Page 5 of That One Night (The Heartbreak Brothers Next Generation #4)

Chapter

Five

Hendrix handed each of his brothers a beer, then took a sip of his own. It was almost six, and he’d arrived back at his cottage to find them waiting for him, their cars parked in his driveway. Frank was nowhere to be seen, no doubt having found somewhere cool to sleep the afternoon away.

“To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?” he asked Pres and Marley. They looked like they’d both come straight from work – Pres from the construction site, and Marley from the fire station where he was the chief.

And as much as he loved them both, he knew they wouldn’t just casually drop in on their little brother for the fun of it.

“Mom asked us to check on you,” Pres admitted sheepishly, taking a mouthful of beer.

Pres and Marley were twins. Thirty-four, loud, loyal, and completely incapable of minding their own business.

And like most twins, they came as a set.

They were also both married with kids, much to their mom’s delight.

He’d always been the wildcard, the one his mom lost sleep over. Even at twenty-nine, he was still the worry line on her forehead. All he knew was that she worried about him often. And he didn’t like it. He just wanted to live a quiet life.

“Well you can report back that I’m fine,” Hendrix told them.

“She’s all worked up with this charity thing,” Marley said, shrugging.

She’d been working on creating a charity for the past two years, alongside their dad.

From the start, as the three of them were growing up, their parents had made it clear they wanted their children to make their own way in life.

That included them not inheriting their dad’s money from his rock music career before he settled down in his hometown.

Hendrix was fine with that. He didn’t want money he hadn’t earned himself, and he knew his brothers didn’t either.

They both encouraged their mom to create the Hartson Foundation – her way of helping the homeless in West Virginia – by building shelters and apartments where those less fortunate could rebuild their lives.

“Mom hates you living out here all alone. She thinks you’re lonely,” Pres murmured, taking a seat on the swing that had been here when Hendrix moved in.

“She also thinks you’re living in squalor,” Marley added, his mouth curling at the thought.

“And she isn’t wrong,” Pres pointed out. “He is living in squalor. But he’s not lonely. Didn’t you see the pair of women’s panties at the top of his laundry pile?”

“You’re looking through my laundry?” Hendrix frowned. “You got some kind of dirty clothes fetish?”

Pres rolled his eyes. “I used your bathroom, remember? I had to pass your laundry room. So what is it? Are they yours?”

Marley chuckled.

“None of your business.” Hendrix shook his head, glancing over at the Reed Farmhouse again. It had been a week since his encounter with Emery. He’d glimpsed her once or twice but nothing more.

Okay, there was more. But most of it was in his imagination. Maybe his mom was right, he was lonely.

But not for company. For feeling alive. For seeing a woman half naked in his field after losing her clothes to Frank.

For seeing her.

He blinked that thought away. He wasn’t interested. No sir. And even if he was, she was taken.

By Trenton Montclair.

“So, whose are they?” Marley asked. He was the quieter of the twins. But apparently right now was when he chose to speak up.

“Nobody important.” Maybe he should let them think he had company. They could report it back to Mom. She’d at least stop worrying for a while. But then… it felt wrong. Letting them think that those panties meant anything.

They belonged to Emery. And he was enough of a damn gentleman to not want anybody to think badly of her.

“Frank found them,” he said. And he immediately regretted it.

“In your bedroom?” Marley asked.

“You having sex in front of goats now?” Pres added. The two of them started to laugh.

“He found them outside. Somewhere.” For fuck’s sake. Hendrix rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands. He loved his brothers, he really did. But they were as nosy as shit.

He’d chosen to live out here because he wanted peace. But maybe peace didn’t want him.

“Where did he find them then?” Pres asked, a grin on his face. “On your land?”

“I don’t know. You know Frank. Wanders around.”

“He’s a ladies’ man,” Marley said.

“A ladies’ goat,” Pres pointed out.

“A nannies’ goat, if you want to be specific,” Hendrix said, feeling tired now.

“Yeah, well those panties didn’t belong to a nanny goat. There are only two leg holes.”

Marley frowned. “You think a goat’s panties would have four leg holes? Wouldn’t that be like a bodysuit?”

Pres blinked, like he was seriously thinking about it. “Hmm, that’s a good question. All I know is that no goat was wearing those panties. They were delicate. Pretty.”

“Will you stop talking about the damn panties?” Hendrix muttered. “They’re not your concern.”

Because seriously, they were making his head ache. And it was wrong. They were Emery’s. Nobody should be looking at them. Especially not his asshole brothers. “And stop sneaking around, looking at my stuff.”

