Page 24 of Brett and Rowdy (Gomillion High Reunion #5)

“So this is my place. It’s got three bedrooms, three bathrooms. Well, it’s got a bedroom, a guest room, and then there’s an office. And my man cave.”

He rolled his eyes. “Of course you have a man cave.”

“Of course I have a man cave.”

The first thing Brett noticed was the windows, which ranged the whole entire side of the house.

They were floor-to-ceiling windows, the light just pouring in.

The walls were painted white, and there were a bunch of exposed wood beams on the ceilings, mantel places, and built-ins.

Everything was either wood or white and there was a mixture of age and clean lines that suited him to the ground.

The fireplace stood to one side of the living area, built in this huge U and along the sides of the U lay padded seats that were obviously meant for someone to warm their feet.

The furniture was good quality, of course, but simple, really—couch, chairs, nothing fancy.

And the art that hung on the walls looked exactly like expensive hotel paintings. He figured why should Rowdy care?

Rowdy needed one of Brett’s coffee tables here. No question.

From the windows, he could see that this house was built before the open concept became popular, and there were halls and tons of rooms as opposed to one big space.

Directly ahead of him was a French door and a doggy door, which led out to some sort of big patio area. Mr. Mann started pulling when he saw the doggy door.

“Is it all right?” he asked. “If I let him out?”

Rowdy nodded to him. “Of course, it’s all fenced in over here.

He won’t be able to get lost. The worst thing that’s going to happen is that some of the big guys are going to come through.

” Rowdy leaned against a built-in bookshelf filled with stacks of books chosen for their color rather than their content.

“So how this works is there’s a big fenced-in area that kind of encompasses all three houses, and there are gates in between.

So think of it as literally three full yards that are connected.

The gate between mine and Maddie’s always stays open and it’s pretty much the same with my dad—unless one of the shepherds eats all his bread or something, and they get banished.

So the worst thing that’s going to happen is that Mr. Mann’s going to wander into either Dad’s or Maddie’s.

Don’t worry, there’ll be a shit-ton of German shepherds to help him decide where to go. They’re very opinionated, these guys.”

“Fair enough.” He unhooked Mr. Mann’s leash and walked out to look at the backyard area. It was beautiful; no grass but there was a nice solid fence, a grill, a hot tub. Lots of seating. “This is nice. You said you had a pool?”

“I do, but it’s covered in an inside enclosure so I can use it year-round.”

Spoiled bastard . Mr. Mann traveled outside, his big feet flopping and kicking up some dust. “This is an amazing place, man.”

“It’s been in the Duran family for generations.

I love it. I think the front foyer with its big curves is the thing that people comment on most. That’s the place we leave open to the paying guests, and they can come sit and have a drink in the evenings.

We offer fancy wine tastings and cheese pairings.

” Rowdy rolled his eyes. “Madison’s idea.

We’re more bratwurst and beer as a family, but whatever.

And they can stop there and watch the sunset and it’s really pleasant. We get good reviews on it.”

“But not your thing,” Brett guessed.

Rowdy snorted. “Well, last time I saw a sunset was fifteen very long years ago.”

“So when you work, do you work in here?” Brett glanced around, picturing a big ranch office.

“I have an office, sure, but there are a set of offices in my dad’s house, and it opens up into the actual working part of the ranch.

So that’s where we all tend to work. The buyers meet there.

The BLM guys. All that stuff. It’s a big area, and really…

” Rowdy shrugged. “I’ll be honest; I really like to keep strangers out of this part of the house.

I don’t like when things are aggravated around here. ”

That must have driven Rowdy crazy when Madison was a little one. “So did y’all build Madison her own place?”

Rowdy shook his head. “No. That used to be my gramps and granny’s.

They lived there their whole lives. They passed away in a car accident together about a year and a half ago.

And so, it just seemed logical she take that space.

They were going to give it to her and move into a condo closer to Santa Fe.

In fact, that’s what they were doing when they had their accident. ”

Ouch. He winced, because he had to. “Damn, I’m sorry. That sucks.”

“Yeah, it was hard, but…” Rowdy shrugged. “That’s out of my hands.”

“Really? That’s enough for you. Just… it’s out of my hands?” He didn’t think he could be that cool.

Mr. Mann looked to be okay. He was snuffling and snorting his way around, so Brett let Rowdy lead him through into the small, if perfectly fancy, kitchen area.

