The Weston Front (12 page)

“Boy, you know how to spoil a moment,” he grumbled, pushing us into my bedroom.

“I’m just trying to save us from a disaster,” I argued, sitting on the edge of the bed as he pushed me down.  He paced in front of me, all gorgeous, wet, and half naked.

“I was asking you to move in with me!” he replied, running a hand down his face in frustration.

“For four days?  My hero!” I smirked, standing up and glaring at him.  He pushed me down again and gave me a warning look that had me pressing my thighs together again.  Was what it about that look on his face?

“Not for four days,” he said in a low, commanding voice. “For as long as you can stand me.”

The singing, the swaying, the terribly boring ghost story, the half-interesting tale of the old west…I realized immediately that I had not been missing out on those campfires.  When they pulled out the marshmallows, however, I smiled up at West as he twisted a couple onto a stretched wire hanger and poked them over the dying flames.  People gathered around, some not even noticing us, others completely unable to take their eyes off of us.  I was beginning to comprehend West’s status a
s
owne
r
, his status a
s
single and unavailabl
e
, and what it meant that he’d asked me to move in with him.

And I definitely understood that he wanted people to perceive him as unapproachable and rigid when he was really more resolute and fiercely protective.

Caroline nuzzled into Rowdy as they sat on the large stone ledge of the fire pit surrounded by benches and rocks that were cut for sitting on.  Hosts interacted with their guests and built S’mores for the kids.  West chatted with Dusty and a few others, looking serious and sexy and completely unattainable.

“Cupcake, you’re
taking’ well-done to a whole new level.”

I frowned as I turned my head up from my perch on the fire pit ledge.  Good God, another smoldering cowboy.  He had his hands on his hips, his hat pulled low over his eyes even though it was dark out, and a canvas brush jacket that looked brand new.  His boots looked new, too.  And he didn’t have old stains on his jeans.  A guest?

“That means that you’re burning your marshmallows,” he added, nodding at the fire.

I quickly turned to find my marshmallows aflame and cursed as I pulled the wire hanger towards me and blew the fire out.  Burned to an unappetizing crisp.  I looked back up at the man curiously, my hanger still in my hand with charred sugar stuck on one end.

“Christ, yo
u
ar
e
cute,” he mumbled, rubbing his jaw and shaking his head as he peered down at me.

Flattered?  Sure.  Confused?  Totally.  Who was this guy?

“You don’t say much, do you,” he stated, still staring at me as people bustled around us in the light of the fire.  “So I’ll just get to it.  West’s a good guy.  What do you think about him?”

I know my mouth was hanging open as I frowned at the man.  What?  Was West sending his friends after me?  Hadn’t I been honest with him?  Was I making my feelings that much of a mystery?  I guess, in all fairness, my friend had gone after him to be good to me.

“This is the point where you start verbalizing coherent answers, Cupcake.”

“Quit calling me that,” I finally said, in a low voice.  I abandoned the coat hanger and ruined dessert and brushed my hands together, squaring off to the tall, smoldering cowboy in new clothes.  “Who are you?”

“Tell me what you want with West.”

“Tell me why you care,” I responded with my hands on my hips.  Was that a smile playing on his lips?  He began to really annoy me.

“You go first.”

“I’m not telling you anything.”

“Well then we’re going to have a little problem, Kitten,” he practically growled at me, folding his arms over his chest.  “So tell me now.”

“I don’t take orders from shit kickers, you…shit kicker,” I started boldly but ended with a mumble.  Damn it!  That could have been a great comeback if I wasn’t a moron.

Deep laughing and an arm around my shoulders got my instant attention, making my skin tingle.  West pulled me back into his chest as he continued chuckling.

“I told you she was so sweet she wouldn’t be able to assemble any kind of insult.  And you are a shit kicker,” West laughed, sticking his hand out from behind me and shaking the man’s.

“I’ve never claimed to be anything but a financial genius,” the man sighed, shrugging his shoulders and removing his hat before turning his eyes back down to me.  “I’m Drake, by the way.”

