Brazen (Brazen 1) (23 page)

Zane found Seth standing on the edge of the food plots, staring out into the distance. His stance was stiff, troubled. Zane didn’t waste time on pleasantries or pretending he wasn’t out here to talk to his brother.

He came to stand beside Seth and looked sideways at him.

“You’re hurting her.”

Seth turned his brooding stare on him. “Don’t you think I know that?” He shook his head and returned his gaze to the land. “As much as it’s hurting her, it’s hurting me more. I don’t know that I can share her with anyone. Not even you. I don’t know if I can accept that I can’t make her happy by myself. Provide and care for her alone.”

Zane didn’t say anything for a long moment. Seth’s concerns weren’t anything that hadn’t crossed his own mind more than once.

“I understand,” he finally said, because what else was there to say? Seth would have to make his own decision and in his own time.

“It’s probably too late anyway,” Seth mumbled. “She might hate me after tomorrow.”

Dread niggled at Zane. “What have you done?”

Seth stuffed his hands in his pockets. “Her brother is arriving tomorrow.”

Zane stiffened, an unknown fear skating down his spine. “What the fuck? Seth, you know how she feels about that. Why would you blindside her like that?”

Seth shook his head. “I wasn’t thinking. I was reacting. And now it’s too late. He knows she’s here, and he wants to see her. You and I can’t deny him that.”

“It’s not up to us to deny or allow him anything,” Zane said bluntly. “It should have been Jaz’s decision. Not yours.”

“I know,” Seth said quietly.

“Are you going to tell her?” Zane demanded.

“Tonight.”

Zane looked away. Jaz would be upset. She’d see it as one more way Seth was trying to push her away and by association, he would be damned as well.

“I never tried to come between you and Jasmine,” Seth said. “I knew she loved you, too. I won’t lie and say I wasn’t jealous, but I never tried…”

“I know,” Zane said quietly.

“You don’t mind that the woman you love is fucking another man?” Seth asked in a strangled voice.

Zane was silent for a time. This was too important. Too important to Jaz for him to get hot-headed and fuck it all up.

“It’s not just another man,” he finally said. “It’s you. You love her as much as I do no matter that you might say differently. And she loves us both. How could I ask you to deny your feelings for her?”

He turned and walked back toward his truck. Seth being Seth would need to stew and brood. Zane was too worried about how Jaz would react when she found out her long-lost brother was coming to visit.

Jasmine dressed slowly. Her body was still in a languid state from Seth and Zane making love to her. In truth, all she wanted was to go back to bed and hold those memories close. Both men loving her, touching her, filling her.

She trudged down the stairs and looked around for Carmen. For Seth or Zane. But it was quiet. In the kitchen, she found a note on the fridge from Carmen saying she’d gone grocery shopping and would be back later.

She rummaged around for a snack, but it was tasteless on her lips. She chased it down with water and walked over to the window to look out. Seth and Zane were nowhere to be seen. She set her glass down in the sink when she heard the front doorbell.

With a frown, she turned around to go answer the door. They didn’t get many visitors out this way, though it could be J.T. dropping in. If Seth and Zane weren’t around, he wouldn’t just barge in the house.

She gripped the knob and swung it open, startled to see a man standing on the doorstep, an odd expression on his face. He was handsome, maybe around Seth’s age. His hair was the same dark shade of brown, almost-black that hers was, and when she stared into his eyes, she saw her own looking back at her.

“Jasmine, my God, is it you?” he said in a strained voice.

He started forward, enfolding her stiff figure in his arms. She panicked and broke away, backing into the house as fast as she could go.

She bumped into Zane who wrapped a protective arm around her to steady her.

“Jaz, honey are you okay?”

“Who is he?” she stammered out, pointing toward the door.

Once he saw the man inside the door, he shoved Jasmine behind him.

“Who are you and what the hell are you doing in my house?” Zane demanded as he advanced menacingly.

“Zane, back off,” Seth said in a quiet voice.

Jasmine turned to see Seth standing behind her, a strange look on his face. It almost looked like fear.

“It’s her brother,” Seth explained.

