42. Reed

42

Reed

A week after Brandy’s mother shot her dad, I pulled up to my parents’ house wearing a black long-sleeve button-up and my cowboy hat to match, ready for yet another family dinner. After shifting the truck into park, I stared at the bouquets of flowers on my passenger seat. It’d been difficult to find a bundle of brandy roses without picking them straight from Brandy’s bushes, but after driving four counties over to some town in the middle of the valley, I finally found the combination I was looking for.

Brandy had picked her mom up on the way here, so I was waiting for the two of them to arrive before heading inside. It’d been raining earlier, but thankfully it’d stopped for now, though the chill in the air hadn’t left with the clouds. It’d be winter before we knew it, which meant we had a lot of preparation to do around the ranch in the coming weeks. Fall never lasted long in the west, so at least we were familiar with the workload.

After the incident last week, the three of us had given our statements regarding what transpired that night and the abuse her father dealt to not only his wife, but his daughter, too. Though Ms. Rose took the brunt of the physical behavior, Brandy went through a lot of mental trauma, and the police wanted to know about all of it. The more evidence they gave them, the more they could use against him in court.

One of the officers had confided in us that he was more than certain he’d be convicted of his crimes, so that wasn’t to worry. The tension I saw visibly lift from Brandy’s and her mother’s shoulders was a small mercy with everything they’d gone through. A part of me had hoped he’d succumb to his injury, but he’d come out fine. Knowing he’d rot in prison for years to come was enough for now.

My brain was still trying to wrap around the fact that her mother shot him in the entryway to their house, but not because I was shocked she did it. It was a miracle she waited so long to finally take the reins. She’d admitted that seeing him touch her daughter and physically hurt her in that way was enough for her to pull the trigger.

Parents could handle a lot of pain, but when it came to their children? They’d walk through the depths of hell for retribution. And that’s exactly what her mother did that night.

Every night since, I held Brandy in my arms as she fell asleep, that soft side of her coming out in full force now that she had no reason to hold her guard up. She was still her typical snappy self, but she’d learned to be okay with being taken care of. No longer having to look over her shoulder for the impending judgment and critique from a parent, she seemed lighter. More carefree. Happy.

And that, in the end, was all I wanted for her. Whether that was with me or someone else, so long as her demons no longer haunted her every step, I’d be happy for her. Thankfully for the both of us, though, she’d chosen me.

And I was never letting her go now that I had her.

Headlights lit up the driveway in the early night sky, shining through my window with their approach. With fall quickly turning to winter, there was no longer long, sunny days, but rather dark skies and bright moons by the time dinner rolled around.

I expected Brandy’s Bronco, but instead, Beckham’s truck pulled up next to me. He killed the engine and got out, to which I did the same. It was time we talked, especially before this family dinner. Last thing I needed was another punch being thrown my way in front of Brandy’s mother.

“Hey,” he said, coming around the back of his truck with his hands tucked in the front pocket of his sweatshirt. He’d shaved his beard since I last saw him, leaving only a bushy mustache behind.

I leaned an elbow on his tailgate. “If you’re gonna sock me again, might as well get it over with now. Preferably on the other side of my face, though.”

He reached up to rub the back of his neck, an apologetic look passing over his face under the brim of his baseball cap. “About that. I’ve been meaning to call, I’ve just… I’ve got a lot going on. I’m sorry about punching you.”

I waved him off. “It’s nothing I’m not used to from growing up with three brothers and Bailey.”

He dropped his hand, stuffing it back in his pocket. “Yeah. I guess we did get a little rough growing up.”

I shrugged, glancing at the house because truly, I didn’t know how to go about this. Beckham was my brother. We disagreed about things at times, but in the end, we all came out together. He was family, and family stuck together, no matter what one another was going through. So I did the one thing I think we both least expected—I stepped forward and pulled him in for a hug.

His body went stiff against mine before he pulled his hands out from between us and hugged me back. I patted his shoulder, holding him a little tighter.

“Whatever it is, Beck, you’ll get through it,” I mumbled over his shoulder, closing my eyes against the sting of the cold. Definitely not because of the tears that threatened to build. “Hard things are meant to be overcome. Don’t give whatever this is the power to break you.”