I slowly shook his hand, looking back and forth between him and his neatly combed brown hair and West. 

“The big brother,” he continued, smiling and shaking his head.

“Only by two months,” West argued, still holding me possessively against his body.

“How can you be somebody’s big brother by two months?” I asked, my eyes darting back and forth between them.  They were both big, both brunettes, but other than that, they looked nothing alike.

“We were adopted,” West explained, slowly rubbing his hand back and forth across my back.  It sent a shiver through my body and he totally noticed because he just winked at me when I looked up at him.  Arrogant ass.

“I had to come and see it to believe it,” Drake sighed, still grinning at me.  “The girl who brought Weston Hamilton to his knees.”

I was still wrapping my head around the fact that West’s brother was standing in front of me and revealing that his trip across the country was simply to see…me.  I shoved my hands into my pockets and looked down at my boots uncomfortably, almost missing what West said next as the boys hugged.

“Well, it’s good to see you again so soon.  Come on home, I’ve got steaks ready to put on the grill and Blake says she can make some mean potatoes.”

Frowning as West turned my shoulders and pushed me forward towards the road, I immediately realized that home, of course, was the place where I was supposed to be staying with West.  It was Drake’s home, too.  Did he know that I was staying there?  That I’d moved my suitcases into the master bedroom upstairs?  That I was sleeping with his brother?  Yes, he knew that.  He wasn’t an idiot.

I held my hands in front of me as I sluggishly walked behind the brothers, colorfully chatting like they hadn’t been living so far away from each other.  People were scattering all around us, trying to get back to their cabins or to the observation deck on top of a hill by the stables where everyone could see the stars.  I just felt out of place for some reason.

“Keep up, Sweetheart.  I’m hungry,” West grinned, looking over his shoulder and pausing as Drake did the same.

“Oh, uh, well maybe I should just go back to my cabin and let you two catch up…”

West frowned and walked back to me, grabbed my hand, and pulled me behind him as he and his brother continued walking and talking.  I did not appreciate being manhandled, but I was beginning to figure out that this was just West’s way.  Less talk, more action.  From a certain point of view it was refreshing.  I was very much trying to sympathize with that point of view as I trekked along with my hand engulfed in his.

When we finally reached the Hamilton Cottage bathed in soft spotlighting in the landscaping, West instructed Drake to go inside and me to sta
y
right ther
e
.  I opened my mouth to protest and felt terribly embarrassed as I obediently shut it when he held a finger at me and frowned.

“Go fire up the grill.  We’ll be there in one minute,” he told Drake, who was chuckling as he walked up into the house.

“Don’t give me commands like I’m a fucking dog, West,” I whispered loudly, eyeing the open door to the kitchen and hearing Drake bustling around in there.  I stepped up onto the stone porch steps to get a better look at my boyfriend.  My adversary.  Whatever the hell he was at the moment.

“Then quit fucking doubting yourself and what you mean to me, Blake.  I’ve made it clear.  You’re the one muddying the waters,” he snapped, hands on his hips, still able to look down at me.

I popped up another step and placed my hands on my hips, too.  “I don’t doubt myself, West, I doubt my position!  What, suddenly I’m your live-in girlfriend making you my special potatoes and then your brother comes to visit you and here I am!  What does he think?  I mean, I assume we’re all staying here.”

“He’s happy for me, Sweetheart, because in case you’ve forgotten it’s been a very long time since I’ve been in a relationship or since I’ve even mentioned a girl to him by name.  That’s why he’s here.  I told him about you when I was in New York, and evidently I couldn’t shut up about you because he just flew two thousand miles to check you out.”

I let my arms fall to my sides as I looked at him.  That seemed perfectly plausible.  His mouth turned up and he reached out for me, gathering me up into a tight hug.  I nuzzled my head into his neck.  It felt so good there.  And he smelled like a cowboy fantasy.

“This is you
r
I’ve gotten through to yo
u
tell,” he sighed, setting me down and kissing my lips softly.  When I frowned in confusion he whispered, “Complete silence.”

