Page 9 of Wild Promises

Oliver raised a brow, and I wanted to smack the patronizing look off his face.

"Why do you think I'm not invested in the business?" I asked evenly.

Eli gestured around us. "You don't have any opinions on anything around here."

"That's your job. I handle the outdoors activities." That was the way it had always been. I wasn't sure why anything needed to change now. I wasn't good at school, so there was no way I could talk numbers like Oliver did, and I hadn't gone to school for business to talk about marketing like Eli.

Oliver threw his hands in the air. "You don't seem committed to the business, to your job, to anything really."

Eli nodded. "You go through women like—I don't know what."

"I don't go through women." It just looked like I did. I talked to them. Made them feel like what they had to say was important, but I rarely took any of them home. My brothers didn't know what was really going on in my personal life. Everyone just assumed they knew me or guys like me. I was sick of being judged for something that wasn't even true. I turned to walk out, pissed at my brothers, the world, everyone.

"This is what we're talking about. When things get tough you just walk away." Eli's voice stopped me in my tracks.

Oliver frowned. "When we need you, you're not there."

That hurt because I didn't like that they felt as if they couldn't depend on me. "Tell me what you need me to do."

"That's the thing. You should already know what needs to be done. Especially if you were more involved in the business side of things."

My head throbbed from this conversation.

"You can't commit to anything or anyone. You float on the surface, not really doing anything meaningful," Oliver said bitterly.

"I've been talking to Tori." That was a lie because I hadn't talked to her since New Year's Eve, but they didn't have to know that.

"Oh?" Oliver asked.

"We've always been friends. You know that." Except for the last few years, when I couldn't bear to hear about her surgeon boyfriend. I was worried that she'd marry him and stay in New York. But now she was back, and I felt like I had a chance at something, but I wasn't sure what. If my brothers didn't think I was worthy of working as a ski instructor in the family business, what would Tori think of me? I always fell short. I had nothing to offer anyone, much less her.

"Is there something else going on between you and Tori?" Eli asked, and I sensed that if I could prove I was committed tosomeone, that they'd let up on this ridiculous crusade for me to do something amazing in the business.

I blew out a breath. "There's always been something there. At least for me. But I've never told her. I didn't want to hold her back."

Oliver shook his head. "That's messed up but at the same time mature."

"I'm not immature." I was irritated that my brothers would forever see me as their younger brother who couldn't handle any responsibility. They'd been tasked with a lot as the eldest. It had given me freedom to relax, and I could see now that it had caused a chasm between me and my oldest brothers. One that Killian didn't have to worry about because he was never home and didn't have any involvement in the family business. Although I was sure that my brothers appreciated the notoriety his snowboarding success gave the resort.

When Eli and Oliver leveled me with a look, I threw my hands in the air. "I don't know what you want from me."

"We want you to commit to something. Anything. Show us that you're in the game. That you care if the family business is successful."

"I care." The implication that I didn't hurt. A stabbing pain shot through my chest.

Oliver leaned forward. "I have to say, I like Tori for you."

Eli chuckled. "She's a doctor, for God's sake. She's hardworking and disciplined."

"If you're saying she's too good for me, then you'd be right," I couldn't help but add. This was the reason why I'd always held back telling Tori I liked her. The threat of rejection was high.

"Don't sell yourself short," Oliver said.

"You've spent the last ten minutes telling me I don't measure up. I'm going to prove to you that you're wrong." I turned and walked out of the room, a fire in my gut.

They seemed surprised by my interest in Tori and that I'd held back on telling her how I felt over the years. If they knew, the stories of me hooking up with lots of women were wrong, that my failure to commit was really just not finding anyone who could measure up to Tori, then they'd have to roll back everything they said about me.

But that reputation had been good to me. No one expected much of the guy who was easygoing and charming. I flew under the radar, but now my brothers wanted me to step up. The only problem was that I didn't know how. How did you prove that you were smart when you hadn't gone to school and you'd never had any good business ideas?

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