Jasmine returned her gaze to the man standing just a few feet away. Her mouth fell open as shock spilled over her. Then she turned back to Seth.

“How could you?” she whispered. “Did you want me gone so badly?” She wrenched away from Zane, who had reached out to take her hand. She ran for the stairs, uncaring of the pain in her ankle.

Seth watched her go in despair. There was no way she’d forgive him for this. If he lived to be a hundred, he’d never forget the look of absolute hurt in her eyes.

“I take it I haven’t come at a good time,” her brother said.

“You weren’t supposed to be here until tomorrow,” Seth said pointedly. “I hadn’t gotten a chance to tell Jasmine about you yet.”

The man sighed. “I’m sorry. It’s just that I couldn’t wait any longer to see her.”

Seth walked forward. “I’m Seth Morgan. This is my brother Zane.”

Her brother reached out to shake his hand. “I’m Cody Quinn, Jasmine’s brother.”

“Where the hell have you been for the last six years?” Zane snarled. “Hell, longer than that. Where were you when she was eking an existence out on the streets, depending on survival from a man determined to sell her body to the first willing customer?”

Cody’s face went ashen.

Seth held up a hand. “Not now, Zane. We need to hear what he has to say before we let him talk to Jasmine.”

Zane pressed his lips together and looked away.

“Let’s go into the living room,” Seth suggested. “I very much want to hear what Cody has to say.”

Cody stood with his back to the two brothers, staring out the window a half hour later, after Seth had related how he and Zane had met Jasmine. “I never knew what had happened to her,” he said.

“When I learned of Mom’s death, I arranged leave and got back as fast as I could. They told me she was in a foster home. I went and talked to my CO and arranged for even more time away. I wanted to try and make a home for her. When I got back, though, she’d run away. I searched for her, did what I could. When I’d exhausted all my resources, I went back to work, but I continued looking. Over the years, it became easier to believe that I’d never see her again and the searches tapered off.”

He turned back around to stare at Seth and Zane. “Until I got your phone call a few days ago, I wasn’t sure if she was alive or dead.”

Seth could see the sincerity in Cody’s eyes. “I’ll be honest. I’m not sure Jasmine will agree to see you.”

Cody nodded. “I can understand. She probably feels as though I deserted her when she needed me most. But I’d like the chance to explain, at least to talk to her.”

“I’ll see what I can do. I can’t make any promises.”

Chapter Twenty-Nine

When Seth stepped into her room, he saw Jasmine standing in the window, staring out. He moved closer, and he could see the slight tremble of her body.

He slid his hands over her shoulders and down her arms.

“I’m sorry, Jasmine,” he said simply. “I shouldn’t have sprung this on you. I intended to tell you tonight.”

She turned slowly, her eyes haunted, hurt reflected in her emerald gaze. “Why is he here?” she asked in a small voice. “Why now?”

Seth sighed and pulled her into his arms. “I think you should talk to him, honey. Hear what he has to say. He’s very anxious to see you.”

“You want me to go,” she said dully.

He tightened his grip around her. The idea of her leaving panicked him. But it would be her choice. It wasn’t his to make.

He pulled her away and tipped her chin up until she looked him in the eye. “I want what is best for you. I always have.”

“You’re what’s best for me,” she whispered. “You and Zane. And Carmen. We’re family.”

She slid away from him before he could respond. “Is he…is he still here?”

“He’s downstairs waiting for you,” he replied.

She nodded. “I suppose I should go down.”

She looked toward the door and hesitated.

“Zane and I will be there, Jasmine. You won’t be alone.”

She nodded again and turned wordlessly to walk out. Seth followed her, concerned by the defeated slump of her shoulders. She was quiet on the way down the stairs, and when they reached the living room, she paused as if afraid to go in.

Zane looked up at the same time Cody did. Worry was reflected in both their gazes. Seth put his hand comfortingly on Jasmine’s back.

Jasmine stood there, staring at her brother, her
brother
, with a mixture of elation, sadness and fear.

Memories of her childhood ran through her mind. Her as a little girl, Cody smiling down at her. Cody and her mother arguing as she got older. That last terrible night when Cody had left and sworn never to return.

