Chapter One
December 4th
Gunnar
I look around the crowded living room and have to fight the urge to leave, but that’s not gonna happen. Today is my younger brother’s birthday, and this is his party, but Major and his woman haven’t shown up yet. It was supposed to be just family… well, my brothers’ new families and myself. Instead, half the farm hands have shown up with their women and kids in tow. Even a few of the chicks who work at the Dairy Dip have joined the party. There’re just too many fucking people here for me to deal with. I like solitude, and I’m not gonna get that here.
Growing up with my mom and stepdad, I feel out of place around all of Tucker and Major’s friends and families. Granted, I’m every bit as much a Brady as they are. Still, I often feel more like some distant relative that no one really wants to have around. Not that I don’t love my brothers or they don’t feel the same for me, I just feel like an outsider, even though they try to make me feel welcome.
Dear old Dad was seeing my mom and Tucker and Major’s mom at the same time. Of course, he didn’t tell either woman about the other. With my mom living near Nashville and the other woman living in Kentucky, it was easy for him to keep them from finding out the truth. When they both got pregnant around the same time, the truth finally came to light.
Tucker and Major believe Dad married their mother because she found out she was pregnant first. That isn’t the whole truth, though. Yes, she did find out first, but he still wanted my mother. Mom, on the other hand, wanted nothing to do with a man who had lied to her and was willing to turn his back on a woman carrying his child, so she turned her back on him. Lucky for her, she found a good man. Lucky for me, she found a man who not only loved her, but he also loved me as if I was his own son.
“I thought this was just gonna be family,” Tucker says, bringing my thoughts to an abrupt halt. “Half the fucking town is here.”
“More than half,” I mumble, looking around the room.
I know it’s Major’s birthday, but this is not my kind of thing. Even if it was, I have a lot of shit to do and none of it involves spending half the day waiting for my little brother to show up for his birthday dinner. What I need to be doing is working on my house—the same house I had planned on moving into this month, and the same house that isn’t even near finished.
Tucker and Major have been on my ass for years to move down here, to be part of Brady Brothers Farms. I kept putting them off, not wanting to leave home. Now that both of my younger sisters are away at college and my stepdad is considering selling his farm, I figured it was time to give horse breeding a try. Hopefully, being on the farm every day will make me feel less like an outsider and more of a true Brady brother.
Reaching up to run a hand through my hair, I voice my frustrations. “I need to be installing the vanity in my master bath. Hell, I could even be staining the mantle on the fireplace in the den. Fuck, there are a million things I could be doing to get my house done instead of waiting for Major to show up.”
“You can’t stain the mantle until after the baby comes,” Hadley says, glaring in my direction. “You promised I could help with that.”
For some reason, my sister-in-law is determined to help with the house. Hell, she already helped me pick out nearly everything that went inside, but that’s not enough for her. She wants to do some of the actual physical work. Considering she’s as round as a pumpkin right now, I promised to leave something for her to work on after the baby is born. Guess that something will be the mantle.
I nod my head in her direction, letting her know I agree, then scan the room for Major once more. “He better be here soon or I’m heading out.”
“I can’t believe this shit,” Tucker says as his wife leans into his side. “Our little brother is always late, but this is ridiculous.”
Hadley leans into his side and smiles. “I’m sure he and Tanya are busy doing something better than eating cake.”
Ever since Major started seeing Tanya, he spends all his time with her. Hell, it’s a hassle to get him to show up at the farm. Even then, she drops in and they spend half their time in the hayloft. Not that I care, but shit, they should at least show up for his birthday party. Tanya’s mom worked her ass off to make this special for him. If he doesn’t arrive soon, I’ll be going after him.
I nod my agreement but decide not to dwell on the topic. “I finally found a renter for the house in Guthrie.”
My brothers and I bought some land and a house, right on the Kentucky border. It’s a tobacco farm that’s seen better days, but we got it for a steal. I had planned on moving there myself but decided against it when Hadley found out she was pregnant. I want to be here, be part of my niece or nephew’s everyday life. I also want to be close to my brothers for the first time. I want to learn my father’s business of raising race horses. He taught me what he could during my short visits, but I want to know more. To be part of the Brady Brothers Farm in a real way, not just cashing checks every few months, is what I want most of all.
“That’s great. I bet that takes a weight off your shoulders.” Tucker is right; it does, but it also adds to the stress of getting my house here done.
“It does, but I still have a lot to do. If Major’s ass doesn’t show up soon, I’m gonna go find him and drag his ass here myself,” I reply, looking around the room.
The words no more than leave my mouth when the door opens. I turn to look, expecting to see Major and Tanya. My eyes come to a stop when a hot little redhead walks through the door. For some reason, my heartbeat accelerates then skips a beat. My palms start sweating, and my body goes alert.
I have never seen a woman so fucking gorgeous in my life. Her hair is a mixture of bright red and a deep auburn color. It hangs down her back, sleek and shining, stopping only inches above her denim covered ass. Even covered in jeans and a sweater, what I can see has my dick standing at attention. Her body is full of curves, in no way the model thin of my ex or the one before that. Fuck if those curves don’t turn me on. She appears tall, but without her high-heeled boots, she’d probably only come up to my chest. I just know she’d fit into the crook of my arm as if she was made to be there.
