Page 2 of Brothers Best Friend Cowboy

“Anyway,” Dodge continues, shutting off the car, “Ash had always said she was interested in Emery, and I thought maybe it would be nice if he had someone to talk to this weekend.”

The tightness I’d felt in my stomach a few minutes ago is nothing compared to what I’m feeling now.

“You mean she’s not here for you?”

Dodge glances toward me with a wrinkled forehead. “What? No. She’s not my type.”

“What makes you think she’s Emery’s type?”

Dodge shrugs. “She’s fun. She’s cute. She’s—”

“Young.She’s my age! Isn’t that weird?”

“A little, but it’s just for a weekend. Who knows? They may not get along at all.” He glances toward me. “When did you become such a prude?”

“I’m not a prude! I’mprudent. There’s a difference. I’m just saying, I think maybe it would cause problems in the future.”

Dodge bumps my shoulder. “Okay, baby sister. I’ll keep that in mind.”

I sigh and roll my eyes with exaggeration. “Your problem and not mine! If you’re cool with ruining his life, so am I.”

Dodge laughs. “I think someone needs a snack.”

I suck in a deep breath and grab my weekend bag from the back seat of the car. Dodge follows behind, hollering up onto the front porch. I hear Emery call back. I’d know that voice anywhere, even if it’s been years.

My heart stiffens and a bolt of electricity runs through me. I can’t wait to turn around. I can’t wait for the three second hug hello that I’ll hold on to until we touch again. I can’t wait to breathe him in and feel his big hands on my skin.

“You two are so cute!” The voice is high, flirty, and disgustingly energetic. I haven’t turned around, but my heart has already collapsed on itself. She’s already here, and she was inside with Emery. Am I just an interruption to their already passionate weekend?

I freeze, unable to turn around. Maybe I should brave the fog and head back home before anyone sees me.

“You coming, sunshine?” Emery’s voice is low and graveled.

Sunshine.My heart squeezes. I figured he’d forgotten what he used to call me.

The air is silent, the breeze stops blowing, and every bird quiets in complementary unison with my heart. There’s no running away from this. Emery sees me, and like it or not, I’m staying the weekend.

Chapter Two

Emery

Coming here was a mistake. No, it was more than a mistake. A mistake is when you eat the last donut and leave the box sitting on the counter for everyone to drool over. A mistake is forgetting to buy milk on your way home from work. This… is something else. This is a disaster.

I’ve been avoiding Maggie like the plague for good reason. She’s been on my mind for years, despite how incredibly inappropriate it is. Not only is she my best buddy’s little sister, she’s also fourteen years younger than me.Fourteen years!

That said, Dodge did bring a girl that is about the same age as Maggie in the hopes we would hit it off. Maybe he isn’t as rigid as I thought about age, though something tells me his tune would change if I were dating his sister.

I stare toward Maggie. I’ve known her for the better part of ten years, which makes the whole thing even stranger. She was sixteen when we first met, but it wasn’t until the summer of her twentieth birthday that I saw her the way I do now. She was setting a table in a flower dress and curves filled it out in a way I’ll never forget, but I pushed those thoughts to the deep recesses of my mind. The darkness I felt in that moment would make most people seek out therapy.

An old man with eyes for a young girl. It’s the kind of thing they make psycho movies about.

That’s why I left Rugged Mountain. Working here for my friend, Waylon, only made things more complicated. I’d run into Maggie whenever I went into town. At the diner, on Main, at the tattoo shop… she was everywhere. An unavoidable blessing that could never be mine.

I left for Utah the following year and never looked back.

Maggie stares at the ground and draws her sweet gray-blue gaze up slowly. She’s grown even more beautiful. Her soft pink lips are begging to be kissed. Her long hair, begging to be tugged. Her round ass and big tits, aching to be claimed. Truthfully, I don’t know how someone hasn’t stepped in to take her already. Lord knows she’s the most amazing part of this mountain.

Outside of a couple brief hellos when I happened to be visiting over the past few years, we didn’t really talk, which is strange. But now that we have the whole weekend together, we’re going to need to say something to each other. Then again, I think Ash could absorb all the free space for everyone. I’ve only spent thirty minutes with this girl, and she never stops talking.

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