Brothers

  She laughed weakly.

  "Hey." I pushed her face up to look at me. "That day, I told Zach that heaven had dropped a shiny star on our doorstep, and I stand by those words."

  Joelle scooted toward me and pressed her warm soft lips against mine. She was here, in my bed, with her body tucked against me. It was time.

  "Joelle, I know we let this get out of control. But just so you know, the one thing that has remained constant is that I'm nuts about you. I understand if you don't share those feelings, but I just needed you to know that I love you."

  "Thank goodness," she whispered and kissed me again.

  She sat up, and I watched as she unbuttoned the shirt, my shirt. She pushed it off her shoulders. In the shadows of the room, her beautiful breasts pointed at me, inviting me to touch them.

  I reached up and drew a circle around each nipple, causing them to tighten into rose colored buds. Joelle climbed over me, straddling me with her long legs. Her pussy was already hot and moist as she rubbed it over my stomach and scooted back so that my cock was nestled tightly against her ass.

  I reached up and took hold of her face, pulling her mouth down to mine. She moved farther back, and my tongue drove into her mouth as my cock drove into her pussy. She mewled against my mouth as I filled her. I moved my hips, slowly pumping my cock into her as her sweet lips pressed against my mouth.

  She sat up and braced her hands on my chest, making my cock go deeper as she writhed over me. Her breasts bounced above me. I reached up to cup them in my hands, lathing my callused thumbs over her nipples.

  "Fuck, baby, I could stay buried inside your pussy forever."

  "Promise." The word came out breathy and faint, but it made the blood surge through my veins. I pumped harder and faster. Her fingers clutched at my chest as she pushed back, meeting my thrusts with her own. Our bodies slammed together, making the bed smack against the wall and the floor beneath us creak.

  I grabbed hold of her hips, holding her firmly over me. She sat straight up. I watched as she stretched her arms back behind her head, pushing her breasts up high. They bounced erotically as she absorbed each of my blows with her pussy. Her eyes drifted shut, and her lips parted with a moan.

  "Fuck yes, Jesse. Yes." Her legs squeezed against me and her nipples tightened with a pink blush as her pussy clenched around my cock. "Oh, Jesse," she sighed as the shuddering waves slowed.

  She opened her eyes. A smile tilted her lips as she braced her hands against my chest again. "Harder, baby," she said against my mouth.

  I gripped her hips and pushed into her fast and hard, pumping small sounds from her lips as I slammed into her over and over. My body clenched and I pulled her off of me, as I came.

  She leaned down and kissed me. "Guess we're going to need some birth control if we're going to make this a regular thing." Her long hair hung around my face as she gazed down at me. "Are we going to make it a regular thing?"

  I stretched my arms up and pushed her hair back off her face. "That all depends on what you mean by regular."

  She sat up and traced some of the lines of my chest tattoos. Her lips twisted as she considered it. "Once a day would be good."

  "Huh, only once a day?"

  She dropped down next to me, ducked under my arm and cuddled against me. "Well, maybe twice on weekends." She scooted even closer.

  We lay there in the quiet, dark room, listening to the crickets outside.

  She turned and rested her head on my chest. "I wish Zach would come home."

  I curled my arm tighter around her. "Me too."

  29

  Joelle

  Bear trotted into the kitchen with his snout held high in the air, his nose twitching excitedly at the smell of sizzling bacon. Jesse followed behind with almost the same gestures, only his nose wasn't preceded by a long snout.

  I laughed. "If ever there was a chance to record my million hit video for YouTube that was it. The two of you look like you have tiny bacon stars floating around your eyes."

  Jesse grabbed a cup of coffee. "Bear and I have similar tastes, in bacon . . ." He wrapped his arm around my waist and kissed the side of my neck as I concentrated on my task of frying bacon. "And women. That dog knew from the start that you were the woman he wanted in his life. He never warms up to anyone, but he took to you as if you were—"

  I turned my head and looked up at him. "Made of bacon?"

  "I was trying to think of something a dog might worship. I guess bacon works." He sat down with his coffee. His long legs splayed out beneath the table. "I've got to go over and help Sundance this morning. He's trying to rebuild an old Indian motorcycle."

