“Tuck. I’ve known you since we were eighteen. We’ve both done some stupid shit. But there is nothing in you that isn’t good.” Cain paused for a moment. “And it sounds like you’re already what she needs.”
I wanted so badly for that to be the truth. Because I knew deep down that things were changing. That hope that I could burn out this fire between us, so all that was left was easy affection and friendship was a distant memory.
I wanted more. I wanted everything. And that scared the hell out of me.
30
Jensen
“I can’t believeyou guys were going to keep this from me.” Walker picked up his drink but his gaze stayed focused on me.
I sighed and took another sip of my beer. My brother was never going to let me hear the end of it. After I’d told my mom everything that had happened with Cody, she’d told my dad, who then spilled the beans to Walker. “I just didn’t want you to lose it and do something stupid.”
Walker scowled at his whiskey. “You think I have no self-control or something?”
Tuck grunted. “Not when it comes to your sister.”
Walk took a sip of his drink. “Like you’re any better.”
Taylor reached over and placed a hand over Walker’s. “This is not helping Jensen get her mind off things.” She gave me a sympathetic smile across the table.
After Walker had calmed down from losing his shit over Cody’s actions, Taylor had suggested that we all go out to get our mind off things. At first, I’d resisted, not wanting to leave Noah’s side, but he was asleep with my parents standing guard downstairs, and I’d been outvoted.
I’d called my lawyer, who was doing everything he could to move along my filing for the termination of Cody’s rights. Tuck promised that he was working an angle, too. So, there was nothing else I could do. I took another swig of beer. There was nothing else I could do unless you considered murder. And that was the backup plan playing on a steady repeat in my brain.
A hand reached over and squeezed my thigh. I glanced to my left, my gaze catching on Tuck. His silent support was always what I needed. I hated that we couldn’t be more careless with our displays of affection. I hated that it made that jealousy spike inside me when I looked at Taylor and my brother.
That’s not what this is.Friends with benefits, I reminded myself. But something told me my traitorous heart had forgotten those rules.
“Jensen?”
I jolted at the sound of Taylor’s voice. “Sorry, what did you say?”
Taylor laughed, but her gaze danced between Tuck and me. “I asked how things were going with your new hire? She seems super nice.”
I took another sip of beer, trying to get my emotions and nerve-endings under control. “Kennedy’s great.” I paused. “Well, other than the fact that she’s a disaster in the kitchen. She’s great with the drinks, the customers, the register. But when it comes to baking, she gives you a run for your money.”
Walker chuckled, and Taylor smacked him in the chest. “I’m not that bad.” Walker just stared at her. “Okay, fine, but I’m getting better.”
Walker wrapped his hand around the nape of her neck. “Short-stack, you almost burned down the kitchen yesterday.”
I covered my mouth in an attempt to conceal my giggle, but it wasn’t long before the entire table had given in to the laughter. I felt the energy beside me shift before I saw anything. An unidentified tension floated through the air. I looked at Tuck, who had gone stone-still, his jaw hard, his eyes blazing.
I followed his gaze. Sitting on a stool at the bar was Tuck’s father. But that wasn’t what had Tuck boiling. Craig stood with his arm wrapped around a woman who was not Tuck’s mother. He bent, whispered in her ear, and then pressed his lips to her neck. I sucked in a breath.
Tuck began to rise up out of his chair, but I clamped a hand on his thigh. “Don’t. He’s not worth it.”
Tuck’s gaze landed on me, and the raw pain I saw there stole all the air from my lungs. “I have to. He can’t do this to Mom.”
Tuck shook off my hold and headed towards his father.
“Shit,” I muttered and began to stand.
Walker reached out and grabbed my arm, a look of confused concern on his face. “What’s going on?”
I met my brother’s gaze. Every now and then, he could be so damn oblivious. “Tuck’s dad is a cheating asshole.”
Walker’s eyes flared, shooting to Craig at the bar. I pulled my arm out of his grasp and headed over.
