Brantley accepted the water bottle Kaden passed over, wondered if Reese was still waiting at his house, decided he didn’t care. “I can do that.”
He considered asking his cousin if he could borrow his shower rather than go back to his house and risk running into Reese, but he damn sure didn’t want to get the third degree. It had taken weeks of deflection before they’d stopped hounding him about Reese every time he came over.
After cleaning up the mess they’d made, he hopped in his truck and drove back to his house.
When he noticed Reese’s truck wasn’t in the driveway, he couldn’t say whether it was relief or disappointment that swamped him. Nor did he want to think about why he might give a fuck.
Several hours later, after he’d played ball with Tesha until she was panting and practically begging for a break, Brantley showered and dressed. He was on high alert, constantly thinking he heard Reese’s truck pulling down the driveway, but the man never showed. His clothes were still in a pile on the floor, the rest in the closet and dresser. From what Brantley could tell, he hadn’t taken anything with him when he left.
Did that mean he was coming back? Or did he just abandon ship a second time, leaving the remnants behind as a reminder?
“Fuck him,” Brantley grumbled, tucking his wallet and cell phone in his pocket. He turned to Tesha. “I’ll be back in a little while, girl. Behave while I’m gone.”
She lifted her head from her pillow but didn’t bother to get up.
He smiled. “Get some rest, girl. You deserve it.”
Ten minutes later, he was pulling into Moonshiners, weaving through the rows of cars that filled the parking lot and the adjoining patch of grass used for overflow. He found a spot at the back, parked.
It wasn’t until he was inside that Brantley realized he’d made one glaring mistake. Unlike he’d been trained to do, Brantley hadn’t paid enough attention to his surroundings on the way inside. He should’ve taken the time to scan the trucks in the lot. If he had, he would’ve known that Reese was here, too.
His breath lodged in his throat the instant their eyes met, and he felt a chill snake down his spine. Foreboding? Elation? He wasn’t sure what prompted it, but he ignored it, offering a wave to Mack, who was behind the bar tonight, keeping his patrons supplied with liquor and beer.
Pretending Reese wasn’t keeping a barstool warm and boring holes into him with that intense gaze, Brantley headed away from the temptation. He found JJ and Baz at the back near the pool tables, so he ventured that way, again not thinking about his actions until it was too late.
JJ, ever the dutiful best friend, pranced toward him like a woman with a secret to share. Her eyes glittered with excitement, her mouth pulled into a wide, satisfied grin. “Did you see him? Did y’all talk?”
Pretending not to care who she was talking about, Brantley smiled. “Nice to see you, too, JJ.”
She smacked his arm playfully. “Don’t play dumb with me. I know you saw him.”
“Then why’d you ask?” Brantley glanced at Baz. “Can you keep her under control, please?”
Sebastian Buchanan, known as Baz to his friends, barked a laugh. “Cananyone?”
“Touché.” Brantley laughed, then ordered a beer when one of the waitresses did a drive-by.
“What brings you out tonight?” Baz asked, leaning against a wooden post, watching as JJ took a shot.
“No reason.” Not wanting to be on the receiving end of the former APD detective’s interrogation skills, he changed the subject. “Kaden mentioned JJ’s hangin’ out with Bristol. Are they up to somethin’?”
“They’re women,” Baz retorted with a chuckle. “Aren’t they always up to somethin’?”
Content they weren’t going to question him about Reese, Brantley accepted his beer from the waitress, then settled on a stool. It went against his nature to turn his back to the door, but he forced himself to. Otherwise, it would’ve been too damn easy to scope the bar.
Chapter Three
JESSICAJAMES DID HER BEST NOT TOquestion Brantley about the man sitting at the bar wearing a forlorn expression as he nursed another glass of amber liquid. Reese had arrived shortly after she had, surprising her with his appearance. She’d offered a hello, intending to saddle up beside him, see how he was doing. The grunt he’d given in response had her rethinking her plans and ultimately had her opting to give him a little breathing room.
She still wanted to go to Reese, to talk to him, to ask how he was and whether or not he was back for good, but now that Brantley was here, it felt like a betrayal, so she kept her butt planted in her seat. They’d moved away from the pool tables when Bristol and her husbands arrived, snatching an empty table when one became available. Since then, a few more had been hijacked, pulled together so the group could congregate and shout over one another to be heard.
JJ was sandwiched against the wall with Baz on one side, Bristol on the other, and a row of Brantley’s cousins sitting across from her. Ethan and Beau seemed surprisingly at ease tonight, enjoying a few hours out of the house while Beau’s mother babysat their two-year-old triplets. Travis and Gage had also made an appearance. From what she’d heard, their five kids were dispersed among Travis’s brothers’ houses, enjoying a night with their cousins. According to town gossip, they had recently started venturing out at the urging of their friends and family. Since their wife, Kylie, died last year, they’d kept to themselves, usually neck-deep in work at Alluring Indulgence Resort or holed up in the house with their rug rats.
Not for the first time, she wondered how these people did it. The Walker family was a baby-making machine, seemingly content with popping out babies one after another. Sometimes multiple at one time.
Sure, they complained like any overly tired parent did, sought a few minutes of alone time to engage in adult conversation, but to hear them talk, it was just another day. JJ had never considered herself a kid-friendly person, but then Bristol had introduced her to Payton and Paisley, and something inside her had shifted. She knew part of that was thanks to Baz and their budding relationship. She recalled how excited Baz had been about the prospect of becoming a dad, although he hadn’t been in love with the woman who’d accused him of fathering her unborn child. Now that Molly Ryan was out of the picture, the baby not belonging to Baz, JJ wasn’t resisting the possibility of a future with him. In fact, she welcomed it.
“Did you ever decide what to do about your house?” Bristol prompted, drawing JJ’s attention.
