Bounty (Colorado Mountain 7)

Her grip was like a vise.

“Come here, baby,” Rod murmured gently, pulling out of his rock star sprawl and reaching a hand to his wife.

Joss moved to him and took his hand. Then she took a visible deep breath and stood by his side, still holding his hand but turning her gaze back to Maverick.

But Maverick gave up on her and went back to Jussy.

He also switched tactics.

“I need you to talk to Mr. T, Jussy.” His tone was now whiney and wheedling. “I know…I know you’re not big on Mom but she depends on me and, sis,” he swallowed and finished on a whisper, “I’m hurting.”

Jussy’s voice was quiet and almost gentle when she said, “I warned you, Mav.”

He skated around that. “I just need you to talk to Mr. T.”

“I know this hasn’t occurred to you but Mr. T cares a lot about you. He was very patient about all the shit you pulled. But if it’s out of his hands, and I can believe if he could do something he’d do it, then it’s also out of my hands.”

“He can do anything and he will do anything you want him to do,” Maverick returned.

“He can do anything and does do anything a Lonesome wants him to do. So when Dad asked for his will to be written a certain way, Mr. T saw to that.” Her voice turned full-on tender. “And you knew the consequences of butting up against that, Mav. Dad told you, and even if he didn’t, Mr. T did and so did I. Repeatedly. You made your decision, and if Mr. T says there’s nothing we can do about it, there just isn’t.”

He started to take a step to her, didn’t miss Deke going alert, jolted to a halt and made do with leaning her way.

“Then you gotta…you and her…you gotta decide and you gotta talk to her because if the courts won’t…then you have to, Jussy,” he begged.

Deke felt Jussy’s fingers go limp in his before they again squeezed hard and she asked disbelievingly, “Are you telling me you want me to give you your third and ask Dana for the same?”

“It’s mine,” he stated. “Dad wanted me to have it.”

“You keep her, don’t you?” she asked, abruptly changing the subject.

Maverick straightened. “This isn’t about her.”

“Baby brother,” Jussy said softly, “the fuck of it, the shit that tears me apart, tore Dad apart, is that through you, it’s always been about her. I never had you. He never had you. Not without her coming in between even when she wasn’t even there.”

“I don’t wanna talk about my mother,” he snapped.

“And I’m not about to give Dad’s money to her,” Jussy returned. “And Dana’s a soft touch. You go to her and act all wounded, even though you’ve not once been kind to her, or even decent, she will. She’ll see Dad in you and she’ll do anything for you. So I’ll advise her and give a heads up to Mr. T so she doesn’t fall for your mother’s shit because you are not here for you. You’re here for her. And don’t,” she bit out her last, lifting her free hand, palm out her brother’s way, “deny it. Your share of Granddad’s royalties will not keep you on yachts. It’s enough to get by and well, unless your mother is going through it like she went through the divorce settlement, your child support—”

“I said we’re not talkin’ about my mother,” Maverick hissed.

“Then we’re not talking at all,” Jussy returned, her voice now fragile, sad, heartbroken.

Deke used her hand to pull her closer.

“God!” Maverick said loudly. “He’s gone and you still think you can get me away from her. Like I’m tied to her apron strings or something. Newsflash, Jus, I’m a grown man.”

Deke bit his tongue.

Literally.

So hard he tasted blood.

Jussy didn’t do the same.

“No, what you don’t get is that when you came to visit and I was there, I wanted my brother. Not my brother acting like a dick because his mother filled his head with bullshit the entire time he was gone. Dad would get you there, Mav, a day or two before you had to leave us again. You’d see he wasn’t all she said. You’d see he loved you more than life. And that’s what I wanted. That’s the brother I wanted. That’s the son he wanted. Then you’d go back to her, she’d launch right in to fucking with your head, and when he got you back, he had to start all over again. And now he’s gone and all you’ve got is her filling your head with bullshit you know is bullshit because we’ve proved it time and again. And if you were as grown up as you say you are, you’d think for yourself for once and see it.”

“Not bullshit, you tellin’ me you’re not gonna help me out. If Mom knew I was here, she’d say this,” he swept his hand to the deck, “is exactly how this would go down.”

“And what you don’t see,” Jussy shot back, “is that for weeks, showing at your place, call after call, I did try to help you out by telling you not to pull this crap and you didn’t listen to me. You dug your own hole. And, baby brother, newsflash,” she rapped out, “a grownup stands on their own two goddamned feet, no matter who’s whispering in their ear. And a grownup is smart enough to think before they do stupid shit and not do it. And if emotion trips them up, they own up to their fuckups. This is your fuckup. Not mine. You wanna lay that trip on me, do it. But I won’t lose any sleep over it because I know it just plain isn’t true.”