Military Romance Collection: Contemporary Soldier Alpha Male Romance (20 page)

15

Charlie had spent most of the day trying to talk his brother into pursuing a relationship with Jenn. Matthew had spent most of the day trying to explain why, despite all the enthusiasm Jenn had for him right now, things just wouldn’t work out.

“It’s not fair for me to rebound onto her,” Matthew said. “What if the feelings I’m feeling aren’t real, but are really misplaced longing for Amy?”

Charlie leaned forward over his saddle horn and looked at his big brother. “Tell me the truth. When was the last time you felt anything like longing for your wife?”

Matthew opened his mouth, ready to defend his record of desiring Amy, but then found he couldn’t speak honestly. Their marriage had deteriorated past that point long ago. Knowing that he was a disappointment to his wife and that he’d never be able to fulfill her dreams of material wealth had been really hard on Matthew. It had also had the effect of squelching any desire he’d had for her body.

“What you’re feeling for Jenn right now is more likely natural,” Charlie continued. “You don’t have to make life so complicated. Sometimes people just click, and that’s all there is to it. On paper, you and Amy might have been great together, but ultimately, things just didn’t click for you all.”

“But with Jenn, things are clicking.”

“It sure the hell sounds like it.” Charlie shook his head. He couldn’t understand why his brother was having a hard time seeing what was so blatantly obvious to him. “She took you out to the lake, man. So you could dance under the stars. And whatever.” Charlie gave his brother the side-eye. Matthew hadn’t been particularly forthcoming about the ‘whatever’ portion of the evening, but he’d given his little brother the definite impression it had been wonderful.

Matthew smiled. Then his smile faded and he peered off into the distance. Coming down the road toward them was a sports car, moving at a high rate of speed.  “Who the hell is that, man?”

Charlie squinted at the approaching vehicle. “That’s not Ada’s car.”

“Let’s hope it’s not one of Big Jesus’ friends,” Matthew said. He spurred his mount’s side and leaned forward. “This time,” he called back to his brother, “It’s your god-damn turn to get shot.”

Charlie laughed as he raced past his brother. “Not if I get there first.”

The horses ran as fast as they could, but the sports car was already parked by the time they arrived. Whoever had been driving had already gone up into the house.

Charlie went in first. He took three steps into the living room, where his wife was standing, clearly distressed. “We have company, dear,” she said.

Charlie looked toward where Ada was pointing. Then he sucked in his breath. Standing in front of him was Matthew’s ex-wife, Amy.

“Wow,” he said. “It’s a surprise to see you.” Amy had never made a visit to the ranch the entire time she’d been married to his brother. Now that the couple was divorced, he’d never expected to see her again.

“Don’t worry, Charles. I won’t be sullying your door step for long.” She stood up and walked past Charlie to face Matthew. “I just need to make it very clear to you that any profits and proceeds from your little misadventure need to be directed to the restitution fund the court established. That’s per the judge’s order.” She pressed some papers into Matthew’s hands.  “If there’s anything in there you don’t understand, feel free to call someone who cares.”

“Profits and proceeds?” Matthew sputtered. “Amy. No one pays you to get shot. That’s not how the process works.”

She shrugged her shoulders. “I should have known you’d be too lazy to even think about capitalizing on this situation. Have you even tried to sell you story to the networks?” She looked around the ranch house, contempt showing on her face. “This is the sort of backwoods hick setting A & E just eats up,” she said. “And even if you can’t get them interested, there should be some kind of money you can get from Lifetime.”

“Why would I even begin to think about doing that?” Matthew asked.

“Because you owe me a lot of money,” Amy said. “Even after we take into account your share of the house’s proceeds and the sale of your car, you’re still in debt to me for the tune of about $8,500.”

“Well, you’d better get used to standing with your hand on your ass, waiting,” Matthew said. “Because I’ve got no money and it looks like it’ll be a while before I get any. Right now the only job I’ve got pays room and board. And I’ve got no intention of trying to sell my story to any TV producer.”

“You might not have any choice,” Amy said. “I can get an injunction, force you to co-operate.”

“Maybe,” Matthew said, “maybe you really don’t want to do that.”

“And why not?” Amy snapped.

“Maybe I’ll tell those TV producers the real truth,” Matthew said. “That I wasn’t being heroic at all. In fact, I was despondent and suicidal. The fact my cheating wife gave me six different kinds of STD’s bummed me out so bad that I just wanted to die. Who cares about getting shot when your dick’s leaking green puss?!”

