Heartbreak's Reward (Double Dutch Ranch Series: Love at First Sight Book 2) (35 page)

Brenna stood, and said, “You two please excuse me for a minute. I’ll be right back,” and she headed to the bathroom.

As soon as she was out of sight, Dane asked, “What’s up with the gorgeous blonde? I’m really glad to see you with someone. Sorry about the intrusion, too. I didn’t mean to catch y’all off guard. I probably should have called.”

“Yeah, she’s a lot more than any old someone that’s for sure.” He realized how much she did mean to him when someone else mentioned it. She was definitely more than
any
someone. “She’s perfect for me, that one.”

“I’m happy to hear, Jase. Any news on the kids? I haven’t heard anything much since you were looking for them in Yuma. No luck on that trip?”

“Not a word.” It was another reminder he had come home without them that night, and he sure as hell didn’t want to dwell on it right now. Tristan had followed through with checking on his friend, Gary Strong, but didn’t get anywhere either.

Dane poured wine into his glass. “Well, if you ever find that bitch, let me know. I got a lot of friends, if you know what I mean.”

“Oh, come on, don’t be saying that kind of stuff. I lived with a thought like that for months. I just want Jaelle and Joey back. It doesn’t matter what she’s doing…as long as no harm has come to my kids. That’s a whole other subject.”

When Brenna came out of the bathroom, she asked Jase if they were ready.

Dane turned toward her. “Sorry to barge in like this, honey.” He stood and pushed his chair in. “I’ll run on over to Mom’s and pick you up later, if you want, Brenna.”

“That’s nice of you, but I need to get home. You both go visit with your family.” Brenna picked up her purse. “I’ve heard a lot about Jase and Tristan’s little brother, and I’m pleased to finally meet you.”

Jase stood beside Brenna and slipped his arm around her waist. “We can go if everybody’s ready.” On the way to the truck, he said to Brenna, “How about coming to my mom’s with us?” He opened his truck door for her. “Call and see if Chloe’s still over there. We’ll have a party.”

“Hey, dude, we’re having a party tomorrow. They don’t know it yet, but we are.” Dane laughed and tossed his bag into the truck bed.

Jase turned back to her. “What do you say, honey? At least for a little while.”

“Chloe is home now.” She got in his truck and slid to the middle. “Remember I’ll be with my sister tomorrow at the martial arts class? I need to be with her after Davy leaves tonight so we can talk.” Brenna turned to Dane. “It’d be great if you took me on home. I hope to see you tomorrow though.”

“Don’t worry, sweetie, you will. You’re invited to the party that no one knows about yet. Betcha anything Mom will be cooking up a storm.” He glanced around Brenna. “Eh, Jase?”

“You can put money on that.” Jase was still getting over the shock of hearing his little brother’s voice. Not to mention almost getting caught with his pants down. He laughed to himself.
Good thing she has long fingernails and struggled with the button.

“Well, Dane, I won’t miss your party.” She hooked her seatbelt and winked at Jase when he wrapped his arm around her. “I’m so happy for you all to be together.”

Jase gave directions and Dane rolled down the ranch road, turning left when he got to the 60. “How long you home for this time.”

Dane hesitated and Jase peeked over at him. A quiet enveloped the truck cab. He knew not to push his brother about his military life, even with a simple question such as he just asked.

“Ah, only a couple day’s this time, I’m sorry to say. Enough time to get Mom upset, I suppose. I weighed the options and decided coming home was the best even for this short time.” He made a turn in the direction Jase told him. “If everything goes well, I’ll be back soon. But…there’s a big mission coming up…that’s all I can tell ya, J.C.”

Jase remained quiet, but he squeezed Brenna tighter. Seeing his brother again was so good, but the short time would only make the family miss him more. It choked him up that when he left, he could end up anywhere in the world and they’d never know. Brenna cuddled close to him as if she sensed his need, her fragrance floating through his psyche like a sedative.

When they pulled up in front of Brenna’s, Jase said, “Come in with us a minute, Dane, and meet Chloe. Davy might as well get a shock too. I see his truck’s still here.”

“What else is new?” said Brenna with a subtle sigh. “He’s grown on me though. I give him that.”

Jase motioned for Brenna to go ahead through the door. Chloe and Davy were sitting on the sofa watching TV. Davy jumped up. “I’ll be damned! Dane, that’s you, dude?” He went to him and reached for his hand. “I haven’t seen you in forever.”

