Brody (Texas Boudreau Brotherhood #3) - Kathy Ivan Page 0,77

his brother happy—more power to him.

“That bust was a long time coming. One point five million dollars’ worth of cocaine off the streets, and we captured two of the upper level distributors. All-in-all, a good haul.” He gestured with his drink toward Brody. “He looks happy.”

“He is. Honestly, I’d been worried about him. When I first started working out of the Austin office, he seemed…withdrawn. Like the weight of the world sat on his shoulders. I knew something was up, but then I got dragged into the whole mess with Serena. By the time that got straightened out, he’d pretty much fallen for Beth. You know the rest.”

“I know Stewart is back in Huntsville with a lifetime worth of charges against him. Think he’ll take a plea again?”

“Chance is trying to see to it. He doesn’t want Beth or Jamie to have to deal with all the fallout of a trial. Even if Stewart pleads guilty, he’s looking at enough years added to his current sentence he’ll be behind bars without the possibility of parole for the rest of his life.” Antonio shook his head. “All because of money.”

“Wonder why he couldn’t accept Tessa and Beth gave the money from the bond back to Crowley County? All it would have taken was on phone call by his attorney, and it would have been proven.” Ms. Patti motioned for them to come join the party, and he raised his bottle and nodded, letting her know they’d be there in a minute.

“I wish I’d been here to help. Sound like things got hairy. Poor kid. At least Stewart was decent enough not to hurt his own daughter.”

“Rafe said it got a little dicey when they arrested him. Dude had a gun, and Dad was sitting across from him. Course you know our brother, he let several of Williamson’s finest into the back of the Braum’s, and they covered his back. He snuck up on Stewart and had him on the ground hogtied before the idiot knew what hit him.”

“Rafe thinks he’s Superman.” Ridge smiled, remembering back to a Halloween when Rafe had actually dressed up as his favorite character.

“He’s a bit more careful now he’s got someone he loves in his life. Tessa’s been good for him.”

“Serena’s been good for you too, bro.”

Antonio grinned, leaning farther back on the railing. “I never thought I could feel this way. She’s—everything to me. Everything.”

Another wave of laughter came from the patio, and he watched his father flipping steaks and burgers on the grill. People mingled, holding paper plates and cups, or seated around the patio on the couches and chairs spread about. Today was a celebration of life and happiness. Brody and Beth had announced they were getting married, and he was going to adopt Jamie. Teasing and congratulations spread like wildfire throughout the gathering as people wished them well. Ridge hoped they’d make it for the long haul. If he was a betting man, he’d wager they’d make it.

Love and marriage? It wasn’t for him. He believed in it—he’d grown up with the perfect example of true love lasting though the years. Douglas and Ms. Patti epitomized what love and devotion meant in the truest sense of the word. They’d opened their hearts, their family and their home to others in desperate need of salvation, sown the seeds of kindness, and raised a family, himself included, who knew what that meant in every way that counted.

But for him, the job came first. Before love. Before marriage.

He’d seen far too many people’s lives destroyed by the onslaught of drugs crossing the border, to say nothing of the meth epidemic currently ravaging the nation. Besides, his job was dangerous, especially when he was undercover, which was more and more frequent these days. And it wouldn’t be fair to get involved with somebody, only to be gone for weeks or months at a time. He risked his life every day, behind the scenes, dealing with the lowest of the low, the dregs of humanity who should be scraped off the surface of the planet, as far as he was concerned.

Nope, love and marriage weren’t in the cards for him. Didn’t mean he wasn’t up for a good time. He loved women. All women. Big, small, short, or tall, didn’t matter. Feminine curves with legs that went on for miles? Oh, yeah. But commitment for a lifetime—he’d never burden any woman with that kind of heartache. Turning his back on the war waging on every street in