  I placed a plate of food in front of him. He sat forward and picked up a strip of bacon. "I'm almost finished with the bowie knife."

  "I noticed you worked late last night." I shrugged. "I suppose that was made clear when I tiptoed into your room and climbed into your bed."

  "A nice way to finish the work day if I do say so." He bit off a chunk of bacon and tossed a second piece to Bear, who sucked it out of the air and swallowed it.

  "How does the knife look? Collector quality?"

  Jesse nodded and sat back with a satisfied smile. "I think I would make my great granddad proud."

  "I'm excited to hear it." I forked up some eggs. "Zach will be proud too."

  "Yeah, that jerk. All this time I thought he was just bitchin' at me to be annoying, you know, like an older brother. But he knew I had it in me."

  We both grew quiet, each of us thinking our own thoughts as we scrambled the food around our plates.

  I put my fork down, suddenly not as hungry as I thought. "Should we be worried?"

  Jesse didn't answer at first, which made me, of course, worry. "I think I might know where he went. It came to me last night when I was working. There's this woman, she's a young widow whose husband died logging on a mountaintop. She grew up here in Tanglewood and went to school with Sherry. She lives on the other side of the mountain range now, where she and her husband built a cabin. It's a friends with benefit kind of thing. Zach hasn't gone to see her in awhile. Her husband died about the same time Sage left him, so Zach went there a lot in the beginning. They seemed to find comfort in each other's heartbreak. Nothing ever came of it. They just get together every once in awhile. I think he might be there."

  Immediately, even though I was feeling a pang of jealousy that Zach had gone off to find comfort in another woman's arms, I felt relief knowing that he was not alone.

  "Hey, Joey, don't worry. We'll get this all straightened out when Zach comes back."

  "I think it's more straightened out than you realize. Zach knows."

  Jesse looked across the table at me. "How the hell? Shit, up until last night, I just figured you were distraught because Zach was gone and . . ."

  "I am distraught. I think I caused him to leave. That day when you two found me walking my bike during the storm, I ran to your arms. Honestly, I hadn't even made a conscious choice to do it. I just saw you with that cute look of concern on your face and I rushed for your arms. Zach left after that." I picked up my plate and scraped the eggs into Bear's bowl.

  Jesse followed me to the sink with his dishes.

  "Zach has given his heart to someone." I turned on the sink. "He knows it too. He just needs to figure out what to do about it."

  "You sure do have us Coltrane boys all figured out." He kissed me. "I'll be back in a few hours."

  "Say hi to Sundance for me."

  I puttered in the kitchen for another fifteen minutes, cleaning out some old food from the fridge and drying the dishes. The sun was bright today, giving the towering evergreens surrounding the property an emerald glow. I had to work on memorizing song lyrics for tonight's show, but I decided there was time for a walk.

  Bear seemed to read my mind. He'd cleaned up all the leftover eggs and stood at the back door wagging his tail to go out. "I'll get on my shoes and join you in a second." I opened the door, and he trotted outside.

&nb
sp; I walked into the bedroom. I'd mentioned to Jesse more than once that I was planning to move out regardless of how things turned out. I needed a place of my own, and Jesse and I needed a new start on this relationship. As much as I enjoyed living in their house, I looked forward to my independence. It had been a long time coming.

  I tied my shoes and headed to the back door. As I opened it, I heard Bear's low growl roll across the yard. It seemed he had trapped another squirrel on the roof of the shed and had decided to torture it for a bit.

  I bounded down the back steps and headed in the direction of the shed. I rounded the house and stopped cold. My heart slammed against my ribs as my breath lodged in my lungs.

  Bobby turned his attention away from the snarling wolf hybrid for a second. His friend, Tim, a guy he played football with in high school and who was as big as he was stupid was standing behind Bobby, looking equally freaked out by the growling dog. As Bobby turned my direction, I spotted the gun in his hand. It was something he'd begun carrying when bookies were after him trying to collect gambling debts.

  "Joelle, if you want to keep this dog alive, you should put him in that shed. Because if he takes one step toward me, I'm shooting his head off."

