Page 4 of When the Storm Breaks
“Do you live for the sole purpose of torturing me?”
“So it seems.”
I smirked. They acted like a married couple. I wish they’d get together already. The only hitch was that Bastian, who had been with both men and women, never slept with anyone he truly cared about. Which was how I knew his marriage had been a sham.
“I’ll see you at Glastonbury, yeah?” Bastian asked.
“I’ll be there with bells on.”
I grabbed my ’63 Gibson acoustic, already packed in the hard case and said my goodbyes to Bastian before Hayden and I walked out the front door of the 1920’s Hollywood Hills mansion into the eternal L.A. sunshine. I slid into the passenger seat of the silver Aston Martin, put on my sunglasses and pulled down the brim of my ball cap as Hayden navigated the curves in the road, “This Charming Man” by The Smiths blasting from the speakers.
I was Texas-bound, and I had exactly six weeks to find closure. To make peace with something I’d done when I was eighteen.
On the eve of my twenty-fifth birthday, Maw Maw visited me in a dream and told me I needed to go to Texas. Even though she was gone, she was still looking out for me. Still guiding me through this crazy thing called life. Dean was safely out of the way, serving sixty days in court-mandated rehab after his DUI and the stash of drugs they found in his glove compartment, so the timing couldn’t be more perfect.
Chapter Two
Brody
“Not only didyou talk me into renting the guesthouse to a total stranger, you promised I’d pick her up at the airport?” I’d been informed of this plan via text from my aunt Kate. Now, thanks to an accident blocking the exit, I’d been sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic for the past hour.
“She’s flying in from California. She doesn’t have a car.”
“And how’s that my problem? Hasn’t she ever heard of Budget rental cars?”
Kate sighed. “Be nice. Be that charming Brody McCallister I know you’re capable of and show her some good old-fashioned Southern hospitality.”
“If she wants hospitality, she should have checked into a Comfort Inn. She’d better stay out of my way, that’s all I’ve got to say.”
My aunt sighed again. I didn’t know why I was giving her shit. She didn’t deserve it. But I didn’t like the idea of a total stranger staying on my property. Unfortunately, I had a shitload of bills to pay and money was tight, so I had to do what I had to do.
“The grant hasn’t come through yet?”
“No.” My cousin Gideon, who worked for a venture capital firm in New York, had come up with a way for me to purchase more land and rescue more horses. Unfortunately, the US government was not so quick to fork over the cash. Even when the money hit my bank account, I’d only be breaking even. But as long as I could pay my bills and provide for my son, that was good enough for me.
“If you weren’t so stubborn, you could let us give you the money. We’re your family, Brody,” she reminded me, her voice softer now. “When will you ever learn to accept our help?”
“I’m not taking handouts from anyone. Not even family.” We’d been down this road before and she knew where I stood on the topic. There was no point discussing it again. Nothing she said would change my mind and Kate was smart enough to drop the subject.
“Once she’s here, you won’t even have to deal with her. She’s all paid up for six weeks. And from what she said in her email, she’s looking for peace and quiet. You won’t even know she’s there.”
“Meanwhile, I have to act like a goddamn chauffeur,” I grumbled. Another flaw in this plan was that the woman I was picking up—Vivienne Shaw—had my cell number but I didn’t have hers. I didn’t trust websites. Anyone could book a stay at my ranch with a credit card and some details that may or may not be the truth.
“You know I would have picked her up—”
“I sure as hell wasn’t about to let you pick up a stranger at the airport.” I wiped the sweat off my forehead with the back of my arm and took a few deep breaths. I needed fresh air, not exhaust fumes. And I needed the traffic to start moving before I lost my shit. I was hemmed in with nowhere to go.
“Well, there you go. And that’s one of the many reasons I love you. You have a protective streak a mile long. Now be nice. She’s your guest and she’s paid a lot of money that you are sorely in need of. When you get to the airport, wait in your truck until she messages you and everything will be just fine. Goodbye Brody,” Kate sing-songed.
I tossed my phone in the console then leaned back in my seat, crossed my arms over my chest, and waited for the traffic to start moving again.
It had been Kate’s idea to renovate the guesthouse so I could rent it out. She’d been trying to help me out and I should have shown my appreciation instead of bitching and moaning like a little pussy. I’d apologize. Find a way to make it up to her. Not her fault I was drowning in bills. Not her fault I kept rescuing horses or that I’d bought another thirty acres for my mustangs. The more land I acquired, the fewer neighbors I’d have to deal with. The man who had owned those thirty acres had always been a thorn in my side.
Because of him, one of my rescue horses had ended up tangled in barbed wire. Call me ungracious but when his property went into foreclosure, I drank my finest bourbon and toasted his misfortune.
Finally, the traffic started moving and I heaved a sigh of relief.
As I drove past the scene of the accident—a fender bender—my cell rang with a number I didn’t recognize.Charming Brody, I reminded myself before I said hello in my most pleasant voice.