I felt him nod, his fingers gripping my shirt for a moment before he let go and pulled away. He turned his head to the side, muffling his sniffle as he ran a hand down his face.

“I’m working through it,” he said, facing me again.

I gave a quick nod before another car turned down the driveway, headlights lighting us up where we stood. “I know. I’ll always love you, despite you socking me in the face.”

He cracked a smile, though it didn’t really reach his eyes. “Just don’t think about trying to get any payback.”

I chuckled, glad he was attempting to joke in some way. “I wasn’t planning on it, but now that you mention it…”

His smile widened slightly before he shook his head, glancing at the ground before patting my shoulder. “I’ll see you inside.”

With a dip of my chin, he walked off as a familiar Bronco rolled to a stop on the other side of my truck. As Brandy turned off the engine, I came around to her door and opened it for her.

“Ever the gentleman,” she teased as she got out of the vehicle.

“Funny. Just a little bit ago, you were giving me shit for this,” I reminded her.

She smiled, leaning in to pop a kiss on my cheek. “Don’t tempt me to resort back to my more violent ways.”

I closed her door, taking in her red skirt that flowed to her ankles and the white knitted sweater she wore over top. She had a wool jacket over her shoulders to fight against the fall air. “Remember what I said about violence being a turn-on?”

She sent me a devilish smirk, and my cock stirred with the look. My girl never left, despite the shit show she went through the past few weeks, and I was damn glad for it. If anyone broke my Brandy, I’d return the favor and break their fucking spine. She was a force to be reckoned with, and I chose to poke that fire any chance I got. In the end, it worked out for me, but for anyone else? I was sure Brandy would put them in their place before I even got a chance to see what they looked like. She was strong, beyond resilient, independent, and it was no secret she could handle herself just fine.

I was the backup to the woman who made men cower with a simple look. But for me? Those narrowed eyes and pull of her lips only made me want to get on my knees and worship my little devil. Now I had a free pass to do so whenever I pleased.

Was there even anything better than this?

I opened the passenger door of my truck to pull out one of the bouquets, then pivoted to face her, holding it against my chest.

Her brows raised at the sight of them, a look of shock passing over her features. “Where did you manage to find these roses?” She gave me a skeptical look. “Are they from my bushes? Reed Bronson, if you took sheers to my—”

I smiled, placing a palm on the back of her head to bring her lips to mine. She melted into me, her hand folding over mine where it held the bouquet. The sound of a set of tires crunching over gravel was the only thing that made us pull away from each other. But still, I kept my focus on her.

“I’d never touch your rose bushes. I want to keep my dick attached, thank you very much. I drove a couple hours to some small town up north. Guess they’re the only ones that had that type of rose in stock.”

Something in her expression shifted, like a softness overtook her.

My brows pulled together. “Is something wrong? Are you melting?”

She laughed, the sound seeping into the dark crevices of my heart and warming me up from the inside. “No, I’m not melting, weirdo. That was really sweet of you to go out of your way to get these for me.”

I ran a thumb over her cheekbone, a small blush blooming on her skin. “It was nothing, really.”

She leaned in, kissing me again. I’d never get used to this—kissing her. I went from never expecting to know the flavor of her to being addicted to her taste overnight, and now I couldn’t get enough.

“I love you,” she murmured against my lips.

“Say it again,” I murmured back, threading my fingers into her hair and pulling her closer, careful not to crush the flowers.

Our lips got lost in each other, our tongues exploring, dancing, savoring.

“I love you,” she repeated, fisting my shirt in her hand like she didn’t want me to back away. At some point, we’d have to.

I set my forehead against hers, breathing her in and enjoying the feel of her being so openly mine. “I love you, too.”

“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to you saying that,” she whispered.

“I guess I’ll just have to say it all the time, then.”

She rolled her eyes, pulling away from me before I tugged her right back and sealed her protests with another kiss. Fuck, we were being cheesy, but I didn’t give a shit.

“I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to this,” her mother’s voice announced as we parted.

