Page 241 of Steamy Ever After

He knew he should give her space, but he also longed to hear her voice. If he felt better, he might even be tempted to get in his car and drive to Cambria.

He’d never been impulsive. It wasn’t part of his personality. He had great self-restraint, and nothing much rattled him. It was different with Peyton, though. He had no self-control where she was concerned.

Other than losing his oldest brother, Brodie had little to complain about in life. His family loved him, they were all healthy, the wine business was booming, and he, Mad, and Naughton were all doing jobs they loved. They’d each found their niche.

Naughton managed the vineyards, Maddox made the wine, and Brodie sold it. His sister Skye was a happily married stay-at-home mom, and Ainsley, the academic in the family, was at Stanford, pursuing a degree, not that Brodie could remember what in.

Even Kade had been happy before he died. He loved what he did, in spite of the danger, or maybe because of it.

“I can’t picture myself getting old,” Brodie had overheard Kade tell Maddox once. “I just don’t see it in my head.” Maddox had asked Kade if he thought it meant something. “I don’t know,” Kade answered. “I don’t think I’m going to live long enough to find out.”

Had Kade shared the same concerns with Peyton? Was that why she had doubts about their relationship?

Kade had told their father that, while he was retiring from the military, he wasn’t going to quit what he was doing. He’d been interviewing with the CIA, where he’d have more control over when and how much he traveled.

Brodie reached over and picked up his cell phone. He must’ve fallen asleep. Still no word from Peyton. He had missed a call from Maddox, though.

“What’s up?” Brodie asked when he returned Mad’s call.

“I need your help. Feel good enough to take care of some wine business with me tonight?”

That was his job, and while he didn’t feel great now, if he showered and ate, he’d probably feel better.

“Of course. What are we doing?”

“Meet me in the barrel room around four. I’ll tell you then.”

This sounded promising. Barrel tastings meant something special was going on. He only hoped he heard from Peyton before he had to leave.

PEYTON

Alex convinced Peyton to come in late the next day, and she hadn’t argued. After everything that had happened with Brodie, she needed sleep.

“I’m gonna crash in the spare bedroom and take the boys to school in the morning,” Alex said. “At what God-awful hour do I have to wake them up?”

“You don’t have to.”

“Yeah, I do. What time?”

“Seven.”

Alex groaned. “Jeez, why do teachers have to be so cruel?”

“I think the teachers would prefer a later start time. Blame the administrators.”

After that, Peyton had gone into the bedroom and fallen across the bed. As tired as she’d felt, she couldn’t remember even turning the television on.

When she woke this morning and looked at the clock, she was stunned. It was after nine, and she was still in her clothes from last night. She hadn’t heard Alex and the boys get up or leave the house.

She slowly made her way to the kitchen and found a note from her friend, saying all she had to do was turn the coffeemaker on.

“God bless her,” she muttered, picking up her phone from the counter where she didn’t remember leaving it.

She punched in her security code and found several text alerts. One from Alex, telling her she should be in bed, which made her laugh. There was one from Jamison, saying that he and Finn loved her and hoped she felt better soon. The last was from Brodie.

Call me when you get this, it said.

After stopping herself from throwing the phone across the kitchen, Peyton poured a cup of coffee. She jumped when she heard the front door open.

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