on Jamie while you dress.”
Beth hugged Tessa tight. “You are the best sister in the world.”
Tessa chuckled. “I know. Get dressed.” She left the bedroom, and Beth smiled at her bellowed call for Jamie. Turning, she headed for the bathroom to change, anticipation swirling inside along with excitement, feelings she hadn’t experienced in a long time. Too long. She couldn’t wait to see Brody.
Brody cursed for what had to be the dozenth time since he’d left Austin. Everything that could possibly go wrong did, until he’d been ready to shoot the next person who complained, questioned, or delayed his leaving town. All through the morning, he’d replayed his conversation with Beth in his head. Finally—finally—his patience was about to pay off, because they had a date. He’d handled her with kid gloves, because he knew after the traumatic turn her life took, she wasn’t ready to deal with anybody coming on too strong. Instead, he’d taken things slow and easy, had become her friend. Now, he was hoping she might be ready for more.
A loud pop sounded, and his truck yanked hard to the side. Tightening his hands on the steering wheel, he maneuvered to the shoulder of the road and climbed out. Cursed when he saw the shredded left front tire, the rim resting on the gravely dirt beside the two-lane road.
“Perfect. Just freaking perfect.”
Reaching behind the driver’s seat, he felt around for the spare tire kit, his fingers fumbling around, and finding nothing. Tilting the seat forward, he banged his fist on the seat, because it was easy to see the kit and jack were missing. I’m going to kill Ridge. When he’d been home, Ridge had a flat, and asked to borrow his jack, and promised to put it back when he finished. Apparently the jackass hadn’t, and now Brody was stuck thirty minutes from home.
Whipping out his cell phone, he punched in Ridge’s number. He’d better answer his phone, or I’m gonna tear him a new one when I catch up to him. The call went straight to voice mail after one ring, and Brody huffed out a long breath. Why? Why did this have to happen on one of the most important days in a long time?
A red Ford pickup eased to a stop directly behind him, and Brody glanced at the driver before a huge grin spread across his face. Somebody upstairs was looking out for him, because Liam sat behind the wheel. Walking back to his brother’s pickup, he leaned on the open door.
“Bro, am I happy to see you. Got a flat, and Ridge apparently didn’t return my jack after he borrowed it.”
“No problem, I’ve got mine. Want a hand?” Liam’s words were accompanied by a smile. “Good thing I headed home early today, or you’d be stuck waiting for Frank to come fix it.”
“Appreciate the help. I need to get home and grab a shower. I’ve got plans tonight and really don’t want to cancel.”
Liam slid from the truck and reached behind the driver’s seat, pulling out everything to fix Brody’s flat. Between the two of them, they should be able to make quick work of change it, and Brody would get back on the road before too much more time passed.
“Hot date, huh?”
Brody grunted as he looked under the back of his truck for the spare, then straightened, holding his hand out for the tools. “Yeah. I’m going out with Beth Stewart.”
Liam whistled and bumped his shoulder against Brody’s. “Whoa, seriously? You finally got off your butt and asked her out?”
“Nope. She asked me.” Brody tried to hid his smirk, but wasn’t sure how successful he was. “Called me this morning, out of the blue, and asked me to dinner.”
“That’s awesome. Maybe now you can both stop making goo-goo eyes at each other when you think nobody’s watching.”
Brody straightened to his full height and spun to face his brother. “What are you talking about?”
“Dude, are you oblivious or simply blind? You look at her like she is a roast beef dinner and you haven’t eaten in days. She looks at you like you hung the moon and the stars. Frankly, it’s getting kinda old.”
“I thought I hid my feelings pretty well.”
Liam slapped him on the back. “Don’t forget, I’ve known you most of our lives. I’ve seen how you look at women, and I’ve seen how you look at Beth. There’s no comparison. She does something to you none of the others did. It’s about time you figure out if