Read Online Cowboy Love on Hold [Love: The Cowboy Way 1] by Luxie Ryder - Free Book Online Page A

afternoon.
    “God, but you’re a pain in the ass, Brandon,” he said, shaking his head at the thought of him. Wade dug his phone out of his pocket to call Kimber, telling her briefly what he planned to do and that he’d be late home.
    He turned the pickup around and drove towards Brandon’s house, his mood getting worse the nearer he got. Wade pulled up and leapt from the cab, taking the steps up to the porch two at a time and pounded on the door, praying Seth’s wife wouldn’t answer again.
    For some reason, it irritated him even more when Brandon was the one to open the door. The last few days had been hell for Wade, and Kimber was just as miserable. All because Brandon thought he could fuck with their heads again. The least he could do was look like he gave a damn.
    Wade brushed past him to walk into the house. Everything was covered in dust sheets, and the walls had been stripped of all the family photos. A pile of boxes sat in a corner, still waiting to be unpacked, and Wade had to wonder if Brandon had been honest about staying in Chelwood. “Do you mind telling me what your fucking problem is?”
    “Come in, why don’t you.” Brandon smirked, and Wade knew he was going to have to hit him if he didn’t stop. But Brandon raised his hands in surrender before Wade could do anything. “Sorry. I don’t mean to sound so glib all the time. That’s just a stupid thing I always do when I’m on the defensive.”
    “What are you defending yourself against—me and Kimber? Two people who welcomed you into their lives with open arms just so you could throw it back in their faces?”
    Brandon smiled again, but this time he looked so sad that Wade couldn’t get mad at him for it. “Ah, but that’s just it. It’s your life—yours and Kimber’s. I was never meant to be a part of it.”
    “But you’ve always been a part of us, even when you weren’t here.”
    “That’s not true. I watched you two together that night. You and Kimber are perfect for each other…and you don’t need me messing up what you have together.”
    Wade stared at his friend, wondering how he could be so smart, yet so dumb at the same time. “Made for each other, huh? I’ve spent half my life lying to myself about who I was, and Kimber’s never gotten over you. That doesn’t sound too ‘perfect’ to me.”
    Brandon shook his head. “It’s better than anything I’ve ever had the good luck to find. Even with all that going against you, you found each other and made it work. To see you two together takes my breath away.”
    “Hey,” Wade said, crossing the hall when Brandon wouldn’t look at him. “You know what perfection is? It’s having every want, every whim…every damned desire I could ever have, met by the two people I care about most in the world.”
    “That’s just your dick talking.” Brandon tried to laugh off Wade’s words, but the expression in his eyes told a different story.
    Wade put his hand on the back of Brandon’s neck, rubbing at the tight knot of muscle there. “It’s not. If sex was all I cared about, then Kimber is everything I need to be happy. If another man even looked at me the way you do, I think I’d punch him out.” Brandon smiled as Wade inched closer. “The thing is—we need you in our lives now. Like you said, you can’t unring a bell. Kimber and I have barely touched each other since the night you left. I’m not gonna lie to you. We did have sex once, but it just didn’t feel right because you weren’t there.”
    Brandon pulled away. “I dreamed of being with you and Kimber like this for years but never dared hope it could ever happen. But now that it has, I feel like a spare part. Sure, it works when we’re all together, but would you and I have a relationship if there was no Kimber?”
    “But there is, and I wouldn’t want it any other way. Would you?”
    “Of course not. But I know how things are between us when it’s just me and her. I don’t know how we’d be