Brandt knew neither he nor his brothers would’ve grown up to be half the men they were if not for their mother. She gave them the love and affection their father wouldn’t, even if she had to hide that affection from her husband. “Mom said that?”

“Yeah. Said she’d do anything to help out, including taking Landon another day of the week to save you boys the hassle. She volunteered to drive here. Told me she’d lie to Casper if she had to, but she doubted he’d notice she was gone unless it was mealtime.”

“What did you say?”

“I reminded her the decision wasn’t up to me, that you’re Landon’s guardian, but we’d talk about it and you’d call her.”

“Is this a good idea, my mom takin’ care of Landon two days?”

Jessie sighed. “Yes, it’d be good for both of them. Besides, I’ve never had a problem with Joan. We weren’t best buddies, but I chalked it up to the fact she doesn’t have many female friends. Or your dad didn’t want us to be friends.”

Lexie had inched her way to the edge of the yard and seemed fascinated by Landon and his ball.

“I never understood why my dad was so mean to you, Jess. Well, besides the fact he’s an ass**le and he pretty much acts like that toward everyone.”

She managed a wan smile. “Probably because Luke felt trapped and I’m the evil sorceress responsible for that entrapment. One time Luke told me Casper said…” Her mouth snapped shut. “Shit. Sorry. Never mind.”

“Tell me.”

“It serves no purpose, Brandt.”

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“Wrong. Tell me.”

“Evidently Casper suggested I’d faked the pregnancy because I knew Luke would never marry someone like me without being forced into it.”

Brandt’s jaw tightened and he barely gritted out, “Luke just said this to you?”

“We’d had a fight and he’d been drinking and he said a buncha stuff that was just downright nasty.

The next morning he’d realized what he’d done, he hated himself for acting like his dad, and he apologized over and over. But it wasn’t like he could take any of it back. It wasn’t like he could pretend he’d just made it up, because we both knew it was true.”

He didn’t say a word. He couldn’t speak around the ball of rage clogging his throat.

Finally, Jessie put her hand on his arm. “Brandt? You okay?”

“No. It’s…I hate that I don’t realize what an assholish thing I’ve done until it’s too late.”

She frowned. “Like what?”

Like am I acting just like my dad? Forcing you into doing things my way and following my plan regarding Landon because I know your weak spots and know just how to exploit them?

Before he could give her a less honest, less painful answer, Landon face-planted and commenced to wailing. Brandt was off the steps in an instant, but he didn’t beat Jessie to Landon’s side.

She cocked the boy on her hip and murmured, “You’re okay,” and brushed the dried grass from his hair.

Landon stared at Jessie and then squirmed toward Brandt.

“Think he’s hungry?”

“Maybe. Come to think of it, I’m hungry.”

“Your Uncle Brandt is always hungry so I know you won’t starve when he’s taking care of you.”

Brandt grinned. “As long as the kid likes meat, potatoes and veggies, we’ll get along fine.”

“What? No super spicy chicken wings? No cheesy nachos with jalapenos?”

“Nope. I gave most of that kinda stuff up.”

“Well, whatever you’ve been eating, keep it up. If I haven’t mentioned it, you look great.” Jessie headed for her house, leaving Brandt staring after her, dumbfounded.

A compliment? From Jessie? Out of the freakin’ blue?

What did she want?

Not everything is a power play. Maybe she was just being nice.

While Brandt unloaded the truck and set up the crib in the spare bedroom, Jessie cooked hamburgers and macaroni and cheese. Landon ate a pile of food and almost fell asleep in his high chair. Brandt probably would’ve just put the kid in his jammies and tucked him in bed, but Jessie suggested a bath.

Turned out Landon was a kid who didn’t enjoy baths. It was like wrestling a wet worm—an angry, screaming wet worm. Once he had Landon cleaned up, dried off, freshly diapered and wearing pajamas, Brandt was ready to nod off. But he prepared Landon’s bedtime bottle and settled in the recliner.

Landon made short work of the bottle and was out. Brandt placed him on his back in his crib, tucking the covers around the sleeping boy.

Jessie glanced up from the kitchen table when he returned to the living room. “Is he down?”

“Yeah. I didn’t think it’d be that easy. Quinn is always complaining about how hard it is to get Adam to go to bed.”

“Adam’s a little older and it is harder when a kid is past the ‘bottle before bed’ age.”

He sank into the couch. “That’s the second time you’ve mentioned the bottle thing. Like Landon’s somehow…too old to have a bottle.”

She dropped the pen to the table and rubbed the skin between her eyes. “I was just sharing my experience—my limited experience. It’s up to his mother to decide when to wean him.”

“So you don’t think getting him off the bottle is something I oughta tackle while I’m takin’ care of him?”

“God no.” Then Jessie didn’t say anything else.

Brandt didn’t relish spending the next four months waiting for Jessie to converse with him. He snagged the remote and turned the TV on, keeping the sound low, happy that Jessie still had satellite.

After catching up on the latest football games, he hunkered down to watch a western.

As soon as Jessie finished whatever she’d been doing at the table, she joined him on the couch. Might make him selfish, but Brandt wouldn’t mind if this was how the nights for the next four months played out.

Once the movie ended, Jessie stood. “You need anything before I turn in?”

“Nah.” He pointed at the baby monitor. “I’ve got it handled if Landon wakes up.”

“How early are you heading to the ranch tomorrow?”

“I figured I’d leave around six.”

“I get up at five thirty to feed the animals, so that oughta work out. Since it only takes fifteen minutes to get to Sky Blue, I don’t leave until six forty-five.”




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