He’d left her.

Cody stood and walked cautiously toward her. He stopped a few feet in front of her and slowly raised his arms, holding them out to her.

Swallowing back her fear, she walked into his embrace.

He hugged her tightly, stroking her hair. “My God, Jasmine, I can’t believe it’s you.”

She didn’t respond. She closed her eyes and absorbed his hug. After several minutes in which he merely held her, he gently pulled away.

“There’s a lot I want to say to you, Jasmine. A lot we need to catch up on.”

She nodded.

Seth cleared his throat. “Carmen should be back soon. Will you stay for dinner, Cody?”

“If Jasmine wants me to,” he replied.

“I’d like that,” she said softly.

“Why don’t we get comfortable?” Zane suggested, making it clear he had no intention of leaving Jasmine alone with Cody.

Cody led her over to the couch, and she sank onto the cushions, grateful because she wasn’t so sure her legs would support her anymore.

She licked her lips nervously and focused her gaze on her brother. He was big, muscled. His years in the military had obviously honed his body. He still wore his hair short, and she wondered if he was still enlisted.

The silence was awkward and so she said something, anything to alleviate the strain. “Tell me about you?”

The question seemed ludicrous. He was her brother, and yet, here they sat, two strangers.

He reached for her hand, but she stiffened, and he pulled away. She balled her fingers into fists and kept them in her lap. She wondered if he was insulted by her rebuff, but she couldn’t bring herself to care.

“I’m married. I have a young son. He just turned one.” His expression softened as he spoke of his family. Hurt welled in her throat. His family that didn’t include her.

“Are you still in the military?” she croaked.

He shook his head. “Not for three years. I own my own construction company now.”

“Where?”

“Just north of Baton Rouge.”

“Not far from home then,” she said faintly.

“No,” he replied. “I never wanted to leave that area in case…in case you came back.”

She turned her chin up and stared at him. “Why didn’t you come back?”

Sadness and regret crowded his green eyes, eyes that were so much like hers. “I did, but it was too late. You’d already gone. I never should have cut myself off the way I did. I couldn’t see past my anger with Mom. I never expected her to die. I assumed you’d be happy with her and her new husband.”

“She never married him,” she bit out.

He reached for her hand again and this time she didn’t pull away. “Jasmine, I let you down. I’ll never forgive myself for that. But you could have come to me, too.”

Shock held her immobile. He was right, but he hadn’t made her feel as though that was an option. Ever. “I didn’t think you’d want me,” she said simply. “You never called or wrote. It was as if you forgot all about me and Mama.”

Cody looked away. When he looked back, regret shone in his eyes. “I’m sorry, Jasmine. Sorrier than I can ever say.”

His hand tightened around hers. “My wife and I would like you to come stay with us. You’d have a home with us as long as you like.”

Her eyes widened in shock. “But—” She broke off. Her protest died. Seth and Zane no longer wanted her here. They were the reason Cody was here. “I’ll think about it,” she finally said.

She spent the rest of the afternoon in light, careful conversation with Cody. He told her about his wife and their one-year-old baby. His business was successful, and his wife was a registered nurse who worked in a local hospital.

It was hard not to warm to him. He seemed sincere and cautious about overwhelming her too soon. Several times he seemed to want to hug her, but he backed away, giving her space. She invited him to stay the night since he hadn’t stopped in town to get a hotel.

Dinner was quiet, and Carmen spent much of the time either chattering endlessly or looking like she’d burst into tears at a moment’s provocation.

Jasmine picked at her food and finally buckled under the strain of the day’s events.

“I’m going up to bed,” she said quietly.

The men watched her as she stood and pushed her plate aside. Cody gave her a reassuring smile, and she attempted one in return. She avoided Zane’s and Seth’s gazes as she walked out of the kitchen.

Instead of going to her bedroom, she eased into Seth’s room. She undressed and pulled on one of his old T-shirts, something that had brought her comfort in the past.

She crawled underneath the covers and curled her legs into her chest. Sleep would be difficult, though she felt exhausted and emotionally drained. She settled in to wait for Seth, her heart heavy and sad, afraid of what he would say.