“Who the hell is that?” I ask, my eyes still locked on the beauty.
“That’s my best friend, Willow,” Hadley says.
Tucker adds, “Gunnar, you have to have met her before. She’s old man Blain’s youngest daughter, the man that owns the last house to the right of the farm.”
I shake my head with a shrug of my shoulders. “I don’t know who the fuck you’re talking about.”
My brother laughs, leaning closer and whispering, “Remember skinny dipping with that redhead over at Thompson’s pond?”
“The one with the big ti…” I start, but Hadley cuts me off with a glare. “The one with the big smile?”
“Yeah, that one.” Again, Tucker laughs. “Willow is her little sister.”
I stare at the auburn beauty for a moment more, comparing her to the girl I remember from that night long ago. That chick was hot as hell, but she only wanted Tucker. This one? This woman is fucking gorgeous, and she’s going to be all mine.
Before anyone can say anything else, she walks right to us and leans down to place a kiss on Hadley’s very round belly. “How’s Aunt Willow’s baby doing today?”
Her voice is so fucking husky that it shoots a chill down my spine, directly to my dick. Watching her talk to Hadley’s belly, I reach down and adjust my raging hard-on. I hear Tucker chuckle, obviously having noticed my problem. I shoot him a glare and take a step closer to Willow, hoping to catch her attention. Instead, I catch her scent. It’s a mixture of honeysuckle and something tangy, maybe citrus. Fuck if it doesn’t make my mouth water.
“So, Tanya and Major are late again?” she asks, giving Hadley’s belly one last pat then straightening up to her full height.
The two of them talk back and forth for a second, not even bothering to include us in their conversation. My eyes stay locked on her, silently daring her to look at me. Nothing, not a fucking thing. Her entire attention is stuck on my sister-in-law. I step even closer, leaving only inches between us. I wait a minute more, still hoping she will notice me, but finally give up and take matters into my own hands.
“I’m Gunnar,” I say, grabbing her arm and pulling her to me. “Gunnar Brady.”
Her chest is flush with mine as she responds, “Good for you.”
Hadley’s giggle hits my ears as I lean down and whisper in Willow’s ear. “I figured you’d want to know the name of the man who will be in your bed tonight.”
She laughs, literally laughs in my face. “That’s not gonna happen. I know how you Brady brothers are, and I don’t want anything to do with it.”
“Too bad, because this Brady brother is gonna be sliding deep into you the minute we get out of here.” I lean closer, pressing my dick into her stomach.
She jerks away from me, a deep red blush staining her cheeks. She looks around the room, making sure no one heard our little war of words. When she looks back at me, her bright blue eyes are shining with defiance. They travel from my head to my toes and back again. She lets out a frustrated breath and shakes her head.
“We’ll see about that, but I wouldn’t hold your breath waiting for it,” she says, turning to look at Hadley. “I am so glad to be home again. Being at school without you and Tanya sucks.”
As her words make their way through my mind, I finally remember who she is. Tucker and Major have both spoken of her, the girl who shared an apartment with Hadley and Tanya in college. The girls love her as if she’s their sister, and my brothers feel the same.
She and my sister-in-law talk for a while longer before heading into the kitchen. I follow behind them, not wanting her out of my sight. I’ve never felt this kind of need for a woman before, and I’m not letting her get away. She can play hard to get as much as she wants, but she’ll be mine by the end of the night. She’ll stay that way until I am done with her.
As that thought passes through my mind, another follows quickly behind it. My grandfather always said a Brady man knows when he meets the woman who is meant to be his. The story goes, and Tucker and Major say it’s true, that the attraction we feel is so strong there is no way to deny it. I always thought it was a bunch of bullshit. Looking at Willow, I’m starting to think maybe Grandpa was right.
As much as I had thought about leaving whether or not Major showed up, there’s no way that’s happening now. I’m staying here until Willow leaves. Then, I’ll be leaving with her. Unless something changes, I doubt she will be anywhere but at my side for a long time.
Every room she goes into, she stops and talks to half of the people here as if they are part of her family. When she starts to talk to one of the single farmhands, I step in between them and shake my head. I receive a glare from her but only return a smile.
I start to follow her back into the living room when she abruptly turns and stops me. “Why in the hell do you keep following me around? Are you some kind of freak or something?”
Just hearing her voice again damn near causes me to grab her and take her to one of the bedrooms, but I fist my hands at my side and shake my head. “I’m making sure you don’t slip out of here without me knowing. I’m not letting you get away from me.”
Willow has a look of disbelief on her face as she looks at me. I want to kiss that look right off her face. Stepping closer to her, I’m interrupted in my pursuit by her hand on my chest. She gives me a shove, not even moving me an inch.
She takes a step back and rolls her eyes. “I’m not sure what impression you’ve gotten of me, but it’s clearly the wrong one. I don’t do one night stands. You might, but they aren’t my thing. You might as well quit following me around, as that’s not getting you anywhere with me.”
Smiling into her beautiful blue eyes, I lean down and whisper in her ear, “I never said anything about a one night stand. It’s gonna take a hell of a lot more than one night to work you out of my system.”