Page 39 of Cruelest Contract
“Yourgirlfriend,” I scoff with a head shake.
“Yup.” He flashes the cheesiest of cheesy grins. “She was promised a choice, wasn’t she? And I’m starting to think we were meant to be, me and Cecilia. Even her cat loves me.”
“Is that why she recoiled with disgust when you bumped into her this morning?”
“Such a fine line between love and hate. You look worried, Jul. Afraid I’ll take her from you?”
I seize a handful of his shirt and smash him against the barn wall. The raw snarl from my throat could have come from a tiger. “Afraid I’ll knock your teeth out of your head?”
He’s not scared. But surprise makes his eyebrows shoot up. Any pack of brothers close in age will be used to regular brawls. And we’re a whole lot more savage than ordinary brothers. This harsh reaction would be totally routine coming from Tye. Or from Getty himself. But I’m not so easily provoked.
Well,usuallyI’m not so easily provoked.
Getty’s shock turns to glee and he shoves me back with more of his cackling laughter. “Pussy whipped before you’ve tasted the pussy. That’s got to be some kind of record. Didn’t I warn you to get some exercise? You’re so tightly wound up you’re about to fucking erupt. No wonder you’re ready to stick your forsaken cock into the first pretty hole you find.”
I scowl and shove him again. “You really don’t know when to shut the fuck up.”
“Hey, I’m trying to help you.” He fixes his shirt, which is now in rumpled disarray.
“Help someone else. My cock never has trouble finding female company and you know it.”
He looks up and grins at something behind me. “Hi, Cecilia. How’d you like the barn?”
I will wring his fucking neck.
I turn around slowly, expecting to be confronted with a stunned Cecilia, who just heard me bragging about my conquests like I’m some shit-for-brains player.
All because Gaetano Tempesta is an incurable asshole who enjoys wreaking havoc.
However, there’s no one there. He lied.
I’m still tempted to put my brother in a headlock until his face turns purple. But I’m also relieved. And I won’t repeat this mistake of getting riled up over nothing. Cecilia isn’t the kind of girl who will be impressed with macho tantrums.
Getty is so busy howling with loony laughter that it’s pathetically easy to sweep his legs from under him. He lands with a thud and throws a handful of dirt at me, his furious expression no different than it was at age three after he was informed he couldn’t eat a jar of marshmallow fluff for dinner.
Fucking brothers.
No matter how much you love them, there are always times when you’re tempted to throttle them with your bare hands.
Gaetano gets left on the ground to stew over his bad choices and I walk around to the front of the vast building we call the big barn. It’s where the sick and injured animals are kept, as well as the orphaned calves, until they can join the rest of the herd. At the moment we have a pair of twin calves in there so Cecilia gets to see the cute side of ranch life.
The barn’s wide door is propped open and Miguel is heading this way, slowly walking beside Cecilia and chatting in his usual lively manner. On any typical day our ranch foreman has his hands full and I hated pulling him away from his work but there’s no one better suited to give Cecilia a tour. Miguel hasthe uncanny ability to set all animals at ease, whether they’re walking around on four legs or two.
Cecilia wears a thoughtful expression and checks out the sights with curiosity.
She did very well earlier. That scene in the study was necessary and it was also heavy. Emotional. Her chin trembled as she gazed at the portrait of the woman who remains the center of our family more than two decades after her death. Cecilia showed nothing but respect and I could tell my father was pleased.
It’s nice to see that she’s now loosened up a little. A few strands of hair have escaped from her ponytail and she looks comfortable in her new boots. All the wary tension is gone from her posture and she moves with easy grace.
Miguel stops at a stall and calls her over. Cecilia peers into the stall, listening avidly and nodding as Miguel talks an animated blue streak.
I was right to conclude how easily she’d be seduced by it all. The ranch, the country landscape, the small town a short drive away.
She belongs here with us. She’llwantto stay.
Miguel takes note of my presence and flashes a quick grin beneath his mustache. A sign that all is well.
In the background, Fort is speaking to a couple of the wranglers and Tye is dicking around with a length of rope. He was always the least enthusiastic about ranch chores, preferring sports over cowboy shit. He only changed his tune after his hockey career ended.