“Yeah, me either,” I admitted, facing Ms. Rose to find her shoving her lip gloss in her tiny purse.

“I’ll leave you two alone and head on in to say hi to Charlotte,” she said, waving us off. She was wearing a deep purple dress with long sleeves and a maple leaf pinned right over her collarbone.

“I have something for you.” I kept Brandy’s bouquet in my hand as I reached into my truck to grab the second one. It had orange carnations and a few irises for a pop of color, and it was clearly to her liking with the way her eyes beamed at the bundle as I held them out to her.

“Oh, Reed, you didn’t need to get me flowers.”

I shook my head. “After the last week, I think you deserve them.”

She let out a choked laugh, clearly trying to keep herself together as she took them from me. “Thank you so much. They’re beautiful.”

I offered a closed-lip smile. “Of course.”

She dabbed a finger under her eye before waving us off again. “Alright. Before I cry over some other surprise gift, I’m going in. I’ll see you two inside.”

“See you in a minute,” Brandy said, leaning into my side as she watched her mom walk off.

“You guys are just so cute,” came a high-pitched voice from the end of my truck.

Brandy straightened, finding her best friend coming around the corner.

“What’s going on h—” Bailey’s voice dropped off as he saw the proximity of me and Brandy. “Uh. What is going on here?”

Lettie elbowed her husband. “They’re dating, duh.”

“Dating?” he repeated, testing the word on his tongue, as if it was impossible for that to be the case. Technically, he wasn’t too far off. I wasn’t even sure if what Brandy and I were doing was dating. We’d never really talked about the official term for what we were, but either way, she was mine, and we loved each other. Boyfriend, girlfriend, whatever it was, it didn’t matter. This was official.

Brandy hesitated, like she was thinking the same thing, so I filled in for her. “Yep.” I grabbed her hand, still holding the bouquet at my chest. “We’re dating.”

Bailey’s brows nearly shot up to the moon. “Really?”

I nodded.

He rubbed his forehead, turning to Lettie. “Do I have a fever?”

“Oh, quit being so dramatic,” Brandy scolded, taking the bouquet from me before she led me toward them.

“Does the family know?” Bailey asked.

“We were planning to tell them tonight,” I answered, stopping just a few feet from the two of them.

He tried to hide his grin, but the attempt was futile. “Good luck with that.” He stepped forward to pat my shoulder. “You’re gonna need it.”

I shook my head as Bailey and Lettie walked toward the house, leaving the two of us alone once again.

“Dating, huh?” Brandy said, turning to face me as she dropped my hand.

I tried to gauge her reaction, hoping it was a good one. “That too much for you?”

She shook her head, the apples of her cheeks round with the pull of her smile. She reached up to drape an arm over my shoulder. “Never with you.”

“Good,” I replied. “I guess that makes you my official girlfriend.”

Her grin only widened. “I guess it does, even though you haven’t formally asked me.”

I teasingly rolled my eyes. I should’ve known that even in this, she would let her sass shine. “Shall we go inside?” I asked, happy with…everything. Life, Brandy, tonight. If someone told me months ago I’d be standing outside my parents’ house with this woman, about to tell everyone we were dating, I’d have never believed them. But fuck, was I glad this was real.

She inhaled deeply, dropping her arm from me and facing the house with a determined look on her face. “I suppose we have to.” She turned back to me with a grimace. “You’re sure we can’t just sneak away and fuck in the barn?”

I smiled, setting my palm on the crook of her waist. “Don’t entice me. That sounds a hell of a lot more fun than sitting through this dinner with all the stares and questions.”

“It’s not too late,” she said hopefully.

I slid my hand around to her lower back, pulling her close again. “One hour, and then we’ll leave.”

She let out a dramatic sigh of relief. “Thank fuck.”

“Come on, Little Devil. It won’t be too bad.”

I grabbed the last bouquet from my passenger seat and closed the door before we headed toward the house. But as we walked toward the lit-up house, the smell of home-baked casserole and impending hell wafting from the cracked windows, I think we both knew I was wrong about how smooth this dinner might go.