“That’s not true!” Amy sputtered.

“Prove it,” Matthew said. “It doesn’t matter if something is true or not. Once it makes it onto the internet as a fact, it’s there to stay.” He chuckled. “I can make up a lot of facts like that if you want to keep pressing the issue.”

“You’re really an asshole, do you know that?” Amy snapped.

“I never said I wasn’t,” Matthew said. “You just couldn’t be bothered to listen to what I was telling you.”

Amy stomped out of the house. “Don’t think I won’t sue you for everything you’ve got,” she said before pulling open her car door, “If I hear one whisper of a rumor that says I gave you herpes. Or whatever.”

“Have a great day, Amy,” Matthew said. “It was really good to see you. Stop by the next time you’re in town!”

She sped off without making a reply.

Charlie looked at his brother. “Now, you’re going to stand there and tell me that you’re worried you still have feelings for that woman?”

“If she has feelings for you,” Ada added, “they’re really not good ones.”

Matthew laughed. “I shouldn’t have said that to her.”

“She shouldn’t have come down here demanding her share of money you don’t even have,” Charlie said. “Sell your story to the networks? Who thinks like that?”

“That’s Amy for you,” Matthew said. “Anything to make a quick buck.”

16

“Here you go, Mr. Daniels.”  Sean had hooked his boss up with Javier Brown, who was responsible for booking all of the animal talent for two rodeo circuits in West Texas. “Here’s a check for $15,000.”

“Not bad for a weekend’s work,” Charlie joked. His fingers trembled as he took the check. It was the most money he’d seen in quite a while.

“If only it was just the weekend,” Javier said. “If we only had to pay you for 8 seconds that the horses worked, our bottom line would be much better. But we pay for all of it; the months when these sassy bitches do nothing but eat.” He patted the side of HoneyBee’s neck affectionately. She’d done a knockout job of dumping the circuit’s most photogenic bronc rider squarely on his ass; it had all taken less than three seconds. Fans were already all over social media, demanding a rematch between the rider and the dun mare.

“And we thank you for it,” Ada said. “If you didn’t we wouldn’t be able to stay in business.”

Javier smiled at Ada. Most women were pretty, he thought, but when a woman was in the first flush of pregnancy, she was especially beautiful. Ada’s skin was glowing, and the pride she had in her tiny baby bump was there for the whole world to see.

“Well,” he said, made a little awkward by his admiration of another man’s wife, “we can’t let that happen.” He smiled. “You keep providing me with these show-stoppers, and I’ll make sure the checks keep coming.”

“That sounds like a deal we can live with,” Charlie said. He tucked the check carefully into his pocket and looked around the corral for his brother. “Now we’ve just got to get Miss HoneyBee and all the rest of the stock loaded up in the trailer and headed for home. Where did Matthew get himself off to?”

“Typical man,” Ada laughed. “As soon as he knew there was going to be work that needed doing, he took off.”

“I think Jenn was with him,” Charlie said. “So chances are they didn’t go too far.”

“Probably to the nearest room with a bed,” Ada giggled.

Charlie laughed, put an affectionate arm around his wife’s narrow shoulders and squeezed. “Hey, there are worse ways to spend the afternoon.”

“Really?” Ada said, her eyes wide. “Someday, you’ll have to tell me all about them.”

Ada and Charlie were almost right in their suppositions of where Jenn and Matthew had gotten off to. There was only one detail wrong. Instead of finding a private room with a bed, the couple had squirreled themselves away behind a massive pile of hay bales that had been brought in to feed the stock.

“This is crazy,” Matthew said. Jenn had shed her jeans and was sitting quite comfortably in his lap. “What if someone walks up and sees us?”

“You think they’ve never seen a cowgirl having a good time before?” Jenn laughed. “That’s what the rodeo’s all about.”

“Viva la rodeo,” Matthew said with a grin. He shifted his position, smiling at the flicker of pleasure that jetted across Jenn’s face as his cock went deeper inside her.

“Exactly,” she purred. Jenn leaned forward to kiss Matthew. He brought his hand up to feel her chest: her small, firm tits were a revelation to Matthew, who’d only slept with bigger women before this. To know that breasts could have such a springy texture, that they’d press themselves into his palm so eagerly, that they were every bit as sensitive as the larger types he’d encountered – all of this knowledge delighted Matthew. He squeezed, gently, and used his other hand to guide Jenn’s hips up and down.

