“She did, but only because of the storm.” Jack sank into the armchair next to Brandt. “I slept in the parlor,” he added.
“Do you love her?”
The question caught Jack by surprise, and it was something he wasn’t ready to contemplate. “Hudsyn paid me a visit in the middle of the night.” Jack said, changing the subject. “He wanted to celebrate finishing his book of poems. Of all the nights, he chose last night to visit me.”
“Yea, I heard all about it from Lulu. I reckon you straightened her out, all right.”
“I asked her to keep her clothes on and do her job if that’s what you mean.”
“You gotta admit she saved your hide, though.”
“She embarrassed me.”
“Rather you than Miss Hamilton, right?”
Jack angled his body toward Brandt. “Why are you asking me questions about last night if you already know what occurred? Did I do something to lose your trust?”
“A man in love isn’t always honest about his feelings.” Brandt swirled the whiskey in his glass.
Jack stood up. “I’m not in love. I don’t need love.” He set his glass, still half full, on the side table. “I need to settle my score with my uncle.”
“And once that’s done? Then what?”
“Then I reclaim my inheritance and sit back to watch my uncle’s life destroyed. What more could I want?”
“A family.”
Jack smirked. “Are you suggesting that I get married?”
“If you met the right woman, yeah. What would be so bad about that?”
“Do I strike you as the marrying type?” Jack walked to the window and leaned with his shoulder against the casing.
Brandt swung his legs from the ottoman and sat upright. “That’s exactly what you are. An’ it ain’t a bad thing neither. You’ve been playing at being a ruffian your whole life, but it ain’t who you are. You’re a good man. The best man I know. I’ve seen you risk your life for others.”
Bile filled Jack’s throat. “Don’t fool yourself. I have a devil inside me, same as you.”
“That’s true, but it don’t have to be.”
“You think love fixes all?” Jack snorted. “My father once had a wife and five children. Two died within hours of their birth, and a few years later, he had the pleasure of burying his wife and youngest daughter on the same day. Still, he worked hard, prayed harder, and endured. Only to have his heart broken by his son, who left him to die alone.”
“He wasn’t alone. He had your sister by his side,” Brandt reminded him.
“My sister who would still be alive today if I had not left her to fend for herself. I failed at being a son and a brother. What good would I be to a wife?”
Brandt rubbed the back of his neck as if trying to release his tension. “I ain’t goin’ to be around forever, you know.”
“What are you talking about?” Jack straightened his stance.
“This ain’t my home. I miss riding across the open plains, where I see nothing but grass, rivers, deserts, and mountains for days at a time.”
“There’s plenty of countryside in England,” Jack said. “We have fields of grass, rivers, even wild ponies.”
“I’ve been to your countryside. An’ I didn’t see no other cowboys there. I miss the ranching life—herding cattle an’ breaking wild horses. Hell, I miss working up a sweat outdoors with the blazing sun on my back, bathing in a cool river, an’ sittin’ next to a warm fire with the stars above me and a sweet harmonica tune in my ears. I ain’t made for life in a three-piece suit, sipping tea.”
Jack gave a short laugh. “I’ve never seen you drink tea.”
“Yeah, you got me there.” Brandt chuckled.
