“Where the hell are you?” Jenna’s frantic voice carried over the line the minute Brandy answered her cell phone the next morning. “You’re not hurt, are you? Oh, crap, you’re not dead, are you?”
“Yes, and it sure is hot down here.”
“Very funny. Seriously, I all but freaked when I came in early from my date and realized you weren’t home.”
Brandy glanced at the clock. “You know, five a.m. isn’t early for most people.”
“Stop trying to change the subject.”
“Which is?”
“Your bed is untouched, which means you didn’t come home and sleep in it last night.” Silence stretched between them for a thoughtful moment before Jenna’s excited voice carried over the line. “So whose bed did you sleep in?”
“Maybe I slept in the storage room at the bakery. I have to get an early start.”
“Did you?”
She wanted to lie, but she’d never lied to either of her sisters. That was her thing. Jenna was blunt and in-your-face. Callie was responsible and motherly. And Brandy was brutally honest. “I’m at the rodeo arena.”
“With who?”
Brandy glanced at the empty bed next to her and a wave of disappointment flared before she managed to tamp it back down. “By myself.”
Jenna didn’t say anything for a long moment, as if weighing the truth of Brandy’s answer. But it was Brandy and so she finally sighed. “This is about the dogs, isn’t it? They’re keeping you up. I’ll find Jez a home. I swear. I’ve just been busy at the clinic, and then there’s Jase, who won’t leave me alone even though I really want him to.”
“You were out all night with the man. That doesn’t exactly put off a get-the-hell-away-from-me vibe.”
“I tried to bail out earlier, but he was so nice and sweet. He made dinner.”
“So you figured you would sleep with him one more time.”
“I was lost in the heat of the moment, but then he woke me up with pancakes and I realized my mistake. I couldn’t get out of there fast enough. I pretended to have a reaction to a chocolate-covered strawberry and made him bring me home.”
“I’m surprised he didn’t take you straight to the hospital.”
“He suggested it, but I swore I had my EpiPen at home and since the house was closer, he went with it.”
“He just left you in the midst of a fake reaction?”
“Actually he’s parked out front, watching through a pair of binoculars, which is why I’m standing in front of the window, jabbing my leg with a Pixy Stix. That should give the right silhouette against the shade, don’t you think?”
“That or you could try one of those beef treats that you give Jez. It’s got the right shape.”
“You’re right. Let me grab one—”
“Jenna, I’m just joking. The Pixy Stix is fine. Just finish up, wave to him from the window, and turn off the light.”
“You think that’ll get him to leave?”
“No, I think a direct ‘I’m not as into you as you are me and I think we should call it quits’ would get him to leave, but since I know you aren’t going to say that, just stick with the allergic reaction for now.”
“I will tell him. It’s just that he’s so excited when we’re together and I do like him. Just not that much.”
They talked for a few more seconds before Brandy managed to hang up. She hit the light on the nightstand and a warm yellow glow pushed back the shadows. Outside, dawn was just creeping past the shades, indicating that morning was soon to follow.
Morning.
The realization rushed through her, reminding her that she’d not only slept with Tyler, but she’d slept with him.
There’d been no creeping out before dawn. No Thanks, but gotta go. Or I really appreciate it, but have a nice life. No, she’d snuggled right up next to him and closed her eyes and now the sun was about to rise and she was past due at the bakery.
At least one of them had kept things in proper perspective.
Her gaze Ping-Ponged around the room, looking for boots or clothes or something before stalling on the open bathroom door. She strained her ears for some sound, but there was no water running. No footsteps. Just the distant sound of the animals below.
She ignored the disappointment that niggled at her, pushed the blankets to the side, and scrambled from the bed. She grabbed her undies, which lay on the floor a few feet away.
She spent the next five minutes plucking her clothes up off the floor and damning herself for forgetting the all-important fact that she’d agreed to sex only. Fast and furious, and then a quick Bye, bye. She’d had every intention of being the first one to hit the road after the deed had been done, the first one to pick up and walk out.
Like always.
She certainly hadn’t meant to close her eyes. To get too comfortable. To forget for even a split second that Tyler was not the morning-after type and, even more, that neither was she.
Luckily that all-important fact hadn’t slipped his mind.
She spared a quick glance around the room. A black duffel bag sat in the far corner, but otherwise there was nothing there. No clothes hanging in the closet. No personal items spilled out across the dresser.
Because this place was just temporary for Tyler. He was leaving soon and so there was no need to get comfortable.
And the problem is?
No problem. Sure, she preferred being the one out the door first, but at least he’d had the good sense not to linger and make things that much more awkward.
Anxiety pushed her that much faster, and she pulled on her clothes at the speed of light. She was getting out of here now, and she wasn’t going to think that maybe, just maybe, it might have been nice if he’d at least waited for her to wake up. Grabbing her phone, she called the only cab company in Rebel and arranged for a ride to her car.
Slipping out of the small apartment, she rushed down the stairs that ran outside the building. While she could hear the occasional Hell, yeah! that echoed from inside the arena and the stomp of hooves, the outside parking lot was all but empty with the exception of the few trucks parked here and there.
The cab pulled up a few minutes later and she climbed inside. She headed back to the bakery for the spare change of clothes she kept in the storage room for emergency spills and the ever-popular red velvet volcano that always erupted when she was forced to use her ancient mixer for backup when her one and only commercial model was occupied.
Not that she’d been that busy since the doughnut shop had opened up. Her sales were down, her orders smaller and less frequent.
For now.
But once she snagged herself more equipment and handed out samples at the upcoming Travis County Bridal Fair being held next month, she was sure to pick up more cake orders.
But neither was going to be possible if she didn’t sell her moonshine recipe. And in order to sell it, she needed to run this latest mash and make sure she was on to something.
And that meant she needed to talk to Ryder Jax.
When she reached the bakery, she let herself in the back door, thankful that she was the first one there.
She was always first.
Except this time she was late, too.
Two hours to be exact. Ellie would be walking in the door in less than half an hour and Brandy had yet to do any of her usual prep work.
She changed her clothes and stopped at the fridge to grab a bottled water. Her gaze snagged on an Orange Crush and she could practically taste the sugary sweetness on her tongue. She’d always loved the stuff. To the point that she’d perfected an Orange Crush cupcake topped with whipped orange marshmallow creme.
But while she used the stuff in her baking, she couldn’t actually pinpoint when she’d last chugged one down. Since her occupation required a lot of on-the-job tasting, she’d sworn off sugary drinks on her own time and tried to eat a fairly healthy diet when she wasn’t in the bakery.
She never just enjoyed herself for the sake of it.
She’d never wanted to. Her work had always been enough to satisfy her sweet tooth. To keep her busy. To fill the emptiness.
Until now.
She popped the top and took a long draw on the icy soda. Unfortunately, it did little to ease the thirst that clawed at her. The need.
Because as great as last night had been, it hadn’t been enough. Brandy Tucker wanted more, and damned if that realization didn’t bother her even more than the fact that she’d violated her precious schedule and was late getting her coffee cakes in the oven that morning.
Late.
The truth followed her for the next few minutes as she frantically tried to catch up, her own conscience telling her what a fool she’d been. She’d wasted an entire night—
The truth stalled as she walked into the small room that sat behind the oven. Her gaze snagged on the lifeless blanket that sat on the floor. The one she’d wrapped around the five-gallon bucket that held her precious mash to keep it warm and buzzing.
Except the blanket was lifeless now.
She glanced around, anxiety ripping up and down her spine. Her heart stopped. An invisible hand hit her chest like a whopping punch and the oxygen stalled.
Yep, the blanket was lifeless, but even worse, the mash was gone.