“Again with the flood,” I say under my breath, but apparently Deacon is in the mood to listen more than he ever has.
“What was that?”
Oops. Almost let that slip a little too far.
“Nothing,” I mutter and lean against a horse stall.
“So who brought you home, because you didn’t call me or Ryan or Dad.”
Aww shit. Okay, well, I’m going to be vague and then use evasive maneuvers if I have to. “A Good Samaritan stopped.”
“That’s nice. Who? No one just rolls through Infinity Ridge.”
“Some people do,” I remind him. “We do have a highway.”
Deacon scoffs. “We have a road with a light, not exactly a highway.”
“It’s called a highway,” I remind him. I’m going to stick to this for as long as I can.
It’s all about misdirection. If he goes one way, I’m going another.
“Lark. You’re driving me nuts.” He throws his hands in the air, walking around in circles, avoiding a large puddle.
I shrug. “That’s nothing new. Listen, I think…I need to break up with Jeremy. He’s sweet, but…I was really hurt when I called him and he didn’t do anything to help. He just suggested I call you.”
My brother looks like he could smash through a wall right now. “Of course you should’ve called me, because I would’ve been in the fucking car to you in minutes. There wouldn’t have been a pause. That’s the kind of man you need, Lark. You…Jesus,you’re the best of us, and the fact that you spent any time on the side of a road—in a storm—not knowing if help was coming has me ready to punch something.”
I walk closer, taking his hand in mine and reaching up to kiss his cheek. I’m not reminding him that he wouldn’t have come anyway because he was a six-pack deep, but that’s semantics. “And that’s why you’re the best of us.”
He doesn’t look mollified, but he doesn’t have steam coming out of his ears either.
My brother has a ton of faults—a ton—but love and sacrifice aren’t things he struggles with. For the people in his life, he will do anything. He is truly a guy who would give you the shirt off his back. I’ve watched him do it.
To Deacon, this must be the ultimate sin.
“You’re a grown woman, and I can’t tell you what to do, but I suggest keeping Jeremy away from me if you don’t break up with him.”
“I’m going to end it.”
“Good, because I might’ve had to end him.”
I roll my eyes. “You’re so dramatic. He’s not bad, just not the right guy for me.”
“There is no right guy for you. You’re the best of us, and there isn’t a man alive who is worthy of you.”
“Aww, that was so sweet,” I say, my heart near to bursting from that unusual show of brotherly love.
He snorts. “Yeah, yeah. I love you, Tornado.”
And good feeling gone. “You had to ruin it, didn’t you?”
He finally smiles and wraps his arms around me in a bear hug before releasing me. “Last one to the stalls has to muck out them all!”
He takes off and I run after him, grateful I didn’t have to reveal the identity of my mystery savior.
Chapter 3
Tristan