“Oh, god, baby,” Jenn cried. “Don’t stop doing what you’re doing.” She braced one hand on the hay bales, just above Matthew’s wounded shoulder. Even though he was healing quickly and well, there was no way his flesh was ready to be grabbed by a woman in the full throes of passion.

“Don’t worry,” he replied. “I can do this all day long.”

“Beautiful liar,” Jenn smiled. She did something inside, squeezing her internal muscles close around the invading thickness of his shaft. “Or maybe days just aren’t as long as they used to be.”

“Very funny.” Matthew rolled backward abruptly, changing their position with his motion. Jenn wound up propped against some hay bales with her lover pushing into her from behind. “Now this is nice.”

She groaned her agreement, pushing her hips backward to meet Matthew’s every thrust. Their love making became more and more energetic; this set the hay bales around them into motion. The pile grew more unsteady with every passing moment. When they climaxed, the bales on the right side of the pile collapsed, sending them, still tangled and panting, onto the walkway behind the corral.

“Oh, crap!” Jenn exclaimed. She hurried to get to her feet and scramble out of view before the laughing nearby cowboys got too good a view of what had been happening. “You’d better zip up your pants!”

“What?” Matthew said, slowly standing up and getting himself tucked away. “None of these guys have ever seen a cowgirl having a good time before? I thought that’s what the rodeo was all about.”

Jenn snorted. She’d just about gotten herself zipped back into her jeans, and her gorgeous tits were once again hidden away beneath her western shirt. “They may have seen a cowgirl having a good time, but they’ve never seen this cow girl having a good time.”

“Well, there’s a first time for everything,” Matthew said. “I’m just glad I was part of it.” He pulled Jenn in for a kiss, drawing further applause from the spectators. “Because that was pretty freaking awesome.”

“We do have a good time, don’t we?”  Jenn glanced up toward the sky, and frowned. “But now it’s starting to get late. Odds are that your brother’s looking for us to give him a hand with HoneyBee. She hates getting into that trailer.”

“All play and no work makes Matt a happy boy,” Matthew said.

Jenn laughed. “And what part of this is about making you happy, cowboy?”

“I’m pretty sure all of it,” Matthew said. “At least, that’s how it looks from here.”

17

“So,” Ada announced over the dinner table, “I’ve got some news.” Charlie grinned, while Matthew and Jenn looked at each other. The last time Ada made an announcement, it was letting everyone know that she and Charlie were expecting their first child. That had been just over two months ago; there was still quite a bit of time before the baby was due to arrive.

“What’s up, boss lady?” Freddie asked. “You have finally decided to put in the swimming pool I keep asking for?”

Ada smiled. “I wish that was what I was going to say,” she said. “A swimming pool sounds fantastic right now.” She turned toward Charlie. “Maybe you should figure out how we could get a pool in here.”

“The pool’s not the problem,” Charlie replied, calmly. “It’s the water that’s an issue.”

“We could fill the pool with tequila,” Freddie replied. “The missus hasn’t touched a drop of that Patron since she found out she was in the family way. Why shouldn’t we swim in it?”

“I have to say this is one of your better ideas, Freddie,” Sean chimed in. He reached over and picked up Freddie’s glass, sniffing the contents. “Are you sure you’re not into that Patron right now?”

“I wish,” Freddie laughed. “But it’s just pop.”

“Anyway,” Ada said. “You all know Charlie has another brother.” She nodded. “David. Who is in Afghanistan right now, doing the Army thing.”

Jenn nodded. She’d heard all about Matthew’s younger brother.

“Well, the plan has always been that Matthew would come here upon his discharge. He needs a place to be, and he wants to enjoy a little bit of down time before going and getting hooked up with a job, you know?”

“We do down time here?” Sean asked. He pushed his fist gently against Freddy’s shoulder. “You’ve been getting down time and not telling me about it?”

“I don’t know anything about down time,” Freddie said. “Unless you’re talking about when a horse knocks me down. I get plenty of that.”

“You two could try being serious for five minutes,” Ada said.

“We did try that,” Freddie replied. “We really didn’t like it.”

