35. Trent

Chapter 35

Trent

I watch as Fable reappears on the four-by-four faster than I've ever seen her drive. She goes right past the garage and heads for the barn. Earlier, she'd gone out to the bees in her beekeeper suit. She's missing that now as she climbs from the four-by-four, Jethro at her heels as she calls out Gunnar's name, looking for him. I watch her with a frown on my face as I clean my fingers. Sly sits on my shoulder, chittering and trying to grab the rag from my hands.

"Stop it, Sly," I grunt. "This ain't for you."

He huffs in annoyance and settles back to messing with my hair. He'll have the rubber band out before I know it, but at least it'll keep him distracted.

I'm about to head back into the garage when Rhett's truck comes across the pasture from the same direction Fable came. I freeze, my eyes narrowing as he climbs out of his truck also missing his beekeeper suit. He's wearing only his jeans and boots, but he clearly put on his boots quickly since the pant legs are sticking out of the tops of them. Before he realizes I'm watching him, he glances worriedly toward the stables, but when he realizes I'm standing at the door of the garage watching, he slips his mask back into place.

Good ole Rhett, always hiding his true emotions.

"What did you do?" I grunt, my tone more aggressive than I'd like.

He grins, putting on the pretty boy persona I've always hated, but I hate it more right now because it's going to affect Fable. "Only what we've all been wanting to do."

Something spears inside my chest. Jealousy maybe? But I have no right to be jealous. I don't intend to act on my attraction to Fable. I thought I'd spare her dealing with a loser like me, but clearly, Rhett and I don't think the same.

I shake my head. "You're an asshole doing that before talkin' to Gunnar."

"What's there to talk about?" he asks, shrugging. "I made my intentions clear with Gunnar."

I scowl. "You should've left her alone, Rhett."

"Relax, bro. It ain't love," he says, as if that's reassuring.

"She doesn't deserve your particular brand of heartbreak," I growl.

"I know that," he growls back, his mask slipping a little. "That's why it was just sex. One time, and it'll never happen again. I just had to get her out of my system. Now I can pretend it never happened." I blink in disbelief. When laughter tumbles from my throat, Rhett narrows his eyes on me. "What?" he growls. "Why are you laughing?"

"You're an idiot," I reply, shaking my head again. "Fable Everhart isn't the kind of woman who leaves your system. It'll only get stronger now."

Rhett storms up to me, a snarl on his face. "It's already gone!"

I look into his eyes, see everything that he is. Rhett and I, we're close, not only because his parents adopted me, but because of their loss. The honeybee tattooed on the side of my neck is a symbol of that, of the family they all became, of the brother that I gained. In his eyes, I see the emotions he can't hide from me. I see everything.

"You can lie to your damn self," I tell him gruffly. "But you can't lie to me."

He blinks. "I'm not lyin'."

I thump him on the shoulder. "Leave her alone. Let her enjoy herself, but don't chase her anymore."

Rhett crosses his arms. "I wasn't plannin' to."

"I mean when you realize you're wrong," I say, turning away from him. "And you will. You should let it go when that happens."

His mask slams back into place. "Maybe you need to act on your need for her, big dog. Otherwise, she's going to slip through your fingers."

A distraction. An attempt at redirecting back to me, reminding me that I'm just as into her as he is, that I could make the same mistake. But I'm not as foolish as Rhett. His years as a womanizing asshole has convinced him he's heartless, but Rhett has the biggest heart of us all. He just doesn't realize it.

"As she should," I grunt, glancing back at him. "She doesn't deserve my trauma any more than she deserves yours. I have enough brains to know that. I thought you did, too."

Rhett's expression shutters. "Yeah, whatever," he growls, turning to storm away.

Sly chitters at my shoulder and I nod. "He's in for a rude awakening, but that's on him. It ain't on me." I hand Sly a cracker before glancing at the stables again, wondering if Fable is okay.