  Just hearing the sound of Bobby's voice sent an ice cold chill through me. Fear for Bear's safety got my feet moving from the spot they'd been frozen to. I hurried over to Bear.

  "C'mon, boy, it's all right. C'mon." It took a few more minutes of coaxing before Bear listened. He walked into the shed, and I shut the door. Bear immediately started barking and scratching at the door. As terrified as I felt, I was relieved Bear was safe.

  I turned back around. "Why the hell are you here, Bobby? Better yet, how the hell did you find me?"

  His arrogant laugh was more of a snort. It was a sound I'd always hated. I took a breath as he stuck the gun in the back of his waistband. He pulled a crumpled piece of paper out of the pocket on his shirt. Before he even unfolded it, I recognized it as the flyer Junior had printed for the band. He stared at the paper. "This band has a pretty singer who looks just like you. Not that I needed the flyer. The video of you singing in that dive is all over the fucking internet. I guess you thought you could just take off without a word. After all I did for you, you owe me."

  "All you did for me?" It was my turn for an angry laugh. "Every minute with you was pure hell. When I saw that boxcar pass by, I thought it's time to leave this monster behind for good."

  His sneer made me want to jump at him and pummel him for every shitty thing he’d done to me.

  "I see you found some suckers to take you in. Apparently, two brothers who are well known in town. Didn't take us long to find out where you worked and where you lived."

  "You were at my work yesterday. You were the creepy guy who came in to the shop. Shit, I should've figured that out when I heard the word creepy. Well, Jesse and Zach will be here any minute, so you should get out of here. And please don't come back." I lifted my chin and hurried past them. Bobby lunged out, grabbed my arm. Tim loomed behind us like a brick wall.

  "I figure you're making some sweet money singing, so I'll take what you owe me. Then I might consider leaving here without putting my handprint on your face." His lurid gaze raked over me. "Or on some other part of your body."

  I'd been under this beast's control for so long that I still hadn't forgiven myself for letting it happen. It was a piece of my life that I would never get back. I wanted badly to erase him from my memory forever. My time in Tanglewood had begun that painstaking process. I'd just started to feel like a free, happy human again, but seeing Bobby had renewed all my hatred and disgust for him. But I was no longer his mental and physical prisoner. I was free.

  I looked him straight in the face. "You fucking pig, I will see you in jail if you don't release me right now."

  "Give me some money, and I'll think about walking away from you. Nah, on second thought, those lips were always hard to ignore." He yanked my arm hard enough that it felt as if my shoulder was about to pop from its socket. I cried out in pain. I swung my free hand toward him and gouged his face.

  Bear's loud, angry barks rattled the small shed. Bobby looked back with fright to make sure the dog hadn't gotten loose. With his attention elsewhere, I pulled my arm free. I stumbled forward a few steps and slammed directly into Tim. I knew Tim to be a massively built bully who used his size to scare people. He was also stupid enough to still think Bobby deserved admiration like he had in high school, and because of that, he basically did anything Bobby asked of him.

  His arms were like big meaty hooks gripping me. There was no way to pull away from his grasp. My first instinct was to slam my foot down hard on his. I went heel first into the top of his foot. He yelled out, and his first instinct followed. His hand flung across my face, knuckles first. My brain reverberated in my skull. Everything went dark for a second before the searing pain took over. I felt my stomach lurch and nausea swept over me. My cheek and the side of my head throbbed. My vision hadn't cleared, but my survival instincts kicked in. I brought my knee up, planning to land a good thump on his balls, when my arm was wrenched hard pulling me away from Tim.

  Bobby grabbed me against him. Even though it was happening in real time, everything after that felt as if it was moving in slow motion. The cold, hard barrel of a gun pushed against my temple. Bobby's stale booze breath wafted across my face, bringing back the waves of nausea. I was still in a sickened daze as I watched Tim drop to his knees, a tight grimace on his face and trying to clutch his back. I blinked twice at the tall figure standing behind him, wielding a long knotted branch from the firewood pile.

  "Jesse," I sobbed, unable to stop the surge of emotion.

