntown.Which consisted of about two blocks.Doc’s office was on one end andthe “downtown” ended with the sheriff’s station on the other.In between were abunch of stores and restaurants.Stella’s and Trio and The Bear Creek Lounge.The Trading Post was across the street, and she’d noticed the Bee Bliss Store.The honey farm had been selling their wares for decades, but someone had giventhe place a glow up.
Home.She was home, and even though a couple of things hadchanged, what hadn’t was this feeling.
Her heart filled.She’d been numb the last couple of weeks,but seeing her brothers made those walls quake.The numb part was going to endat some point, and she was not looking forward to it.Not at all.
But not now.It wasn’t happening now.She plastered a smileon her face and strode over, rolling her big suitcase along the black and whitelaminated floors.Nothing changed in Stella’s except the special.When thingsgot worn, Stella found a way to restore them, from the red leather seats to theshiny countertops, Stella’s looked the way it had when Brooke was a kid.
A wave of comfort sank into her skin for a moment.This washer home.These were her brothers.They would understand.They would help her.
Then she remembered all the ways they’d helped her before.Like giving up their twenties to raise her, pouring all their money into hereducation.They’d spent their party time, college time, young adult era,working—Max on the horse ranch they’d grown up on, and Rye had taken a job as acounty deputy and later was elected sheriff.All so she could have a good life,be successful.
She put them in danger by joking about them.
“Hey, how was the flight?I heard Seth took the big jet thistime,” Rye said, scooting out of the booth and opening his arms for a hug.
She breathed her brother in.He smelled like pine and fabricsoftener.Home.She was not going to cry.
She stepped back, settling the big case beside the booth andsliding in across from them.Max hadn’t gotten up but she didn’t mind becausehe had a baby sleeping on his shoulder.Her newest nephew.Eli Harper wasalmost a year old, and he was the sweetest chunk of humanity.“It was great.Iwas so lucky Georgia called.”
Max snorted, his hand on his son’s back.“You weren’t lucky.Rach called Georgia and demanded she take you with them.She knew damn wellSeth, Georgia, and Logan were coming home this weekend and staying for a fewweeks.She also knew you hadn’t taken a lot of personal time in the last coupleof years beyond quick trips, and she knew that company of yours takes time offthis month to send a big part of the team to Milan.”
Brooke felt her jaw drop.“Rachel said she was inviting meout of courtesy.”
Rye’s head shook.“Nah.She planned this whole thing to makeit as easy for you to come home as possible.Now she thought you would becoming in for the shower.She meant to talk you into a week if you weren’tgoing to Milan.”
That ticket to Milan had been far too expensive.“I’m notpart of that team, and we do slow way down when they’re gone.We’re encouragedto take time off now.”
Not untrue.They were between fall and spring.She supposedmost of the vacations she’d taken in the last few years had been around thistime.Had her sister-in-law been plotting and planning?To get her home?
“Yeah, see, you look at Rach and see nothing more than agorgeous woman,” Max began.
Brooke shook her head.“No, I do not.”
She was well aware Rachel Harper was a force of nature.Hersister-in-law was the single most competent woman she’d ever met.
“But there’s more to her than beauty.”Max was good atignoring anything and anyone when he wanted to make a point.That he didn’tneed to make.Her brother was incredibly dramatic for a cowboy.They tended tobe known for their stoicism, but not Max Harper.He was a rebel.“There’s aruthless will to that woman that will not be denied.”
“His balls just met up with her ruthless streak,” Ryequipped.
Oh, she loved her brothers, but she was with her sister onthis one.“Four kids in seven years, Max.Four.If she had taken your ballsherself and hung them like a trophy on the wall, I would have helped her designthe case for them.”
Max shrank back a little.“I think Rachel might be a badinfluence on you, sister.”
Rye grinned.“Nah, she’s taught Brooke how to stand up forherself.And don’t tell her you taught her how to do that.You taught her toknee a dick if one got too close to her.”
She hadn’t had one get close to her in forever.Not sinceshe’d broken it off with that guy from down the hall when she found out exactlyhow many friends with benefits he had.
“Well, she had to protect herself because she was sopretty,” Max argued.“Still is, and that is one thing I need to talk to youabout.”
Rye sighed as though they’d already had this argument.“They’re out on the G.I scarcely think they’re going to try to run our sisterdown.She told them a polite no at Christmas.Stef swears they’re good kids.”
A flash of heat went through Brooke.“Are you talking aboutthe Kent brothers?”
They were the only cowboys who hit on her at Christmastime,and it wasn’t some sleazy thing.Bay had asked nicely if she would join themfor a drink at Trio or to have some dinner or lunch while she was in town.Hisbrother had stood behind him, watching her with hooded eyes like she was atreat and he was sure he would be denied.
Now that she thought about it, only their words had beenpolite.Everything else about their demeanor had reminded her of a couple ofhungry predators desperate to eat her up.She’d stood there in the beautifullydecorated town hall with all the happy families around her.The wholesomeatmosphere should have had her backing away, and yet all she could think aboutwas how nice it would be if they made a meal of her.She’d had a vision of oneof them feeding her his cock while the other ate her pussy like a starving man.
And she’d said no.That woman in her vision wasn’t the womanwho took Manhattan.She was too old to run around having wild nights withcowboys.By the time her mother was her age she’d had two kids and been marriedfor a long time.To a dick, but married.
