Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 87367 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 437(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87367 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 437(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Rumors?
My thoughts went right to my tongue being down that guy’s throat. I hadn’t meant to make it that believable, but when a mouth felt that good…
What the fuck was I thinking? I didn’t do men.
“Okay, heading out,” Melissa went on. “Brody, these led me to you guys. I figured you might need them.” She tossed my jeans and boxers from the night before onto the floor. “Also, your wallet’s floating in the pond. You’re welcome.” She headed out, closing the door behind her.
Wet clothes were better than no clothes, so after sliding them on, I helped Walker to his feet and guided us back to the house. Dwain and Lee were on the back patio, setting the table for breakfast.
“How’s your heart and breathing going?” I asked Walker, still feeling the powerful headache I could only hope would be soothed with some hydration and painkillers.
“Good. I can do this. I can’t believe you made out with a guy last night…or that the naked man I got to wake up with was you. That was supposed to be my big gay night. What do you think Melissa meant by rumors? You think someone saw us out and told Big Daddy that I’m… I’m…”
“It’s a little premature to jump to conclusions, especially as we get closer and closer to him being able to hear us. So unless you want to sing your way out of the closet, you should go ahead and work on not talking right now, okay?”
With the local paper in his lap, Big Daddy gave us a friendly wave, and we settled into the chairs opposite him. “We were over at the stables,” I said, “working on—”
“I don’t need a lie,” Big Daddy said. “You weren’t helping those horses any more than your sister babysat skunks in college.”
Mel chuckled as Dwain and Lee approached and set the coffee and creamer on the table, then took their places opposite each other.
Six chairs taken, leaving one empty.
One for Big Daddy.
Another for Walker, the eldest.
Then one for me.
Then Dwain and Lee—my other two brothers—or the O’Ralley runts, as they were known around town, even though both had outgrown Walker and myself.
And another for Mel, the baby.
But that one lonely chair would always remind us of who was missing—no, who was taken—from our family.
After taking a silent moment to remember a bright smile and delighted laugh, I noticed Dwain narrow his eyes, his jaw tightening as he looked at me. It was the way he’d get sometimes when we were kids and he wanted a fight.
“So word has it you both had a good night at the ho-mo-sexual event at the Barn last night,” Big Daddy said.
Mel bit her bottom lip, clearly trying to keep herself from correcting him about not needing to use the word homosexual or drag it out so goddamn long.
Walker eyed me uneasily.
“Yes, we had a really good time,” I said.
Big Daddy nodded. “That’s good. I’m glad that in these hard times, when orders have been down and distributors have been on edge, when we’ve had the worst quarter in five years, you two were able to get out and cut loose a bit.”
I knew Big Daddy well enough to know this was going somewhere, though I couldn’t imagine where the fuck that could be.
“Brody, are you proud of being an O’Ralley? Do you respect the blood, the sweat, the tears…our ancestors’ crimes during prohibition…all that went into building this business and keep it running for nearly a century?”
“I’m very confused about where this is going, Big Daddy. Did we suddenly turn into the mob?”
“Can you shut your smart mouth for five seconds?” Dwain asked, still eyeing me like he was about to knife me.
“Dwain, you keep looking at me like that, and I’m liable to—”
“Liable to what? Kiss me?” The way he said it left no doubt about what he meant.
Or what he knew.
“What are you on about, Dwain?”
“You were at the Barn last night, and I know what you were doing there.”
“How the hell do you know anything about what was happening at the Barn?”
“Because Karissa messaged Lynda, and Lynda messaged Brian, who FaceTimed Bentley before telling Angela, who I was with—”
“And what were you doing with Angela?”
His face turned bright red, his fists tightening on either side of the table. “This is not about me.”
Big Daddy closed his paper, a declaration of war in our family.
“Are you about to disown me because I made out with some guy at a bar?”
“The hell kind of father do you think I am? I don’t care if you’re a ho-mo-sexual any more than I care that Melissa’s a pan.”
Mel cringed again.
“Dad, I’m not gay,” I told him, feeling a little less confident about those words since that kiss.
Big Daddy pushed to his feet. “Do you have any idea who that guy you made out with was?”