“Well,” Ada said, “I got word that David’s going to be headed back home in just over a month. Which as you know is not all that long before the little one arrives.” As always, when Ada mentioned the baby, she let her hand run over her bulging stomach. This made Charlie smile.  “I’m not sure he’s going to really get a whole bunch of down time being in the house with a crying baby.”

“We’ve got room in the bunk house,” Sean said. “All it needs is a little paint. And maybe a hot tub. And a big screen TV. That would make it absolutely the perfect place for him to stay.”

Ada laughed. “That’s a good plan. Except instead of the bunk house, we’re going to have you guys build a little guest house for David.  Which is likely not going to have a hot tub.”

“That’s not a bad plan,” Matthew said. “While we’re doing that, we should build a guest house for me too.” He nodded toward his brother. “No offense, but I’d like to give your new arrival all the space they need. Otherwise, I’ll never get my beauty sleep.”

Charlie laughed. “Fair enough. No hot tub in your place either, I’m afraid.”

“That’s all right,” Matthew said. “I’ve managed to live this long without one.”

“I’ve got a hot tub at my place,” Jenn said, reaching over and squeezing Matthew’s hand. He looked at her just in time to catch a strange expression on her face. “And a nice big bed.  No need to build a guest house.”

Matthew flushed. “We’ll talk about this later on, all right?” he said, dropping his voice to add, “Some things should be a private discussion.”

Jenn nodded. “All right.” She turned to Ada. “So exciting to have David coming back home. Has he been gone a long time?”

As the women got to chatting, Charlie and Matthew stood up and walked out on the front porch.

“She wants you to move in with her, yeah?” Charlie asked.

“It sounds like it,” Matthew replied. “But I’m not sure that’s a good idea. You guys have been great, don’t get me wrong. But I really need to start thinking about how I’m going to build a life of my own again. I can’t do this ranching thing forever. It’s in your blood, baby brother, but it’s not really in mine.”

“And ranching’s in Jenn’s blood, every bit as much as it’s in mine,” Charlie said. “Maybe even more, since she’s been doing this her whole life.”

“I couldn’t ask her to give that up,” Matthew said.

“You thinking about taking off?” Charlie said.

Matthew nodded. “Not like how you’re making it sound, but yeah. At some point, I’m going to have to go find a job doing what I do. Get an apartment, up in Houston or maybe even Dallas. Get my life back on track and start building a career.”

“And there’s no place in that life for Jenn?” Charlie asked.

“I’m not sure Jenn’s going to want that,” Matthew replied. “She’s got plenty of ideas for building a good life here. And they’re not bad ideas.” He sighed. “I’m just not sure that they’re right for me.”

“She’s a good woman,” Charlie said. His lips pressed together tightly for a moment, transforming his mouth into a thin line. “I’d hate to see her get hurt for no good reason.”

“I appreciate that,” Matthew said. “And believe me, I’m not trying to hurt her. I’m just trying to find a way forward that makes everybody happy.”

“Some roads just can’t be found,” Charlie said. “And the roads you can find don’t always go where you want them to.”

“And what do you do in that situation?” Matthew asked.

Charlie laughed. “Fucked if I know. I’m a rancher, not a psychic.”  He grew serious again. “This can turn out to be all right, Matthew, as long as you’re honest and up front with everyone. Including yourself.”

“That’s never been my strong suit,” Matthew replied.

“You can make it your strong suit,” Charlie said. “Look at all the things you can do that you had no idea about when you came here. You can ride horses now. You know how to trailer stock. Hell, you even know how to artistically rearrange hay bales at a sporting arena.”

Matthew laughed. “I guess that’s all true.”

“What’s meant to be will be,” Charlie said. “I never in a million years came down to this ranch thinking I’d find a wife and a baby. I just wanted to get away from startup hell. Now I’m fixing to start a family.” He shook his head. “Nobody could have predicted that would happen.”

“I’m glad it did,” Matthew said softly. His brother looked happier and more complete than Matthew had ever seen him. “Marriage looks good on you.”

“Just keep hanging in there,” Charlie said. “That’s all I’m saying. You never know what’s going to happen in this world. Don’t close any doors you don’t have to.” He shrugged. “Maybe there’s a way for you and Jenn to have a good future together. The fact you can’t see it right this minute doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.”

“What doesn’t exist?” Jenn asked, walking out on to the porch. She was sipping from a big mug of sweet tea and had a very curious expression on her face. “Tell me, what are my two most favorite guys in the world discussing so intently?”

***

THE END