Free Braydon by Nicole Edwards Page A

everything.
    “I’m not ready to come back, Trav,” Braydon said softly.
    “It’s been three goddamn months, Bray. It’s time you stop acting like a fucking child and come home.”
    “Fuck you. If that’s the way you want it, then I’m never comin’ back. How’s that?”
    It had been childish and it had also been a lie, but at the time, he’d been so furious that he let the words roll right off his tongue. A heated argument had ensued, but in the end, Braydon had convinced Travis that this was his choice. Travis hadn’t been happy, but he’d let it go. Or at least Braydon thought he had. Knowing Travis, the man was cooking up something.
    Right now, Braydon just needed to get in his truck and head back to the small house he was renting from Tessa and Cooper so he could shower. And by renting, Braydon was actually helping out at the equestrian center the couple had opened last year and they were providing him with a place to stay free of charge. While Dalton Calhoun, their partner in the center, was on tour, Braydon had offered to help out. The timing had been perfect. They had offered to pay him, and Braydon hadn’t refused. Arriving in Devil’s Bend had been his way of starting anew, which meant he had to have a job. And money. Initially, Braydon had asked for room and board in lieu of money, but they’d insisted on paying him something as well.
    His phone rang again as he steered his truck down the dirt road that led to the small house. A quick glance at the screen said it was Brendon again.
    Damn.
    Once again, he let it go to voice mail.
    When his phone started ringing for the third time before he even stepped foot in the front door, he punched the Talk button and put the phone to his ear.
    “What?” he barked into the phone.
    “Get your ass home,” Brendon said by way of a response.
    Braydon sighed. “Is that why you’re blowin’ up my phone?”
    “Yes, God damn it.”
    “Why? Is something wrong?” Braydon asked, suddenly worried.
    “No. It’s just time to cut the shit and get your ass home.”
    “I’m not comin’ back,” he informed Brendon, trying to force away the mental picture of Brendon and Jessie together. Anytime he thought of home, he thought of Brendon and Jessie, consoling one another in his absence. The thought made his stomach roil.
    “The fuck you aren’t,” Brendon bit out. “Either you get your ass back here, or I’m comin’ to get you.”
    “You don’t even know where I am,” he argued.
    “You’re wrong,” Brendon said sternly. “I’ve known from day one that you hauled ass to Devil’s Bend. I was tryin’ not to be an asshole and drag you back, but this is fucking ridiculous. Everyone’s worried about you. Not to mention, you’ve got a job here. Walker Demo ain’t gonna run itself.”
    “Jared’s doin’ a fine job, from what I hear,” Braydon retorted. Around the first of the year, his cousin Jared had come in like a tornado and whipped the place into shape, picking up where Travis left off when he’d gone to manage the Alluring Indulgence Resort.
    But that wasn’t the point.
    Braydon knew they could go on like this all day. Neither of them ever backed down. Well, that wasn’t exactly true. Brendon never backed down. Eventually, Braydon would have to cave on an argument or they would go on for hours. His twin had managed to take the majority of the Walker hardheadedness gene in utero.
    “Bray, this is bullshit,” Brendon said, lowering his voice as though he was trying to keep someone from hearing.
    “Is Jess there with you?” Braydon asked abruptly. As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he wanted to kick himself. He didn’t want to know.
    “Yeah. She’s here.”
    Of course she was. Where else would she be? The two of them had probably been seeing each other for the last three months while Braydon was out of the picture. At this point, going back home to Coyote Ridge would probably cause more problems than there had been before he left.