How the hell had everything gotten so fucked up so quickly?
Chapter Nine
By the time Saturday rolled around, Brantley could see the light at the end of the tunnel for the project they’d spent the week working on. Hadn’t taken much to get the stairs installed. From there, they’d added a railing to the loft level, manufactured hardwood to the plywood floors, then installed a window because JJ said some natural light would be good.
Turned out, the two of them worked well together when it came to building projects. Brantley was rather impressed with how well they’d done for amateurs. And he knew they’d done a damn fine job when JJ had given her approval. Granted, she wasn’t talking to him much, but she had stopped by on Wednesday to check in. She hadn’t stuck around long, insisting she was working from home until they were finished. He took it as a good sign that she’d come by every day after that.
Brantley was giving her a wide berth, not sure where they stood but hoping like hell they’d find their way soon enough.
And while the work had gone smoothly, the interactions between him and Reese hadn’t. No conversations had taken place, the barn filled with music in an attempt to avoid having to talk. That had been Brantley’s doing. He could tell Reese wanted to talk, and as much as he wanted to clear the air between them, Brantley wasn’t ready yet. However, he did hold out hope that they would eventually be friends again.
One day.
Not that he wanted to think about that. He was exhausted, both body and mind. It had been a successful week with the exception of one more migraine last night. Once the pain had subsided, he should’ve been able to catch some z’s but sleep eluded him.
If Brantley had to guess, he had managed at least three hours of shut-eye every night since Reese walked off his back porch and right to his truck. It had been enough to keep him functioning on a physical level, but his brain was getting foggy. He needed a good eight hours, preferably ten to catch up and reboot his system.
Since he’d tossed and turned all last night, too, he would have to wait until tonight to try again.
If only his fucking brain would shut off. If thoughts of Reese didn’t plague him at all times. When he was lucid, he could easily tell himself he was damn tired of this roller coaster ride with Reese. He should’ve expected it would come down to this.
But in the dark of night, he longed for those stolen moments. Hell, he would’ve been content to simply have Reese there with him.
He hated himself for wanting the man so damn much. And he got the feeling he could easily convince Reese on a do-over. He’d spent the week working alongside him, knew a conversation was in order. Brantley could’ve instigated a chat, forgiven him for what had happened. Reese would likely be in his bed right now, waking up beside him.
Temporarily.
It all boiled down to one thing. Reese was curious, not committed.
And that, Brantley knew, was only a recipe for disaster. There was no way anything could come of this unless Reese was all in, the way he’d said he was. The guy had lied. All there was to it.
But Brantley wasn’t going to sit around and mope about it. He had shit to do, starting with a five-mile run.
After setting a new personal best for five miles, Brantley hit the shower, got dressed, and headed into town. He called JJ, invited her for breakfast. If she wasn’t going to make the effort to clear the air between them, he had to. And he would do it by treating her to breakfast and pretending all was well between them.
“Uh-oh, what’s wrong?” she said as she approached the booth he’d secured for them.
“Nothin’,” he lied. “Why should somethin’ be wrong?”
Her gaze was unsettling, bouncing over his face as she took a seat across from him. “Did you sleep at all last night?”
He offered a shrug, glanced down at the menu. “Headache. Got a coupla hours. You?”
She laughed, the sound a bit too forced. “More than you.”
Brantley met her gaze, held it. “You talk to Dante?”
Her eyes narrowed. “I wouldn’t call it talkin’, but yes, we managed to settle things. Or rather, end things. It was inevitable.”
He couldn’t quite gauge her mood, but he sensed she was not too upset over the loss.
JJ motioned the waitress over. “Can we get two coffees and two waters?”
The waitress nodded in response, sauntered off.
“Where’s Reese?”
“Not his keeper,” he grumbled.
JJ nodded, giving him that look that said she had it all figured out. “Y’all have another fight?”
“Nope. Nothin’ to fight about.”
Her green eyes narrowed. “All right, Walker. Enough of this shit. You invited me here. I came. We’re gonna hash this out right now. No way are we lettin’ our love lives come between us.”
