Page 20 of Chasing Bandit

It felt right.

Chapter 15 – Wylie

Later that night...

I pressed my eyes shut, listening to the rain patter on the tin roof of the house. Frustrated, I kicked the blankets off and padded into the kitchen for a glass of water. The hailstorm raged outside, a relentless symphony of chaos, ensuring that sleep would miss me on my wedding night.

I noisily filled the glass with ice from the fridge then topped it off with water before sinking down into a chair at the kitchen table. There was no reason to be quiet anymore when the house I was living in was completely empty. Clay and my dad were gone and Stevie was back at Ashwood ranch.

I never imagined I'd marry someone I barely knew, especially out of convenience and legal obligation. But now, sitting alone in the dark after the wedding, a strange sense of protectiveness pulsed through me, coursing through my blood in tune with my heartbeat. This unexpected feeling towards Stevie, my wife, unsettled me, and I wasn’t sure I liked it.

We’d said our ‘I dos’, signed the marriage certificate in front of the pastor, and then retreated inside of Cameron ranch for a meal that Ms. Vector and Jovie had prepared. Though I'd tried a few times to catch Stevie's eye, she'd successfully avoided me the rest of the evening and by the time the night rolled around, she’d disappeared back to Ashwood ranch with her sister before I could say a single word to her.

I’d rationalized it in my mind. She’d held up her end of the bargain, and I’d hold up mine. I spent the rest of the night – our wedding night – holed up inside the office at Cameron ranch sending out our wedding announcement to every damn newspaper I could find that would take it in Texas and posting shit on social media accounts I haven’t used in years.

After flooding the virtual world with news of our nuptials, I thought I’d finally be able to sleep, waking up a new man on the path to securing my kingdom at Cameron ranch. But sleep eluded me. Instead, my email was bombarded by the photographer Jovie had hired, sending over 100 photos from the wedding and a video of Stevie walking down the aisle. She looked like a damn angel in my mom’s hat, making it impossible to get her out of my mind.

Suddenly, she was mine. She was no longer just the beautiful sister of my brother’s wife. She was all I could think about, all I wanted to touch, all I wanted to sink inside of during a loud hailstorm that would muffle her pleasured moans.

Not having her under my roof at night felt wrong in so many ways, and it wasn’t just my protective instincts or pride getting in the way. Something had shifted beneath the willow trees in the warm Texas spring when I saw her walking down the aisle. Something I'd clung to had been uprooted. Like a tree stump, I’d planted myself firmly in the ground, never changing, never bending to anyone, loyal and firm in my principles and beliefs. But suddenly, Stevie had cracked me open, pulled out my roots, and I was growing new shoots and leaves...

Why the hell had she chosen that hat to wear for the wedding?

I wasn’t sure why I was waxing poetically while staring at the ceiling in an empty home, but I couldn’t make sense of it anymore. I used to appreciate the silence of having the ranch to myself but now it was too loud in its quiet. I had a long day of work the next day and needed my rest but nothing, and yet everything was the same and it was driving me mad.

“How ya holdin’ up?” Clay asked as he walked into the kitchen, his hair a mess from whatever he was out doing during the storm, still wearing the khakis he'd worn to the wedding earlier, but his shirt now missing a few buttons.

Must be nice to be young and careless.

I lifted my glass of water towards him in salute. “Well, it’s still water in my cup, so I think I’m doing pretty well.”

He chuckled, went to the sink, and poured himself a glass. “It’s weird that you and Stevie are married.”

“Just a piece of paper, brother.” I responded as I clapped him on the back when he took a seat next to me.

“You glad it’s over with? That now you’ll get ownership of Cameron ranch in twelve months?”

For a moment, I paused to think. Yes, I wanted the ranch; it had always felt like mine, even without the legal documentation. But I didn't feel at peace. Something still gnawed at me about why Stevie had so willingly agreed. The uncertainty behind her motives and the conditions she'd required frustrated me, but I knew I couldn't ask her, or I’d be breaching our agreement.

“Yeah, I’m happy it's over and I'll get to continue the Cameron legacy, but I’ll admit, I hope Stevie doesn’t regret this decision. I may be an asshole, but I’d never want to take advantage of a woman’s generosity.”

Clay shrugged as he took a long sip of his water, “she’s pretty amazing for doing this for you. What did she get out of it anyways?”

I’ve got no fucking clue.

“I’m not really sure. She told me to create a prenup so that I’d be sure she didn’t want the ranch when we divorced in twelve months, but I never went through with it. Just didn’t see the need given she was convincing and to be honest, she probably deserves half of everything I'm worth for marrying me. No one else in this state would have done it.”

He nodded, his gaze fixed on the deck where tiny balls of icy fury bounced off the wood and into the air. Each ping of the hail felt like a sting against my skin, amplifying the confusing emotions swirling within me.

“Well, regardless of whether she’s getting something from this or not, she’s pretty freaking amazing. Both the Vector sisters are. You and Nash lucked out even if this is a fake marriage. I wish they had another sister.” He chuckled as he stood up, drained his glass in the sink, and headed back to his bedroom.

Fuck yea, I am.

Chapter 16 – Stevie

One month later...

“How’s my favorite sister-in-law two times over doing?” Nash asked as he threw a muscled arm around my shoulders and pulled me in for a hug.

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