Lately, she wasn’t happy with him about anything. He couldn’t blame her. Work had never seemed busier. He had cases piling up at his office. The ranch had one problem after another, including the loss of a few key people. He needed to hire more workers for the ranch, so he wasn’t filling in on his off hours.
He needed some relief from all the stress, not Kristi constantly hounding him.
“Where’re you going, honey?” Her sweet tone conflicted with the anger building in her eyes.
“To say hello to Brooke. I’ve barely seen her the last few days.”
“You live in the same house. You’ve seen her plenty. I’m sure she’d like to spend time with her old friends. Seems she’s drawn attention from many of the male guests. It’s nice to see her spreading her wings and her social circle.”
He got the hint. Kristi didn’t like Brooke taking up his time. They’d already had this conversation upstairs.
Brooke was his friend. She’d always be his friend.
Kristi should understand that by now.
“I wonder if she’s got a boyfriend back at school.”
He recoiled at the thought and his gut tightened painfully. No way.
Why not? Look at her, she’s gorgeous.
He didn’t want to think about her making someone else feel the way she always made him feel. Special. Needed. Wanted. “She’s too busy studying to date.”
If she had a boyfriend, he’d know about it.
They told each other everything.
At least, that’s what he’d thought until this past summer when she’d…pulled away.
He didn’t think they would end up like this, where she turned away instead of coming over to talk to him. Had she been avoiding him since she got home? No. He’d just been busy working. She didn’t want to interrupt. Right? Fuck. He didn’t know. And it hurt. He was surprised by how much. But he shouldn’t be. Brooke was…more important than he realized.
Fuck.
That night she came home late right before she was headed back to campus to start the new year of school came back to him. He’d confessed that he missed her. He’d wanted her to know that despite how busy and distracted he’d been, he cared and regretted not spending time with her.
The house wasn’t the same without her here. Texts weren’t the same as sitting atop their horses in the middle of the property, just the two of them, talking about everything and nothing.
He missed her spunk and the way she made him laugh.
He missed the way he was when he was with her. Relaxed. Unburdened.
Brooke laughed again, drawing his attention to her across the room.
Too damn far away.
Charlie was talking to her again.
Kristi put her palm to his cheek and made him look at her, instead of staring at Brooke. “Honey, you went to college. Don’t tell me you spent all that time studying. I’m sure you haunted many a party on a Friday and Saturday night with at least one girl on your arm and a beer in your hand.”
Cody reluctantly nodded, hating thinking about Brooke being the woman on some other guy’s arm.
Back in the day, he’d taken them back to his dorm room for no-strings-attached sex. Just two people out for a good time. As long as they both had the same idea, the next day was businessas usual—classes and friends and waiting for the next Friday-night party to begin.
The thought of Brooke laughing with some guy at a party and ending up a notch on his dorm room bedpost made Cody seethe. The thought of some guy touching her set his teeth to grinding. His hand clamped so forcefully around his tumbler, it was a wonder the glass didn’t shatter like his self-control was about to.
“Look at you, so upset.” Kristi tsked. “She’s young and free. Of course she’s having fun being on her own, no one watching her.”
Cody gulped his bourbon, relishing the burn.
