He stopped below the rope bridge and looked up, waiting for Trent to notice him.
“Oh, hey,” Trent said finally, shoving the phone and ear buds into the pocket of his hoodie. “I just finished with that branch. Took me all afternoon.”
“Shouldn’t have taken more than an hour or so,” Ryan said, shoving his hands into his pockets.
“Oh, uh…” Trent shrugged awkwardly.
“You know we don’t have any rules about cell phones out here, but every single time I’ve come out to check on you today, man, you’ve been goofing off. You smoked weed while you’re on my dime. If you were anyone but my brother, I’d have fired you on the spot.” He kicked at a rock on the path and sent it soaring toward the woods.
Trent straightened, temper sparking in his dark eyes. “Well, don’t let that hold you back.”
“Come down from there so we can talk.” Ryan grabbed the downed branch Trent had disentangled, carrying it to the edge of the clearing to toss it into the woods. He needed to watch himself right now because a healthy portion of his current mood had to do with what had just gone down between him and Emma, not Trent.
By the time he’d gotten rid of the branch, Trent had climbed down from the rope bridge, saw in hand. “I don’t need your charity. If you want to fire me, go ahead and do it.”
“I don’t.” Ryan scrubbed a hand over his jaw. “I don’t want to fire you at all, but you’ve got to start pulling your weight around here. And if I ever catch you lighting up out here again, you’re done. Are we clear?”
“I could get a job somewhere else,” Trent said, his chin up.
“You could, but I think you’ll find that working out here beats the pants off busing tables or ringing up groceries at the supermart.” Ryan paused. “Iwantyou to work here, Trent, but you’ve got to do the job I’m paying you for.”
His brother deflated some then, tugging his beanie lower over his ears. “Fine.” He headed off in the direction of the house.
Ryan watched him go, pulsing with frustration and restless energy. He debated going for a climb, but he’d have to go back to the house and get his gear, and by then the guys would be ready to hit Rowdy’s. He’d just have to endure their ribbing about Emma and hope a few beers would be enough to make it bearable.
He had to get a handle on himself where Emma was concerned. If he could just hold her off long enough, this attraction between them was sure to fizzle. She’d find someone new, and he’d hook up with another woman—and he and Emma could go back to being just friends. Because if they slept together? Forget it. That would change everything, and he’d never forgive himself if he fucked up their friendship because he was thinking with his dick.
Thirty minutes later, he, Ethan, and Mark were seated at their usual table, a pitcher of beer and a platter of wings between them, and—ribbing or not—Ryan felt his tension leaking away after a few good laughs with his buddies.
“So back to this thing with Emma,” Ethan said after they’d moved on to their second pitcher.
“There is no thing,” Ryan answered, reaching for another wing.
“We definitely saw something,” Mark commented. “And it’s not the first time I’ve seen it. There’s been kind of a vibe between you two lately.”
“It was the first time I saw it,” Ethan said. “But I’m telling you, if we hadn’t walked in and interrupted you…”
Ryan shrugged. “Maybe there was a vibe, or whatever. But that’s all it is, and all it’s going to be.”
“Why’s that?” Mark asked.
“Yo, we’re talking aboutEmmahere.” He shook his head, taking another gulp of his beer.
“Is this about Derek?” Ethan asked.
“Yeah, partly. I made a promise before he went off to war that I’d look out for her, and more specifically, that I wouldn’t go after her.”
Ethan raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, that made sense when she was fifteen, but you’re both consenting adults now.”
Pretty much what Emma had said. “Doesn’t change the fact that she and I have been friends, practically family, since we were kids. If I sleep with her, sooner or later things will go south and she’ll end up hating me.”
“That a common problem you have?” Mark asked drily.
“No, but I don’t date chicks like Emma. I just hook up. You know, keep it casual. Emma’s not a casual, hookup kind of girl, and I won’t take advantage of her.”
“You have a point there.” Ethan bit into another wing. “But on that note, when’s the last time you did hook up with someone?”
Ryan took a drink from his beer to avoid having to answer that question.