“Shit, I wouldn’t have recognized you on the street. You’re all grown up.”

Davy glanced back at Chloe. “Yep, I sure am.” He brushed his hair out of his eyes and went back to the sofa.

“Chloe,” began Brenna. “This is Jase’s youngest brother. He popped in tonight.”

She stood like a young lady and went to shake his hand. “My God, another brother, but I hear you’re a soldier instead of a cowboy. Anymore brothers in your family?” she said to Jase.

“We’re it. Don’t let him fool you. He’s a cowboy at heart.” He patted Dane on the back. “Trust me, the three of us can sometimes seem like a dozen. Wait until our cousin Caulder gets thrown into the mix. All he tries to do though is get us on a practice barrel. He thinks we should be bull riders like him.”

Jase didn’t mind at all when Brenna invited Dane to take a seat. Especially when she took his hand and dragged him into her bedroom, saying she had to show him something. “What do you have to show me, sweetheart?”

“My lips against yours.” She kissed him. “I wanted to say good night without an audience. A part of my insides is still yearning.”

“I’ll have to brother-proof my house. That’s the second brother who played a part in interrupting my sex-life with a striking woman.”

“I’m so glad you get to see him.”

Jase closed the door. He lifted Brenna to the bed and eased atop of her. “This isn’t how I expected our night to end, baby.” He moved to his side and ran his hand over her breasts. “I want you to remember what this feels like when you go to bed tonight.” Pushing her dress above her thighs, he slid his hand underneath.

“If you do this you’ll make me nutty and I might scream.” She caught his hand. “Next time,” she whispered.

“You’re right, I can’t walk out of this room all excited. Getting caught once tonight is bad enough, but I’m thrilled my little brother is home.” Jase stood and straightened his shirt, hair, and his body. He held out his hand to Brenna. “I better get him over to see Mom before they all go to bed.”

“I’d love to see the look on her face.” Brenna slid her dress down. She walked over to her dresser and turned the lamp on.

“You could have.” He hauled her close. “I can’t get enough of you, woman. Make me leave.”

“No.” She snickered. “I don’t want you to, but you must.” She turned and opened the door.

“Stop by tomorrow after Chloe’s class. Let me know how it went.” He kissed her again. “Good night, doll. I sure love you a lot.” Taking her arm, they returned to the living room and Davy was gone.

Jase walked over to his brother and clunked him in the head. “Let’s go see Mom, dude.”

When Jase and Dane left, Brenna dropped to the chair. “Whew, what a long day. The restaurant was fabulous, Chloe. So romantic.” For a brief moment she reflected on what Jase said about weddings being held there, her thoughts at the time catching her off guard. Would Jase even want to be married again after the hell he went through?

“So what’s with the other brother? They all look alike, but different too, you know. This one has light hair.”

“They do look a lot alike. The new one, Dane, is the youngest. Those three Carlson guys sure do have those pretty blue eyes and muscles to die for. Jase’s are the best of course,” said Brenna, chuckling.

“You’re a little prejudice, sis.”

Brenna stared into Chloe’s eyes. It’d been a long time since she called her sis except for the other day. She liked the sound. “So what about class tomorrow, sweetie?” She moved to the edge of the chair.

Chloe peered at her for an instant but looked away. “The instructor said I can come in to observe a class and to bring gym clothes.”

“Yeah? Is that your plan?” Brenna shivered and brought the light blanket around her shoulders, sitting to the back of the chair again. A vision she didn’t want to see raced through her memory, seeing in her minds-eye her two sisters on the mats going through their forms in perfect unison.
Will I be able to do this?
She had been so focused on whether or not Chloe would be able to handle it, not thinking of herself.

Chloe went to the kitchen and made a sandwich. “Do you want anything to eat, Brenna?”

“No thank you.” She tried to keep the sound of her voice upbeat. “We had so much to eat earlier.”
And drink.
“The wine was delicious.”

Chloe came back and took a seat on the sofa. She lowered the volume on the TV. “About tomorrow. I will give it a try, but I’m not getting a uniform yet.” She took a bite of her sandwich and Brenna sensed her thoughts ran rampant as she took her time chewing her food and looking into space.

Another little piece of her heart melted away, noticing what seemed to be Chloe’s anxiety. She was so glad to have her sister back, and it made her realize how important this move had been for both of them.