“This is one thing that I have to admit, man. After I lost my sight, there have been many times in my life where I just had to say, ‘it’s out of my hands.’ Otherwise I would have lost a lot of years screaming into the void about why this and please God that.

It’s a simplistic way to live, and I get that.

But it helps me keep my shit together, and that helps me raise my kid and run my business and have a good life.

I’m happy, you know. Even with all the challenges, I’m so lucky. ”

“Well, I—” He had no idea what to say to that. He didn’t get it, but he didn’t suppose it was his business to. If it worked for Rowdy, that was good enough. “I like the fireplace.”

“There’s one in every room except for the kitchen. This is the old adobe, and so literally, this house was built before there was heat. I mean, we have a furnace now, but there is a fireplace in every single room.”

“So… speaking of rooms…” He really needed to know where he was staying.

Rowdy grinned. “Yeah?”

“Are you and me? I mean…” God, he was an idiot.

“If you’re going to ask whether or not I want you to sleep in my bedroom, then yes.

If you want your own room, you’re not going to hurt my feelings one bit.

Well, maybe a little bit, but I will totally understand.

Then there is a guest room. And from everything I’ve ever heard, it’s perfectly nice.

It used to be Madison’s when she was a little girl, so it’s probably still pink, but it’s perfectly nice. ”

“Pink, huh?” Brett chuckled. “Well, that might put me off my feed, so I guess I’ll have to stay with you.”

“Anything to keep you hale and healthy, man.”

Brett had to kiss that smile. Had to. So he closed in, giving Rowdy plenty of time to feel him, and he took the kiss he wanted so bad, listening to Mr. Mann’s happy play bark, which he knew so well.

Someone was making friends.

Rowdy hummed against his lips, but they parted when Madison called to them. “Come eat before it gets cold, you two!”

“Coming!” Rowdy patted his hip. “We’ll pick this up later.”

“We so will. And I can take my bags to my room anytime.”

Mr. Mann set up a howl, but his head was down, his butt was up, and his tail was going ninety to nothing. He was going to be fine.

“Come on.” Rowdy led him back out the door and to a huge communal kitchen where they had an eat-in table that looked like something out of a southwest style magazine—all rough-hewn wood and native rug-type fabric. The carving made him whistle in appreciation.

“That’s hand done.”

Rowdy’s dad nodded. “My cousin Santiago.”

“Nice.” He plopped down in a chair next to Rowdy.

Rowdy’s dad held out one hand to shake. “I don’t think my rude son introduced us fully. I’m Ezra Duran, and you’re Brett.”

“Kilpatrick. Yes. Pleased to meet you, sir.”

“You want iced tea or a beer, Brett?” Maddie asked. “We have Bud Light and Dos Equis.”

“Tea is great for now.” He would bet the Dos was Ezra’s, and he wasn’t going to presume. He’d get him some local microbrew IPA when they went out next.

“Cool cool cool.” She got everyone a drink, and bingo, the Dos Equis went to the older Duran.

“Thanks, baby girl. Now sit down and eat.” Rowdy looked so different without the glasses he’d been wearing all this time, and Brett felt honored to get to be one of the people Rowdy was comfortable with.

Blake’s was definitely a cut above Sonic, though he still loved his favorite burger joint. But damn. So good. And the green chile, which they had gotten on the side for him, made Brett sweat.

“God, that was good.” Brett leaned back when they were done with burgers and onion rings and everything that was good about fast food.

Madison winked at him. “Come on, Pappy. Come sit with me in my front room and talk, and I’ll show you all the stuff I got in Fort Worth. That way, Daddy can go ahead and get Brett settled in like he was supposed to before dinner.”

Rowdy’s soft, warm chuckle told him that he knew exactly what Madison was up to.

Brett had to admit he didn’t mind. In fact, he was grateful.

Full as a tick from the food, he was also pretty tired from the trip, and he was a little overwhelmed by the house.

He didn’t want to make a fool of himself in front of Ezra, either.

“I’d like that, baby girl,” Pappy said. “Can I bring my dogs?”

“Sure. You should go get them. You know I don’t care about dog hair on the couch.”

It felt a little dizzying, how all of them had their own space. His head swam with having to listen to them talk about a front room, because he didn’t know exactly where that was supposed to be.

“What kind of dogs do you have?” he asked Ezra.