  Bobby's grip on my arm tightened as he held me in front of him like a human shield and kept the gun against my head. There had been many times I'd felt scared shitless when I was with Bobby, many times when I felt his temper and strength would be the lethal combo to end my life. But the gun against my head took my fear to a whole new level. Everything I cared about flashed before me, Lolly, wonderful Lolly who died of a gunshot. Would I suffer the same fate? I was equally terrified that something would happen to Jesse.

  Jesse kept his eyes on me, supporting me with his courageous gaze, as he moved closer. My heart was pounding so loud, I was sure everyone in Tanglewood could hear it.

  "Let her go, and I'll let you walk out of here without incident." Jesse took another step toward us.

  "Stop there or she's dead." Bobby shoved the gun harder against my temple.

  Tim had regained his breath and pushed to his feet. He lumbered like a giant angry troll toward Jesse.

  "Jesse, watch out!"

  Tim's giant fists arced through the air as Jesse spun around to defend himself. It wasn't a direct hit, but Tim clipped Jesse's shoulder hard enough to throw him off balance. Before he could regain it, Tim's massive shoe plowed into Jesse's chest. He landed hard on his back, and I heard him suck in air. The wind had been knocked out of him.

  "No!" I screamed as Tim lifted that same monstrous foot.

  As he brought it down to stomp on Jesse's chest, Jesse rolled out of the way. Tim fell forward to one knee. Jesse jumped up and kicked him straight in the face. Blood sprayed from Tim's nose and mouth. It seemed as if the ground beneath my feet shook as he fell back.

  Jesse was at least fifty pounds lighter than the overstuffed moose he was fighting, but he gave it to Tim good. His fist doubled down on the damage his kick had done. Tim looked as if he was seeing stars as he struggled to his feet. As Jesse drew back, Tim seemed to have shaken loose the dizziness. He roared as he lunged at Jesse and took him down to the ground. His full weight landed directly on top of Jesse. As Jesse struggled to breathe, Tim plowed his fist into his face.

  He drew back to hit Jesse again. I screamed and swung my leg back to strike Bobby's knee with my heel.

  "Fucking bitch!" Bobby squeezed his fingers so tight around my arm I was sure my bones would break.

  The edge
of the gun ground against my temple as he growled against my ear. "Maybe I'll just take you into that shitty old house and fuck you while Tim pulverizes your pretty friend.”

  His mouth pressed against my neck, but he pulled it away quickly and yelled out. From the side of my eye I could see the gun fly away from his hand. Then his hand disappeared behind him. The hand nearly breaking my arm fell away too.

  I looked back. Bobby's face was red with pain and as he dropped to his knees, I saw the reason for his sudden change of heart.

  "Zach!" I cried.

  Zach shot me a wink and then returned to his task of causing Bobby horrible pain. He had Bobby's arm wrenched up in a completely unnatural position, and he took great pleasure in wrenching it higher.

  The turn in events had pulled Tim's attention away from Jesse, who was still on the ground, bloodied and bruised. Tim raced toward Bobby and Zach, with a look of murder in his eyes. It seemed his blind loyalty to Bobby had never dimmed. Stupid, stupid man.

  I shoved my foot out as Tim raced past. He stumbled forward clumsily, his big head and bulbous arms pulling him forward even faster. Zach shoved Bobby right into his staggering friend. Their heads smacked against each other, and the cracking sound that followed made both Zach and me grimace.

  The hit was hard enough to cause Bobby to face plant into the hard dirt. But Tim had a little more flab around his big head. He fell to his knees, stunned by the collision, but still very much conscious.

  Zach pointed down at Bobby. "I take it this is the asshole you ran from."

  I nodded. Tears flowed so fast now that I wasn't sure if I would ever be able to contain the hurricane of emotions rushing through me.

  Bobby was hardly moving, but Zach kicked him hard in the side. Bobby groaned in pain. Tim was shaking off those same damn stars again as he tried to figure out just what the hell had happened.

  I spun around and ran over to Jesse. I knelt down next to him. He opened up his eyes and squinted in pain as he peered up at me, trying hard to get his focus. "Did I just hear my brother crack some heads open?"