“He’s calling the panties his stuff,” Pres said to Marley, completely unperturbed by Hendrix’s outburst.

“I noticed.” Marley nodded, looking almost serious. “He seems very attached to them.”

“He probably takes them to bed at night,” Pres agreed.

“Will you both fuck off?” Damn, he was tired. He loved his brothers, but right now he craved silence.

His brothers sniggered. “Just doing our brotherly duty.” Pres cleared his throat. “You are being careful, right?”

“Jesus.” Hendrix shook his head. “Now, was there anything else you wanted to talk about, or are you here just to sneak around the house?”

“Mom wants to know if you’re ever going to come for lunch one Sunday. And Delilah keeps asking after you, too,” Pres added. “She misses her Uncle Hendrix.”

Hendrix winced at the mention of his eleven-year-old niece. He’d barely seen her since he came home to Hartson’s Creek. “It’s a busy time on the farm. And I work most Sundays.”

“At least try some time. Mom cares about you, man. It hurts her when she only hears news about you from Uncle Logan.”

Hendrix swallowed hard. “I’ll try.”

“Which means you won’t,” Pres said. “Come on. Just come for an hour. Or I’m gonna start spreading rumors about those panties.”

Hendrix narrowed his eyes. “You wouldn’t.”

“No he wouldn’t.” Marley was always the peacemaker. “But please try to come. For Mom. We’re meeting at their place after church.”

Hendrix let out a breath. “Okay, I’ll try.” He meant it this time, and his brothers knew it. That’s why they both took a mouthful of beer and nodded, not bothering to push the conversation anymore.

“Hey, who’s that?” Pres asked. Hendrix followed his gaze over the road to the Reed farm, where Emery was standing on the porch, talking on her phone.

She was wearing a pair of shorts and a tank again.

No surprise with this heat. He noticed her legs had gotten more golden – she must have been working out on the farm.

He pulled his gaze away.

“Emery Reed,” he murmured.

Pres’ lips curled. “Don’t let mom know a pretty woman’s in the house next to yours.”

“She’ll be delighted to hear that pretty woman’s engaged to Trenton Montclair,” Hendrix pointed out. As much as for himself as for his brothers. Because there was something about Emery that pulled him in. Not just the fact he’d seen her half naked.

“Montclair,” Marley murmured. “Isn’t he the asshole that planted weed in your locker at school?”

Hendrix nodded. “The very same.”

Because Montclair had been jealous that Hendrix was chosen for the varsity football team, and he hadn’t.

The little shit had made it clear how pissed he was by getting Hendrix into so much trouble that his mom had been called in to see the Principal, causing her to miss their dad’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

It was years ago, but it still stung. The memory of his mom’s disappointment still rankled. She’d been hurt by him and hated not being able to support his dad.

Marley wrinkled his nose. “What the hell does she see in a guy like that?”

“She probably likes the bad boys.” Pres grinned.

“Shame though,” Marley said. “She’s pretty.”

Yeah, she was. But she was also everything he’d sworn to avoid. Messy, complicated and tempting as hell.

But for once in his life, Hendrix was trying to be the kind of man his mom didn’t have to worry about.

“Honey, is Trenton planning on coming to see you soon?” her mom asked, trying to keep her voice casual, even though Emery could tell there was something on her mind.

“I don’t think so. He’s having to work weekends to get everything done.” It wasn’t a complete lie. He was super busy at work – he always had been. But she hadn’t spoken to him for the last week. For all she knew he was living his best life on the weekends.

The funny thing was, she didn’t care.

“Actually,” she said, because she wanted to shut this conversation down fast. “He said that he might have to fly west for a couple of months. There’s a project in Arizona that needs his attention.” She lifted a brow. “He’s so sorry he can’t be here.”

“Oh.” Her mom frowned. There was clearly something bothering her. Emery felt her jaw tighten. “It’s just that people are asking questions.”

“What kind of questions?” Emery asked. She’d been here for just over a week now, spending most of it collecting paperwork and trying to get as much detail about the farm as she could to answer all the realtor’s requests.

“I saw Chrissie Fairfax at the dress shop,” her mom murmured. “She was saying how strange it was that you were here and your fiancé wasn’t. It’s not like Charleston is a million miles away. He could at least come down on a Saturday afternoon to see you.”

Emery’s stomach tightened. For a minute she considered coming clean. But she couldn’t stand the thought of the tears and the recriminations.