“Cody!” He had to shout to make himself heard over the racket his brother was making.
Cody whirled as if he’d been shot. “What the hell do you want?” he demanded. “Who let you in?”
“Since there’s no one here except you and me, I guess the answer to that is obvious,” he said lightly, hoping to calm his younger brother down by staying cool himself. “So, what’s going on?”
“What does it look like?”
“It would appear that you’re packing.”
“A hell of an observation. No wonder they pay you big bucks in Houston.”
“Want to tell me what this is all about?”
“Not particularly. I just want to hit the road.”
“To go where?”
Cody paused for a minute and a fleeting expression of indecision passed over his face. It was rapidly chased away by an all-too-familiar look of stubborn defiance. It was the one trait the Adams men shared in spades.
“Who knows?” he said.
“Sounds like you’ve really thought this through,” Jordan commented dryly.
“Look, I didn’t invite you here,” Cody snapped. “And I don’t need to listen to any of your pompous sermons.”
“You must have me confused with Daddy.”
Cody almost grinned at that, then caught himself. “Jordan, just stay out of this, okay?” he said in a calmer, more resigned tone. “Please.”
“I don’t think I can do that. You’re obviously upset about something, too upset to be taking off without thinking things through.”
Cody slammed the suitcases shut and headed for the door. “Your opinion is duly noted,” he said as he exited.
Jordan watched him go and counted to ten. Cody tore through the front door, steaming mad.
“What have you done with my keys?”
“Tucked them away for safekeeping,” he admitted. “I saw the way you were driving earlier. You’re not getting back on the road until you cool down.”
Cody crossed the room in three strides and stood toe-to-toe with him. Cody was only an inch or so taller, but he was broader through the shoulders. If it had been anyone other than his brother, Jordan might have been intimidated. With Cody, though, he stood his ground. There was too much at stake for him to back down now. He was willing to risk a black eye and a tender jaw, if that’s what it took to keep him here, at least for tonight.
“Give me the keys,” Cody demanded, his hands balling into fists.
Jordan met his furious gaze evenly. “I can’t do that,” he said softly. “You know I can’t, Cody.”
Apparently Cody recognized the note of determination in his voice. As if he were a balloon that had been punctured, Cody seemed to deflate before his eyes. He combed his fingers through his hair and sighed. “Damn.”
“Come on, little brother. Sit down and tell me what this is all about,” Jordan encouraged. “Did you and Daddy have a fight? You know how muleheaded he is. He’ll give in eventually, though.”
“This isn’t about Daddy.” Cody’s mouth twisted in a mockery of a smile. “For a change.”
“Melissa?”
There was a haunted look in Cody’s eyes when he finally lifted his head and met Jordan’s gaze. “I caught her out with my best friend,” he admitted. Every painful word seemed to be wrenched from deep inside him.
“Maybe it was totally innocent,” Jordan said, standing up for the girl he knew absolutely worshiped his brother.
“Trust me, that’s not the case,” Cody said bitterly. “They were in each other’s arms. They didn’t have to spell it out for me.”
“So you’re going to run off and leave the field open for him to move in on her?”
“I’d say it’s a bit late to be worrying about him moving in. He’s claimed her as his already.”
“I don’t believe it,” Jordan said emphatically. “She’s crazy about you.”
“Maybe she was,” Cody conceded. “Not anymore.”
Jordan saw the anguish the admission cost him. Everyone in the family had teased Cody at one time or another about taking Melissa for granted. It appeared his baby brother had finally recognized the depth of his feelings for her, just in time to discover it was too late.
Cody met his gaze. “Will you explain to Daddy?”
“What do you want me to tell him?”
“Just that I had to get away.”
“You will be back, though, right?”
Cody’s gaze shifted away. “I don’t think so. I think it’s time I cut the ties to White Pines.”
“But you love it here, more than any of us,” Jordan protested, realizing at last the depths of Cody’s despair. “It’s in your blood.”
“I know,” he admitted, unshed tears visible in his eyes before he turned away to hide them. “Look, you can get out of here now. I’ll be okay.”
“I’m not leaving,” Jordan insisted stubbornly. “Sleep on this. Maybe in the morning things will look different to you.”
“Nothing will change,” Cody declared grimly.
“Just give it until morning.”
Cody tried to stare him down, but eventually he nodded. “If I do, you’ll handle things with Daddy?”
Jordan heaved a sigh of resignation at the renewed note of determination he heard in his brother’s voice. He knew in his gut that Cody wouldn’t be swayed. Under the same circumstances, he probably wouldn’t have been, either.
“I’ll do my best,” he promised. “On one condition.”
Cody regarded him suspiciously. “What’s that?”
“You’ll tell us where you are. You won’t cut yourself off from the family.”
His brother nodded. “If you’ll swear that none of you will ever tell Melissa where I am. I don’t want to ever hear her pitiful excuses for what happened tonight. I don’t ever want to see her again at all.”
Jordan thought his brother was protesting a little too much, but he agreed. “We’ll keep your whereabouts from her, if that’s what you want. I’ll see that the rest of the family agrees.”
“Jessie, too?”
Jordan grinned. Their sister-in-law was a soft touch when it came to romance. “Jessie, too,” he promised.
He bunked out on Cody’s lumpy old sofa. Eventually he went to sleep, still praying that by morning his younger brother would come to his senses. No matter what he’d
