“What have you been up to lately?”
“Nothing much. Sariah and I are going to be in town this weekend to look at wedding venues. If you’re around, maybe we can grab dinner Saturday night or brunch on Sunday.” He didn’t live that far away, but only came back to Broken Bend when necessary. He thought we grew up in a shithole, but Sariah thought our small town was charming and wanted to have their wedding downtown. Duke had to be madly in love with her, or he never would have considered it.
“I need to get that dress back to her that she loaned me.”
“That’s right. How did the event go?” he asked.
I hadn’t told him I was set up on a blind date. Even at age twenty-five, he still thought I wasn’t old enough to make good decisions. “It was great. Guess who I saw there?”
“The Calhoun brothers?”
“No. Henry Maxwell.”
The connection went silent.
“Did you hear me?” I asked.
He grunted like a disgusted grizzly bear. “Yeah, I heard you. I hope you didn’t talk to the bastard.”
“Of course, I did. He seems good. Even asked about you.”
“Stay away from him, Dev. He’s no good.”
“What the hell ever happened between the two of you? You used to be so close. Then all of a sudden, one day you hated him.” At least that’s how it seemed to me.
“He’s a prick,” Duke spat out. “Promise me you won’t talk to him again.”
“He’s a dad now. His son is about five, and he’s adorable.”
“Stop, okay?” Duke let out a deep sigh. “I’m not going to get into it with you, but you know I’ve always had your best interest at heart. He’s a fuck up who’s never going to amount to anything. Keep away from him. Promise?”
Duke had always been there for me. No matter what was going on with our mom, he’d been the one who picked me up from school, made my lunches, and got me on and off the bus. He was more like a dad than a big brother, even though we weren’t that far apart in age.
“Dev? You still there?” he asked, his voice soft and low.
“Yeah, I’m here.” My chest squeezed. Why couldn’t the two men I loved more than anything get along?
“Promise you won’t let him sink his fucking claws into you? You don’t know him like I do.”
“Yeah, okay.” Duke wouldn’t let it go until I promised, even if I wasn’t one hundred percent sure I intended to keep my word. It wouldn’t do any good to bring up Shirley. My brother wouldn’t think anything of telling me to avoid Henry, even if it meant Shirley wouldn’t make it.
“So, I’ll see you this weekend?”
“Sunday works best. I’ve got too many things to do around the farm on Saturday.” Duke wouldn’t risk stopping by the farm unless he knew I was expecting him.
“All right. See you then, Sprout.” With the threat of me seeing Henry again dashed, his good mood returned.
“See you then.” I hung up, more confused than ever. Whatever had happened between them had to be more serious than I thought. If Duke wouldn’t talk about it, I had to get Henry to say something. Otherwise, I may as well give up on the hope that anything would ever happen between us. Without my brother’s support, it couldn’t.
7
HENRY
Ifelt like a kid on Christmas morning as I drove toward Devyn’s farm. The anticipation of seeing her again had my nerves switching back and forth between butterflies in my stomach and wanting to hurl the homemade biscuits and gravy Lou Ellen had insisted on serving this morning.
The piece I made for Shirley sat in the center of the backseat. If my boss found out I’d used company resources, he’d probably write me up. It would be worth it, though, to see the look on Devyn’s face if it worked out. Besides, he’d never know. I’d been careful to work on it when no one else was in the lab. Nobody would miss the scraps I’d used to build the prosthetic. I was ready to finally be Devyn’s hero.
She was standing outside the barn waiting for me when I pulled in. Last weekend she’d looked adorable in the too big overalls that hugged her curves. Now she looked like a sexy farmer in a pair of jeans and a button-down plaid shirt that did little to hide the tank top underneath and her amazing chest.