“Hey,” I huffed, smacking his arm as he laughed and led me inside.  The kitchen doors on the wraparound porch were opened to the back and I saw Drake out there, whistling and working on getting the coals for the grill hot.

West popped open a beer and set it on the counter next to me as I peeled potatoes over the trashcan.  I busied myself getting all of my ingredients ready as the potatoes boiled and the boys sat at the large kitchen table in the middle of the big room, sipping beer and laughing.

“So, I gotta tell you, West, I did come here to check up on you and your lady,” Drake sighed, leaning back in his chair and winking at me as he set his boot on the table.  I walked by and flicked it off, giving him a warning look.  He fought a grin as he conceded and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.  “But there’s another reason, too.”

Although my back was to him as I sautéed onions, I felt West’s agitation and quickly turned around.  He looked up at me and gave a slight nod, indicating that he was all right, and then looked back at Drake with an uneasy look on his face.

“Yeah, the vote didn’t go our way,” Drake sighed, setting his beer bottle down and putting a hand on West’s knee.  “It’s not the end of the world…”

“But it’s…it’
s
our
s
,” West argued, throwing his hands up into the air as he stood up.

“It still has our name,” Drake nodded, standing too.  “It’s just going to be run by millions of people, now.  Well, stockholders.”

“Going public?” I asked, turning down the heat on the onions and walking over to West.  I placed my arms around his stomach and he leaned down and kissed the top of my head.

“Legal jargon, papers signed, but yes.  By this time next year Hamilton Holdings will be public,” Drake nodded, sipping his beer and shaking his head.

“What would Dad say?” West exhaled, shaking his head and holding onto me.

“You know that doesn’t matter,” Drake said, but not unkindly.  “Mom’s thrilled.”

“Oh, did she emerge from the wake of her boat drinks long enough to vote on this?” West asked bitterly as he sipped his beer.  I quickly backed away and tended to my potatoes.  No need to get involved in ugly family matters.  I knew all about them.

After taking about forty-five minutes to get the coals perfect on the grill, the steak spent about three minutes on it before we sat down to eat.  I set the potatoes down and smiled as West and Drake moaned in delight after stuffing themselves until they were about to explode.

“Onions, cheese,” Drake mumbled, mouth full.

“Bacon,” West sighed, leaning back in his chair.  I sipped my wine victoriously and ate a thinly sliced strip of the bone-in rib eye.  It melted in my mouth.

“Bacon’s my secret ingredient to everything,” I shrugged.  It was true.  I either put it in the food I cooked or used it to grease the pans I cooked on.  My grandma taught me that trick.

The boys nodded, mouths full, before finally slowing down and taking their first sips of the expensive wine Drake had brought.

“So, what are you going to do when you’re out of a job?  I assume you don’t get to stay unless they want a face,” West said, looking at his brother.

“No,” Drake replied in a much quieter voice than I’d heard so far.  “Part of the deal is my resignation…”

“They have to know how much you love what you do,” West interrupted, holding his hands out.

“They also know that I’m twenty years younger than they are and making twenty times as much as they do,” he sourly said, pressing his lips together and setting his fork down.  He held his hand up to West to stop his defense.  “I know, West.  But this is all for the best.  I thought…I don’t know.  I thought I’d live out here for a while.”

Uh-oh.  As West smiled and grabbed his brother up into a hug, I quickly stood and started to clear away the dishes.  I began rinsing them off in the sink, thinking about my positio
n
no
w
.

“It’s past midnight where I’m from,” Drake stretched, surprising me by leaning over and kissing my cheek as I scrubbed a plate.  “See you in the morning, Cupcake.”

“Call me that again and see what happens, Hamilton,” I called sweetly, giving him a forced smile over my shoulder.  He laughed as he left the room and West moved in behind me.

“Leave those and I’ll do them in the morning.  I think we should go spoon.”

A laugh burst out my mouth as I turned and looked up at the large, manly man telling me that it was spooning time.

“Come on,” he grinned, taking my hand and pulling me behind him.  I let him lead me up the stairs and into his room.  He quickly undressed me, then himself, then clicked off the lights and spooned up behind me.  As promised.