Not to mention that she thought I was a recluse who lived in Alaska with my rotund cat named Blubber who was supposed to be a mouser but would rather nap. Oh, and I enjoy ice fishing and dog sledding in my spare time. The fear of anyone finding out I was Ford’s brother was real. The deception was worth it, even if I did have to keep up with the time differences between Virginia, Alaska, and New Mexico. And the weather.
Holden shrugged, righting his hands on the bar. “You’d be a good Insta-dad. You’re everyone’s favorite uncle.” He dropped into another squat and lifted.
“Six kids,” I emphasized.
He chuckled. “I believe in you.”
Holden glanced over at Ford who was looking more annoyed the longer the pap hounded him. “You gonna take him up on the offer about the little house?”
Ford had bought a ridiculous piece of land, right next to Dupree Ranch. He said when he saw it for sale, he couldn’t resist. It was seventeen hundred acres. Some billionaire weekend cowboy had sold it to him. It was move-in ready, complete with a mansion, a huge basketball court, a stage for his band, two lakes, an Olympic-sized swimming pool, a pickleball court, and an indoor shooting range. And a “little house.”
Pfft. Little house? The thing was three thousand square feet and five bedrooms. But, I guess, compared to his mansion it would be considered little.
I snorted. “What do you think? Would you take it?”
He shrugged. “Yeah. But he doesn’t bug me the way he bugs you.”
True. Holden had always fallen in with Sophie and Silas when we were kids. It made sense, only being eleven months younger. I’d kind of done my own thing growing up. Usually that looked like curling up somewhere with a good book. But Ford? He couldn’t entertain himself like I did. And he didn’t like books. So he was constantly bugging me to hang out, listen to music I couldn’t stand, watch terrible shows—the guy was a sucker for reality TV. As an adult, he was still hounding me.
I shook my head. “There’s no way I could live right next to him. Besides, I don’t want to commute to work.” Not true. I didn’t mind the drive. It was a straight shot from Seddledowneto Sweet Grass, and the only thing in between was rolling green hills and farms for miles.
Holden tipped his head to one side. “Annoying brother, free rent, and you get to live by family.” His head went the other way. “No annoying brother, you’re forty minutes away from us, and…how much do you pay a month for someone else’s mortgage?”
Too much to save up for a down payment on my own home. I needed to hang in there for another five or so years and I’d make enough.
“Having Ford as my landlord is like my worst nightmare,” I grumbled.
“He’s just lonely on that big old ranch,” Holden said. “He needs company.”
“He gossips worse than a pack of middle school girls. And he’s constantly inviting Hank, Travis, and Grady to visit.” The other three members of Whiskey and Women were about as sketchy as they come. It was only a matter of time before one of them got busted on drug possession charges. No doubt they were the ones fueling Ford’s alcohol and drug addiction. The agony it had put Mom through was unbearable. “If I ever see them again, I’ll probably beat the crap out of them and wind up in jail.”
The corners of Holden’s eyes crinkled. “See, you do love Ford.”
I scoffed. “’Course I do. He’s my brother. But he still drives me crazy.”
“Well, you should at least tell him about your book. He just wants to be included.”
“So he can blab to the whole world? No, thank you.”
Holden gave me a disapproving look. He and Silas were always pestering me to be better friends with Ford.
“Look what he did to Anna at Blue’s game.”
Holden shrugged. “Anna and Blue are married now because of it.”
“That doesn’t recuse him.”
“The professor pulling out fancy lawyer speak.” Holden chuckled. “The whole world needs to know how good you two are.”
“I appreciate the compliment. But if people find out, it will be because we wanted them to.” If it happened any other way Austen would bolt. My gut told me that. One day I’d wake up and her handle would’ve vanished. “And because we earned it. Not because my celebrity brother played the nepotism card.”
A crinkle formed between Holden’s eyebrows. “He’s not doing well. He puts on a good show, but deep down he’s struggling.”
I huffed and glanced at Ford who looked like he was doing perfectly fine. Sure, he was a bit annoyed at the moment, but also, three different reporters were trying to get a news story on him and the new ranch. How bad could his life actually be?
Holden’s brow raised. “Yesterday, when he wouldn’t pick up the phone at two in the afternoon, Mom went to his house and he was passed out, drunk. Literally.” Holden’s eyes were wide with a censure that said I needed to take this seriously. “It’s been happening a lot more lately.”
I watched my younger brother for a minute, a tug of worry filling my gut.
