At the contact, fire raged in the depths of Kyle’s eyes. He crept closer, and the air grew thicker and heavier until I felt like I couldn’t breathe.
Orville continued to ramble on, oblivious to the tension. I’d been a fool to think I could just turn my back on Kyle and walk away. He was like a cat who’d gotten bored batting a mouse around and let it go. Now that someone else was interested, he’d decided to reclaim it. The comparison made me sick to my stomach, but it was accurate.
My molars ground together as he moved even closer. I’d lost track of Orville’s speech, so the sound of applause caught me off guard.
“Are you okay to help serve the cake or do you want Mack to take you home?” Lily asked. “If you’d rather go, I can handle it myself.”
I wanted to flee, to put as much distance between me and Kyle as I possibly could. But I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life running. Kyle had stolen so much from me already. I’d foundsomething worth fighting for in Mustang Mountain, and I’d be damned if I’d let him take that away from me too.
“I’ll be fine.” I wrapped my fingers around Lily’s and let her lead me to the table where we’d set up the cake. The local paper had even sent a photographer to take a few pictures, and I wouldn’t let Kyle ruin her moment.
“Brooklyn.” Kyle stepped toward me. “I need to talk to you.”
“Not now.” Mack put himself between me and Kyle. He didn’t appear to be looking for a fight, but I bet he’d be more than capable of handling Kyle.
“Levi won’t be bothering you anymore. It’s time to come home now.” Kyle held out his hand like he fully expected me to take it.
I wouldn’t touch him, but his words sent a chill racing straight up my spine. “What do you mean he won’t be bothering me anymore?”
“Let’s go somewhere private where we can talk.” Kyle tilted his head toward the side door leading out into the parking lot. “There are a few things I need to update you on about my brother. He’s in some trouble, and I don’t see him talking his way out of it anytime soon.”
“I won’t need to try to talk my way out of it.” Levi came up behind Kyle. My heart stopped until he reached for me and pulled me into his arms.
Kyle shook his head. “What are you doing here? I thought they’d have you locked up for what you did this morning.”
Nothing made sense. I tightened my grip on Levi. “What’s he talking about?”
“Nothing to worry about, sweet girl. My brother’s just a sore loser who made a bad decision and tried to frame me for it.”
“Nice try. What would I have to gain from framing you?” Kyle asked, his voice mocking. He clung to his cocky attitude like asecurity blanket. I’d give anything to rip it away from him and finally see fear in his eyes.
Levi shook his head. “Playing dumb doesn’t look good on you. First, you trash my reputation and get me out of the way for your new developer friend to continue taking over Mustang Mountain.”
Kyle laughed it off, but by the way his nostrils flared, I could tell he was barely holding himself in check.
Levi either didn’t notice or didn’t care. “And then you make a move on Brooklyn to try to get her back under your control. It must be killing you to see us together.”
“Um, I know this is important, but do you think you two could take this conversation outside? You know, away from the grand opening celebration and the mayor?” Lily bit down on her lip, clearly uncomfortable.
“Yes. Let’s go outside.” I tugged Levi toward the door, hoping Kyle would follow. Mack stepped in to help, herding Kyle toward the door while trying not to draw any more attention.
But Kyle never liked doing what other people wanted. He stopped right in front of the cake table and stared at Levi, not even bothering to try hiding the hatred in his eyes. “She didn’t choose you, asshole. You just happened to be in the right place at the right time.”
Levi turned to face his brother, his face an unreadable mask carved out of stone.
Before he could say a word, Kyle pulled back and took a swing. Levi ducked out of the way. Kyle’s fist flew through the air. Time slowed down to a crawl, and I watched in slow motion as Kyle’s fist connected with the center of the cake.
CHAPTER 11
LEVI
Sheriff Lawson pushedthrough the crowd and had Kyle in cuffs before anyone realized what was going on. I pulled Brooklyn into my side and wrapped my arm around her shoulders, the need to keep her safe the only thing I could think about.
The cake was ruined. Kyle’s punch had swiped across the middle, taking out the front half of it and sending chunks of frosted flowers flying onto the floor. I was a piece of shit for pushing him, and now Lily and Brooklyn would pay for it.
“No, no, no…” Lily tried to press the cake back together with her palms. “What did you do?”
“I’m sorry.” I couldn’t fix this any more than I could fix what my brother had done to Brooklyn. It seemed like the harder I tried to handle him, the more people got hurt.
