He’d earned it through a great deal of hard work and sacrifice.
Starting tomorrow, he vowed, his relationship with Jess would be entirely different.
Glancing over at her house, he wondered what she would think about the brand-new Nick Mi—
Her front door opened and Tony emerged into the light of the porch lamp.
Nick watched numbly as his brother turned up the collar of his jacket and hurried down the sidewalk in the opposite direction.
Suddenly, he felt a hundred years old.
Six
Nick walked into his house to discover his brother seated on the couch watching television, a can of beer in his hand. Nick had taken a long drive to cool his anger, but the sight of Tony making himself at home brought it all back again.
“Hi,” Tony said. “Just thought I’d stop in and—”
“Did you and Jess have a good laugh after I left?” Nick asked caustically, cutting off his brother’s greeting.
Tony stared at him in clear amazement. “What!”
“Don’t play innocent,” Nick said between clenched teeth. He should have known Jess Brannen wasn’t quite what she seemed. “I know you were at her place tonight. Probably upstairs in her bed. I’m not as stupid as you like to think I am, little brother. Or as stupid as you are. She’s playing you for a fool, Tony. I know, because she’s trying to play me for one.”
“Are you finished?”
“Damn straight I am.”
“Good,” Tony said calmly. “I’m not sixteen, Nick. And she’s not Janet.”
Nick’s anger died instantly at the mention of his ex-wife. “That incident never once came to mind, Tony.”
“I’m glad to hear that.” Tony stood up and walked over to him. “Jess Brannen is a nice woman. She wouldn’t try to seduce her husband’s brother, and she wouldn’t run her husband into debt for thousands either. Janet was a bitch from the first. It just took you a little while to see it.”
“I know.” Nick took a deep breath and slowly let it out. He remembered all too well when Tony had run away shortly after moving into Nick and Janet’s home, after their mother had died. It had taken three days to find him, and about two minutes to discover that Janet had been trying to get a mixed-up, grieving sixteen-year-old into her bed. The only thing Janet had succeeded in was finally showing her true self.
Still, that didn’t explain to Nick why he’d seen Tony coming out of Jess’s house right after him. But it was him Jess had kissed in the office trailer, not Tony. That needed some explaining, too, and he braced himself for the worst. Tony had never lied to him, but Nick knew he’d prefer a lie right now to hearing that his brother and Jess had an intimate relationship.
“So why were you at her house tonight?” he asked, as calmly as possible.
“That’s none of your business,” Tony said flatly. “But I’m going to be nice about it. Before you condemn us to the gallows, you might like to know that I only saw Jess to apologize about the practical joke. I didn’t know that she had this landscaping thinggoing on with you. When I heard about it from Sandy, I knew I might have made things difficult for her with the job. That’s the only reason I went to see her.”
“That doesn’t explain why I didn’t see you inside the house.”
“You no sooner knocked on the door, when she started shoving me toward the nearest hidey-hole while babbling something about your thinking she’s the ‘original fun-time girl.’ ” Tony shook his head. “She didn’t think you’d believe I was there for an entirely innocent reason. I thought you would. Obviously, you really are more stupid than I think you are.”
Nick tried to digest the information. “You mean, she didn’t want me to see you because I might think you were there for more than an apology?”
“Which you thought. Admit it. After I saw her, I came here, as I’d originally planned to do before going back to Columbia, to insure that you wouldn’t hold against her that damn joke I
Starting tomorrow, he vowed, his relationship with Jess would be entirely different.
Glancing over at her house, he wondered what she would think about the brand-new Nick Mi—
Her front door opened and Tony emerged into the light of the porch lamp.
Nick watched numbly as his brother turned up the collar of his jacket and hurried down the sidewalk in the opposite direction.
Suddenly, he felt a hundred years old.
Six
Nick walked into his house to discover his brother seated on the couch watching television, a can of beer in his hand. Nick had taken a long drive to cool his anger, but the sight of Tony making himself at home brought it all back again.
“Hi,” Tony said. “Just thought I’d stop in and—”
“Did you and Jess have a good laugh after I left?” Nick asked caustically, cutting off his brother’s greeting.
Tony stared at him in clear amazement. “What!”
“Don’t play innocent,” Nick said between clenched teeth. He should have known Jess Brannen wasn’t quite what she seemed. “I know you were at her place tonight. Probably upstairs in her bed. I’m not as stupid as you like to think I am, little brother. Or as stupid as you are. She’s playing you for a fool, Tony. I know, because she’s trying to play me for one.”
“Are you finished?”
“Damn straight I am.”
“Good,” Tony said calmly. “I’m not sixteen, Nick. And she’s not Janet.”
Nick’s anger died instantly at the mention of his ex-wife. “That incident never once came to mind, Tony.”
“I’m glad to hear that.” Tony stood up and walked over to him. “Jess Brannen is a nice woman. She wouldn’t try to seduce her husband’s brother, and she wouldn’t run her husband into debt for thousands either. Janet was a bitch from the first. It just took you a little while to see it.”
“I know.” Nick took a deep breath and slowly let it out. He remembered all too well when Tony had run away shortly after moving into Nick and Janet’s home, after their mother had died. It had taken three days to find him, and about two minutes to discover that Janet had been trying to get a mixed-up, grieving sixteen-year-old into her bed. The only thing Janet had succeeded in was finally showing her true self.
Still, that didn’t explain to Nick why he’d seen Tony coming out of Jess’s house right after him. But it was him Jess had kissed in the office trailer, not Tony. That needed some explaining, too, and he braced himself for the worst. Tony had never lied to him, but Nick knew he’d prefer a lie right now to hearing that his brother and Jess had an intimate relationship.
“So why were you at her house tonight?” he asked, as calmly as possible.
“That’s none of your business,” Tony said flatly. “But I’m going to be nice about it. Before you condemn us to the gallows, you might like to know that I only saw Jess to apologize about the practical joke. I didn’t know that she had this landscaping thinggoing on with you. When I heard about it from Sandy, I knew I might have made things difficult for her with the job. That’s the only reason I went to see her.”
“That doesn’t explain why I didn’t see you inside the house.”
“You no sooner knocked on the door, when she started shoving me toward the nearest hidey-hole while babbling something about your thinking she’s the ‘original fun-time girl.’ ” Tony shook his head. “She didn’t think you’d believe I was there for an entirely innocent reason. I thought you would. Obviously, you really are more stupid than I think you are.”
Nick tried to digest the information. “You mean, she didn’t want me to see you because I might think you were there for more than an apology?”
“Which you thought. Admit it. After I saw her, I came here, as I’d originally planned to do before going back to Columbia, to insure that you wouldn’t hold against her that damn joke I
Similar Books
