It seemed we were at a stalemate then, neither of us willing to budge an inch regarding our personal lives. I knew my entire family was going to be putting their noses into my relationships until the day I died, but that didn't mean I needed to make it easy for them. If they were going to be nosey pricks, then they were going to have to work for it at least.
"Are you two done with your dick measuring contest?" Aspen asked, stifling a yawn. "Or should I go get a tape measure and y'all can just whip it out and be done with it?"
Both Nick and I turned our glares on Aspen at the same time, making our youngest brother squeak as his eyes went wide, hands held up in surrender. One glance at each other and Nick and I both set our glasses down, then we’re out of our chairs at the same moment, launching ourselves at Aspen.
He screamed bloody murder as we dragged him out of his chair and onto the ground, beating him with decorative pillows. Nick and I laughed our heads off as Aspen struggled to get away from us. He wasn't a small man, but against the two of us, there was no way in hell he was going to be able to turn the tables.
At least not until Nick turned on me and started swinging his pillow in my direction. As I fought to defend myself, Aspen was able to squirm away and get a pillow off his own before returning with a vengeance, coming after the two of us, his pillow swinging wildly.
"Y'all having fun down there?" came a feminine Southern drawl.
All of us froze in place, expecting it to be our mother having come to chastise us like she'd done so many times in our youth. But it wasn't Mom standing there in the doorway, arms crossed and glaring at the three of us. It was Gabrielle, who'd grown up considerably since the last time I'd seen her. She'd just barely been into womanhood back then. Now, standing there glaring at us, she looked every bit as intimidating as Mom used to.
But that wasn't the worst part. Standing right behind her, trying to fight back giggles, were Holly and Jade, their eyes alight with humor.
Quickly, the three of us stood up and straightened our clothes and hastily put the pillows back where they belonged. Gabrielle may have been quite a few years younger, but damn did she know just how to make us feel like a group of mischievous teenagers. Which probably wasn't hard since we were three grown men having a pillow fight like a group of preteens.
When the three of us exchanged looks though, we all grinned. As much as they drove me up the fucking wall, it really was good to be back amongst my brothers. I couldn't remember the last time I'd done something so childish, so fun. And I suddenly realized what had been missing in my life. I truly did enjoy my work, but it wasn't fun. I needed more fun in my life.
Peace and quiet helped me relax in the evenings, but laughing with my brothers relieved more of the tension in my body than a week of quiet ever would have done.
11
Christian
I hadn't realized just how long I'd been up there chatting with my brothers. What had seemed like just a brief conversation had apparently been over an hour. Enough time for Holly to have introduced Jade to Gabriella and the two had seemingly become friends.
After the women had interrupted our brotherly bonding, we'd all retreated downstairs where Mom had food waiting for us all. Even though Nick had plenty of kitchen staff to handle everything without anyone having to even lift a finger, Mom still loved being in the kitchen. And even though she'd moved out a long time ago, leaving the family ranch to Nick, there wasn't a doubt in anyone's mind that it was still her kitchen.
"You know," Aspen said, keeping his voice low. The two of us stood off to the side, sipping on fresh made lemonade, watching the gathered group bustle about. Jade hadn't known anyone a couple hours ago, but already everyone seemed to have welcomed her into the home with open arms. "Nicky wasn't wrong. It's pretty obvious she's more than just your secretary."
Letting out a sigh, I shook my head. I'd thought I was keeping my thoughts private, but apparently my brothers knew me too well for that. I just hoped that was the only reason they were able to read me. I hoped I wasn't being obvious enough for Jade to have noticed. "She is just my secretary," I replied. I tried to keep my voice even, but even I heard the tinge of sadness in it.
"You haven't told her how you feel?" Aspen looked at me, eyes wide. You'd have thought I'd just told him I was secretly a Russian alien acrobat or something equally as otherworldly.
I shrugged, then took a sip of my lemonade. "Like Nick said, I don't date people I work with. It's usually not a good idea to mix business and pleasure." The look Aspen gave me was more than enough for me to know what he was thinking. This was mixing business and pleasure. And he wasn't wrong. There was no denying it.
"Just tell her. If you really like her, why hide it? I've seen her glancing over at you, too. Maybe she feels the same way. Why else would she come all the way out here with you?"
I flinched, knowing exactly why Jade was out here. I'd practically blackmailed her into coming with me. While I hadn't truly meant my threat of making sure she never worked in town again, she probably didn't know that. She probably assumed if she didn't accompany me to Texas, I'd have gone through with it and tanked her career.
I could have done it easily. I
