Page 109 of When the Storm Breaks
“And whatever happened to him?”
“His wife turned him in. When she found out, she was so disgusted she called the cops on him. A few years later, she wrote me a letter. Tracked me down at one of my rodeos to give it to me. Guess she was too busy taking care of her kids to realize what a monster she’d married.”
We were quiet for a few moments and I thought about his story, about the way that disgusting, vile man had abused him. And how the woman had been married to a monster without even knowing about it. Although I questioned how that could be true. Wouldn’t you know the man you were married to? Maybe not. People were fucked up. You never truly knew what they were capable of.
“Thank you for trusting me with your truth. It means so much to me, Brody. And I don’t look at you any differently now than I did yesterday. I don’t see you as a victim. I think you’re the strongest man I’ve ever known. You’re ten feet tall and bulletproof.”
“Yeah, well, it fucked me up for a long time. But after that crazy peyote trip, I decided it needed to stay in the past where it belonged. Like Walt said, if you give something the power to destroy you, it will. The mind is a dangerous place. You have to stop dwelling on the things you can’t change and just keep pushing forward. Some days it’s easier than others.”
How could I have ever thought Brody was closed-off? He was the most honest person I’d ever met. And I’d been right about him from the start. He’d made it through the storm, through all the horrible things in his life, and he’d come out on the other side of it. A little worse for the wear, damaged, but not broken. And I thought it said a lot about his character that he’d found the strength from within to ride out that storm and not let it destroy him.
I kissed his mouth, and he held the back of my head, parting the seam of my lips with his tongue and sliding inside, exploring the deepest recesses. That night I fell a little bit harder for the man who fixed broken horses and for the boy who had been forced to see the ugly side of life too young. When he made love to me, our bodies moving in perfect rhythm, my heart beating in sync with his, his strokes powerful and his muscles taut under my fingertips, I wondered if he felt the same as I did. Like we’d found our way home.
* * *
“Stay away from those Brazilian cowboys.”He had pushed me up against the side of the car for a goodbye kiss that was on the verge of turning into something more. I wanted to grab his hand and drag him back inside with me. My flight wasn’t until tomorrow but his was today.
“There’s only one cowboy for me.”
He gave me one more kiss before he released me. “See you soon.”
“Six weeks.” God, it felt like an eternity.
“Nah. I’ll see you on my phone screen. I’ll have to use my left hand. Keep my right hand free.”
I played coy like I didn’t know what he was talking about. “And why would you need to keep your right hand free?”
He leaned in close and pulled me flush against him, his voice low. “So I can stroke my rock-hard cock while I watch you on your hands and knees, fucking your pussy with that big boy that doesn’t even come close to doing what I can do. But when in Rio…”
With that, he gave me a sexy wink and released me. I sighed as I watched him drive away, already missing him. Dammit. And he’d left me aching for more.
* * *
He texted me from Paris,pissed off that I’d upgraded him to First Class.
Don’t pull that shit again.
I’m a rock star. I’d do whatever the fuck I want, and you’ll thank me for it.I punctuated it with a wink emoji.
Next time I see you, you’re going to get a good spanking.
Promises, promises. You’re all talk.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Brody
Six weeks later,Shiloh flew to Austin to spend four days with me. Since I’d last seen her, she’d FaceTimed me from every capital city in South America, Mexico City, and L.A. where she’d been for the past few days.
Unfortunately, she arrived on a Sunday afternoon and as soon as everyone got wind of her arrival, they all wanted to spend time with her.
“I promised Lila I’d come to Sunday dinner,” Shiloh said when I picked her up at the airport, our kiss more chaste than I’d have liked but Noah was with me. He drew a picture especially for her, a girl with black hair and a guitar. He also drew a cowboy that was supposed to me, cupcakes and tacos. Shiloh had given him a big hug and brushed the tears from her eyes.
I groaned. “Let’s skip the family dinner.”
“I love your family and I want to see them.”
“Did you bring me a present?” Noah piped up from the backseat.
