Breathless_ Steel Brothers Saga - HELEN HARDT Page 0,40
traumatizing, you play the ‘what if?’ game a lot. I did it for years.”
“I’m sorry, Tal.”
“Don’t be.”
“But you have an outlook that I don’t.”
“And Sis, I’m glad you don’t.”
I nodded, biting my lip. “Do you think Colin sees Jade as something from his former life, a life he’s desperate to cling to?”
“Something like that. I don’t know. I’m guessing. But it makes a certain amount of sense, don’t you think?”
I couldn’t deny it. “So rather than allow him to see Jade, who is part of his former life, he needs to deal with the life he has now.”
“Yup. And this is coming from someone who didn’t deal with his own shit for decades. That’s way too long, by the way.”
I nodded. Nothing to say to that. Poor Talon had suffered without help throughout the majority of his life, and I’d been ignorant of everything until only several short months ago.
He went on, “I don’t want anyone fucking with Jade’s emotions right now, and that’s what Colin would do. That’s what Brooke is doing. I’m putting a stop to it. Jade has enough to deal with at the moment.”
I nodded again. “I get it, and I agree. Colin won’t see Jade.”
“Or talk to her.”
“Right. I have his number.” I pulled out the card he’d given me at the smoothie shop.
“Give it to me. I’ll make sure he’s blocked on Jade’s phone, just in case he has her number.”
I handed it to him.
It was the right decision. For Jade.
But something invisible swept over the back of my neck. Colin wasn’t going to disappear. Something was going to go down.
This wasn’t over.
Chapter Twenty–Four
Bryce
I’d flipped through that damned book, waiting for a design to speak to me, and now one was screaming my name.
Colin’s design.
This was the tattoo I wanted.
How sick was that? This image was no doubt born of the damage my father had inflicted on its designer. So why the hell was it speaking to me?
“He designed this himself?”
“That’s what he says.” Haley shrugged. “It’s not like we check s and trademarks here. Someone wants the Coke logo, that’s what we give them.”
“Someone actually wanted the Coke logo tattooed on their body?”
“Sure. We don’t ask questions. We just do the work.”
“How much does a tattoo cost?”
“Depends. Usually a minimum of about three hundred.”
Had I heard correctly? “Dollars?”
“No. Three hundred potatoes.” She rolled her eyes. “Of course dollars. Jeez.”
That settled that. No tattoo for me, at least not today. Mom and I needed to be frugal until I started earning income.
Speaking of income, I had no choice but to accept the Steels’ offer. To do otherwise would make me a selfish ass. I’d just have to stay far, far away from Marjorie.
With her in the main house and me in the guesthouse, it wasn’t going to be easy.
I took out my phone and called Joe.
Dinner with Joe and Melanie at the best restaurant in Grand Junction wasn’t how I’d planned to spend the evening, but Mom insisted I go. I deserved it, she’d said, for taking the Steels’ offer and making a better life for my son.
Melanie radiated health and energy, her blond hair lustrous and thick around her shoulders and her cheeks a rosy pink. She’d just entered the third trimester of her pregnancy, and she was ravenous, devouring a sixteen-ounce hunk of prime rib.
“I can hardly keep up with her,” Joe said, laughing.
“Please,” Melanie said, having just swallowed. “The day I have your appetite is the day I weigh three hundred pounds.”
“You’ve hardly gained any weight at all that I can see,” I said truthfully. “Except your belly, of course.”
“Ha!” she said. “I’m just good at hiding it. I’ll be hitting the gym big-time with Ruby after the baby is born.”
“You’ll look perfect as always,” Joe said, his gaze upon his wife.
Love. God, they were so in love it was almost sickening.
I was truly happy for both of them, but being in close proximity with all the Steel brothers, who were as pussy-whipped as all get-out, wasn’t going to be the easiest thing to deal with, especially not while I was lusting after their baby sister.
“We figure you can start next week,” Joe said. “That’ll give you a few days to get settled.”
“Hold up,” I said. “It’ll take some time to move everything to the ranch.”
“Don’t worry about that. We’re hiring movers. You and Evelyn won’t have to lift a finger.”
I twirled my mashed potatoes with my fork. “We still have to pack.”