I entered, Roger panting happily at my heels. Ryan led me through the living area into the kitchen to the laid-back family room. He walked behind the bar. “I’m guessing you could use a drink.” He pulled out a bottle of Peach Street bourbon.
I nodded. “That’s the God’s honest truth.”
Ryan poured me two fingers of the whiskey, straight, and slid it across the bar. He poured a glass of red wine for himself. Then he came around and sat next to me on a barstool.
“So what’s eating at you?”
Where to begin? Ryan knew my history. So did my older brother, Jonah. But we didn’t talk much about it. Neither of them knew the gory details. I had spared them that. Ryan was my little brother by three years. He had gotten away that horrible day. He h
ad run because I’d told him to, and the poor guy harbored a lot of guilt for that.
“Have you ever been in love, Ry?”
Ryan raised his eyebrows and swallowed the sip of wine he had taken. “For a man of few words, Talon, that is certainly not a question I ever expected to hear from you.”
I rubbed at my jaw and took a drink of my bourbon, letting the spicy warmth slide down my throat. “It isn’t a question I ever thought I’d ask either.”
Ryan took another sip of wine and set his glass on the bar. “I can at least answer you honestly. No, I haven’t.”
“Not even with Anna?”
Ryan shook his head. “Anna and I had a good run, not to mention some amazing sex, but in the end, we both agreed that what we had wasn’t anything lifetimes were made of.”
“What about Joe? Do you think he’s ever been in love?”
Ryan smiled. “I think you’d have to ask him.”
My brothers were both married to their work—Jonah to the beef ranch and Ryan to the winery.
“There are a lot of women in town who would like to take one of the Steel brothers off the market.”
My brother laughed. “What’s the hurry?”
“Well, none of us are getting any younger.”
Ryan looked at me pointedly, his dark eyes serious. “What the hell is this about, Talon?”
I wasn’t much of a talker, not even to my brothers. They both knew that. What had I been thinking? I was about as uncomfortable as a grizzly in tights. I downed the rest of my whiskey like a shot and set the glass on the wooden bar. “Nothing. Sorry to bother you.” I stood.
“Oh, no, you don’t.” Ryan grabbed my arm. “You’re not coming in here and opening up that can of worms without explaining why.”
I sighed and sat back down. “Jade left.”
“What? Why?”
“I asked her to.”
My brother shook his head. “What did Marj say?”
“She’s not happy about it. She’s probably on the horn to Jade right now, finding out what went on.”
“Well, what did go on, Talon?”
I picked up the bottle of Peach Street, poured myself another drink, and met Ryan’s dark gaze. Time to lay the cards on the table. “I fell in love with her.”
Chapter Two
Jade