“It’ll be a mixed class, so it won’t be so bad walking in with only black belts. I came
so
close to getting mine.”

“And maybe you still will…right?”

Chloe didn’t say anything. Brenna rose from the chair. “I’ll be right back, I need to change.”
Oh, this will be hard.
Before she got to the hallway, Brenna turned. “Dane said they’re having a party at his mom’s tomorrow.” She laughed. “But, Judy doesn’t know it yet!” She came back and asked Chloe to unzip her dress. “Will you go to the party with us? I can almost guarantee Davy will be invited, or he’ll do his usual pop in.”

“I’ll go, but it doesn’t matter if Davy is there or not. I made some friends. I like it over there at Judy’s house. Destiny is hilarious… If you have her in your class you’ll need some mats because she’ll have you on the floor.”

***

They sat in the parking lot for at least fifteen minutes. “The class has started, Chloe.” Brenna viewed her sister beside her in the front seat, her seatbelt still on. She wore black workout pants and a purple t-shirt. Her hair was pulled into a ponytail. Protective gear remained in the backseat, and as far as Brenna knew, it hadn’t been taken out of her bag for two years. She could be wrong. “What’s your biggest fear about going inside?”

Chloe peered at her, a blank stare on her face. Her eyelashes fluttered and she looked away again. “We didn’t do one class apart. She was always with me.”

Brenna took a minute to collect her composure because Chloe was right. They did every single class together, every test, and all the events. “She still is. Jordann is with you each day.”

“Bren…she’s gone!”

Oh, God. Oh, God…gone. All of them.
She reached for her sister’s hand. “You don’t have to do this.”

“Yes, I do.” Chloe brushed a tear off her cheek. “I have to go on…” She stared at Brenna. “We both do. Remember I said I was tired of mourning? It’s true, but how? How do I stop?” Taking a deep breath and wiping her eyes, Chloe paused and Brenna died a little more. “Maybe I need to face this as the first step.”

“Chloe, how did you get so grown up?” She wrapped her arm around her sister’s shoulder. “I love you so much. We will get through this.”

“Let’s do it,” said Chloe. She removed her seatbelt and opened the door, pulled the seat forward, and took her bag from the back.

Brenna gathered her strength, got out, and went around to stand in front of her. “If this starts to go bad—”

“We’ll leave and never speak of it again. Never.” Chloe turned toward the door. “Come on, sis.”

Following Chloe inside, the immediate smells of the gym area hit Brenna in the face—the rubber mats, sweaty bodies mingled together.
Familiar
.
Jordann!
She took a deep breath. They sat at the end of the first row of chairs. Looking around, it wasn’t too crowded—about ten students on the floor and three black belt instructors, some doing one-on-one training.

One of the black belts, a young guy, came toward them, knelt in front of Chloe and introduced himself as James. He was the one Chloe had talked to on the phone and had expected her. “Do you plan on staying after class today?” he asked.

“I’m not sure yet. I did bring my gear.” Chloe stood and so had James.

“Take your time, observe and see if we fit what you’re looking for. You’re welcome to come back another day, too, if you’d like. If you stay after, we can do a bit of sparring. I’d like to see where you’re at in your training. We’ll see. Definitely go through a few forms.” He glanced back toward the mats. “Let me know if you have questions while you’re here. Thanks for considering us.” He nodded to Brenna before leaving.

She watched as he stopped at the mats, bowed, and walked on toward his students. When they began their warm-ups and forms, a stab hit Brenna in the gut. All she could see was leaving that night and the girls were laughing, proud they had accomplished another step in their training. Their parents waited in the parking lot, and they had all planned on going to dinner. That’s why Brenna had been with them that night.

She couldn’t breathe. “I’ll be right back, Chloe.” Brenna almost ran to the nearest bathroom when she left the gym, went into a stall and leaned against the door, unable to stop crying. She clutched her chest, closing her eyes, and imagined holding Jordann in her arms, so wanting to inhale the smell of her hair. Different from Chloe’s. Jordann insisted on being different that way. She’d joke saying she might look like her sister, but she didn’t have to smell like her.

Deep breath, Brenna, breathe.
Away from it for two years now seemed like yesterday. The ache returned like it had just happened. She hugged and rocked herself.
Chloe needs me. I need to get out there.
Taking three rapid breaths, Brenna dropped her arms to her side and slowed down her breathing, but she couldn’t stop crying. “I miss you so much, Jordann.”